Some great symphonies begin with a majestic slow introduction, a kind of portal, creating a sense of awe and exaltation. Then a busy allegro begins and the grand entry seems to be forgotten. But it remains a weighty part of the work, setting its tone and giving it its bearings. Think of Beethoven’s Seventh, Mendelssohn’s Third, or Elgar’s First.
John’s Gospel begins with the sublime Prologue (John 1:1-18) which seems to be forgotten straight away when the gospel story gets underway. But it looms in the background of the whole gospel, reminding us of the deep identity of Jesus and of the central saving event of the Incarnation.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD
AND THE WORD WAS GOD
Some exegetes pounce on “WORD”, in Greek “LOGOS”, and begin to talk of John as a “philosophical Gospel”, recalling that Heraclitus and the Stoics name their world-principle Logos, and that Jewish thinkers like Philo talked a lot about the Logos, calling him a “second God” and receiving influence from Platonism. But John is not doing philosophy, He is naming a divine Presence, that Word that was “with God” in the beginning, at the moment of creation: “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, by the breath of his mouth all the stars” (Psalm 33:6). Jewish theologians call this the Memra, and it has little in common with the intellectual Greek idea of Logos. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10618-memra
John wants us to contemplate the presence of the WORD, and every word of his Prologue is a launching-pad for contemplation. The phrase “with God” can also be “toward God” (pros ton Theon) which suggests the personal character of the Word, as of a Son turning toward its Father. The word “GOD” in the third part of the verse is not the same as in the second part: it lacks the definite article — it is THEOS, not HO THEOS, suggesting that its divinity is not the absolute divinity of God but a divinity received from God.
In the next verse John pauses for contemplation. “He (or ‘that one’) was in the beginning with God.” Those hungry for philosophy will be impatient — why do you repeat yourself? I learned nothing new from this verse! But in fact it is a very beautiful verse, for John is initiating us into the subtle rhythm of his Gospel with its carefully paced repetitions.
Note a key word: WAS. We hear that the Word WAS, in Greek ēn, WAS with God, WAS God, WAS in the beginning with God. This is not the was of yesterday but the was of eternity.
And its opposite is “became” or “came to be” or “was made”, egeneto.
“All came to be through him and without him nothing came to be that came to be”.
We hear that in the Logos was Life, again the was of eternity, eternal life, and that the Life was the Light of human being.
Human beings have been mentioned and one human being now pops up: the Baptist, witnessing to the light: 1:6 “there came to be (egeneto) a man sent from God.”
Then we have a sequence of solemn “was”s like the chords opening a mighty symphony. 1:9 The true light WAS coming into the world…. 1:10 It WAS in the world… which as made by it (egeneto)…. Those who receive it are “born of God.”
Then we have a stunning statement: The Word BECAME or WAS MADE flesh (1:14). How is this possible? Eternal and unchanging how can it BECOME? The Word will not be held back from coming among us, dwelling among us, tabernacling in our fleshly world, revealing his full Glory as the only begotten from the Father.
John pipes up again, telling us he WAS before me (1:15) and we hear that “Grace and Truth CAME TO BE through Jesus Christ.” His divinity WAS, his humanity COMES TO BE. Our minds move back and forth between heaven and earth, the depths of humanity and the depths of divinity. We turn eagerly to the gospel story to find out more, and there is no end to what is to be found.
Some great symphonies begin with a majestic slow introduction, a kind of portal, creating a sense of awe and exaltation. Then a busy allegro begins and the grand entry seems to be forgotten. But it remains a weighty part of the work, setting its tone and giving it its bearings. Think of Beethoven’s Seventh, Mendelssohn’s Third, or Elgar’s First.
John’s Gospel begins with the sublime Prologue (John 1:1-18) which seems to be forgotten straight away when the gospel story gets underway. But it looms in the background of the whole gospel, reminding us of the deep identity of Jesus and of the central saving event of the Incarnation.
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD
AND THE WORD WAS GOD
Some exegetes pounce on “WORD”, in Greek “LOGOS”, and begin to talk of John as a “philosophical Gospel”, recalling that Heraclitus and the Stoics name their world-principle Logos, and that Jewish thinkers like Philo talked a lot about the Logos, calling him a “second God” and receiving influence from Platonism. But John is not doing philosophy, He is naming a divine Presence, that Word that was “with God” in the beginning, at the moment of creation: “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, by the breath of his mouth all the stars” (Psalm 33:6). Jewish theologians call this the Memra, and it has little in common with the intellectual Greek idea of Logos. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10618-memra
John wants us to contemplate the presence of the WORD, and every word of his Prologue is a launching-pad for contemplation. The phrase “with God” can also be “toward God” (pros ton Theon) which suggests the personal character of the Word, as of a Son turning toward its Father. The word “GOD” in the third part of the verse is not the same as in the second part: it lacks the definite article — it is THEOS, not HO THEOS, suggesting that its divinity is not the absolute divinity of God but a divinity received from God.
In the next verse John pauses for contemplation. “He (or ‘that one’) was in the beginning with God.” Those hungry for philosophy will be impatient — why do you repeat yourself? I learned nothing new from this verse! But in fact it is a very beautiful verse, for John is initiating us into the subtle rhythm of his Gospel with its carefully paced repetitions.
Note a key word: WAS. We hear that the Word WAS, in Greek ēn, WAS with God, WAS God, WAS in the beginning with God. This is not the was of yesterday but the was of eternity.
And its opposite is “became” or “came to be” or “was made”, egeneto.
“All came to be through him and without him nothing came to be that came to be”.
We hear that in the Logos was Life, again the was of eternity, eternal life, and that the Life was the Light of human being.
Human beings have been mentioned and one human being now pops up: the Baptist, witnessing to the light: 1:6 “there came to be (egeneto) a man sent from God.”
Then we have a sequence of solemn “was”s like the chords opening a mighty symphony. 1:9 The true light WAS coming into the world…. 1:10 It WAS in the world… which as made by it (egeneto)…. Those who receive it are “born of God.”
Then we have a stunning statement: The Word BECAME or WAS MADE flesh (1:14). How is this possible? Eternal and unchanging how can it BECOME? The Word will not be held back from coming among us, dwelling among us, tabernacling in our fleshly world, revealing his full Glory as the only begotten from the Father.
John pipes up again, telling us he WAS before me (1:15) and we hear that “Grace and Truth CAME TO BE through Jesus Christ.” His divinity WAS, his humanity COMES TO BE. Our minds move back and forth between heaven and earth, the depths of humanity and the depths of divinity. We turn eagerly to the gospel story to find out more, and there is no end to what is to be found.