On Line Bible Study - For the Week August 29-September 4, 2011

Lesson 508

John 1: ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...

(Click on the link above for the entire first chapter of John's Gospel.)

Father Raymond Brown has 144 pages of introductory material regarding the Gospel of John. We would never make it through the gospel were we to consider every aspect of the possible sources, possible authors, the process of editing and redacting, the location of authorship, and all the possible reasons for the writing of the gospel in the first place.

Our comments will be succinct. Let’s just take the first sentence. In fact, let’s just take the word “was”. It is used three times to accomplish three different tasks:

1. Existence

2. Relationship

3. Predication

In the beginning the Word was – or perhaps to be more precise, the Word is. We know the prologue will take us to Jesus. John will tell us the Word became flesh. So, In the beginning was the Christ. Jesus is. This anticipates statements Jesus will make later that are referred to as the “I am” statements. We’ll get to them. For now it’s enough to acknowledge the evangelists intent. Jesus is – always.

The Word was with God – In other words, God and the Word are together, with each other, in a relationship with one another. Jesus knows God in a distinctive way. Intimacy is implied – not just “knowing” the way any of us come to know God, but knowing from having a relationship from the very beginning.

The Word was God – There is more than just a “relationship” between Jesus and God. There is unity. Again, the evangelist telescopes a later message in which Jesus tells us he is one with the Father (10:30).

One might say the Gospel of John comes out swinging. The Prologue is poetry at its theological best. It harkens back to the book of Genesis; it summarizes the experience of Jesus and with Jesus when he was physically on earth, and it anticipates the relationship we must have with Christ if we are to have any sort of relationship with God.

The Gospel narrative begins with chapter 1, verse19. We’ll go there next time.