John 1
Quick Answer
John begins the prologue to his Gospel with a sublime statement about Jesus’s divine identity. It reflects fundamental principles from the Genesis account of creation expressed in terms taken from the Arché Principle of Greek philosophy.
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John 1 — Full Chapter Commentary
John 1:1
There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:1.
The Gospel of John was the last of the four Gospels to be published. It was not written for any one group or persuasion of people. John's Gospel was written for everyone'Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers'and it sharply focuses on the deity of Jesus. This is in contrast to the other Gospel accounts:
Thus, John introduces his Gospel account with a prologue that describes Jesus's existence in eternity past, His divine identity (v 1), His role in creation, His incarnation, and the grace of His salvation (John 1:1-18). Jesus is identified in v 1 as the Word.'
The purpose of John's Gospel is clearly expressed near the conclusion of his Gospel,
'Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.'
(John 20:30-31)
According to this statement, there are two purposes of this Gospel.
Therefore, The Gospel of John was written for both unbelievers and believers. And as we will see, it seems to have been written for both a Greek (Gentile) audience as well as a Jewish audience. Biblically speaking, Jews + Gentiles includes all of humanity, so John's Gospel was intended for everyone.
The author of this Gospel was John, one of Jesus's twelve disciples (Matthew 10:2). John was a fisherman from the district of Galilee before being called to follow Jesus, alongside his brother James (Matthew 4:21-22). John was one of Jesus's closest followers. John appears to refer to himself in his Gospel account as 'the disciple whom Jesus loved' (John 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20).
Growing up in Galilee, and likely going to synagogue (a Jewish meeting place similar to a modern church), John would have been taught and become familiar with the Old Testament scriptures. John boldly taught to the Jews within Jerusalem during the days immediately following Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension (Acts 3-4:31). Years later, when Peter reported that the Roman centurion, Cornelius, believed in Jesus, it appears that John may still have been in Judea preaching and teaching the Gospel (Acts 11:1).
Decades later, perhaps after the execution and martyrdom of Peter and Paul in the 60's A.D., church tradition places John pastoring as the elder of the Greek'Roman city of Ephesus. While in Ephesus, John would have encountered and likely become familiar with the concepts of Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, and others. Thus, John's background gave him a comprehensive capacity to speak uniformly to both Jews and Greeks.
Eventually John was exiled to the isle of Patmos because of his faith. This exile was possibly toward the end of the Roman Emperor Domitian's reign which ended in 96 A.D. This might mean John was on Patmos in 95 A.D. It was while John was at Patmos that he received a vision and wrote it down as the Book of Revelation (Revelation 1:9).
It is believed that John wrote his Gospel account somewhere around this same time. This would mean that his Gospel account has the full benefit of his life experience spanning the complete spectrum of being a Jewish follower of Jesus in Israel all the way to being a minister to Greek converts in the Roman Empire.
John also authored three epistles (letters): 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.
The time John lived with and was discipled by Jesus played an essential role in telling his Gospel. John's (likely) upbringing in Galilee (northern Israel), his evangelism in Judea (southern Israel), and his role in the Jewish church (Jews who believed in Jesus as their savior and Messiah) seasoned him with understanding of his fellow countrymen. Likewise, John's two or more decades of leading the church in Ephesus gave him insights into the Greek heart and mind.
From the very first sentence, the Holy Spirit seemed to use both John's Jewish and Greek experiences in communicating this Gospel account.
The Gospel according to John opens with a three-phrased sentence:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v 1).
The Bible Says commentary will analyze each of these three phrases in turn, beginning with its dynamic first phrase. This commentary will begin by analyzing the first phrase one expression and term at a time:
1a. In the beginning'
1b.''was...
1c. ''the Word.
1a. In the beginning'
The first three words of the opening phrase of John's Gospel are: In the beginning.
This expression is an overt allusion to the first verse of Hebrew scripture, Genesis 1:1, which also begins with the phrase: 'In the beginning.'
The beginning which both the book of Genesis and the Gospel of John are referencing is the beginning of the world's creation,
'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'
(Genesis 1:1)
The expression, 'the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1), describe the totality of what was created (Colossians 1:16-17). The 'heavens and the earth' describe the physical universe, with all of its matter, its vast space, its principles and laws such as gravitational forces, mathematics, and time. They also encompass all living creatures and beings apart from the Creator. 'The heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1) describe the spiritual universe of the heavens, with all its angelic beings, moral laws, and love. This would include spiritual beings as well as 'thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities' (Colossians 1:16).
Genesis describes this creative moment of coming into existence as 'the beginning' (Genesis 1:1).
In opening his Gospel with the phrase'In the beginning'John harkens back to Genesis 1:1 and draws to mind all the implications and presumptions of the Genesis account. There is every indication that Jesus and His followers took this creation account as a literal occurrence. For example, Jesus describes a literal creation in Mark 13:19. Luke 3:38 includes Adam in the lineage of Christ and refers to Adam as being created by God.
John's Jewish readers would have instantly recognized the parallel reference to Genesis 1:1 and its theme of creation and divine authority. They also would have understood and sensed the meaningful freight that these three words bore.
John's Greek readers would likely have had a similar, albeit different, experience when they encountered his opening expression'In the beginning
Just as the words In the beginning are a perfect parallel to Genesis 1:1 and ground John's Gospel in the beginning of creation, it also employs identical terminology the Greeks used in their quest to discover 'the Arch锗the Founding Principle or Element that establishes all things.
The Hebrew scripture of Genesis 1:1 would not likely have come to mind to John's Greek audience, unless they had read or heard it. (Greek Christians likely would know Genesis 1:1. Unbelieving Greeks would have been less likely to know it).
But believing and unbelieving Greek readers alike would have been able to recognize that John was describing the creation of the cosmos from their familiarity with Greek mythology and philosophy.
Greek mythology and Greek philosophy had many versions concerning creation, but they were essentially two competing accounts. John's Gospel better aligned with the philosophical account.
The Greek's mythological account of the beginning starts with Chaos. Chaos was a disordered, primordial void or chasm from which powerful entities emerged, including Gaia'mother earth. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the heavens). Uranus became Gaia's consort and the two produced the Titans who in turn both produced the Olympian Gods, who eventually overthrew them, and created and refashioned various ages of men. This brief summary is one Greek account of the beginning. From chaos (disorder) comes cosmos (order).
The mythological account is false. Nothing in all known human experience supports the idea of chaos creating order. Further, this chaos account runs counter to the Bible's claim that God (the perfectly ordered and all-powerful Being) created the beginning of the cosmos.
The ancient mythological chaos account is in many respects an intellectual predecessor to the modern materialistic explanations of the cosmos. These materialistic explanations are also grounded in the notion that purposeless chaos and random chance will inevitably create order, information, and purpose.
Greek philosophy largely rejected this mythological account of the beginning.
With few exceptions, Greek philosophy insisted that there was a founding principle or substance that established the cosmic order in the beginning. The Greeks referred to this founding principle, their in the beginning, as 'the Arch'.' The Greek word for beginning is Arch'.
Starting with the first pre'Socratic philosopher Thales (624-546 B.C.), Greek philosophy became an intellectual quest to discover the Arch' principle or element. Thales proposed that the Arch' element was water, in part because water is essential for life. Over the centuries, different Greek philosophers argued for many substances and ideas as the Arch''including air, fire/change, permanence/immutability, eros/desire, nous/mind, and eventually the 'Logos.' The Greek word Logos occurs in verse 1 and is translated as Word.
Therefore, in verse 1, John is claiming that Jesus is God, and created all things, while also claiming that Jesus is the Logos, the Arch' of all things. He is therefore claiming that Jesus is the creator and founding first principle in language that would resonate with a mixed audience of Jews and Greeks.
The philosophic quest to discover or determine the Arch' principle was still being discussed by the Greeks well into the first century A.D. (see Paul at Mars Hill'Acts 17:16-34) while John led the church at Ephesus. It would seem John stepped directly into that conversation, asserting that 'Jesus is the Logos,' therefore He is the first principle, 'the Arch'.'
In the opening phrase of John's Gospel'In the beginning'the Greek word that is translated as the beginning is 'ἀρχῇ' (G746'pronounced: 'Ar'ch'). This word is the exact term which the Greeks used for Arch''the founding principle of all things.
When Greek-minded readers encountered John's opening phrase'In the beginning'they would have instantly recognized that he was speaking from and/or into their philosophic tradition. John crafted a sentence that managed to encompass the founding philosophical tradition of both Jews and Greeks.
Moreover, John identified what this founding principle (Arch') was'the Word, which is the Logos.
From a Greek perspective, John's phrase'In the beginning was the Word'is tantamount to saying: 'The Arch' Principle is the Word.' The Greek term that is translated as Word throughout John 1:1 is the word: λόγος (G3056'pronounced: 'Lo'gos').
We will discuss the Greek concept of Logos in much greater detail later in this commentary. For now, suffice it to say that Logos refers to the idea(s) of reason and speech.
When John identified the Arch' Principle as the Logos, he was not saying anything altogether new to the Greeks. Since at least the time of Plato and Aristotle in the fourth century B.C., the belief that the Logos was the Arch' Principle was the prevailing philosophic opinion. What is new in John's Gospel is that he identifies Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, as being a tangible and human expression of the eternal Logos.'
Over the course of the prologue to his Gospel account (John 1:1-18), John will put forth seventeen ideas and/or philosophic propositions concerning the Logos/Arch' Principle.
The first kinds of ideas about the Logos/Arch' Principle John presented would have been in general alignment with the standards of Greek philosophy at that time. Taken alone, these propositions would add little to nothing new to the conversation. But they would demonstrate John's firm grasp of the subject and establish his credibility to contribute to it. And in establishing that credibility, they would lay a foundation for his incredible claim that a Jewish rabbi was actually the eternal 'Logos' in the form of human flesh.
John winsomely begins with what would have been easy-to-accept statements for Greeks:
But the second kinds of statements John makes regarding the Logos/Arch' Principle would have introduced modestly new concepts to the ongoing philosophic conversation. These new ideas would have been intriguing and likely sparked curiosity among the Greeks without being overly shocking. These ideas probably would have allowed the Greeks to explore things further within their existing framework.
John shares these types of propositions next, using them as stepping stones to lead to his more astonishing claims:
' ' ' 8. The light of the Logos/Arch' Principle shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.'(John 1:5)
' ' ' 9. A man (named John) came from God to testify about the Logos/Arch' Principle to help people believe.'(John 1:6-7)
' ' 10. The Logos/Arch' Principle enlightens all men.'(John 1:9)
But the third kind of statements John made about the Logos/Arch' Principle would have radically transcended anything the Greeks had ever imagined. These claims would have forced them to reexamine their previously held conceptions about the Logos/Arch' Principle and all that is.
Unlike the abstract and impersonal Logos/Arche Principle of Greek philosophy, John presents a Logos that is personal, incarnate, and central to not only creation but also the redemption of the world. This would have challenged Greeks to rethink the very nature of divinity and existence. John proposes that the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, was the eternal Logos in human form.
' ' '11. The Logos/Arch' Principle came but was not received, even by His own. (John 1:11)
' ' '12. But whoever receives the Logos/Arch' Principle by faith will become a child of God. (John 1:12-13)
' ' '13. The Logos/Arch' Principle became flesh and dwelt among us.'(John 1:14a)
' ' '14. And we have seen the glory of the Logos/Arch' Principle.'(John 1:14b)
' ' '15. In the fullness of the Logos/Arch' Principle we have received grace upon grace.'(John 1:16)
Finally, John concludes his prologue concerning the Logos/Arch' Principle by returning to the second kind of comments'the more modestly new philosophic claims. These comments bolster his game'changing assertions, while easing his Greek-minded readers back into more familiar territory. John's prologue gives his readers something to think long and hard about. But its concluding remarks craft a thoughtful closure which leaves his audience with something to ponder rather than being unnecessarily provocative.
' ' ' 16. The Logos/Arch' Principle created the grace and truth upon which the moral universe is established.
' ' ' ' ' ' (John 1:17)
' ' ' 17. The Logos/Arch' Principle reveals God to man.
' ' ' ' ' ' (John 1:18)
It is amazing how John so ably and fully gathers both the Hebrew and Greek traditions as he introduces the Gospel of Jesus. And he brilliantly starts this gathering with three words: In the beginning.
Whether Jew or Greek, John takes his readers back to the first beginning and the Arch' Principle when God created all that is, that is not Himself'i.e. 'the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1).
1b. In the beginning was'
We have seen how John's opening phrase'In the beginning was the Word'conjures the moment of God's creation of the heavens and the earth to introduce his Gospel of Jesus.
But John does not simply restate Genesis 1:1. After opening with the familiar expression In the beginning, John does not go on to quote the remainder of Genesis 1:1 as one might expect. John does not state the second half of the verse '' God created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1b). Instead, John goes in a different direction and surprises his readers who were familiar with the Hebrew scriptures.
Instead of describing what God actively did in the beginning, John writes who God was in the beginning.
In the beginning, was the Word (God).'
The Word (God) was already present in the beginning.'
Thus, if we read his opening phrase carefully, we see that John does not merely begin at Genesis 1:1 and the creation of the world. John reaches even further back in time, beyond time itself, beyond the beginning, and into eternity past to establish the Gospel.
The effective meaning of the word'was'in this expression is enormous. It may be the most consequential use of was ever written.
In John's phrase In the beginning was, the verb'was'serves as a linking verb indicating existence. In this context, was suggests an eternal state of being that is continuous and timeless, unbound by the constraints of creation or time. This use of was implies that something existed before and during the beginning, emphasizing eternal existence.
This eternal something is the Word.
In John's complete expression In the beginning was the Word, the verb was establishes the Word's existence at the time of the beginning. This signifies that the Word (Logos) existed before 'God created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1b).
The verb was subtly, but powerfully, underscores the pre-existence and eternality of the Word. That means that the human Jesus pre-existed the creation of humans.
The Word was not a created entity but was already present when everything else began. By linking the Word to the beginning, the verb was emphasizes the foundational and infinitely ancient nature of the Word, setting the stage for Christ's divine and eternal character in the unfolding narrative of the Gospel.
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus, therefore, begins even before the beginning.
The Apostle Paul echoes this point with less subtlety when he writes how the good news of Jesus began 'before the foundation of the world' (Ephesians 1:4).
1c. In the beginning was the Word'
The most important term in John's opening expression, John 1:1, and indeed within the entire prologue to his Gospel is the term: the Word.
The Word is God (v 1c) the Son. The Word became human (John 1:14). His human name was Jesus and He was the Christ (Messiah) (John 1:16). Before He became human, Jesus eternally existed before the creation of the world. As the Word, Jesus always was.
The word Jesus is a transliteration of the Hebrew name 'Joshua' which means 'Yahweh is salvation.' Jesus is God in human flesh, and salvation in human flesh. He who always was took on the form of flesh in order to redeem His creation from sin (Philippians 2:5-8).
Readers may recall that the Greek term which is translated as Word is the term: 'λόγος' (G3056)'pronounced: 'Log'os.'
Just as the phrase In the beginning drew from both Genesis 1:1 and the Arch' Principle, so also does the term the Logos encapsulate both the Jewish and Greek worldviews.
We will explore both aspects of Logos'beginning with the Hebrew conception of the Word.
The Hebrew concept of the Word
The three most significant aspects about the 'the word of the LORD' in Hebrew scripture were its
All three aspects of 'the word of the Lord' from Jewish scripture are manifest in John's account of the Word.
The Bible Says commentary, in describing the Hebraic roots of the Logos, will primarily reference the Hebrew scriptures of the Old Testament themselves, but it will occasionally make use of the Jewish Targums.
The Jewish Targums are the Aramaic translations and paraphrases of the Hebrew scriptures. (Targum means 'translation'). In the first century A.D., many Jews in Judea were not fluent in Hebrew, but they were in Aramaic. Following the Hebraic scripture readings in synagogue, the Targums were often read and used extensively to help instruct those less fluent in Hebrew about what the scriptures said and meant.
The Targums were oral until they became written during the second and first centuries B.C. They continued to be in wide circulation throughout Judea during the first century A.D. Therefore, the Targums give keen insight into how the Jews in Jesus and John's era interpreted and understood the Old Testament.
One of the more fascinating insights from the Targums is the Aramaic term 'memra.' 'Memra' means 'word.' It is the term that is most often used to describe 'the word of the LORD.' The Logos and the Word are both synonyms of 'the Memra.'
Some believe that John's conception of the Word as described in the prologue to his Gospel account was initially derived from his interaction and understanding of the 'Memra' as the 'Memra' was described and employed in the Jewish Targums.
We acknowledge this potential connection between the 'Memra' in the Targums and the Logos in John's Gospel. We will mention possible connections between the 'Memra' in the Targums and the Logos when they can be straightforwardly seen throughout The Bible Says commentary of John's prologue.
Now we will cover the three most significant aspects about the 'the word of the LORD' in Hebrew scripture, beginning with the creative power of the word of the LORD.
i.' The Creative Power of word of the LORD
The Logos and the word of the LORD had a significant role within the creation of the world,
'By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.'
(Psalm 33:6)
Psalm 33:6 points to how the LORD spoke creation into existence by using His word.
According to Genesis 1, over the course of the six days of creation the expression 'Then God said' is used seven times before an utterance of creation (Genesis 1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1:11, 1:14, 1:20, 1:24). Every time 'God said' something He spoke His word(s). And after each of these 'God said' expressions, God says 'Let there be'' or 'Let [this or that creative act happen]'' and it is done exactly according to His word.
Moreover, the creative power of God's word is also seen as He names different features within His creation. Genesis 1 uses the expression 'God called' three times before God names something (Genesis 1:5, 1:8, 1:10). In this context, the idea of calling something a name goes beyond how something is referenced. It concerns how God defines and establishes its nature'what it is'including its potential and its limitations. Whenever God called something in Genesis 1, He called it by means of His word(s).
God demonstrated the creative power of His word when He spoke the world into existence and form.
John directly ties the creative power of 'the word of the LORD' to the Logos,
'All things came into being through Him [the Word], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.'
(John 1:3)
The Greek term Logos is much broader than the modern concept of 'word.' It encompasses understanding and knowledge. It is inferred that when God created the world, He infused it with knowledge and order. And that is what we find in nature. An example is DNA. DNA is a cellular blueprint for building animal tissue. It is like a computer program but infinitely more complex and capable than any program ever designed by humans.
God not only spoke things into existence, He created the information and order from which creation could thrive. This would include what we call physical laws. These are patterns we can observe that create repeatable patterns. However, what we find in each case is that our ability to describe what we call 'physical laws' is always incapable of fully describing nature, which speaks of the infinite intelligence behind the creations.
An example is perpetual motion. The second law of thermodynamics observes that in all expenditures of energy there is a resulting decay of useful energy. This means that there can be no such thing as a perpetual motion machine. However, when we observe nature at the nuclear level this principle no longer seems to apply. It seems that the atoms and atomic particles that make up matter are mini-perpetual motion machines.
Accordingly, we have the paradox that a creation made up of mini-perpetual motion machines is incapable of perpetual motion. These sorts of paradoxes abound, and likely reflects the reality of a super-intelligence whose existence transcends all that He created.
The second of the three most significant aspects about the 'the word of the LORD' in Hebrew scripture is the moral authority of the LORD and the Law.
ii. The Moral Authority of the word of the LORD and the Law of Moses
The word of the LORD established the Law through Moses; but the moral elements of which the Law consisted were created by the Logos.
The Law was good because the words of God are a source of life. The concept of life in scripture is much greater than the notion of maintaining a pulse and brain wave. It includes fulfilling God's design for humans to thrive in mutual collaboration with one another.
Moses taught the words of the LORD so that his people might live (Leviticus 18:5, Deuteronomy 4:1, 30:19-20, Psalm 119:144). The core commands God gave so people might live/thrive are relational in nature: to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-39). The source and capacity for this kind of relational fellowship comes from God. The Law is a reflection of the Word. The book of James calls it the 'law of liberty' because it sets us free from sin and deception that we might live according to God's design and live (James 1:25).
John appears to claim in the prologue that the Logos was the source of life:
'In Him was life'' (John 1:4a)
The Law was also good because the words of God were a source of illumination. It not only reflects the Word, it also shows us the path that leads to life.
The psalmist testifies to this when he describes how God's word provides moral guidance and light,
'You word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.'
(Psalm 119:105)
John describes the Word in similar terms. The Logos's 'life was the light of men' (John 1:4b). In this context, the Logos's 'life' includes His instruction through His teachings and the example of His actions.
John then goes on to describe how the Word's teachings and example illuminate reality:
'The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.'
(John 1:5)
Both the Logos and the Law illuminate reality and provide light to live by. They show the way to live according to our design, which will lead to our greatest fulfillment.
It is also worth noting a simple but important truth, namely that the Law of Moses consisted of written words.
The Law was not primarily conveyed by means of pictures, images, or dreams. It was conveyed from God to man, and from person to person through words. And not just anyone's words. The Law consisted of God's words.
The Law was enunciated and put forth by the word of the LORD. God transmitted His Law to Moses through His own words. These words were written for our instruction (1 Corinthians 10:6, 2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, the Law of Moses has absolute moral authority because it came directly from God.
'Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!' Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.'
(Exodus 24:3-4a)
This passage in Exodus not only describes how the Law was delivered to Moses and then recounted to the people in words, it also describes how the people entered into its covenant by the voice of their own words. Moses then wrote down the words of the Law.
Thus, the entire Law delivered through Moses was conveyed and confirmed through words.
Moreover, the Jewish Targums of Exodus 20:1 specify that it was the Word of the LORD who spoke the Ten Commandments,
'And [the Word of the LORD] spoke all [the excellency of] these words saying:'
(Targum Jerusalem, Exodus 20:1)
The Targum's teaching in this passage is [bracketed and boldfaced]. It is an interpretation of what the Hebrew scriptures originally said, which was, 'Then God spoke all these words saying'' (Exodus 20:1).
Notice how the Targum switches 'God' ('Elohim') for 'the Word of the LORD.' In this Targum teaching that was widely accepted by the Jews of Jesus's era, the 'Memra' (the Aramaic term for Logos/Word) appears to be equated with God.
Towards the end of his Gospel's prologue, John writes about the Law and its relationship to the Logos. John begins with a straightforward fact:
'For the Law was given through Moses' (John 1:17a).
But after stating this fact, John immediately goes on to assert that the Word created the grace and truth upon which the Law of Moses was based and toward which it was aimed:
'grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ [the Logos]' (John 1:17b).
Two brief analogies can help us better understand the relationship between the Logos (identified as Jesus, the Messiah) and the Law of Moses as revealed in John 1:17.
The first analogy is the mailman'author analogy. Moses was the mailman who delivered the letter of God's Law to His people. The Logos is the Author of that letter.
The second analogy is the atomic elements analogy. Moses could be thought of as a craftsman who fashioned a table of stone. But the Logos created the atomic elements of which all stone, including the stone of the table, consists. The atomic elements of the Law are grace and truth. The elements of grace and truth were called into being by the Logos.
Moreover, the Logos also created Moses, who delivered the Law.
John 1:17 connects the Logos to the Law by demonstrating how the Word created both the Law and lawgiver. Therefore, John 1:17 pertains to both the Creative Power of the word of the LORD discussed in point i and the word of the LORD's Moral Authority discussed in this point, ii.
The third and last significant aspect about the 'the word of the LORD' in Hebrew scripture, is its prophetic nature.
iii.' ' ' 'The Prophetic Nature of the word of the LORD
The word of the LORD and the Logos prophetically reveal God's heart and truth about the world He created.
The word of the LORD was prophetic in the fullest meaning of 'prophetic.' Prophecy does not only mean predictions of the future. Prophecy also reveals hard-to-see truths about all reality'including the past and present.
The word of the LORD is prophetic in its very nature, because it reveals truth about reality.
When the LORD declares something'whatever He declares is true and upright (Psalm 19:9b, 33:4). What God's word declares simply is. This is why God's word is a light (Psalm 119:105). Light is required to be able to see. And we have already seen how John will describe the Logos as 'the Light of men' (John 1:4-5).
The word of the LORD is prophetic in nature because it expresses God's will for our lives. The Word is an expression of God's will. Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew scriptures demonstrate how the word of the LORD is an expression of God's will.
But all the words of the divine messages and prophetic utterances combined were not as revealing of God as when the Logos revealed God Himself to humanity,
'No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.'
(John 1:18)
As the Word, Jesus Christ perfectly expressed the heart of God to the world. Jesus expressed God's word directly to the people through the agency of God becoming flesh. God promised this to the people through Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18). He delivered it through Jesus.
These Hebraic concepts of the word of the LORD as an instrument of creation, the establishment of the Law and its moral authority, and as an expression of God's will are clearly present within John's account of the Word in the prologue to his Gospel account (John 1:1-18).
There are many more fascinating links between the Word in John's prologue and the word of the LORD from the Hebrew scriptures. Next, we will cover the Greek concept of the Logos.
The Greek concept of the Word
The Word not only had deep connections with the word of the LORD in the Jewish scriptures, the Logos also had a rich tradition within Greek philosophy. Centuries before Jesus was born, Greek philosophers had been using Logos to describe the Arch' Principle, the Greek version of in the beginning.
The first philosopher known to propose Logos to be the Arch' Principle which underpins and governs the universe was Heraclitus (535 B.C.'475 B.C.). Heraclitus was from Ephesus, which was the same city where (church tradition says) John lived and guided the church in the latter first century A.D. John may have learned about Heraclitus and the Logos tradition within Greek philosophy during his residence in Ephesus.
Greeks believed that understanding the Logos as the first principle of the beginning was key to comprehending the world, as it serves as the framework that rationally orders, connects, and explains everything.
Logos embodies the rational structure and natural order inherent to all things and holds the cosmos together. And Logos is the expression of reason through thought and speech.
Within Greek philosophy, the themes of order, reason, and speech are all intertwined in the idea of Logos. We will cover three aspects of the Logos:
i.' The Logos as the Architect of Cosmic Order
ii. The Rationality of the Logos
iii. The Logos as Speech and Language
We will explore how John weaved these themes throughout the prologue to his Gospel account (John 1:1-18) after each theme has first been explained in fuller detail.
i.' The Logos as the Architect of Cosmic Order
Unlike the Greek poets, who described a chaotic world that men suffered to make sense of, the Greek philosophers observed an undeniable pattern within nature. This pattern in the natural world was a reflection and a result of the harder-to-see cosmic order that governed the universe. The Greeks called this order the Logos.
Some of its philosophers, like Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and others thought of the Logos as the Arch' Principle. As the Arch' Principle, Greeks saw the Logos as the underlying principle that structures both the cosmos and human life. Logos was the blueprint of the cosmos and everything within it.
The Greek philosopher Cleanthes (c. 330 B.C.'c. 230 B.C.) expressed this concept of the Logos when he said:
'Zeus, through your Logos, you harmonize all things, you rule with justice, and through Logos, you govern the whole universe."
(Cleanthes. 'Hymn to Zeus')
John agrees with the Greek philosophers concerning the Logos (who is Jesus) as the underlying principle that organizes the universe when he writes:
'All things came into being [order and existence] through Him [the Logos], and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.'
(John 1:3)
We should acknowledge that for John, the Logos is much more than an impersonal principle that underpins the cosmos (more on this later). But before John reveals the full identity of the Logos to his Greek audience, he first introduces the Logos with concepts they already understood about Him.
When a Greek-minded person read John 1:3, they likely nodded in agreement with the sentiment that everything in the world (seen and unseen) was called into being and perfectly organized by the Logos. All the order embedded throughout the cosmos was the result of the Logos.
As the blueprint for everything within the universe, the Greeks believed that the Logos contained the mystery of life. John writes of the Logos that 'In Him was life'' (John 1:4a).
Thus, Greek readers would concur that the principle and secret order for life is embedded in the Logos.
ii. The Rationality of Logos
Greek philosophers believed this order was at least somewhat knowable through reason.
Reason is ordered thought. It is an arrangement of ideas in a logical pattern.
In Greek philosophy, the term Logos is sometimes translated to English as 'reason.' Reason is the capacity for rational thought, allowing individuals to analyze, understand, and make judgments based on logical principles. The Greeks recognized a logic underpinning the world. The English word 'logic' comes from 'logos' and reflects the rationality and order of Logos.
This underlying logic, this pattern, this ordering principle, was perceived not through physical sight, but through reason. The Logos could not be seen by physical eyes. It could only be observed in the mind. Rational thought was believed to be the conduit through which the Logos could be understood.
For the Greek philosophers, reason was a kind seeing. It was a kind of vision. Reason was mental perception. Light makes physical reality visible to the eyes. Likewise, truth makes all of reality visible to the mind. This is why light is a common metaphor for truth. Truth consists of thoughts or reasoning that accurately correspond to reality. A true statement is a statement that accurately corresponds to reality.
The Logos was believed by the Greeks to be the principle of rational order that permeated the universe, reflecting an inherent logic and coherence in all things. This rationality provided the foundation for understanding both the natural world and human existence.
But the philosophers found understanding the Logos to be difficult. Heraclitus of Ephesus ( 535 B.C.'475 B.C.) lamented:
'Although this Logos is eternally valid, yet men are unable to understand it'That is to say, although all things come to pass in accordance with this Logos, men seem to be quite without any experience of it.'
(Heraclitus. Fragment 1)
The Logos is supremely ordered thought that governs all things, but it requires having ordered thoughts (reason) that are accurate and true for us to perceive the Logos. What the Greek philosophers were encountering is the reality that we as humans are created beings within the creation seeking to understand a creative work of an eternal and infinite super-intelligence.
In the prologue to his Gospel account, John describes the Logos as 'the light of men' (John 1:4) and 'the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man' (John 1:9). Given our limitations, to gain true understanding requires a guide. The Word provides that guide. When we receive that Word through faith, we gain insight that can guide us into the truth. New Testament believers have an additional resource of the indwelling Spirit of God to guide us.
John's Greek audience reading his prologue (vv 1-18) would likely have nodded again in agreement that the human capacity for rational thought and all our understanding of the world is derived from the Logos.
The Logos in John's prologue encompasses the rational order that Greeks recognized, yet it is revealed as an active, personal force with a direct relationship to God'the Word was with God.
Moreover, until the time of John, throughout the seven-hundred-year development of Greek philosophy, different philosophers described the Logos in various ways. For some philosophers, Logos was a kind of Mind, for others it was an idea or principle. But they generally agreed that the Logos was eternal and immaterial. However, as influential as the Greek Logos was, according to their philosophies the Logos consistently seemed to be only an ordered pattern or rational principle. It was never a person.
But John introduces the Logos as a person.
And the Word was God.
When John said this, he asserted that the Logos was not merely a principle, but an Entity imbued with divine reason and wisdom. For a Greek reader, this would resonate with their understanding of the Logos as the principle of rationality while revealing a deeper, more personal dimension.
And after John reveals that the Logos became human (John 1:14a), he goes onto identify the Logos as Jesus, the Jewish Messiah (John 1:17).
iii. The Logos as Speech and Language.
The Greek philosophers also believed that Logos was a kind of speech or language.
Logos represents the rational structure of language and discourse, enabling humans to articulate thought and reason.
Language, like reason, is ordered thoughts. We think and reason our thoughts through words. We communicate them to others through speech. Logos is the medium through which the rational order of the cosmos is expressed and understood.
It is for this reason that Logos is sometimes translated as 'speech' in Greek philosophy. Aristotle (B.C.'3 22 B.C) writes that Logos as 'speech' is what separates man from the animals and that Logos as 'speech' 'serves to reveal'the just from the unjust' (Politics 1. 1253a 15).
The Logos is the divine language that instructs, orders, and guides the cosmos into being, and establishes what is good and morally right. Logos is the expression of God's perfect thought.
Similarly, John reveals the Logos to be the expression and complete manifestation of God and His will, both within the prologue and throughout his entire Gospel account.
This is seen in John's profound assertion:
'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.'
(John 1:14)
Jesus, the incarnation of the Logos (John 1:14a), manifests God's glory to humanity (John 1:14b). Glory ('doxa' in Greek) is the idea of something or someone's true essence being observed (1 Corinthians 15:41). Through the Logos, humans can observe and understand the true essence of God.
John concludes the prologue with a description of what Jesus, as the Logos and the Word of God, has expressed to the world,
'No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.'
(John 1:18)
As the perfect expression of God, Jesus'the Logos'explained what was previously unknown about God to humanity. As the Word, Jesus is God's perfect statement expressing Himself to and His love for the world (John 3:16).
Jesus would later say that His teachings were from God, His Father (John 7:16), and that He came to accomplish the will of God, His Father (John 8:28, 12:49).
Jesus, the Logos, is the perfect manifestation of God. He is God's speech, His Word to us.
In utilizing and describing the Word as he introduces his Gospel, John extensively draws from the Hebraic concept of 'the word of the LORD' and the Logos of Greek philosophy. Consequently, the Word encompasses the creative power, moral authority, and expression of God's will as revealed in the Old Testament, and it entails the sense of order, reason, and speech as surmised by Greek philosophy.
2. 'and the Word was with God'
After saying how the Word was in the beginning, the next two things which John says about the Logos is that the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
We will dive deeper into the specific meanings of these subsequent phrases further down in this commentary, but at its most basic level these two statements testify the following:
Taken together these two statements speak to the founding paradox of Christianity'the Triune nature of God.
God is Three Persons: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
God is One Person.
Logically, those two statements should not be able to exist side by side. And yet they do.
God is three and He is one. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. Human logic only applies within a logical system. God is outside any system that He created. The fact that God is paradoxical to us serves to validate that there is a God who is the creator of all things.
The Word is God the Son. The main subject of John's Gospel is Jesus of Nazareth'who was the human that the Word became (John 1:14-17, 1:45). Jesus was fully God and He was fully human. This too, is another manifestation of the founding paradox of Christianity.
This middle phrase of John 1:1'and the Word was with God'speaks to the extremely close relationship the Word shared with God.
The use of the preposition with in John 1:1 may be the most consequential use of that preposition ever stated. (This is similar to the significance of the verb'was'in the first phrase of John 1:1'In the beginning was').
The Greek term for with is the preposition 'πρός' (G4314'pronounced: 'pros'). Typically, πρός is translated as 'to' or 'toward' and describes the directional movement from one noun approaching the other. That is, 'pros' normally describes a motion or intention toward something.
But pros has an interesting usage in this context. Instead of describing directional movement of the Logos toward God, πρός describes the Logos's eternal relationship with God. Stated more simply, πρός, in John 1:1 describes relationship, not movement.
The grammatical reason for translating πρός as with instead of 'toward' is because of the word was in this phrase. The inclusion of was converts πρός from describing the direction of a motion into describing a state of being.
Moreover, the word and at the beginning of John 1:1's middle phrase directly connects it to the first phrase of John 1:1 and all that it meant.
In the beginning was the Word'and'the Word was with God'
This and means that πρός is describing an eternal state of being. Πρός describes the eternal relationship between the Logos and God that extends before there ever was a beginning.
The Word was eternally with God. The Word was always with God. There was never a time when the Word was not with God. And there was never a time when there was no God.
John's elegant phrase'and the Word was with God'suggests a close, intimate relationship or face-to-face interaction. It indicates a distinct, yet profoundly intimate relationship between the Logos and God.
The use of with (πρός) implies both presence and fellowship. The Word and God existed with One Another in a dynamic communion together. The Word shared perfect harmony and fellowship with God.
Jesus later described this fellowship in His so-called 'High Priestly Prayer' to His Father before He was betrayed by Judas and arrested by a cohort of soldiers sent by the religious leaders. Jesus's prayer was recorded by John,
'The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.'
(John 17:22-23)
In this prayer, Jesus prayed for His disciples to have oneness and perfect unity, just as He (the Word) and His Father (God) have oneness (John 17:22) and perfect unity (John 17:23).
And as Jesus continued to petition His Father on His disciples' behalf, He describes the eternal glory and love shared between Him (the Word) and His Father (God):
'Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.'
(John 17:24)
Jesus's prayer in John 17:22-24 only begins to unpack the immense meaning and significance of the word'with'in John 1:1.
And the Word was with God highlights the distinct personhood of the Word, separate from God, yet fully participating in the divine nature and essence.
This phrase establishes the identity of the Word in relation to God. It affirms that the Word is not a mere attribute or emanation of God but a distinct Person who exists in eternal relationship with God.
The relationship between the Logos and God is not one of division, domination, or competition for control. The Word was not against God. The Word was with God. And John's phrase depicts the oneness of their relationship as full of unity, harmony, and love. The phrase underscores the harmonious aspect of the divine nature.
At the same time, the Word was with God indicates the paradox that even as the Word is distinct from God He is not separate or alien from God. The Word shares in the divine essence and glory while maintaining personal distinction. Essentially, this phrase establishes the groundwork for understanding the Trinitarian nature of God, where the Word, later revealed as Jesus the Messiah, is fully divine and eternally existent with God.
When we consider how Jesus is the Word who was with God alongside scriptures, we see that Jesus, the Logos, is an intermediary between God and man.
(Matthew 1:23)
(Colossians 1:15a)
(Hebrews 4:14)
As the Word, Jesus was always with God. But when 'the Word became flesh' (John 1:14), Jesus became God with us. Jesus is the embodied intermediary between God and humanity.
How 1st century Jews might have understood the middle phrase of John 1:1
For a Jewish audience, the phrase and the Word was with God would resonate with the understanding of God's Word as an active and dynamic agent of creation and revelation.
In the Hebrew Bible, 'the word of the LORD' is often portrayed as a powerful expression that not only announces God's will but actively accomplishes it. Here is one example from Isaiah:
'So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,"
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.'
(Isaiah 55:11)
This verse highlights that God's Word is not only purposeful but also effective in achieving His divine will, acting as an extension of His presence and authority.
And the Word was with God aligns with the Jewish conviction that 'the word of the LORD' was and is eternally and intimately linked with God. It affirms that the LORD's will and purpose'His Word'was always active and with God from before the beginning of time (Proverbs 8:22-23, Isaiah 46:9-10).
This phrase and the Word was with God and the broader context of John's prologue (John 1:1-18) alludes to Isaiah 42:9 where it describes both 'the former things' (creation and the old covenant) that the word of the LORD had previously spoken into existence and the new things His Word was about to 'declare' (the new song'Isaiah 42:10) which describes the covenant and the sending forth of the LORD Himself as the Messiah (Isaiah 42:13).
The work which Jesus (the Word) accomplished (John 19:30) is 'the new song' Isaiah predicted (Isaiah 42:10).
John's Gospel of Jesus explains these fulfillments of Isaiah 42 as the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), revealing God and His love for the world to humanity. The phrase and the Word was with God frames his Gospel's explanation of Isaiah 42's prophetic fulfillments.
The phrase also intimates what will soon become abundantly clear. Namely, that the Word is a Person, Jesus, who shares a unified co-partnership with God.'
In just a few short words, John is establishing credit with his Jewish audience by expressing truths which they readily accept, and at the same time he is also preparing them for the amazing claim and necessary reality for eternal salvation that Jesus is God (John 1:14, 3:16, 11:25-26, 14:6, 20:30-31a).
How first century Greeks might have understood the middle phrase of John 1:1
With these same words, John does something similar with the Greeks. He starts with things they already understand while preparing them for more astonishing and wonderful claims.
To a Greek-minded person familiar with the Logos tradition in Greek philosophy, the phrase and the Word was with God would resonate deeply with the understanding that the Logos is the rational principle that governs the cosmos.
As the Arch' Principle of first principles, the Logos was the organizing force of all things. It was considered both immanent in the world and transcendent, possessing the ability to bring order and meaning out of chaos. Thus, hearing that the Logos was with God would suggest a profound unity and relationship between the Logos and the divine, implying that the rational principle that gives structure to the cosmos is intimately associated with a Prime Mover or Creator.
Furthermore, for the Greek audience, this association would affirm or assign divine qualities to the Logos. On its own, the phrase and the Word was with God would be unlikely to assign personhood to the Logos, but it opens the door to this possibility for the Greeks.
The idea that the Logos was with God would indicate to them that the ordering principle of the universe was not distant or detached but actively engaged in a purposeful (and potentially relational) existence alongside God. At minimum, the phrase implies to the Greeks that the Creator used the Logos in forming the cosmos. John was describing more than this minimalist interpretation. He was describing (and opening the door for the Greek to realize) the eternal and harmonious cooperation between the Person of the Logos and God, reflecting their unity of purpose and will.
John was deftly introducing a significant departure from purely philosophical conceptions of the Logos as an impersonal force and presenting a relational and personal dimension that enriches and expands the understanding of the divine nature and its interaction with the world.
Once again, this phrase'and the Word was with God'lays the groundwork for later developments in John's Gospel, where the Logos is not only associated with God but also takes on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14-17).
The Greek philosopher Plato (427 B.C.' 347 B.C.) believed the cosmos was divided into two realms'the immaterial, eternal, unchanging world of the Forms (the world of Being) and the physical world of change and imperfection (the world of Becoming). His school of thought would likely have understood John's phrase'and the Word was with God'to mean that the Logos is a manifestation of divine reason, and/or that the Logos was the intermediary principle between the transcendent world of Forms and the material world.
Platonic Greeks would not have been far off if they understood and the Word was with God to mean those things. As the Logos become human, Jesus is the intermediary between heaven and earth.
Jesus described Himself to Nathaniel as Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12) bridging heaven and earth:
'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'
(John 1:51)
Jesus told Nicodemus that He is the only person to cross from heaven to earth:
'No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.'
(John 3:13)
And Jesus told His disciples that He is the only way to God:
'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'
(John 14:6)
The implication of these verses is that the Logos is even more of an intermediary between the perfect world of Being (roughly heaven) and the imperfect world of Becoming (this earth) than Plato or his followers had likely dreamed.
3. 'and the Word was God.
As mentioned above, the final phrase of John 1:1 paradoxically compliments the middle phrase and completes the opening statement of the prologue to John's Gospel.
The middle phrase of John 1:1'and the Word was with God'revealed the distinct existence of the Word alongside God. But its final phrase'and the Word was God'reveals the essence of the Word as the very essence of God.
The middle and final phrases of John 1:1 present a profound paradox.
The middle phrase and the Word was with God suggests a distinction between the Word and God. It indicates that the Logos has its own unique existence and is in a relationship with God.
However, the final phrase of John 1:1, and the Word was God, reveals the essential identity of the Word as God. This assertion paradoxically challenges the initial distinction by declaring that the Word is not merely in the presence of God but is fully and entirely God Himself.
The paradox lies in these two truths: the Word is both distinct from God and yet fully God, embodying the mystery of the divine nature as both singular and plural. God is relational yet unified.
Other scriptures in the Bible allude to this mysterious paradox. God is relational yet unified.
When God created humanity, Genesis described God as both singular and plural:
'Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'''
(Genesis 1:26a)
Notice how God is singular: 'Then God said' (Genesis 1:26). And notice how God refers to Himself as plural: 'Let Us'in Our image'Our likeness' (Genesis 1:26).
The mysterious singularity and plurality of God's paradoxical nature which Genesis 1:26 and John 1:1 allude to is revealed elsewhere in the Bible to be the Triune nature of God'the Trinity. (See Matthew 28:19, John 14:26, Romans 15:6, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 4:4-6, 1 Peter 1:2).
When John writes and the Word was God, he reveals the Logos to be God.
The Logos is God. The Logos was God and has always been God from before the beginning. And the Logos will always be God, because God has no end.
Though John has not yet mentioned Jesus by name, the phrase and the Word was God is the first time John describes Him as God.
Demonstrating that Jesus is God is one of the major themes of John's Gospel.
As Matthew demonstrated Jesus's Messianic identity and Luke emphasized Jesus's humanity, so John demonstrates His divinity. And John begins this demonstration in the first verse of his Gospel:'
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v 1).
The first phrase'In the beginning was the Word'describes Jesus (the Logos) in terms of God's eternity and God's act of creation. The second phrase'and the Word was with God'describes Jesus (the Logos) in terms of His eternal relationship with God an alludes to His divinity. But the final phrase'and the Word was God'emphatically states that Jesus was fully divine.
How 1st century Jews might have understood the final phrase of John 1:1
For most first-century Jews, the phrase and the Word was God would be a profound and challenging statement, inviting deep reflection on the nature of God's oneness and how the Word could be fully God while also being with God.
As we have already seen, most Jews would have been familiar with the idea that the Logos as 'the word of the LORD' was associated with God's creative power and self-expression. For instance, the creation account in Genesis 1 reveals that God created the world by speaking it into existence. It was created through His spoken word,
'Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.'
(Genesis 1:3)
Genesis 1:3 is the first of many examples of God using His word to create and form the world in the Bible's first chapter.
But as we have also seen, John's statement and the Word was God was far more than an attribute of God or divine effect. The Word was not a mere attribute or emanation of God but was fully God. Therefore, for a 1st century Jew, the phrase and the Word was God would likely have been a startling shock because it plainly asserts that the Logos is God.
The final phrase of John 1:1 might have challenged unbelieving Jews' current understanding of the relationship between God and His Word. For Jews who were challenged by John's statement and who were willing to consider, it had the potential to lead them into a new understanding of God's nature and into personal relationship with their Creator.
However, if we consider how 'the word of the LORD' was described and explained within the Jewish Targums, then John's claim would perhaps have seemed less shocking to the 1st century Jews than we suspect.
The Targums were the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew scriptures. They were used in synagogues to teach the masses of first century Jews who did not know Hebrew. The Targums often inserted interpretive teachings within the scriptures themselves.
And one of the most developed concepts that was expanded in the Targums was 'the 'memra' (word) of the Lord.' The Targums expand the role and identity of God's 'memra' (word). At times, the Targums seem to equate or almost equate 'the 'memra' of the Lord' with God Himself.
Consider the following English translation of the Genesis 28 Hebrew scripture alongside the Targum Aramaic translation and inserted explanations. (The inserted explanations within the Targum are [bracketed and bold faced]).
Here is the translation of the Hebrew scripture.
'Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.''
(Genesis 28:20-21)
And here is the translation of the Aramaic Targum.
'Jacob made a vow, saying, If [the Word of] Elohim will be with me [my support], and guards me on this path that I am going, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear; And if I return in peace to my father's house, and [the Word of] Adonoy will be my God.'
(Targum Onkelos: Genesis 28:20-21)
Notice how in the Targum teaching of this passage, Jacob equates 'the Memra' (Word) of Elohim (God)' with God Himself. Jacob personifies the 'Memra' as One who will support and guard his path. Jacob later says the 'Memra' of Adonoy (the Lord) will be his God.
This expanded interpretation was widely circulated and its validity was broadly accepted across the 1st century A.D. Most Jews who spoke Aramaic as their primary language (i.e. Jews who lived in or near Judea and Galilee) during that time would have heard or read this teaching about the 'Memra' of the Lord being Jacob's God. They would have encountered many other teachings from the Targum that said similar things attributing divine aspects to the Word of God or seeming to equate the 'Memra' with God.
Another example is from the Targum Onkelos translation and teaching of Genesis 3:8. It says that after their disobedience, Adam and Eve hid themselves from the 'Memra' of the Lord as the 'Memra' walked in the garden.
'They (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of [the Word of] Adonoy Elohim (the Lord God) moving in the Garden at the breeze [in the evening] of the day. The man and his wife hid themselves from [the Presence of] Adonoy Elohim (the Lord God) among the trees of the Garden.'
(Targum Onkelos: Genesis 3:8)
Here the Targum teaches that Adam and Eve literally hid from the Word of God, and it describes the Word of God as 'the Presence of the Lord.' This aligns with not only John's teaching that the Word was with God and the Word was God, it also describes who Jesus is and was as God with us (Matthew 1:23) and Who is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15a).
Therefore, because of the broad use of the Targums and the general acceptance of their teachings about the 'Memra' among the first century Jews, John's equating the Logos to God may not have been as radical to Jewish ears as previously suspected.
It seems that John was building off Jews' existing understanding about the 'Memra' when he wrote: and the Logos was God. In other words, John was writing within the widely accepted Memra'tradition of the Jewish Targums.
How 1st century Greeks might have understood the final phrase of John 1:1
John's claim'and the Word was God'would have signaled to the Greeks that the Logos was not only the Arch' Principle of beginnings, and the Logos was not merely a manifestation of divine reason or rational intermediary between the worlds of Being and Becoming, but the Logos was, in essence, God.
The Logos was not merely a principle, but a Person. The Logos was not only the means by which the cosmos was formed and organized; the Logos was the personal Creator of all things.
And the Word was God would likely have been a novel development within Greek philosophy. But even though it was new, it would not necessarily have been shocking to the Greeks.
The Greeks had long associated the Logos with the divine.
'The Logos is eternal and remains constant''
(Heraclitus. Fragment 2)
'the world has been framed in the likeness of that which is apprehended by reason [Logos] and mind''
(Plato. Timaeus. 29)
"The first principle and cause of everything is the divine intellect, which moves and orders all things in accordance with its own contemplation."
(Aristotle. Metaphysics. XII.9)
Plato describes the mind (which has the capacity to see logos) as the chariot driver of the human soul drawing it up toward the world of Being from the world of Becoming (Plato. Phaedrus. 246a'254e).
When Aristotle describes intellectual virtues, he describes the soul as having logos which enables it to make sense of both the material world and deliberate about ideas (Nicomachean Ethics. VI.1-2)
Building from the Greek's previously held notions, John's statement'and the Logos was God'was a gradual and logically compatible development of thought. Perhaps the primary new thought which Greeks would have to accept is the notion that there is a true God that makes the false gods of Greek mythology obsolete. Paul made this point during his sermon in Athens (17:23-24).
And John himself seems to follow this development with his Greek readers through each of the three phrases of John 1:1,
Aristotle's concept of the Prime Mover as the ultimate cause of motion and existence in the universe aligns with the phrase and the Word was God. The Prime Mover, according to Aristotle, is the eternal unchanging source of all that is and comes into being. In Aristotelian terms, the Logos was the Prime Mover. Just as Aristotle's Prime Mover is pure actuality, existing beyond time and change, the Logos in John's gospel is eternal, pre-existing all things, and is fully identified as God'the ultimate source of life and being.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The opening statement of John's prologue was designed to resonate with both his Jewish and Greek audiences. And it still resonates with his readers today. All three phrases of John's opening statement establish the tone for the prologue and the entire Gospel which presents Jesus as both human and God. In many respects, much of the prologue is an explanation or a commentary on the immensely rich and profound words of John 1:1.
90:T4059,There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:2-3.
John continues to describe Jesus as God, including the fact that He was an active agent in the Creation of all that is. John began his gospel account:
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
(John 1:1)
John 1:2-3 elaborates the core truths of John 1:1,
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (vv 2-3).
John continues: He was in the beginning with God (v 2).
The pronoun'He'refers to 'the Word' (the 'Logos') from John 1:1.
The beginning refers to the beginning of the world, when God created the heavens and the earth, 'In the beginning' (Genesis 1:1)
John's statement, He was in the beginning with God reaffirms and combines the core truths of the first and second phrases of John 1:1,
The first part of John 1:2'He was in the beginning'reinforces that He (Jesus/the Word) is eternal. The phrase mirrors: 'In th
John 1:2
There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:2-3.
John continues to describe Jesus as God, including the fact that He was an active agent in the Creation of all that is. John began his gospel account:
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
(John 1:1)
John 1:2-3 elaborates the core truths of John 1:1,
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (vv 2-3).
John continues: He was in the beginning with God (v 2).
The pronoun'He'refers to 'the Word' (the 'Logos') from John 1:1.
The beginning refers to the beginning of the world, when God created the heavens and the earth, 'In the beginning' (Genesis 1:1)
John's statement, He was in the beginning with God reaffirms and combines the core truths of the first and second phrases of John 1:1,
The first part of John 1:2'He was in the beginning'reinforces that He (Jesus/the Word) is eternal. The phrase mirrors: 'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1a). Within the first two verses of his gospel account, John asserts in two different ways the essential truth that the Word is eternal and existed before the beginning of the world.
John's restatement and rephrasing of this simple but profound truth emphasizes its significance and helps ensure that this important fact is not overlooked.
John's statement He was in the beginning echoes Genesis 1:1, which says: 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' Genesis 1:1 describes the action which God did in the beginning'create 'the heavens and the earth.' John 1:1 and 1:2 describe God's eternal existence'He was in the beginning.
The second core truth John 1:2 readdresses is that He (Jesus/the Word) is divine and co-equal with God.
The clause at the end of John 1:2'He was in the beginning with God'reinforces the core truth of the middle statement of John 1:1''and the Word was with God.'
The statement He was in the beginning with God emphasizes that He (Jesus/the Word) was both distinct from and on the same level with God.
The book of Hebrews more explicitly makes the point that Jesus was equal with God. It claims that Jesus is 'the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature' (Hebrews 1:3a).
Colossians describes Jesus as 'the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation' (Colossians 1:15).
'The firstborn of all creation' means He is the ruler over all that is. As God, He was already the ruler of all when He came to earth as a human. He set aside His divinity to put on human flesh that He might redeem us from our sin (Philippians 2:5-9). As a result of His obedience, He was given all authority as a human (Matthew 28:18). Thus, Jesus now has the authority of God as God and as a human. So He is the Creator of all things as well as a part of the creation. As the 'firstborn' of all creation, He reigns over all.
From a Greek perspective, (as explained in the Bible Says commentary for John 1:1) the thought that 'the Logos' (the Greek term for 'Word') was with God aligned with their philosophers' idea that the Logos was the founding principle that established the order of creation. When the creation of the world took place in the beginning, He (the Logos/Word) was already with God.
From both a Jewish and Greek perspective, the idea that He (Jesus/the Word) was with God point to His divine and eternal nature.
John emphasized the Word's eternality to demonstrate that He (Jesus/the Word) was not created. He is coequal with God. And indeed, Jesus is God (John 1:1c).
John 1:1-2 introduce the Word as the eternal God. The next thing John tells his readers is what He (Jesus/the Word) has done. Instead of being created, Jesus/the Word was God, the Creator. This will be the third core truth of John 1:1 that John restates.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (v 3).
After strongly alluding to the Word's role in creation during John's Genesis'like opening: 'In the beginning was the Word'' (John 1:1a), the author of this gospel now explicitly and emphatically asserts that He (Jesus/the Word) created all things.
John states the same truth as Genesis 1. But John 1 and Genesis 1 are phrased differently. Genesis phrases this claim with God as the subject and creation as the direct object:
'God created the heavens and the earth.'
(Genesis 1:1)
Instead, John phrases this truth with creation as the subject and God as the direct object:
All things came into being through Him (v 3a)
In other words, having introduced the Word as the eternal God in John 1:1-2, John now works from creation and explains how all things have their origin through the Word.
The construction of Genesis 1:1 flows from cause to effect: Creator God to creation. The construction of John 1:3 runs in the opposite direction and completes the logical circuit, from effect back to its cause: All things back to the Word.
The logical claims of Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3 therefore compliment and reinforce one another.
John 1:3 asserts how all things were created though the Word twice. He states this fact both positively and negatively. He states this both ways to cut off any potential misunderstanding that Jesus is God, the Creator.
First, John states this core truth positively: All things came into begin through Him.
The term all things means every individual thing that has being or existence. The phrase come into being means 'come into existence.'
The fuller expression'All things came into being through Him'not only refers to all things which presently exist, it also includes all the things which have ever existed in the past and all the things which are yet to exist in the future.
All things include all the things mentioned in the Genesis 1 account of creation:
(Genesis 1:1)
(Genesis 1:3)
(Genesis 1:9)
(Genesis 1:11-12)
(Genesis 1:14-16)
(Genesis 1:20-21)
(Genesis 1:24-25)
(Genesis 1:26-27)
All things also includes all living things and physical creatures from human beings made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27) all the way down to microbes. He (Jesus/the Word) did not just create all living things, He established life itself, for 'in Him was life' (John 1:4a).
All things also includes every physical particle and all the matter or material substance within the cosmos. And all things includes the following things about each type of matter:
All things also includes the nature of all things.
Moreover, all things includes everything within the spiritual world:
All these things (and everything else that has or will have existence) came into being through Him (Jesus/the Word). He is the Creator of all that is. This also includes boundaries of authority, and those who are given authority to reign.
Paul explains all of this to the Colossian church when he writes of Jesus:
'For by Him all things were created,'both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether'thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities'all things have been created through Him and for Him.'
(Colossians 1:16)
Additionally, after stating that Jesus is 'the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature' (Hebrews 1:3a), the author of Hebrews goes on to say that Jesus 'upholds all things by the word of His power' (Hebrews 1:3b).
John 1:3a, Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:3b all describe how Jesus is the Creator of all things.
Having described how all things came into being through Him (Jesus, the Word) with a positive truth statement, John then states this same truth with a negative truth statement by declaring that not a single thing exists outside of His agency:
And apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being (v 3b).
Positive truth claims affirm a particular truth about reality. John 1:3a declares the Word's comprehensive role in creation: He (Jesus, the Word) is the Creator of all things.
Negative truth claims are also powerful because they exclude any potential counterarguments, by eliminating false claims as untrue.
The negative assertion of John 1:3b'apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being'rules out any exception to the positive claim of John 1:3a that all things were created by Jesus.
The combination of positive and negative truth claims in John 1:3 serves to reinforce the completeness and exclusivity of the Word's creative power and the totality of this truth claim. Taken together, the positive and negative statements form a comprehensive truth claim and leave no room for ambiguity.
All things owe their existence'their very being'to Jesus. Nothing which has being and exists, exists apart from Him.
These dual statements strengthen one another and assert that He (Jesus/the Word) is the sole source of all creation, affirming His preeminence and role as the Creator of all existence.
As the Word, Jesus is the Creator of all that is. Jesus has unmatched authority over all things. This means that Jesus has authority over everything and everyone. The claims He makes carry the authority of God Himself. He is over all kingdoms and has authority over all political and religious leaders. He has authority over all people. And He has authority over you and me. The instructions and commands that He speaks (many of which are recorded in John's gospel) have absolute authority over our lives.
In these verses and throughout the prologue to his gospel (John 1:1-18), John has laid and is laying the philosophical groundwork for why his readers should take Jesus and His claims about life, death, and eternity seriously.
One additional note of interest should be included.
It concerns some striking similarities between John's account of all things being made through Him (the World/Logos) and what the Aramaic translations and commentaries of the Old Testament say about 'the 'Memra' (Word/Logos) of the Lord' and creation.
The Aramaic translations and commentaries of the Old Testament are called 'Targums.' The Targums were widely circulated and used as teaching tools in Jewish synagogues during the first century for the many ordinary Jews who were uneducated in Hebrew. (Following Judah's exile in Babylon, Aramaic was the common language of the Jews'see: The Four Languages of Jesus's Judea.)
Consequently, the Targums would have likely been the primary scriptural source that John, an 'uneducated' (Acts 4:13) Galilean fisherman, would have been taught as he learned the Old Testament scriptures.
The Aramaic translations and commentaries of the Old Testament (the Targums) appear to give agency and personality to 'the 'Memra' (Word/Logos) of the Lord.' And specifically to John 1:3, the Targums credit 'the Memra of the Lord' as the Creator,
'From the beginning, with wisdom, the Memra of the LORD created and perfected the heavens and the earth.'
(Targum Neofiti. Genesis 1:1)
'The dwelling of God who, from the beginning, through His Memra, created the world''
(Targum Onkelos. Deuteronomy 33:27a)
John's claim about the Logos and the creation, All things came into being through the Logos, mirrors what the Targums say about all things being made through the Memra:
'I am the LORD who made all things; I stretched out the heavens through My Memra...'
(Targum Jonathan. Isaiah 44:24)
'I through My Memra made the earth, and created man upon it''
(Targum Jonathan. Isaiah 45:12)
'I through My Memra, made the earth, the men and the beasts on the face of the earth''
(Targum Jonathan. Jeremiah 27:5)
Briefly returning to John 1:2 on this topic, we see that He (the Word) was in the beginning with God aligns with the idea that ''the Memra of the LORD' was eternally with God''as the Targums taught. One example from the Targums that suggest that the Memra was with God is from a targum of Psalm 110:
'The LORD said to His Memra, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.''
(Targum Jonathan. Psalm 110:1)
To learn more about the similarities of the Memra and the Logos, see The Bible Says article: 'How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
91:T9a72,There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:4.
John continues His prologue (John 1:1-18) describing the Word (John 1:1).
John 1:1-2 described the Word (Jesus's) divine and eternal nature (John 1:1-2). John 1:3 explicitly described the Word's author
John 1:4
There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:4.
John continues His prologue (John 1:1-18) describing the Word (John 1:1).
John 1:1-2 described the Word (Jesus's) divine and eternal nature (John 1:1-2). John 1:3 explicitly described the Word's authority as the Creator of all things (John 1:3).
Now, John 1:4 describes the Word as the author and source of life and the Light of men.
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men (v 4).
There are two connected statements in this verse.
These two statements are conjoined by the word'and.
There are many things to say regarding both of these related statements'but one of the most significant is that in the Jewish culture, the expression: the Light of men, would be understood as 'the World's Messiah''see below: The Light of Men as a Description of the Messiah.
'IN HIM WAS LIFE''
The first statement of John 1:4 is In Him was life.
Him refers to the Word (God/Jesus). Thus, the statement'In Him was life'expresses that the eternal Word (John 1:1-2) who made all things (John 1:3) was and is the source of life.
Zō'
The Greek term that is translated as life is: ζωή (G2222'pronounced: 'zō'').
The term zō' typically describes spiritual or eternal life. Zō' is often a contrast to the Greek word 'bios,' which refers specifically to biological or earthly life. Zō' embodies a higher, divine quality of life that is everlasting and directly connected to God's nature. However, in its broadest sense, zō' can encompass both biological life and spiritual life.
Every New Testament author uses the term, zō', and it is found in every book of the New Testament, except for 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and the short epistles of Philemon, and 2 and 3 John.
No author uses zō' more than John. And the Gospel of John employs zō' twice as much as any other New Testament book. Zō' is a core theme of his gospel account.
John declares the reason he wrote his gospel. It was:
'written so that you (the reader) may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life [zō'] in His name.'
(John 20:31)
John's statement in verse 4a'In Him was life'contains the first of the gospel's thirty-six instances of zō'.
And in the context of John 1:4, zō' appears to refer to life both ways. That is, John is intending zō' in verse 4a to be understood in both its fullest sense and its specific sense. Because John likely intended both senses of zō' (biological life and spiritual life) in this statement, we will discuss the implications for both senses of zō' as they pertain to John 1:4a.
We will first consider the meaning of'In Him was life'with zō''s broader sense (biological and spiritual) before we consider the meaning of this statement with zō''s more specific sense, often referred to as 'eternal life.'
Broader Sense of Zō'
In its broadest sense, zō' is used in verse 4a to encompass the totality of life (biological and spiritual). It is in this broader sense that the English word 'zoology' is a derivative of the Greek word zō'. It is also in this sense that the statement'In Him was life'accurately describes how the life of all living things comes from God/the Logos.
The Word is the source of all life for all living things. He is the source of all biological life. And He is the source of all spiritual life.
As the Creator of the world, Jesus (the Word) is the source of all biological life''Bios'
This includes all microbial, all botanical, and all animal life. It also includes the temporal human life within our physical bodies.
The apostle Paul proclaimed as much to the Athenians on Mars Hill that Jesus, 'Himself gives to all people life [zō'] and breath and all things' (Acts 17:25b). Paul went on to explain that 'in Him we live and move and exist [i.e. have our being]' (Acts 17:28a). Every aspect of our physical existence is sustained by Christ, who is the source of all life.
As the Creator of the world, Jesus is the source of all living things'which includes spiritual beings: the life of all the angelic beings (unfallen and fallen) in the heavenly places.
This broader understanding of zō' fits the context of John 1:1-4 as the author describes:
John's sequencing of how all things came into being through Him (John 1:3), then how life was in Him (John 1:4a), then that moral truth is found in the Light of men (John 1:4b) succinctly articulates the Biblical worldview of Creation.
The biblical account of Creation claims that the Logos created matter and established life and moral purpose. It is opposed to Materialism which claims that matter created mind and made up meaning.
For a fuller comparison of these two worldviews and their implications for life, see The Bible Says article: 'Why Should I Have Faith that God Created the Universe?'
Zō' as Eternal Life
The particular sense of zō' also fits the context of John 1:4. In fact, the second statement of John 1:4'and the life was the Light of men'demands that we understand zō' in this specific sense as referring to what is often called 'eternal life.'
In its particular sense, zō' is used in verse 4a to declare that the Word is the source of eternal life. Zō' in its precise sense depicts a quality or kind of life that is abundant, eternal, and intimately tied to a relationship with God.
In Him was life describes the abundant quality of eternal life that Jesus as the Word (God) and the Light (Messiah) came to offer to the world and give to all who believe in Him'the Gift of Eternal Life (zō')'and grant to all who follow Him'the Prize of Eternal Life (zō').
Jesus defined the eternal zō' that was in Him this way:
'This is eternal life [zō'], that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.'
(John 17:3)
John's statement'In Him was life'prefaces many things that Jesus will declare of Himself and about life in John's gospel.
The most similar statement to In Him was life is John 5:26:
'For just as the Father has life [zō'] in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life [zō'] in Himself.'
(John 5:26)
Moreover, Jesus declared Himself to be Zō' when He states:
'I am the bread of life [zō'].'
(John 6:35, 48)
'I am the resurrection and the life [zō'].'
(John 11:25)
'I am the way, the truth, and the life [zō'].'
(John 14:6)
These so-called 'I am' statements recall God's self-description to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asked the LORD what he was to tell the Israelites when they asked for the name of the God who sent him, the LORD told Moses that His name was:
'I AM WHO I AM.'
(Exodus 3:14)
Among other things, the LORD's self-description means God is pure and absolute Being. God is Existence, Himself. God is Reality, Himself. God is Life, Himself.
God's self-declaration in Exodus 3:14 reveals that His nature is self-existent, independent, and the very foundation of all existence and zō'. John's description of the Word as the source of life in verse 4 declares a similar understanding. It declares that Jesus shares the divine attribute of being the source and sustainer of all life.
John's statement'In Him was life'also sets the stage for Jesus's proclamation later in this gospel that He came to freely offer zō' to the world,
'I came that they may have life [zō'], and have it abundantly.'
(John 10:10b)
The eternal zō' that Jesus offers is freely given to all who believe in Him (John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 11:25). When people believe in Jesus as God and their Messiah, they receive the Gift of Eternal Life (zō'). Once again, John's gospel was explicitly 'written so that you [readers] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life [zō'] in His name' (John 20:31).
John's statement'In Him was life'is extended in Revelation. The risen Christ reveals Himself to John as: 'the living One'[who is] alive forevermore, and [who has] the keys of death and of Hades' (Revelation 1:18).
Christ's self-description as 'the living One' (Revelation 1:18) amplifies His identity as the eternal source of all existence. His declaration as the One who holds 'the keys to death and Hades' demonstrates how the life in Him extends to the utmost, to the extent that He has absolute authority over life and death. The risen Lord's claim further reveals His identity as the eternal source of all existence.
John 1:4 reveals that Jesus possesses life within Himself and He has the power to create life. Revelation 1:18 reveals He also has the power to grant eternal life and conquer death itself. Jesus is the source of life who reigns victoriously over death, and He gives eternal life to all who believe in Him.
Zō' as a Restoration of what was Lost
In many respects the zō' which was in Him and which the Logos came to give was a restoration and enhancement of the zō' that God gave to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Humans are not like the other animals. Human beings are not merely physical creatures. God is Spirit (John 4:24) and men and women are spiritual creatures made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). When God formed man from the dust of the ground, He breathed the breath (spirit) of life in him. When God breathed the spirit of life into man, Adam became a living being (literally a soul) (Genesis 2:7).
Interestingly, the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, uses the word zō' in Genesis 2:7, when it says that He breathed 'the breath of zō' in him.'
The unique and personal way in which God gave zō' to man indicates that it was a different quality of life, distinct from that of all other earthly creatures. God is Spirit (John 4:24). And when God breathed the breath (literally spirit) of life in the man's nostrils, He breathed something of Himself'a spiritual zō''into the dust and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7).
Thus, the life which was in Him was breathed into humanity. Human beings are not physical creatures only. Men and women are also spiritual creatures made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Humans are spirit and flesh.
God endowed the man with authority over the earth, to collaborate with Him in its cultivation and development (Genesis 1:28-30, 2:15, 2:20). Human life and purpose are intertwined with our relationship with God.
But God warned Adam, 'in the day that you eat from it [the forbidden tree] you will surely die' (Genesis 2:17).
When the man and woman disobeyed God's command, they suffered the consequences and penalty of their transgression. The penalty was loss of life. The penalty was death. Death did not primarily mean their physical annihilation (even though their bodies would eventually die and return to dust'Genesis 3:19b).
Death is separation. Physical death occurs when our spirit separates from our body. The penalty of death for their disobedience was primarily separation from God and the life they were created to enjoy in Him. The zō' they had in their relationship with God was taken from them'and with it their true purpose, sense of meaning, and lasting happiness was also lost and gone.
However, many other separations ensued on the day they disobeyed. God separated them from the Garden (Genesis 3:23-24). Adam was separated from reality, rationalizing his own guilt and blaming others (Genesis 3:13). Adam and Eve were separated from innocence (Genesis 3:7). Both Adam and Eve were separated from their natural connections through the curse of the ground and of relationships (Genesis 3:16-18).
But all hope was not lost. For even before the LORD had the man and woman removed from the Garden, He spoke of the woman's offspring that would contend with and defeat the tempter who had lead God's image bearers astray (Genesis 3:15).
God Himself, the eternal Logos who was in the beginning and created all things (John 1:1-3), would be the fulfillment of this prophecy when He became flesh (John 1:14) and obeyed God to His final breath (John 19:30).
And the good news for humanity is that God did more than just defeat Satan. He also provided a way for us to repossess the life which we can only have in Him. Jesus has prepared the way for each person to be restored to their original design to reign together in harmony with God, nature, and one another in stewarding the earth (Hebrews 2:5-10, Revelation 3:21).
First, God gave the children of Israel the Law to lead them in a manner that restored them to living in harmony with God and with one another.
The Law was the word of the LORD. The Law was God's commandments for life. It was the expression of His will for how people were to live and treat one another. By loving God and loving one another they would restore God's design and bring life to their communities.
In his final instructions to Israel, Moses urged his people to:
'Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command'your sons to observe carefully,'even all the words of this law.'
(Deuteronomy 32:46)
Moses then shared something most profound about the Law and its words,
'For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.'
(Deuteronomy 32:47a)
(The Septuagint uses the Greek word zō' for life in this verse). Following the words of God's Law is literally: 'your zō'.' The word of God's Law is not idle. It is spiritual instruction for our spiritual nature. God's Law reveals how we as spiritual beings can have spiritual life in Him:
'Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the'LORD.'
(Deuteronomy 8:3b)
If men were only physical creatures and not endowed with the spirit ('breath of zō'' Genesis 2:7), then perhaps we would live by bread alone. But as spiritual creatures we are to live by every word which God speaks. Our spiritual lives are physically manifested by our decisions, our choices.
When Moses presented the Law to Israel, he gave them a choice between zō' and death (Deuteronomy 30:15). He urged them to choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). A key way in which humans are created in God's image is that He gave us the volition to make choices.
Israel continued to choose death. Rather than choosing to love their neighbors and live in harmony with one another they chose to follow the pagan culture of exploiting others. The Law, clear though it was (Deuteronomy 30:11) has never been entirely obeyed by a single person other than Jesus. Everyone continued to sin and fall short of it (Romans 3:23) and the consequences of it continued to be death'separation from God.
Thus, the words of God's life'giving Law remained an unrealized objective and the lost zō' which God breathed into the man was not restored through the Law. As Paul stated, Israel sought righteousness through the Law but was unable to find it through that means (Romans 9:31). The way to righteousness is through faith (Romans 9:30).
The second way in which God provided for us to repossess the life which we can only have in Him was through faith in Jesus.
Jesus is the Word made flesh. As the Logos, Jesus is the embodiment of God's Word in human form (John 1:14). He came to perfectly fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). His fulfillment is His righteousness. And Jesus grants His righteousness and the spiritual zō' that comes with it to all who believe in Him (John 3:16).
Christ's example of humble faith and dependence upon His Father provides a tangible picture for us to emulate in our own trials. If we adopt His mindset and pattern our choices after Him (Philippians 2:5-8) we too will share in His glorious triumph (Luke 9:24, Romans 8:17-18, 2 Timothy 2:12). Jesus told His disciples:
'Because I live, you will live also.'
(John 14:19b)
Jesus is 'the bread of life' (John 6:35, 48). Humans are to live by Jesus's sacrifice, His example, and His teachings just as Peter confessed of Him: 'You have the words of eternal life [zō']' (John 6:68).
John presents Jesus, the embodied Logos and fulfiller of the Law, as the One who has the same words of eternal life which Moses described to Israel when he told them that God's Law was not an idle word, but was indeed their zō'/life, Deuteronomy 32:47).
These things are also why John describes the zō'/life that was in Him as the light of men.
We will discuss this second statement of John 1:4 shortly, but first, a quick thought about how this first statement'In Him was life'would have likely been understood by a first-century Jew.
''AND THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN.'
The second statement of John 1:4'and the life was the Light of men'continues to introduce the identity of the Word (Jesus) and begins to introduce the reason He came into our world.
This statement begins to explain the role Jesus served for all humanity'the zō'/life that is in Him is the Light of all men'Jews and Gentiles. Jesus is not only the source of spiritual zō', He is also the Giver of zō' who restores humanity to their relationship with God and their eternal destiny.
It is appropriate that just as how in the Genesis account of creation the first thing God created was light (Genesis 1:3), so too the first thing John describes of the Word (after mentioning His eternal nature and role in creation) is that He is the Light of men.
As explained earlier in this commentary, the zō'/life that was in Him is essential to the spiritual healing and restoration necessary for human beings to experience if they are to become what they were divinely created and destined to be. Zō' transforms humans who are spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) into living radiant pillars of the Word's eternal light.
Humans who have the life that is in Him become more than what they currently are and what God intends for them to be. The zō' in Him elevates humans from the darkness of death (i.e. their sin, separation, and futility) into the Light of life (i.e. righteousness, harmony, eternal purpose of the Logos).
That is why His zō' is called the Light of men. It elevates, ennobles and enlightens men to be men as God designed men to be and introduces Jesus as the bearer of this life'yielding Light.
John's gospel teaches that if we believe in Jesus we will receive the Gift of Eternal Life (John 3:16). Further, if we emulate Jesus's example and follow His teachings by faith, then we can experience zō'/life in this present life (John 17:3) and receive the Prize of Eternal Life (zō') at the judgment (John 5:28-29).
Light as a Metaphor for Truth, Goodness, and Pure Holiness
Light is a prevalent metaphor throughout John's gospel account. In this verse, the Light of men is a description of Jesus and His role as the Restorer of human destiny.
In ancient and modern cultures (including those of ancient Judaism, classical Greek, and ancient Rome), light is a common metaphor or symbol for both truth and/or goodness.
Light illuminates. Light makes vision possible. Light enables those who encounter it to better see, not only the light itself, but everything else it touches.
Truth is light for the human mind. Truth illuminates reality. Truth enables those who embrace it to better understand the world around them.
Light is the dominant metaphor for truth about what is real in the famous allegory of the cave by the Greek philosopher Socrates (Plato. Republic. 7). For more on this topic, see The Bible Says article: 'How the Light of John's Prologue Illuminates Socrates's Allegory of the Cave.'
The Jewish scriptures describe God's word as a guiding light of truth:
'Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.'
(Psalm 119:105)
See also: Psalm 43:3, 119:130, Proverbs 6:23.
Light shines outward, dispelling darkness. Light brings warmth. Light brings energy, unlocks potentials, and awakens seeds to life.
Goodness is'light for the human heart. Goodness radiates beyond itself and displaces despair. Goodness brings hope. Goodness invigorates life and affection. Goodness fosters growth, perceives beauty, and blesses everything it encounters.
The Jewish scriptures describes light as God's gracious favor and as a source of salvation and goodness:
'The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.'
(Numbers 6:25-26)
See also: Psalm 4:6, 31:16, 67:1, 80:3, 7, 19.
'The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?'
(Psalm 27:1)
See also: Isaiah 60:1, Micah 7:8.
As the Light of men, the Logos/Word is the teacher of what is right and wholesome for humanity. His brilliance is 'full of grace and truth' (John 1:17). The life He offers is both good and true.
In addition to symbolizing truth and goodness, light specifically symbolizes purity and holiness in a Jewish context.
Upon returning from his meeting with God on Mount Sinai, Moses's face radiated with the light of the LORD's holiness (Exodus 34:29-30).
Proverbs 4:18 compares 'the path of the righteous' to be 'like the light of the dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.' The increasing light depicts the increasing purity and holiness of a righteous life.
Isaiah bids his readers to: 'Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD' (Isaiah 2:5). Walking in God's light symbolizes living in His holiness. (See also 1 John 1:5-9).
Habakkuk 3:3-4 describes the inapproachability of God's holy splendor and powerful brilliance as bright 'sunlight' and 'rays flashing.'
It is with truth and holiness in mind that John describes God in 1 John,
'God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.'
(1 John 1:5b)
The Light/Dark Metaphor in John's Gospel
Light is a prevalent metaphor for truth, goodness, and holiness throughout John's gospel account. Consequently, 'darkness' is a metaphor for what is false, harmful, and sinful.
John 1:4-5 introduces the metaphors'Light/Dark.
Later in John's gospel, Jesus described Himself as 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12a). And He promised that 'he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life' (John 8:12b).
Jesus's statement about those who follow Him and 'have the Light of Life' contrasts what He said of those who do evil:
'For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.'
(John 3:20)
Throughout his gospel account and even in his first epistle, John will make much use of the Light/dark metaphor for truth/falseness | good/evil | holy/sinful.
John continues with these same themes in John 1:5. But we will comment on their meaning in the next section. Before we do, there is more to say about the meaning of both the statements in John 1:4.
The Light of Men as a Description of the Messiah
From a Jewish perspective, the most direct symbolic meaning for Light is the Messiah. The Light of men describes Jesus and His divine and Messianic role as the Restorer of human destiny.
Just as 'the Logos' (Word, John 1:1) described Jesus as God, so does the Light (John 1:4) describe Him as the Messiah. Jesus is both the Logos (God) and He is the Light (Messiah).
What John claims of Jesus, the Word, in verse 4'In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men'is consistent with how the Jewish scriptures describe the Messiah.
The first of the Messiah/Light allusions is found in Numbers:
'A star shall come forth from Jacob.'
(Numbers 24:17)
The 'star' represents the Messiah as a beacon of hope and guidance for His people.
King David, praising the salvation of the LORD, wrote what could almost be described as the Old Testament parallel to John 1:4,
'For with You is the'fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.'
(Psalm 36:9)
The Messiah reveals God's Light, enabling His people to see spiritual truth and experience continual life.
The prophet Isaiah associates the Messiah with and/or as a light in multiple prophecies:
'The people who walk in darkness will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.'
(Isaiah 9:2)
Jesus is the Messiah. And His call for Israel to 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 4:17) fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy about the light shining in the darkness (Matthew 4:14, 16).
In Isaiah, the LORD tells His Servant (the Messiah) that the LORD will make Him:
'As a light to the nations.'
(Isaiah 42:6)
In the context of Isaiah 42, 'the nations' refers to the Gentiles.
The LORD also assures His Servant that His rejection by Israel will be used to redeem the world:
'I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.'
(Isaiah 49:6)
Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 predict the Messiah will be a Savior not only of Israel, but a Savior of the Gentile nations across the entire earth. The Messiah will be the redeemer for all humanity. He will not just be the Light/Messiah of Israel. As the Light of Men, Jesus is a Messiah for both Jews and Gentiles.
When John writes later in the prologue to his gospel account that Jesus is 'the true Light' whose 'coming into the world, enlightens every man' (John 1:9), he is declaring that Jesus is the true Messiah for all people and for all nations. It is possible that John had Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 in mind as he wrote about Jesus being the Light of men who 'enlightens every man' (John 1:9).
In another, more extended account, Isaiah again prophesies of the Messiah as light:
'Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.'
(Isaiah 60:1)
Isaiah here describes the Messiah as 'your light' and 'the glory of the LORD.' He continues:
'And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you,
And His glory will appear upon you.'
(Isaiah 60:2)
In verse 2, Isaiah declares how the Messiah will rise upon Israel and the world in darkness, which is similar to how John describes how the Light/Messiah 'shines in the darkness' (John 1:5a). Isaiah then describes that,
'Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.'
(Isaiah 60:3)
The 'Nations' will be drawn to the brightness of the Messiah's appearance. Even the Gentiles will see that Jesus is 'the Light of the world' (John 8:12, 9:5).
Isaiah's prophecies anticipate one of the major themes of John's gospel'that Jesus is not only a Messiah for the Jews'He is the Messiah and Savior of the world. Jesus saves anyone who receives Him as the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah) by faith (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 20:30-31).
A final example of Jewish prophecy describing the Messiah as Light comes from the last chapter of the Old Testament.
The prophet Malachi begins this chapter with a warning to Israel about the day of judgment, declaring how 'all the arrogant and every evil doer will be chaff' in a blazing furnace (Malachi 4:1). But the prophet offers hope 'for those who fear My name' in the next verse (Malachi 4:2a).
'But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.'
(Malachi 4:2)
The hope is the Messiah, 'the sun of righteousness.' This Light will rise to bring healing to all who fear the name of the LORD. They will be free from wrath and judgment as a calf goes forth skipping from its stall.
As the Messiah/Light of men, Jesus is the 'sun of righteousness' (Malachi 4:2). He is humanity's only hope of salvation from sin, judgment, and death. In Him is the only source of life. Jesus is 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life' (John 14:6). As Peter boldly proclaimed to the religious rulers of Jerusalem: 'There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).
The example and teachings of the Logos/Word (God) and the Light (Messiah) was the fulfillment of these and other Jewish prophecies. Jesus's brilliance paved the way for salvation from death into life and He demonstrated how all men and women, Jews and Gentiles, could live a complete and fulfilling life in Him.
As the Light of men, Jesus is the hope of humanity. Jesus is not only a Messiah for the Jews, but rather, 'the Light of the world' (John 8:12, 9:5) is a Messiah for all humankind.
The Memra of the LORD and Life and Light
Throughout the Jewish Targums, the Memra (Word) of the LORD is strongly associated with both life and light.
Following Judah's return from exile in Babylon (597 B.C.), the common language was Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Because of this, the Aramaic translations of the Bible were widely used in Jewish synagogues throughout Judea for teaching and explaining the Hebrew scriptures from that time and through the first century A.D. The Aramaic translations are called 'Targums.' The Aramaic translation of 'word' is 'memra.'
The Jewish Targums frequently ascribe divine attributes and personhood to the Memra/Word of the LORD. Throughout the Jewish Targums, the Memra (Word) of the LORD is strongly associated with both life and light.
1.' The Memra and Life
The Targums present the Memra as a source of life.
For instance, the creation of human life in God's image is attributed to the Memra of the Lord:
'And the Memra of the Lord created man in His own likeness; in the likeness of the Lord He created him''
(Targum Neofiti. Genesis 1:27a)
The Targums also say that the Memra of the Lord breathed life into the dust of the ground:
'And the Memra of the LORD God created man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the breath became in the body of man a living soul.'
(Targum Neofiti. Genesis 2:7)
And the Targums of Psalm 119 praise the Memra of the Lord's instruction as life'giving:
'Your Memra [Word] has given me life'
(Targum Jonathan. Psalm 119:50b)
The Targums' close affiliation of life with the Memra is comparable to John's account of the Logos'in Him was life.
2.' The Memra and Light
The Targums also present the Memra/Word as Light.
In the creation account of Genesis, the Targums give divine agency to the Memra, and it is the Memra of the LORD that is the agent of creation-including the creation of light:
'And the Memra of the LORD said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.'
(Targum Neofiti. Genesis 1:3)
In Exodus, the Targums say the Memra of the LORD guides the Israelites through the wilderness as the pillar of fire:
'And the Memra of the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light.'
(Targum Onkelos. Exodus 13.21)
The Memra of the LORD as a pillar of fire/light guiding Israel in the wilderness night is similar to John's description of the divine Logos/Word as the Light of men that shines in the darkness (John 1:5a). Exodus 13:21 does not include a Hebrew word that translates to English as 'word.' The Targum's Aramaic addition of Memra from the Hebrew likely shows the extent to which the people of that time embraced the idea of the LORD as the light of men.
John's identification of the Logos as life and the Light of men may have been drawn from the Targumic tradition that was prevalent in Judean synagogues when he learned the scriptures as a boy and young man.
For more information on these topics, see The Bible Says article: 'How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
Summary of John 1:1-4
John has introduced Jesus as the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah).
Jesus was/is:
('In the beginning'''John 1:1a, 1:2)
(''was with God'''John 1:1b, 1:2)
(''was God'''John 1:1c)
('All things came into being through Him'''John 1:3)
(In Him was life' v 4a)
(and the life was the Light of men'v 4b)
Having identified Jesus as God (Logos), Creator, and the Messiah (Light), John is now ready to describe what the Word and Light has done and is doing in the world:
'The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.'
(John 1:5)
The Light's radiant brilliance is the subject of the next section of The Bible Says commentary.
92:T69fa,There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:5.
After introducing the Word as the Messiah, 'the Light of men' (John 1:4), John now describes what the Word did for humanity'how He overcame humanity's sin and the failed attempt to extinguish Him.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (v 5).
The Light symbolizes Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is both the Logos/Word (God) and He is the Light (Messiah) who brings divine truth and revelation into a world obscured by spiritual darkness.
Light in Scripture often represents God's holiness, truth, and goodness (Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 9:2). Here, John portrays Jesus as the ultimate manifestation of that Light, shining not only to illuminate human understanding but also to expose and dispel the f
John 1:5
There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:5.
After introducing the Word as the Messiah, 'the Light of men' (John 1:4), John now describes what the Word did for humanity'how He overcame humanity's sin and the failed attempt to extinguish Him.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (v 5).
The Light symbolizes Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is both the Logos/Word (God) and He is the Light (Messiah) who brings divine truth and revelation into a world obscured by spiritual darkness.
Light in Scripture often represents God's holiness, truth, and goodness (Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 9:2). Here, John portrays Jesus as the ultimate manifestation of that Light, shining not only to illuminate human understanding but also to expose and dispel the falsehoods and sin that dominate the world. This imagery points to the Messianic nature of Jesus's mission: to reveal God's character and offer humanity the means to live in fellowship with Him.
The Bible Says commentary for John 1:4 explained how Light was a commonly used symbol in Jewish prophecy for the Messiah. (Light as a Messianic symbol and as a Divine symbol will also be more fully explained later in this commentary).
Jesus is 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12, 9:5) and 'the true Light, which'enlightens every man' (John 1:9). These descriptions describe Jesus as the true Messiah of the world. He is the Messiah of both Jews and Gentiles.
The Bible Says commentary for John 1:4 also showed that Light is a metaphor for truth, goodness, and holiness.
Jesus is also 'the Truth' (John 14:6).
Truth is what enables those with understanding of it to see reality as it is. By knowing Jesus'the Logos and the Light'we understand the world as He made it. By knowing the Truth, we can know truth about the world that He has made. By seeing His Light, we see light (Psalm 36:9b).
Goodness is found in loving and serving others and seeking their best. Jesus is 'the Good Shepherd' (John 10:10). Jesus loves us. And as 'the Light of Men' (John 1:4b), He teaches and shows us how to live:
(John 14:31)
(John 13:3-5, 15:12-13, 15:17)
These embody the two greatest commands (Matthew 22:37-39). In following these commands we are restored to our original design, and are therefore fulfilled. This then shows the practicality of the biblical paradox that we gain our life by laying it down in service to others (Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24). To be restored to our original design to live in harmony with God and others is called being 'holy' or 'righteous.'
Holiness means being set aside from what is common. God is set apart from creation by virtue of His divinity and His righteousness. As the Messiah, Jesus was set apart by God for a special mission'to redeem the world (Isaiah 49:2-3, 6). Jesus, who is also God, is pure and holy and without sin (1 John 1:5).
If light symbolizes truth, goodness, and holiness, then darkness (light's opposite), represents the opposite of truth and goodness, and holiness. The darkness represents falseness, corruption, and evil.
The darkness is a state of rebellion, where humanity lives apart from the truth of God's Word. It is living apart from our design. Rather than seek harmony with others through service, it is seeking to satisfy our desires through exploiting others. Darkness does not merely exist as the absence of Light but is actively opposed to it, resisting the life that Christ brings.
The Bible uses the imagery of darkness to signify four different themes.
1. Disorder and Emptiness
(Genesis 1:2, Jeremiah 4:23)
2. Evil and Sin
(Isaiah 5:20, John 3:19, Colossians 1:13)
3. Mourning
(Job 30:26, Lamentations 3:2, Amos 5:20)
4. Divine Wrath and Judgment
(Exodus 10:21-23, Isaiah 5:30, 8:22, 13:10, 24:21-23, 60:2, Ezekiel 32:7-8, Joel 2:1-2, 10, 2:31, 3:15, Amos 5:18, 8:9-10, Nahum 1:8, Zephaniah 1:15, Zechariah 14:6-7)
In the context of John 1, it seems that the first two of these four themes (Disorder and Emptiness; and Evil and Sin) are inferred. The third and fourth themes (Mourning and Divine Wrath) do not fit this context and are not inferred in John 1:5.
The darkness represents fallen humanity who is opposed to God. The reason humanity is referred to as the darkness, is because humanity loves sin. Humanity has chosen its own way, apart from God's (good) design. Humanity has alienated itself from God and condemned itself to death and darkness. Before Jesus came, humanity is out of fellowship with God, the Light.
When God first created humans, He intended for them to live in the blessing of His truth. He authorized them to make any decision they desired other than to seek knowledge apart from Him. God gave them the command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for their own good. If they ate from it, instead of bringing them life'it would result in their death (Genesis 2:17).
Adam and Eve ate from the tree anyway (Genesis 3:6). Consequently, they became separated from God and lost their life and their fellowship with the Light (Genesis 3:24).
Death is separation, and Adam and Eve experienced many separations in the day they ate the fruit. This includes exile from the Garden, separation from fellowship with God, and separation from truth (as Adam blamed God and Eve rather than taking responsibility for his own choice.)
Since Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden, people have lived in futility, separated from God's design and His good purpose for their lives. Apart from God, humanity lives by their own lies and wickedness. Rather than serving one another, resulting in harmony of purpose, humans exploit one another leading to abuse and violence.
Humanity is without the abundant zō''life that is in Him (John 1:4a, 10:10b). Banished in the darkness by their own sin and deceit, humanity has no way of returning to fellowship with the Light apart from God's grace.
The statement that The Light shines in the darkness represents Jesus's Messianic mission to redeem the world from the hopelessness of its deception, sin, and death. The Light of men restores truth and goodness and holiness'life'to humanity.
Only God can restore what was lost. Only His Light/the Messiah can dispel the darkness and rescue us from our sin. Only His Light/the Messiah can illuminate our path and restore us to the good life which He created us to enjoy with Him.
That is why Jesus is called 'the Light of men' (John 1:4b) and 'the Light of the Word' (John 8:12, 9:5). As the Messiah of the world, Jesus came to restore every person (John 1:9) from darkness into His light (Colossian 1:12-13).
The statement of John 1:5'The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it'is a summation of John's narrative of the overcoming life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When Jesus, the Logos (Maker)and the Light (Messiah) came to humanity, the very people He came to rescue from darkness rejected Him (John 1:11). They preferred the wickedness of the dark, rather than the healing truth of the Light (John 3:19-20). They crucified Him (John 19:15-16).
But the darkness failed to extinguish, overcome, and comprehend the Light. Three days after the darkness killed the Light of men, Jesus came back to life (John 20:1-18).
In a broader sense, John's expression'the Light shines in the darkness 'not only describes Jesus's Messianic mission to earth, it also describes the heart of the larger Cosmic Conflict between God and Satan.
The Cosmic Conflict began when the powerful archangel, Lucifer, rebelled against God. (Ironically, the name Lucifer means 'light bearer'). He was cast out of heaven into darkness. Lucifer's stripped authority was to be given to humans who are considerably weaker than the angels (Hebrews 2:6-7, 2 Peter 2:11). Humans are a new type of creature, who follow and obey God by faith as they co-rule creation in harmony with Him.
Psalm 8 describes God's role for humanity in the Cosmic Conflict.
In this broader sense, John's expression'the darkness did not comprehend it'looks to the future and God's ultimate triumph over Satan in the Cosmic Conflict.
The imagery of John 1:5 is rooted in Jewish scriptures, as this commentary explains below. But it also may have been influenced by Greek philosophy. It is believed that John wrote his gospel account after decades of serving and living in Ephesus among the Greeks. While John was there, he plausibly encountered Greek philosophers'successors of Plato'and possibly read Plato's famous dialogue 'The Republic.' This dialogue, written 400 years before the Gospel of John, contains one of the most memorable and influential allegories in the history of literature'Socrates's, 'Allegory of the Cave.'
The 'Allegory of the Cave' uses Light and darkness imagery much like John does throughout his gospel account of the life of Jesus. Using this imagery, both narratives describe the story of someone trying to rescue men from the darkness, who resist the Light.
To learn more about how the Allegory of the Cave may be related to John's prologue, see The Bible Says article: 'How the Light of John's Prologue Illuminates Socrates's Allegory of the Cave.'
THE LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS'
The Greek verb that is translated as shines is φαίνει'pronounced 'phai-nei' (G5316). It is in the present tense. Present tense verbs in Greek employ what is called continuous aspect which describe the ongoing or continual nature of the action. How long the action continues to occur is determined by the context.
The context of John 1:5 assigns no limits to this action. The context infers the Light continually and constantly shines forever. A more descriptive translation of John 1:5 would be: The Light forever shines in the darkness'or'The Light is eternally shining in the darkness.
Jesus the Messiah's illumination is ongoing and active. His mission transcends time; it was not only for those living during His earthly ministry. His illumination also had the power to put off judgment of sins of the generations who trusted in God before He came (Romans 3:25), and it has the power to save the generations who came after His death and resurrection (John 17:18-21).
Even after His earthly ministry was finished, the Light continues to shine through His teachings, His example of obedience and faith, and most importantly through His death and resurrection, and His Spirit. His Light also continues to shine through the lives of His followers, whom He also called 'the light of the world' (Matthew 5:14). The present tense of shines conveys hope and assurance. No matter how pervasive the darkness seems, the Light is unrelenting and ever-present.
The Light as the Law of God
In the Old Testament, Light is used to describe God's Law that illuminates reality, instructing us how to live.
'Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.'
(Psalm 119:105)
'The unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.'
(Psalm 119:130)
The Old Testament also describes both the LORD and the Messiah as'Light and with light imagery.
First'century Jews who read John's gospel would have seen numerous allusions to their scriptures in John 1:5. And they likely would have interpreted the expression'The Light shines in the darkness'as an overt claim that Jesus was the LORD God and/or the Messiah of Israel.
The Light as the LORD, God
Here are two examples of many Old Testament scriptures that explicitly describe the LORD in terms of light.
The first example is found in a psalm of David which is recorded in 2 Samuel,
'For You are my lamp, O LORD;
And the LORD illumines my darkness.'
(2 Samuel 22:29)
A parallel version of this psalm is Psalm 18. (Psalm 18:28 is the parallel of 2 Samuel 22:29). David explicitly refers to the LORD as 'my lamp.' A lamp is light that makes things visible in the darkness. David praises God for doing this when he confesses, 'And the LORD illumines my darkness.'
2 Samuel 22:29 and Psalm 18:28 are similar to John 1:5a.
John reveals Jesus as the divine and Messianic Light that pierces through spiritual darkness, bringing life and truth to humanity. Similarly, King David depicts the LORD God as a personal source of light and guidance through his darkness during his time of need. Both verses emphasize the transformative power of God's light to overcome darkness, with John pointing to Jesus as the embodiment of this divine illumination and 2 Samuel celebrating the LORD as a steadfast light in times of trouble.
A second example from the Old Testament that describes the LORD God in terms of light can be found in the prophecies of Micah,
'Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.'
(Micah 7:8b)
The prophet dwells in darkness. And in the context of this prophecy, darkness refers to the corruption, deceit, and evil, even the betrayal of neighbors and family members that is rife in Israel (Micah 7:1-6). Micah is speaking of a spiritual darkness. But even though Micah dwells in darkness, he knows and trusts that 'the LORD is a light for me' (Micah 7:8b) and that the LORD will bring salvation from the corruption encompassing him (Micah 7:7).
Shining in the darkness is precisely what John says the divine Logos/Word does in John 1:4-5a.
Some other scriptures from the Old Testament that depict or describe the LORD God as Light include Exodus 13:21, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 36:9, 44:3, Isaiah 60:1-3, 60:19-20, and Daniel 2:22.
The Logos was God (John 1:1). And John's description of the Logos as divine Light shining in the darkness was a clear allusion to these Jewish scriptures (and others) which describe the LORD with Light imagery.
The Light as the Messiah
Jesus was not only the Logos (God) He is also the Messiah, the 'Light of men' (John 1:4b) who shines in the darkness and brings life.
The Jewish scriptures not only speak of the LORD God in terms of Light, they also regularly describe the Messiah as Light.
Perhaps the first Messianic prophecy associated with light was from the prophet Balaam:
'I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel''
(Numbers 24:17)
The 'star' and the 'scepter' refer to the Messiah of Israel who will be a descendant of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). The scepter symbolizes the Messiah's authority and dominance. The star symbolizes the Messiah's brilliance, guidance, and divine nature. A star shines light and hope in the darkness of the night.
John introduces Jesus, the Messiah, as the Light of Men who shines in the darkness.
When John wrote The Light shines in the darkness he seems to have multiple Messianic prophecies from Isaiah in mind:
'The people who walk in darkness will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.'
(Isaiah 9:2)
Matthew explicitly references this prophecy from Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-2) when he introduces the ministry of Jesus as beginning in Galilee (Matthew 4:15-17).
The Servant Songs of Isaiah also describe the LORD's Servant'the Messiah'as an appointed 'light to the nations' (Isaiah 42:6b, 49:6b). The expression 'light to the nations' means 'light to the Gentiles' which is notably similar to John's description of Jesus'the Messiah'as 'the Light of men' (John 1:4b) and Jesus's self-identification as 'the Light of the world' (John 8:12, 9:5).
Isaiah 60, which speaks of the LORD bringing light to darkness, can mutually be interpreted to be seen as Messianic.
'Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the LORD will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.'
(Isaiah 60:1-3)
The darkness in Isaiah 9:2 and 60:1-3 symbolizes the same things as it does in John 1:5. It is a spiritual darkness signifying:
Later in this prophecy, Isaiah twice proclaims to Israel: 'you will have the LORD for an everlasting light' (Isaiah 60:19-20). God and the Messiah will be an everlasting presence of goodness and truth.
Isaiah's description of God/the Messiah as 'everlasting light' is captured in the present/continuous tense of the Greek verb which is translated as shines in John 1:5. The Light who continually shines in the darkness is an 'everlasting light' (Isaiah 60:19-20).
Multiple psalms also describe and associate the future Messiah in terms of light and/or bringing light.
Psalm 118 which is among the group of psalms known as 'the Hallel' (praise) and is sung by the Jews at Passover praises the LORD for giving light and calls for the Passover Lamb to be tied to the altar (Psalm 118:27). Jesus, the Messiah, is both the Light and the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:18).
Psalm 132 sings of the LORD's promise to David, that he will have a descendant on the throne forever. This descendant is the Messiah.
'There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.'
(Psalm 132:17)
Jesus is the LORD's anointed (Messiah) whom the LORD has prepared a lamp.
Some other verses in the Psalms that possibly associate the Messiah with light include: Psalm 43:3, 112:4.
Malachi 4:2 also speaks of the Messiah as 'the sun of righteousness' whose rising brings healing to those who fear the name of the LORD.
Jesus is both the Maker of the World (Logos) (John 1:1c) and He is the Messiah of the world (the Light) (John 1:4-5, 9, 29). As the Light, Jesus is true and good (John 1:17b), and He is holy (1 John 1:5-7).
Just as light dispels darkness, so too does Jesus dispel lies, sin, and evil. In coming to earth, which had fallen to sin and corruption, Jesus shines in the dark and restores humanity and all creation back into harmony with God and His righteousness, and the darkness did not encompass the Light.
'AND THE DARKNESS DID NOT COMPREHEND IT.
The first half of John 1:5 rejoices in what the Light did and is still doing: The Light shines in the darkness. The second half of the John 1:5 rejoices in what the darkness failed to do: and the darkness did not comprehend the Messiah.
The darkness resists the Light, but fails to defeat the Light. And John's expression'but the darkness did not comprehend it'presages the tension between belief and unbelief that permeates his gospel.
The Greek term translated as comprehend is an interesting word with multiple meanings. It is a form of the Greek word καταλαμβάνω (G2638'pronounced: 'kata-lam-ba'nō'). It is a compound word that is made up from the Greek words:
The most basic meaning of katalambanō is 'to lay hold of,' 'obtain,' or 'appropriate.' It may be a combat or wrestling term. But depending on its context, kata-lam-ba'nō has two primary usages.
In the context of John 1:5, both uses of katalambanō are valid. This layered interpretation appears to be intentional. The darkness failed to overcome and comprehend the Light/Messiah. The Bible Says commentary will consider both usages.
The darkness did not seize or overpower the Light.
The darkness did not blot out the Light or prevent it from shining. A more descriptive translation of John 1:5b might be The darkness did not extinguish the Light. The Light/Messiah was not stopped or defeated by the darkness.
The darkness failed to overpower and/or defeat Jesus (the Light).
Jesus trusted and obeyed His Father through all of this darkness. Jesus never stopped loving others through the slander, humiliation, and pain. Jesus was faithful unto death. And God raised Him from the dead. The brilliance of His victory over sin and death, and His teachings to always love continue to shine in the darkness, and the darkness has still not overcome the Light/the Messiah.
The Light/the Messiah defeated and continues to defeat the darkness.
The darkness did not understand or comprehend the Light.
The phrase'did not comprehend it'reflects humanity's struggle to recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah. Despite the clarity of Jesus's teachings and miracles, many rejected Him.
'He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.'
(John 1:11)
People rejected Jesus because their hearts were hardened and their minds darkened by sin. Jesus later elaborates this to Nicodemus, when He explained that people loved darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19-20). This rejection reveals the profound condition of spiritual blindness of humanity and our desperate need for His Light to shine upon our hearts and minds.
The darkness neither understands nor overpowers the Light. The Light is not displaced by darkness. But the Light both dispels and comprehends the darkness. God 'knows what dwells in the darkness'[because] the light dwells with Him' (Daniel 2:22).
And God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth in order to rescue us from the domain of darkness and to transfer us to the kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:13):
'Who is among you that fears the'Lord,
That obeys the voice of His'servant,
That'walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.'
(Isaiah 50:10)
As many of those who trust and receive Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (John 1:12).
If we believe in Jesus as the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah), His light will dispel our darkness and restore us into fellowship with God as a member of His eternal family (John 1:12-13). Shortly before He was crucified, Jesus told a crowd of Jews that the Light would only be among them for a little while longer (this signified His death, and/or ascension into heaven) (John 12:35). He said:
'While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.'
(John 12:36)
The Light continues to shine in the darkness, and the darkness has yet to (and never will) comprehend it. The Light continues to shine through the scriptures, His Spirit, and the testimony of other believers.
May we believe in the Light so that we may become a son or daughter of Light (John 12:36). And may we all walk in the Light as He is in the Light so that our joy may be complete (1 John 1:4, 7).
93:T694b,John 1:6-9 has no apparent parallel gospel account.
In John 1:6-9, John narrows his focus to a concrete and pivotal moment in human history, introducing the one sent by God to prepare the way for the Light's arrival into the world He made.
The opening verses of the prologue to John's gospel account soar with lofty themes of the divine Logos and His creation of all things, and the cosmic conflict between His eternal Light an
John 1:6
John 1:6-9 has no apparent parallel gospel account.
In John 1:6-9, John narrows his focus to a concrete and pivotal moment in human history, introducing the one sent by God to prepare the way for the Light's arrival into the world He made.
The opening verses of the prologue to John's gospel account soar with lofty themes of the divine Logos and His creation of all things, and the cosmic conflict between His eternal Light and the darkness (John 1:1-5). John introduced Jesus as the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah). Now he introduces John the Baptizer, who announces Jesus's arrival.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John (v 6).
The man whose name was John is not the author of this gospel and Jesus's disciple; but rather, he is Jesus's cousin: John the Baptizer.
This verse contains three thoughts:
The Bible Says will begin its commentary of verse 6 with its third idea.
The third thought of verse 6 is the expression, whose name was John.
The man whose name was John refers to John the Baptizer. (Again, this John does not refer to the author of this gospel who was one of Jesus's twelve disciples and also named 'John.')
John the Baptizer was Jesus's cousin. His father was Zacharias, the priest, and his mother was Elizabeth, the relative of Mary, mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John was miraculously born to his parents when they were both extremely old and beyond the age when couples are able to conceive a child without God's power.
Gabriel the angel told Zacharias while he was serving in the temple that he and his wife would have a son (Luke 1:7-13). Zacharias's son was to be the prophesied forerunner who prepared the way for the Messiah (Luke 1:14-17). When Zacharias heard this, he doubted and was struck mute until the prophecy was fulfilled and his son was eight days old (Luke 1:18-20).
As will soon be explained, John was the Messianic forerunner who was foretold by the prophets (Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 4:5-6).
There came a man'
The first thought of verse 6 is perhaps more profound than it seems. As it is translated in English, the expression There came a man seems straightforward enough. The English translation conveys the idea that a man simply came along or showed up on the scene and presumably did some important things. Important individuals show up all the time throughout history and in stories and then make a significant impact. The English translation expression seems to be conveying that this is what was happening when this man came along'no more, no less.
But if we look at this expression as it is in the Greek, we see that there is far more than meets the eye.
The expression is ἐγένετο'ἄνθρωπος (pronounced: 'eh-gehn-eh-tah an'thrō'pos').
'Anthropos' is the Greek word for man or human. The English word 'anthropology,' meaning 'the study of humans,' is derived from anthropos.
But the word, translated as'There came'is ἐγένετο'pronounced 'eh-gehn-eh-tah.' Eh'gehn'eh'tah is a form of the Greek word γίνομαι (G1096, pronounced 'ghin''om-ahee'). Ghin'om-ahee means more than 'happen to be' or 'came along.' Ghin'om-ahee means 'to be,' 'to come into being,' 'to be made.'
In the context of John's prologue, a more descriptive translation of John 1:6 might be:
In fact, ἐγένετο and other forms of γίνομαι were repeatedly used when John described how the Logos created all things:
'All'things'came'into being'[ἐγένετο] through'Him, and apart'from Him nothing'came into being'[ἐγένετο] that has come'into being [γέγονεν, another form of ἐγένετο].'
(John 1:3)
John was one of the things which came into being through the Logos. John was a person created by the Logos. John was both created by God, and he was sent from God.
That he was sent from God is the second thought of verse 6.
God had a special purpose for John's life. This purpose was to be the Messianic forerunner who was foretold by the prophets (Isaiah 40:3-4, Malachi 4:5-6). God sent John to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah.
The Apostle John (the author of this gospel) explains this in the next verse:
He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him (v 7).
John came as a witness. A witness is someone who testifies and tells others the truth about what he sees or knows. The Greek words that are translated as: witness, and testify are functionally the same root word.
The English word 'martyr' comes from these Greek words. The modern concept of a martyr typically refers to someone who is put to death for a cause. The modern idea of a martyr is someone who testifies and serves as a witness to a cause with their life. The biblical idea of a 'martyr' is someone who is a faithful witness regardless of rejection, loss, or even death.
John was sent by God to testify about what he knew concerning the Light's (Messiah's) impending arrival. John faithfully testified of Jesus, and he was put to death (martyred) for his testimony.
The Light refers to Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus is not only a Messiah for the Jews''His own' (John 1:11)'He also is a Messiah for all people. He is 'the Light of men' (John 1:4) who 'shines in the darkness' (John 1:5) and 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12, 9:5).
Jesus is also God'the Logos'who created all things (John 1:3).
The reason God sent John to testify about the Light was so that all might believe in the Light through John's testimony.
God's purpose for John the Baptizer and his witness was similar to the purpose of Jesus's disciple John in writing this gospel to explain who Jesus was and is. John's gospel was:
'written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.'
(John 20:31)
John the Baptizer came to prepare the way for the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23, 30). John, the author, wrote this gospel to explain to those who came after Jesus who Jesus was and the significance of His life, death, and resurrection.
John 1:7 is the first time John's gospel refers to belief and/or faith. John's gospel uses the Greek verb translated as believe 98 times. This verb is a form of πιστεύω (G4100, pronounced: 'pist-yoo''ō'). 'Pist'eu'ō' means to:
'Pisteuō' is the verbal form of the Greek noun for faith'πίστις (G4102, pronounced: 'pis''tis').
Believing ('pisteuō') and having faith ('pistis') are necessary to receive God's Gift of Eternal Life.
John's gospel clearly states again and again that if we believe in Jesus, then we will have eternal life (John 1:12-13, 3:15-16, 5:24, 6:40,11:25, 12:46, 14:6, 20:31).
Interestingly, the Greek word that is translated as came in verse 7 is not the same term that was translated as came in verse 6.
Before John continues his gospel account, he takes a moment to distinguish John the Baptizer from the Logos (Jesus).
He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light (v 8).
Even though John the Baptizer was sent from God, he was not the Messiah (or the Logos who created all things'John 1:3). John the Baptizer was only a messenger sent from God to testify about the coming Light/Messiah.
John was the Messianic forerunner, prophesied by Isaiah and Malachi.
Isaiah describes this forerunner as a 'voice':
'A voice is calling,
'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.''
(Isaiah 40:3)
''Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts.'
(Malachi 3:1)
All four gospels state that John the Baptizer was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:2-4, Luke 3:4, John 1:23). According to John 1:23, John the Baptizer knew he was sent from God as the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:3.
John the Baptizer's ministry was one of preparation, calling the people of Israel to repentance in anticipation of the coming Light/Messiah. He preached in the wilderness of Judea, urging the masses to 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 3:2). His message emphasized turning away from sin and bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, warning that judgment was imminent for those who remained unrepentant (Matthew 3:7-10). John's ministry included baptizing (immersing in water) those who confessed their sins. This immersion symbolized spiritual cleansing and renewal.
John identified himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 40:3, John 1:23). John denied being the Christ himself (John 1:20). Instead, John boldly pointed to Jesus as the eternal God and the promised Light/Messiah, and directed the people's attention to the Savior, when he declared:
'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.''
(John 1:15'see also 1:30)
'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'
(John 1:29).
John's personal denial of being the Messiah affirms the gospel writer's statement that he was not the Light.
John identified Jesus as the Son of God:
'I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.'
(John 1:34)
John also appears to be first person besides Jesus to understand and explain the gospel:
'He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.'
(John 3:36)
These are the last recorded words of the Baptizer in the Gospel of John.
John the Baptizer's lifestyle was unusual. He was an extreme ascetic, dwelling in the wilderness and relying on God for his sustenance. He wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). His lifestyle was part of his message of spiritual preparation for the coming of the Messiah. John's humble way of life reflected his role as a prophet, calling the people to repentance and detachment from worldly comforts.
John's entire message was to testify about the Light/Messiah. And he did. The gospel writer sums up John the Baptizer's message this way:
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man (v 9).
John's lifestyle and message of repentance clashed with the teachings and lifestyles of Israel's religious leaders.
John the Baptizer openly confronted the religious leaders of his time, particularly the Pharisees and Sadducees, accusing them of hypocrisy and spiritual pride. When they came to him for baptism, he called them a 'brood of vipers' and warned them to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:7-8). John challenged their reliance on their heritage as descendants of Abraham, declaring that God could raise up children of Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9). His bold denunciation of their corruption and failure to lead the people spiritually made him a controversial and unwelcome figure among the religious elite.
John's message and zeal for the truth led to his imprisonment and death.
His bold preaching extended to condemning the sins of powerful leaders, including Herod Antipas. He publicly rebuked Herod for his unlawful marriage, which angered the ruler and resulted in John's imprisonment (Matthew 14:3-4, Mark 6:17-18, Luke 3:19-20). John's unwavering stand for righteousness ultimately led to his execution (Matthew 14:10, Mark 6:27).
In this sense, John the Baptizer was like the philosopher in Socrates's 'Allegory of the Cave,' who went to tell the prisoners about the light and was hated and killed for telling the truth. The Greek readers of John's gospel may have made this connection. One of our articles has more to say about the parallels between the prologue of John's gospel and Socrates's allegory: 'How the Light of John's Prologue Illuminates Socrates's Allegory of the Cave.'
The Jews strongly associated the Messianic forerunner with the prophet Elijah. This association was from the end of the Book of Malachi:
'Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.'
(Malachi 4:5-6)
Some Jews took this literally, and believed the actual Elijah would be the person God sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. This is why they asked John the Baptizer if he was Elijah (John 1:21). John the Baptizer came 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17), but he was not the same human being as Elijah, nor Elijah reincarnated.
Jesus also affirmed this when He said of His cousin:
'And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.'
(Matthew 11:14'see also Matthew 17:12-13)
Thus, John the Baptizer and his mission to prepare the way for the Messiah was one fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6.
A second fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 might be found in Revelation 11 when the two witnesses come to testify of the Lord and warn of His imminent day of judgment. The Book of Revelation does not identify Elijah by name, but it does say that the two witnesses will perform miracles similar to those of Moses and Elijah. Elijah prayed and shut up the sky, so that no rain fell (Kings 17:1), which is power the two witnesses will have during their ministry (Revelation 11:3-6).
After He was transfigured, Jesus told three of His disciples that Elijah will come again (Matthew 17:11). Perhaps Jesus was referring to the second fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6 and the events of Revelation 11:3-6 when He told them these things.
But the Jews (especially the religious leaders) largely disregarded John the Baptizer's message. They did not understand that he was the Messianic forerunner'the Elijah who was to come. Consequently, the Jews also failed to understand that Jesus was God and/or their Messiah (John 1:10-11).
The Jews are still waiting for Elijah to come announce the impending arrival of the Messiah. They believe Elijah will come at Passover. During their Passover Seder celebrations, Jews to this day pour a cup of wine and set a place for Elijah at their table in anticipation of his arrival. Their Seder celebrations often conclude with a young child checking the door to see if Elijah has come at last. Elijah has already come but they did not recognize him when they saw John the Baptizer (Matthew 17:12-13).
Additional layers of irony abound concerning the Messiah and His forerunner's arrivals.
To learn more about these divine alignments of Jewish Festivals and the coming of the Messiah, see The Bible Says article: 'Was Jesus Born on December 25? Exploring the Biblical Clues and Jewish Festivals that Frame the Messiah's Birth.'
The Gospel of John explains John the Baptizer's ministry and role in John 1:19-34 and John 3:22-36.
There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man (v 9).
As mentioned above, this was John the Baptizer's core message about Jesus. It is also one of the core themes of this written gospel account.
Jesus is the true Messiah whose coming into the world enlightens every man. Jesus is not only a Messiah for the Jews. He is a Messiah'the true Light'for every person who has ever lived or who will live in human history.
The gospel writer identifies Jesus as the true Light. This is a direct connection to the earlier verses of the prologue where the'Logos'is described as the source of life and light:
'In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.'
(John 1:4)
The expression'true Light'means Jesus is the true Messiah.
John's Jewish audience would have been familiar with their scriptures prophecies describing the Messiah as the Light (Numbers 24:7, 2 Samuel 23:2-4a, Psalm 118:27a, 132:17, Isaiah 9:2, 42:6, 49:6, 58:5, 60:1-3, 62:1, Zechariah 14:6-7, Malachi 4:2) and would have likely picked up on this connection.
Moreover, the term true Light distinguishes Jesus from all other forms of illumination, whether philosophical, religious, or otherwise. The'Logos, who is eternal and coexistent with God (John 1:1-2), is now revealed as the ultimate revelation of God, capable of enlightening every human being. John emphasizes that Jesus is the genuine and ultimate source of enlightenment, as opposed to the incomplete or deceptive "lights" offered by human wisdom or other spiritual claims. This is consistent with later declarations of Jesus in the gospel, such as:
'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.'
(John 8:12'see also John 9:5 and John 12:35-36)
As the true Light, Jesus provides the light necessary for humanity to understand God, themselves, and their purpose.
The themes of light and darkness, introduced in John 1:5, are revisited here. The true Light coming into the world continues the Cosmic Conflict between the forces of divine revelation and human sin.
The phrase'coming into the world'anticipates the Messiah's arrival and the incarnation: 'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us' (John 1:14).
This marks the climactic moment of John's prologue when the eternal'Logos, the Creator of the world (John 1:3), stepped inside His own creation as a human. The incarnation bridges the infinite divide between God and humanity, enabling the true Light to penetrate the evil darkness of a sinful, fallen world.
The scope of the phrase'enlightens every man'is universal. It means Jesus is the Messiah for every person. It signifies how the Light of Christ is available to everyone. The true Light's brilliance transcends ethnic, social, and national boundaries. This inclusivity reflects God's heart for all humanity. And it shows how the Good News of Jesus'the subject of John's gospel account'is offered to everyone, Jew and Gentile.
The Messiah's coming into the world offers life to everyone who believes in Him. God's coming into the world in human form during the life of Jesus was divine Light that enlightens every man. The true Messiah brought blessing for all people. The true Light's shining in the darkness was the fulfillment of two divine promises recorded in the Old Testament.
The first divine promise this fulfilled was God's promise to Abraham that all the families and nations of the world would be blessed through his seed,
'And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.'
(Genesis 12:3, see also Genesis 22:18)
The second divine promise Jesus's coming as the true Light/Messiah and 'the Light of the world' (John 8:12, 9:5) who enlightens every man fulfilled is a promise the LORD made to His Servant, the Messiah, in Isaiah's second Servant Song (Isaiah 49:1-26),
'I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach the ends of the earth.'
(Isaiah 49:6b)
The Messiah's coming into the world offers life to everyone who believes in Him. God's coming into the world in human form during the life of Jesus was divine Light that enlightens every man. Jesus, the true Messiah, brought blessing for all people.
The universality of the true Light/Messiah shining for all men is displayed later in the John's gospel narrative:
(John 4:7-26)
(John 12:20-32)
(John 3:15-16).
But although the true Light/Messiah shines on everyone, not everyone accepts His offer (John 1:10-11). Many people encountered and still encounter the true Light yet fail to recognize Him as the Messiah and/or God.
John 1:9 foreshadows the mixed responses Jesus will receive throughout His earthly ministry and beyond.
Some believed in Him (John 4:39-41, 6:67-68, 10:42, 11:45). Many did not (John 6:66, 13:27-30). Ultimately, the true Light/Messiah was rejected by Israel in the most blasphemous way imaginable (John 19:15) and they crucified Him (John 19:16). But their blasphemous and murderous darkness did not stop the Messiah. Their darkness did not prevent the true Light from continuing to shine (John 1:5b).
The enlightenment offered by the true Light/Messiah requires a response of faith in Jesus as God's Son and that He is the Messiah who is able to save (John 3:16-19)'The Gift of Eternal Life. If believers walk in fellowship with Him they also receive the Prize of Eternal Life. To receive the Prize requires actively living by faith and walking in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:5-7).
For those who do accept Jesus as the true Light (the Messiah) and as the Logos (God), the result is transformative:
'But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.'
(John 1:12)
The true Light/Messiah does more than reveal truth. The Light of men transforms those who embrace it.
The true Light/Messiah's coming into the world is not just a historical event but an eternal reality. Jesus, His life, His miracles, His teachings, and His character revealed God to men (John 1:18). Jesus's role as the Light/Messiah continues even after His earthly ministry, as He sent His Spirit to guide His followers into all truth (John 16:13).
John 1:6-9 bridges the cosmic truths of the prologue with the concrete realities of Jesus's Messianic ministry. It sets the stage for the Messiah to enter the world, and for the Light to confront the darkness, call people to faith, and transform those who receive Him.
94:T3ec0,There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:10-11.
John 1:10-11 elevates the incredible irony that although Jesus created the world, when He came into the world it did not recognize Him.
John 1:1-5 revealed eternal truths about the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah).
John 1:6-9 summarized the historical significance of John the Baptist and his preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
Now, John 1:10-11 highlights the immense irony of the world's response when its Creator and its Messiah came into the world. John 1:10 highlights the irony primarily from a creation and worldwide aspect:
He was in the world, a
John 1:10
There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:10-11.
John 1:10-11 elevates the incredible irony that although Jesus created the world, when He came into the world it did not recognize Him.
John 1:1-5 revealed eternal truths about the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah).
John 1:6-9 summarized the historical significance of John the Baptist and his preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
Now, John 1:10-11 highlights the immense irony of the world's response when its Creator and its Messiah came into the world. John 1:10 highlights the irony primarily from a creation and worldwide aspect:
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him (v 10).
Throughout John 1:10-11, the personal pronouns He and Him refer to Jesus'the Logos who made the world (John 1:1-3) and the Light who shines in the darkness (John 1:4-5, 9).
The Logos, the Creator came into the world. He was literally in the world'the same world that He had made.
One would expect that if the Creator came to the world which He had made, that world would then naturally recognize Him for who He is. One would assume that the world would, perhaps even should, know its own Creator.
The true Light for all men (the worldwide'Messiah) came into the world, shining in the darkness, dispelling evil and deception to save and enlighten all people. However, the world did not recognize its own Creator.
One would also expect that if the world's Messiah came to rescue people in desperate danger, that they would recognize Him as their Savior. One would anticipate that Light shining in a dark world would be highly visible and recognized as Light.
Ironically, this was not the case when the Logos and Light of men came into the world He made and now came to save. He was in the world that was made through Him. So, it ought to have recognized and received Him.
But, sadly, when the Logos was in the world He made, the world did not know Him for who He truly was. The world did not know Him as its Creator (Logos).
When the Light of Men was in the world which He came to illuminate and save, the world refused to understand Him. The world did not know Him as their Savior (the Light of men). The world hated Him because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
The world did not recognize the Light because it preferred the darkness. The world did not recognize its Savior because it did not desire deliverance. It did not see because it did not want to see.
Not recognizing its own Maker and Messiah is a terrible and tragic irony for a dark and dying world that is separated from its life and purpose because of its own sin (John 3:19). But this was precisely what happened when Jesus, the Logos and the Light, was in the world.
John wrote his gospel to a mixed audience of both Gentiles as well as Jews. He also wrote it to unbelievers, so that they would believe, as well as to believers so that they would know how to experience the great benefit of living by faith, which John called having 'life in His name' (John 20:31).
It is possible that John's Greek readers would have picked up on these tragic and ironic notes within John's statement that the world did not know the One who had made it when He was in the world.
The Greeks were keen on both tragedy and irony. Greek playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides had perfected tragic plays. Their tragedies were absolutely loaded with situational irony. In these plays a brilliant, talented, and often noble tragic figure brings about his own doom because he is blind to circumstances that everyone one else on stage (and in the audience) can clearly see.
One of the most famous examples of situational irony in Greek tragedy is 'Oedipus the King' by Sophocles. In this play, the tragic title character relentlessly pursues the truth to discover the king's murderer, despite the warnings of those who love him to stop his quest, only to learn to his horror that he himself is not only the murderer but also the son of the slain king.
Greeks who read John's gospel account about how the world did not know its Creator and how they crucified Him, may have identified the world or even themselves to have been like Oedipus who murdered his father in ignorance. Or they may have related John's account to a different tragic figure from one of the many other Greek tragedies.
This tragic irony is even greater when we consider that the specific people to whom God came were His own. John 1:11 highlights the irony from a Jewish perspective:
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him (v 11).
His own people were descendants of Abraham'the nation of Israel. Jesus was descended from Abraham, being a member of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of King David (Matthew 1:1).
God made a covenant with the old and childless Abraham that He would make a mighty nation of his descendants (Genesis 12:2, 15:5-6, 17:4-6). God promised Abraham that the LORD would bless the world through Abraham's offspring (Genesis 12:3, 22:18). This covenant passed from Abraham to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:3-4, 26:24), and Isaac's son, Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15, 35:11-12), who was later renamed Israel by God (Genesis 32:28, 35:10).
Abraham's descendants through Jacob began to be known as 'the Jews' during the conquest of Alexander the Great (circa 332 B.C.), when the Greek world became familiar with Israel. This was because at that time the remnant of God's people were citizens of the Kingdom of Judah. So a 'Jew' was someone from 'Judah.'
John refers to the descendants of Abraham and their religious leaders as 'the Jews' throughout his gospel account (John 1:19, 2:18, 5:16, 6:41, 7:1, 8:48).
God had long promised to send Israel a Messiah, who would redeem Israel from her oppression, put an end to her suffering and shame, and usher in a golden age of flourishing and 'shalom' (the Hebrew word for peace and harmony).
Here is a list of only some of the many prophecies depicting the Messiah's redemption and restoration of Israel: Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Psalm 2:6-8, 18:50, 45:6-7, 78:8-11, 89:3-4, 132:17, Isaiah 9:6-9, 11:1-5, 25:8-9, 26:12-15, 32:1-2, 61:1-3, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Ezekiel 37:24-28, Daniel 7:13-14, Hosea 2:19-20, Amos 9:13-15, Micah 4:3-4, Zechariah 9:9-10,14:9.
Also, Daniel 9:24-27 sets forth a timeline or 'clock' for completion of the prophecy for the Messiah to 'bring in everlasting righteousness.'
Throughout their history, God's own people clung to the hope expressed in these and other divine promises that the LORD's Messiah would come and make them all true. Especially during the Roman occupation of Israel 63 B.C. until the demolition of the Temple (68 A.D), the Jews were eagerly awaiting and actively seeking the coming of the LORD's promised Messiah. Part of the reason for their anticipation is that the 'clock' of Daniel 9:24-27 was nearing the end, when the Messiah was promised to arrive.
As the Light, Jesus was the promised Messiah the Jews were waiting for:
'Arise, shine; for your'light has come,
And the'glory of the'LORD has risen upon you.
For behold,'darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the'LORD'will rise upon you
And His'glory will appear upon you.
Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.'
(Isaiah 60:1-3)
Jesus came to fulfill the Law and all Messianic prophecies (Matthew 5:17). (Note: Jesus will fulfill some of them upon His second coming.)
(Psalm 72:11-14, Isaiah 62:1-5, John 1:29, 8:34-36)
(Isaiah 65:17-23, John 10:10b).
(Psalm 2:6-8, 45:6-7, Isaiah 9:6-7, Matthew 4:17, John 1:49, 12:13-15)
(Isaiah 25:8, 26:19, John 11:25)
But even as the scriptures foretold that the Messiah would come to defeat Israel's enemies and bring about her exaltation, they also predicted that Israel would not recognize Him when He appeared. Daniel 9:26 predicted that at the end of 'sixty-two weeks' of years 'the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.' This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was rejected by His people as their deliverer.
The life of Joseph (who prefigured the Messiah's suffering and salvation) foreshadowed this when his brothers did not recognize him when they came to Egypt (Genesis 42:6-8). Similarly, Moses was also rejected as Israel's deliverer the first time he appeared to them (Exodus 2:14).
In his second 'Servant Song' (Isaiah 49:1-26), Isaiah prophesied that the LORD concealed His Servant (the Messiah) in the shadow of the LORD's hand and hid Him like a special arrow in the LORD's quiver (Isaiah 49:2).
In his fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), Isaiah predicted that many of His people would be 'astonished' at the LORD's Servant (Isaiah 52:14a). 'Astonished' could mean greatly surprised at something unexpected. Later in this song, Isaiah said the Messiah 'has no stately form that we should be attracted to Him' (Isaiah 53:2b).
These scriptures accurately predicted that when the Messiah came to His own, His own would not know Him.
Jesus was not received by His own hometown when He presented Himself as the Messiah in the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30). After declaring 'Today this scripture [Isaiah's prophecies] has been fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:21), His own neighbors questioned: 'Is this not Joseph's son?' (Luke 4:22). Jesus remarked: 'No prophet is welcome in his hometown' (Luke 4:23), before they tried to kill Him (Luke 4:29).
For a time, even Jesus's brothers did not believe in Him as God and/or the Messiah (John 7:5). This too was predicted. As Psalm 69 describes the Messiah's painful obscurity and suffering, it also predicted that the Messiah would be estranged from [His] brothers and an alien to [His] mother's sons' (Psalm 69:8).
The religious leaders did not receive Jesus as being from God. Instead, they accused Him of being the illegitimate son, born from a sinful relationship (John 8:41b) and doing the work and power of the devil (Matthew 12:24).
But Jesus did not come in a way that His own people expected the Messiah to come. He did not come to lord it over others and be served, but to serve them (Matthew 20:28). He did not come as a highly touted religious leader endorsed by the chief priests and elders. He came as a refugee and the adopted son of a carpenter (Matthew 2:13-14, 13:55).
The Psalms foretold that not only would the Messiah be unknown by His own, but that He would be rejected by them:
'The'stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner'stone.'
(Psalm 118:22)
Other prophetic scriptures went further and predicted how the Messiah would be:
(Psalm 21:6, 69:20, Isaiah 53:3)
(Psalm 22:7-8, 35:16, Isaiah 50:6b)
(Psalm 31:13, 35:15, Isaiah 53:4, 7)
(Psalm 22:14, 16-17, Isaiah 50:6a, 53:5)
(Psalm 22:15, Isaiah 53:8b'9a)
Jesus would suffer all these things at the hands of His own in fulfillment to the scriptures.
The tragic ironies of John 1:10-11 emphasizes the immense weight of humanity's rejection of the Logos and the Light. Jesus was rejected by both Jew and Gentile, Roman and Judean. Thankfully, through that rejection, salvation came to the entire world (Romans 11:11-12).
God entered the world He made, yet the world neither recognized nor received Him. Even His own people, Israel, to whom He had entrusted His covenant promises and given the Law, failed to accept Him as their Messiah, despite the abundant scriptural prophecies that pointed to His coming. This rejection, though deeply painful and unjust, was foreseen in the Hebrew Scriptures. This illustrates both the depth of human blindness and the degree of darkness, as well as the wonderful and profound mystery of God's redemptive plan.
Yet, Israel and the world's rejection of Jesus was not the end of the story.
It was a necessary step in the fulfillment of God's greater purposes. The Messiah's suffering, foretold by the prophets, became the foundation for the salvation of the world.
Through the pain of rejection, Jesus established a new covenant and extended the invitation of His kingdom beyond the confines of Israel, offering redemption, light, and life to all who would receive Him as the next verses in John's prologue indicate (John 1:12-13).
This dual tragedy and triumph reminds us of the extraordinary grace of the world's Messiah and Maker, who endured rejection to bring salvation to both His own people and the world.
Israel Rejected the 'Memra' of the Lord.
What John said of the Logos's rejection by His own was also true of 'the 'Memra' of the Lord' by Israel.
'Memra' is the Aramaic term for 'Word'. It is used in the Jewish Targums'the Aramaic translations and commentaries of the Hebrew Scriptures'to describe the 'Word of the Lord.' During and after Judah's exile to Babylon, Aramaic became the common language of the Jews. Because of this, the Targums became a prevalent tool for teaching the Hebrew Scriptures to the many Jews who were not fluent in Hebrew.
The Targums seem to give personality and agency to the Memra/Word of the Lord and at times even appear to make the Memra/Word co-equal with God.
The Targums say Israel despised and did not receive the Memra of the Lord, just as John writes that even though the Divine Word/Logos came to His own, that those who were His own did not receive Him:
'How long will this people despise My Memra? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed among them?'
(Targum Neofiti. Numbers 14:11)
'But in this thing you did not believe in the Memra of the LORD your God.'
(Targum Onkelos. Deuteronomy 1:32)
To learn more about these things, see The Bible Says article, 'How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
95:Tffa0,There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:12-13.
John 1:12-13 presents God's incredible offer for humanity through Jesus: to become His children by faith.
In John 1:10-11, John m
John 1:12
There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:12-13.
John 1:12-13 presents God's incredible offer for humanity through Jesus: to become His children by faith.
In John 1:10-11, John made two ironic observations.
The first ironic observation was that when the Logos (God) came into the world which He had made, the world did not receive Him (John 1:10).
The second ironic observation was that when the Light (the Messiah) came to His own people, His own people did not receive Him (John 1:11).
John 1:10-11 describes the tragic rejection of Jesus for who He is, but John 1:12-13 offers a glorious outcome to those who receive Him, unveiling the central invitation of John's gospel.
The Gospel of John's central invitation is this: Anyone who embraces Jesus in faith is transformed by being born into God's eternal family,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (vv 12-13).
BUT AS MANY AS'
The pronouns He, Him, and His all refer to Jesus in John 1:12-13.
The conjunction'But'contrasts the negative responses to Jesus of John 1:10-11 with the positive responses to Jesus of John 1:12-13. Specifically'But'contrasts how the world was ignorant of Him and Israel rejected Him with what happens to anyone who does receive Him, those who believe in His name.
The inclusivity of the gospel's offer is made clear from its opening clause: But as many as.
This clause establishes to whom the gospel's invitation is available: everyone. The invitation/offer of the gospel is both universal and unlimited.
The gospel's invitation is universal because it is open to anyone and everyone. The expression'as many as'means 'all' or 'everyone.'
The gospel is available to literally everyone. It is available to:
No one is excluded from its offer. Anyone can receive Jesus and join God's forever family regardless of their ethnicity, race, gender, language, nationality, socio-economic'status, prior religious background, sin, etc.
The universality of the gospel's offer is repeatedly affirmed throughout the Gospel of'John and the New Testament.
'whoever drinks of the water [gospel] that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.'
'Opening his mouth, Peter said: 'I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him'
(Acts 10:34-35).
'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.'
(Galatians 3:28)
'For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.'
(Titus 2:11)
See also: Romans 1:6, 3:22, 10:12-13, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 2:11, and'Colossians 1:28.
The gospel's invitation is universally offered to everyone as John's expression'as many as'and these verses emphatically indicate.
The gospel's invitation is also unlimited.
God's supply of grace will never run out or empty. It is impossible for too many people to receive Jesus and experience His mercy and grace. His grace is infinite. All and as many people who do receive Him will experience the gospel's blessings.
Near the end of the prologue of his gospel account, John writes:
'For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.'
(John 1:16)
Among other things, this means the fullness of Jesus never decreases. The expression 'grace upon grace' (John 1:16) can also be translated 'grace in place of grace.' Like the waves of an ocean, the grace of God is relentless and unending. In His fullness we receive grace after grace after grace after grace after grace' into eternity. The gospel's supply of grace is infinite and unlimited. Infinite grace is part of what makes the gospel such good news.
The Greek word translated 'grace' is χάρις (G5485'pronounced: 'charis') and it means 'favor.' We can see this in Luke 2:52 where 'charis' is translated 'favor' in the sentence: 'And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in favor ['charis'] with God and men.'
John 1:12 speaks of God's favor coming upon humans through faith in Jesus (those who believe in His name). Jesus died for the sins of the world, that all who believe might be justified in God's sight (Romans 3:20-21).
God's favor to redeem all who believe upon Jesus into His family is inexhaustible because Jesus's death on the cross covered the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14). As John will assert in John 3:16, 'God so loved the world [everyone], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.' This eternal life is the Gift of God to be born into His forever family and receive a royal inheritance from the King of Kings.
The Old Testament also affirms the infinite abundance of the LORD's mercies and compassions.
'The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.'
(Lamentations 3:22-23a)
Paul and Peter each speak to the limitless capacity of the gospel of God's grace when they reveal how it is God's desire for everyone to receive the gospel's blessings and for none to perish:
'God our Savior'desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.'
(1 Timothy 2:3-4)
'The Lord is'patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.'
(2 Peter 3:9)
And John in his first epistle, reveals that Jesus's death has the capability to atone for the sins of not only those who believe in Him, but also for the sins of the entire unsaved world,
'He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.'
(1 John 2:2)
The power of the gospel is infinite (Romans 1:6), and God's grace and mercy are inexhaustible (Romans 5:20).
'AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM'
But while the full mercy and grace of Jesus Christ are available to everyone in the world, they are applied only to those who have received Him.
Thus, the gospel is universally inclusive in its offer, but its full blessings are reserved for only those who believe in His name.
To experience the blessings of the gospel, a person must receive them; and to receive the blessings of the gospel a person must receive Him (Jesus).
The way a person receives Jesus is to believe in His name.
To believe in His name means to believe or trust three things:
Jesus is 'the Logos' (John 1:1).
Jesus is 'the Light' (John 1:4, 9).
Jesus is 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!' (John 1:29).
If we believe these three things about Jesus and personally accept His offer of salvation for our lives by faith'we are saved from sin's penalty of eternal separation from God and become His children.
This is the gospel's Gift of Eternal Life. The gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:17).
In John 3:14-15, Jesus illustrated what saving faith looks like. He likened believing in His name to the ancient Hebrews who believed God's promise that they would be delivered from dying from the poisonous venom of vipers if they would look upon the bronze snake lifted on a pole. Similarly, Jesus said He would be 'lifted up' on a cross and 'whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.' Enough faith to look at Jesus, hoping to be healed from the poisonous venom of sin, is all that is required to have saving faith.
As many as receive Him, receive the gospel's Gift of Eternal Life (John 3:16, 11:25-26, 20:30-31).
John's phrase,'As many as received Him, emphasizes the act of welcoming and accepting Jesus for who He truly is'the Son of God and the Savior. Those who receive Him, believing in His name, are granted the right to become children of God.
This receiving is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but a personal entrusting of oneself to Jesus and His ability to save. It is having enough faith to look at Jesus on the cross, trusting in God's promise to deliver us from sin.
In'Matthew 10:40, Jesus teaches His disciples,''He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.' The phrase 'Him who sent Me' refers to the Father, the head person of the Trinity.
In addition to revealing the intimate unity between God the Father and God the Son, Matthew 10:40 parallels John 1:12-13 by linking receiving Jesus to receiving God Himself. Just as receiving Jesus in John's Gospel leads to becoming a child of God, receiving Jesus's disciples in Matthew signifies receipt of the gospel message. Receiving the gospel message is receiving Jesus and believing in His name. Both Matthew 10:40 and John 1:12 reveal that the act of receiving is relational and transformative.
'TO THEM HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD'
One of the most basic blessings of the gospel is the Gift of Divine Birth.
John's phrase:'to them He gave the right to become children of God'demonstrates the transformative power of the gospel. This right is not earned but is a gracious gift that He gave to those who receive Jesus as God and Messiah. This right is received by those who receive Christ and believe in His name.
The Greek term translated as right is a form of ἐξουσία (G1849 'exousia,' pronounced:''ex'oo'see'ah'). 'Exousia' conveys the concept of authority or privilege.
As a privilege, believers have the right to claim God as their Father. He is their Protector and Provider. Believers enjoy the privileges that belong to members of God's eternal family. Some of these privileges include:
(John 11:25-26, Philippians 3:20-21, Revelation 21:1-4)
(Psalm 103:12, Ephesians 1:7)
(Romans 3:22-24, 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9)
(Matthew 6:9, John 16:23-24, Ephesians 2:18)
(John 14:16-17, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16)
(Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 1:11, 1 Peter 1:3-4)
In addition to having these and other privileges, the right ('exousia') to become children of God also entails authority and the responsibility to steward that authority.
Matthew uses 'exousia' as he quotes Jesus stating the Great Commission''All authority ['exousia'] has been given to me in heaven and on earth'' (Matthew 28:18). In the Great Commission, Jesus delegates His authority to His disciples to:
'make [more] disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.'
(Matthew 28:19-20a)
God's children are freely given birth into His family. Then they are exhorted to be disciples of Jesus and use the right/authority He gave them to honor Him and to serve others by sharing the gospel and making disciples by teaching His commands. Just as with physical birth, being given human life is a free gift that is given to each person. But what we become thereafter largely depends upon our choices, particularly who we believe, the perspectives we choose, and the actions we take.
John 1:12 indicates that becoming God's child is privilege'right ('exousia'). But it is a right which believers are expected to use responsibly (Matthew 28:18-20). This is because God is our Father, and desires that His children live constructively, for their own benefit. His commands lead us to live in a manner where we love our neighbors, and thrive in mutual prosperity. The paganism of the world is to exploit and extract from others, which leads to violence and poverty. Living according to God's commands restores us to our original design to live in harmony and to flourish. Being restored to our design is to experience eternal life.
The right to become children of God also describes a legal and spiritual birth, being 'born' into His eternal family. This divine nativity reflects the core of the gospel. Sinners, once alienated from God, are welcomed into His forever family as His own beloved children. Just as with physical birth, spiritual birth is irrevocable (Romans 11:29).
Paul elaborates upon this divine adoption as children into God's family in his epistle to the Roman church when he writes:
'you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.'
(Romans 8:15b'16)
Paul's basic point in Romans 8:15-16 is that those who have 'received the spirit of adoption' are part of God's spiritual family as children, and God is our Abba, or 'Daddy.' This is the same point John makes in John 1:12-13; it is the Gift of eternal life.
Romans 8:17 goes on to describe that each child is also an heir of God. As children, God our Creator and Father is always our inheritance (Romans 8:17a). And if we suffer rejection, loss, and even death as faithful witnesses, even as Jesus suffered, then we will also receive the reward of adoption as sons, to possess the inheritance to reign with Him (Romans 8:17b). This speaks of the Prize of eternal life. John wrote his gospel to teach both the Gift and the Prize to Jews and Gentiles alike (John 20:31).
The same term translated as received is used in both John 1:12 and Romans 8:15. As many as receive Jesus also receive the right to become children of God and 'the spirit of adoption' (Romans 8:15-16).
In Romans, Paul connects the 'spirit of adoption' (Romans 8:15b) with:
Being born into God's family makes believers heirs. They inherit the blessings and promises of God, including eternal life and participation in His kingdom (Galatians 4:7).
Remarkably, Paul adds that believers have share in the inheritance that belongs to Jesus if they follow in His ways. Believers are 'fellow heirs with Christ' if they share in His sufferings (Romans 8:17). This inheritance includes both the future glory and the present suffering with Jesus.
Paul contrasts the 'spirit of adoption' (Romans 8:15a) with the 'spirit of slavery' (Romans 8:15a). Paul connects 'the spirit of slavery' with:
John 1:12-13 and Romans 8:15-17 both describe a radical redefinition of human identity.
The promise of divine birth and to become children of God redefines our core identity. It is a shift from being a creation estranged from God to becoming His child. While all people are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), the privilege of being His child is reserved for those who receive Jesus, His Son. This distinction highlights the unique and intimate relationship believers are invited into'a relationship characterized by love, belonging, and inheritance as Paul also teaches in Galatians 4:4-7.
Similarly, becoming children of God rearranges our relationship to God and other believers.
For believers, God is no longer a distant Creator, but a loving Father. This new relationship brings security (John 10:28-29), discipline (Hebrews 12:5-6), an unconditional inheritance to be heirs of God (Romans 8:17a), and a possibility of sharing in Christ's inheritance to reign with Him if we suffer with Him (Romans 8:17b, 2 Timothy 2:12, Hebrews 2:9-10).
Believers are co'members of an eternal family. Believers are called to do good to all people (including their enemies'Matthew 5:44), but they are called to be especially good 'to those who are of the household of the faith' (Galatians 6:10). If believers follow His command to love one another, the world will know that they are His (John 13:34-35), and if they abide in His love their joy and their fellow believers' joy will be full and complete (John 15:9-11, 1 John 1:4).
A Jewish Perspective of John 1:12
From a Jewish perspective, the concept of becoming children of God would likely have included a shift in self-image. This would include being a child of God with the inheritance covered above. It would also seem to include:
The idea of being His children would have likely resonated with Jews on other fronts as well.
1.' The Jewish concept of children receiving an inheritance
In Jewish tradition, inheritance was a deeply significant aspect of familial relationships, governed by divine law. The firstborn son held a privileged position, receiving a double portion of the inheritance as his birthright (Deuteronomy 21:17). This reflected his role as the leader and provider for the family after the father's death.
Additionally, inheritance symbolized the covenantal promises given by God, such as the land of Israel, which was viewed as a divine gift to be passed down through generations (Genesis 15:18, Numbers 27:7-11). This ensured that God's blessings remained within the family. Inheritance was a sacred privilege and responsibility in Jewish culture.
For John's Jewish readers, the concept of becoming children of God would evoke the idea of divine inheritance. As children of God, believers would be heirs to God's promises, akin to the inheritance of the land or the blessings given to Abraham's descendants (Genesis 17:7-8). The phrase implies more than relational intimacy. It conveys participation in the eternal blessings and privileges of God's kingdom. This new birth through faith in Jesus transforms the believer's status, granting them a share in the ultimate inheritance of eternal life and communion with God, far surpassing any earthly inheritance (Romans 8:17).
The Jews would have understood the idea that having God as an inheritance is given unconditionally, while the inheritance of reigning must be possessed through obedience. This is exactly the pattern chronicled in the story of Israel. God was and always will be their covenant partner because of His unconditional love (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
But His grant of the land would be acquired and they would reign over it only if the people were willing to walk in obedience, to cross over and possess the land (Numbers 33:50-56). The letter to the Hebrews uses the illustration of the first generation of Jews freed from Egypt; this first generation's refusal to enter the Promised Land serves as a warning to believers in Christ that the reward of our inheritance to reign with Christ can be lost if we refuse to walk in obedience (Hebrews 3:7-11). However, Hebrews also recognizes that being a child of God is an irrevocable status (Hebrews 3:1, 10:34-36).
2.' Jews would have read John 4:12 as a massive expansion of God's family.
In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel is described as God's son. God declared to Moses:''Israel is My son, My firstborn' (Exodus 4:22).'Similarly, through the prophet Hosea, the LORD states,''When Israel was a youth, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son' (Hosea 11:1).
While God called the children of Israel His 'firstborn' son (Exodus 4:22), it infers there will be more. He did not call them His 'only' son. The children of Israel would not be God's 'only' children. The nation of Israel was called to have a priestly function, to show the nations that God's prescribed 'love your neighbor' culture was superior to the pagan culture of the strong exploiting the weak (Exodus 19:6). God's promise to Abraham included an intent to bless all nations from the very beginning (Genesis 12:3).
John reveals how God expands His family by announcing that belonging in His family is no longer limited to ethnic Israel but is available to anyone who will believe in Jesus's name.
Perhaps like any older brother who learns that he will have younger siblings, one can either respond with joy or jealousy. So too God's firstborn son of Israel could have responded with joy or jealousy at this expansion.
Israel should have responded with joy that God was enlarging His family through the Messiah, 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12, 9:5), who was being sent as 'a light to the nations so that [His] salvation may reach the end of the earth' (Isaiah 49:6). And some Israelites did rejoice (Acts 11:18).
But much of Israel responded with jealousy at the idea of adding Gentiles to God's family. Israel's jealous complaints of God's generous treatment of the Gentiles was also prophesied (Isaiah 49:14). But God would not forget his promises to Israel (Isaiah 49:15). The Apostle Paul later would write in his letter to the Romans that he hoped to use his fellow countrymen's jealousy of the Gentiles to help them reconcile with God and receive Jesus as their true Messiah, so that they too may enjoy the blessings of salvation (Romans 11:14-15).
A Greek and Roman Perspective of John 4:12
If John's claim that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God was challenging to his Jewish readers, it would likely have been shocking for his Gentile readers.
Greek and Roman mythologies were full of tales describing mortal children who had a divine parent. These children were the offspring of immortal gods' sexual escapades with mortal humans. For instance:
The phrase children of God might initially evoke images of these and other demigods to John's Greek and Roman readers.
However, John's Gospel presents a radically different meaning. The children of God which he is describing are not a product of a sexual encounter, as John will clarify in verse 13 when he writes that they were not born of the will of the flesh nor the will of man (male/husband), but of God. (The Bible Says commentary will say more on this topic as it discusses verses 13 further down.)
Becoming children of God is a spiritual birth, granted by God's will through belief in Jesus's name. One may become a child of God and be 'born again' (John 3:3) through faith.
For Greeks and/or Romans familiar with the philosophy of Plato, Plato and his teacher Socrates often taught of humanity's divine origin and longing to return to a perfect, divine state. In 'The Republic,' Plato writes of the soul's immortality and kinship with the divine,
'The soul, then, is immortal and imperishable, and our souls will truly dwell in the divine and immortal realm when they are purified and have become truly themselves, free from the constraints of the body.'
(Plato. 'The Republic.' 10. 611e'12a)
John's message would appeal to this yearning by offering a concrete path to divine relationship through faith in Jesus, rather than through abstract philosophical contemplation and/or the effort of applying its principles.
A part of the 'good news' this gospel will bring to the Greeks is that they can be children of God while in the body, and through faith be 'free from the constraints of the body.' This freedom in Christ would apply to now, as we walk in the Spirit, as well as in the next life when we receive a new, uncorrupted body (Galatians 5:13, 16, 1 Corinthians 15:42).
' EVEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIS NAME'
The clause even to those who believe in His name is a description of the people who received Him. It is connected to both of verse 12's preceding clauses:
The word'even'functions here as an intensifier that emphasizes the connection between the sentence's first clause (as many as received Him) with its third clause (to those who believe in His name).
The presence of'even'draws attention to the essential characteristic of those who receive Jesus; they are the ones who believe in His name. The inclusion'even'serves to equate receiving Jesus with believing in His name.
Strictly speaking, there is no Greek term for even in the Greek construction of this verse. The reason'even'is added into most English translations (including the NASB'95) is because the Greek syntax strongly implies the connection it makes. In other words, even is linguistically inferred by the Greek construction of the sentence even though even is not explicitly stated in the Greek text.
The inclusion of even ensures that the reader of the translation understands that the act of receiving Jesus is not merely about physically welcoming Him or simply agreeing with His moral teachings. Receiving Jesus is a personal faith and trust in who He is:
'both of which are meant by His name.
The connection between being given the right to become children of God with believing in His name is also supported by the Greek text.
This connection is perhaps best seen if we simply remove even (which is added by translators) from the English translation: He gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in His name.
To believe in His name means to receive or accept Jesus's identity as God and the Messiah. Jesus is the Logos (John 1:1) and He is the Light (John 1:4-5). Jesus is the Creator (John 1:3) and He is the Christ (John 1:17, 29, 41, 45, 49). Jesus said that the faith required to gain eternal life was the faith to look at Him, lifted up on a cross (John 3:14-15). This fits with believing in His name, which is to understand that He is God in human flesh, who was sacrificed for our sins.
Taken altogether, the three clauses of John 1:12'as many as received Him'even to those who believe in His name,'to them He gave the right to become children of God'form a kind of logical isosceles triangle, with two sides equal and one distinct.
The two equal sides are the ones about receiving'and'believing,'as these actions are essentially synonymous. To receive Jesus is to accept Him for who He is'God and the Messiah; 'the Logos' (John 1:1) and 'the Light' John 1:4-5). And to believe in His name is to trust Jesus's authority and identity as God and Messiah. These two actions are complementary expressions of faith.
The third side is distinct from the equal sides but connected to them. The third side of this isosceles'statement is God's response to this faith. It is Him granting the right to become His children. This grant of birth is not earned but given in response to receiving and believing Jesus.
The isosceles structure highlights the equal emphasis on the human response of faith (receiving and believing) and the unique, gracious action of God in adopting believers into His family. The triangle is connected by God's grace; those who believe are granted new birth because God honors His promises.
As verse 13 indicates, this gracious action of divine birth into God's eternal family is universally offered and freely given by God. It is completely unmerited by any human; being justified is a gift freely given because of the price Jesus paid by the ransom of His own life (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
' WHO WERE BORN, NOT OF BLOOD NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD.
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (v 13).
John 1:13 describes the nature of becoming children of God.
WHO WERE BORN'
John describes the nature of becoming children of God as a birth. Those who believe in Jesus's name were/are born into God's eternal family. The birth John is describing is a spiritual birth'it is literally of God.
As many as receive Jesus and believe in His name are spiritually born (again) and become God's children.
John uses language and terminology similar to what Jesus taught in describing the spiritual transformation people experience whenever they receive Him through faith.
When Jesus met with the esteemed Jewish leader Nicodemus, He also used the physical act of being born to describe this spiritual change:
''Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'
(John 3:5b)
Jesus's description of being 'born again' seemed to confuse Nicodemus (John 3:3-4), so He clarified that He was speaking of spiritual birth:
'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'
(John 3:6)
John may have anticipated a similar confusion (like Nicodemus's) among his audience as to what being born into God's family meant, and sought to get ahead of it by first describing what it was not.
John eliminates three potential misconceptions about being born into God's family. Specifically, being born as a child of God is not:
Rather, being born into His eternal family is of God.
NOT OF BLOOD'
The first potential misconception of what it means to be born into God's family is that it is of blood.
John specifically says this birth is not of blood.
In this phrase, blood means 'bloodline.' John's point is that one is not born into God's family nor becomes children of God simply through their bloodline. Someone does not enter God's family through being a physical or genetic descendant of someone in His family.
This maybe would have challenged the Jewish notion of God's family.
John's Jewish readers would have likely understood the term children of God or the notion of God's family in national or ethnic terms. They would probably have understood God's family to be comprised of the physical or blood descendants of Abraham.
The national bloodline descending from Abraham was deeply woven into their Jewish identity. To be a Jew was to be a biological descendant of Abraham and an inheritor of God's promises to him (Genesis 12:2-3, 17:7, 22:17-18, 26:4, Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6, 10:15, 2 Chronicles 20:7, Psalm 105:6-10, Isaiah 51:2).
Given how these and others ingrained their identity in the bloodline of Abraham, it would have been easy for John's Jewish readers to misapply the term children of God to themselves. But the family of God is not of blood.
John 8 and Jesus's discussion about Abraham
During a confrontation with Jesus, the Jewish leaders express this exact misconception when they claim that their status as descendants of Abraham guarantees their inclusion in God's family. He was teaching about the freedom that He offered those who follow Him. The Jewish leaders argued,
'We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone.'
(John 8:33)
This reveals their belief that being part of Abraham's lineage automatically makes them part of God's chosen family. Jesus explains that He was talking about the spiritual slavery of sin and that He was not talking about Abraham's physical lineage (John 8:34-37a). When Jesus told them they were not acting like Abraham (John 8:37b'38), they again replied: 'Abraham is our father' (John 8:39).
However, Jesus challenges their assumptions by pointing out that their actions-seeking to kill Him'are inconsistent with the faith and obedience of Abraham (John 8:39-40). Jesus distinguishes between physical lineage and spiritual kinship. He emphasizes that true children of Abraham do the deeds of Abraham, which involve faith and obedience to God's truth. Angered at this, they avoid the truth and slander Jesus, before claiming to be children of God.
'They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.''
(John 8:41b)
By rejecting Jesus, the very one Abraham rejoiced to see (John 8:56), they reveal that their claim to be Abraham's and God's children is superficial and incomplete.
Jesus's dialogue with the religious authorities exemplifies John's point that being born into God's family is not a matter of bloodline. One becomes a child of God by receiving Jesus through faith in His name.
The Book of Romans: The promise to Abraham is inherited through faith
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul also makes similar claims about Abraham's descendants and the children of God. Paul asserts and maintains throughout Romans that the gospel 'is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek' (Romans 1:16b).
This is similar to John's introduction of the gospel: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name (v 12).
Paul uses Abraham, the founding patriarch of Israel as his prime example to demonstrate that the essential requirement from a human perspective is faith.
Regarding the Jews' rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God (John 1:11), Paul explained:
'For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants' That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.'
(Romans 9:6b'8)
Like John 1:12-13, Romans 6:8 explains that it is not by bloodline nor the lineage of the flesh that people become children of God. The family of God, as John wrote, is not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh.
Paul cites Genesis 15:6 to prove that Abraham was made righteous through faith and not works when he wrote: 'For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'' (Romans 4:3).
From this, Paul goes on to claim: 'For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith' (Romans 4:13).
This clarifies that it is not ethnic lineage, but faith in Christ as the true basis for being a (spiritual) descendant of Abraham and child of God.
Just as John reveals that being born into God's family is a matter of believing in His name and not of blood, so too does Paul reveal that the promise to Abraham is inherited through 'the righteousness of faith' and 'not through the Law' (Romans 4:13).
Jesus's dialogues recorded in John 3:1-19 and John 8:31-58 and Paul's discourses about Abraham in Romans indicate that faith in Jesus, not lineage, is the way people are born as God's children. God's family is a spiritual family, consisting of people born of the Spirit (John 3:6b), not of blood.
' NOR THE WILL OF THE FLESH'
The second potential misconception of what it means to be born into God's family is that it is of the will of the flesh.
John specifically says this birth is not of the will of the flesh.
The expression the will of the flesh likely means one of two things:
Both meanings are possible at the same time.
Note: this part of the commentary covering the will of the flesh will focus on the first of these two interpretations'human effort. Because the third misconception about how one becomes a child of God'nor the will of man (male)'concerns sexual intercourse, the second interpretation for will of the flesh as being sexual intercourse will be explained in the 'NOR THE WILL OF MAN portion of this commentary.
When John says that becoming a child of God is not accomplished through the will of the flesh, he probably includes the omission of human or fleshly achievement (such as religious observances) playing a role in spiritual birth. There is no action of humans that contributes anything to the shed blood of Jesus which atones for our sins, including religious observance.
This point would have pertained to both Jews and religious or virtue-oriented Gentiles. One does not earn their way into God's spiritual family.
The Jews relied on their religious observances (keeping the Mosaic Law) to maintain favor with God. Next to their descendancy through Abraham, the Law and their traditions were the most defining aspect of their Jewish identity. Therefore, it would be equally tempting or easy to misapply children of God to themselves or anyone else they viewed as keeping God's Laws.
As he did with the Jew's misconception about lineage, John also preemptively addresses this misconception about the flesh by highlighting the fact that it plays no role in the new spiritual birth.
Jesus also addressed this misconception when He explained to the Jews the point of Moses and the Law. Jesus's teachings on this topic are found in John 5:39-47.
In this passage in John 5, Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders who are opposing Him for healing on the Sabbath and claiming equality with God. These leaders pride themselves on their adherence to the Law of Moses, believing it ensures their place as God's children. Jesus confronts this assumption by exposing their misunderstanding of the Law's purpose and their rejection of Him, the One to whom the Law points.
Jesus warned them:
'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.'
(John 5:39-40)
The Jewish leaders' reliance on keeping their interpretations of the Law and their study of the Scriptures became an end'in'itself. Thus, it became a stumbling block that caused them to be blind to seeing God's visitation to them.
Their proliferation of rules and regulations were increasingly disconnected from the faith the Law was meant to inspire. They believed that their meticulous observance of the Law and their understanding of its content established their righteousness before God, but they failed to recognize that the Law was meant to lead them to Christ.
Jesus ended this teaching by rebuking the Jews' misunderstanding of Moses and the Law:
'Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?'
(John 5:45-47)
While the Jews claimed Moses as their spiritual authority and heritage, they misunderstood the true purpose of his writings: to point to the Messiah, Jesus Himself (Galatians 3:24). Rather than receive the kingdom message which provided a means to love and serve others, as Moses taught, the Jews instead used Moses to justify their self-seeking exploitation of others (Matthew 22:37-39, 23:12-14). Their failure to receive Jesus and believe in His name demonstrates that they were not truly children of God, despite their outward adherence to the Law.
This exchange from John 5 highlights the insufficiency of human effort through the will of the flesh to secure a place in God's family. The Jewish leaders believed that strict obedience to the Law of Moses could justify them, but Jesus exposes their inability to meet the Law's demands apart from faith.
Their legalism blinded them to the need for a Savior and left them spiritually estranged from God. Jesus shows that eternal life and being born into His family are gifts of grace through faith in Him, not the result of human effort or legal compliance (John 3:14-15).
In John 5, Jesus not only corrects the misconception that the flesh's observance of the Law can make someone a child of God, but He also points to Himself as the fulfillment of the Law. Being born into God's family is not of human effort ("the will of the flesh") but is the gracious work of God.
The Jewish leaders' rejection of Christ reveals that true spiritual membership in God's family is rooted in faith, not lineage or Law, further echoing Paul's later teachings in Romans.
'For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.'
(Romans 4:13)
Paul clarifies that it is not ethnic lineage, nor legal/religious observance, but faith in Christ as the true basis for being a (spiritual) descendant of Abraham and child of God.
To become children of God and enter into His family is not a matter of human effort, it is a matter of grace that is received by those who believe in the name of Jesus. Jesus taught His disciples, 'It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing' (John 6:63). And He explained this to Nicodemus when He said: 'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3:6). Only God's Spirit can give life to human spirits and birth us into His spiritual family.
In their teachings, both Jesus and Paul elaborate upon John's brief gospel clarification that becoming a child of God is not of the will of the flesh.
From a Greek, Roman, pagan, or humanistic perspective, Johns' clarification nor the will of the flesh reveals that there is no heroic or Herculean achievements that can qualify people to be born or become children of God.
' NOR THE WILL OF MAN
The third potential misconception of what it means to be born into God's family is that it is of the will of man.
John specifically says this birth is not of the will of man.
This clarification of what becoming children of God is not could mean two things.
Note: This commentary will focus on the second of these meanings, because if the first possibility is meant then it was discussed above'see: 'NOR THE WILL OF THE FLESH.
While it is possible that both meanings could be intended at the same time, the Greek language of the verse suggests that the will of man most likely refers to erotic desire.
The Greek term that is translated man in verse 13 is gender specific, and it specifically refers to males. The term used for man meaning 'male,' in verse 13 is ἀνδρὸς'(pronounced 'an'dros') and is a form of ἀνήρ (G435''anēr'). 'Anēr'/'Andros' is often translated 'husband.'
It is not same term used earlier by John when he wrote, 'There came a man went from God, whose name was John [the Baptizer]' (John 1:6). In John 1:6, the Greek term translated as 'man' is ἄνθρωπος (G444'pronounced: 'an'thrō'pos'). 'Anthropos' often refers to males, but its most basic sense is 'human.'
'Anthropos' is more gender inclusive. 'Anēr'/'Andros' is gender specific to males.
The expression will of man is more descriptively translated as 'masculine desire' or 'husband's desire.' It appears to be a polite euphemism for erotic or sexual desire.
The phrase nor the will of man emphasizes that being born into God's family is not the result of human sexual desire or procreative acts. The phrase explicitly excludes physical relationships or sexual union as the means of spiritual birth. It therefore excludes any kind of genealogy as a means of gaining entrance into God's forever family.
This is significant because it addresses misconceptions that pagan Greeks and Romans may have had about what it meant to be born into God's family. For cultures steeped in mythology, divine offspring were often viewed as the result of sexual encounters between gods and mortals.
In Greek mythology, the gods frequently engaged in relationships with humans, resulting in offspring who were considered demigods. For example, and as previously mentioned:
Other prominent examples from Greek mythology that describe divine and mortal intermingling include:
The Roman tradition perpetuated the same idea.
These and other similar myths established a worldview where divine and mortal realms could intermingle physically, and divine favor or lineage was often the result of sexual unions. The pagan Greeks and Romans believed that children of God were the result of sexual encounters with an immortal.
Without clarification otherwise, it would have been natural for John's Greek and Roman readers to mis'assume that being born as children of God involved a physical act of procreation between the divine and a human.
But the gospel is not like the Greek and Roman myths'so, John clarified.
In fact, John's clarification may be a way of distinguishing his gospel account from the genre of Greek and Roman mythologies. John was not interested in starting a new myth. John was interested in telling the world the good news that their God and Savior had come to give them eternal life (John 20:30-31).
John's statement directly confronts and refutes these misconceptions that divine inheritance or participation in the gods' family was linked to physical, sexual origins. He declares that being born into God's family as children of God is neither through the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. It is entirely of God.
This is a spiritual birth, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus (John 3:5-6). Jesus clarifies that spiritual birth is distinct from physical birth and is entirely the work of God through His Spirit.
In contrast to Greek and Roman mythology, John presents a wholly different paradigm. God's family is a spiritual family, born not through sexual unions but through faith in Jesus Christ and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, 6:63).
As verse 12 states, but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. This spiritual birth makes believers God's children, united by faith, not by flesh or human effort. In this way, John sets the gospel apart from the myths of pagan culture and reveals the radically different nature of God's eternal family.
Being born into God's family is:
Having outlined these misconceptions about what being born as children of God is not, John is ready to say what it is.
'BUT OF GOD.
Being born of God is a transformative spiritual act that changes one's nature. It has nothing to do with physical lineage, human achievement, or sexual procreation, but is instead the result of God's divine initiative.
People are born into God's eternal family and can become children of God'solely because of God. People can become His children because God (the Father) gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16a). As many people as receive Jesus and believe in His name as God's Son and the Messiah, God gives this right and grants eternal life (John 3:16).
Jesus says it is God 'the Spirit who gives life' (John 6:63a) and 'that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' (John 3:6b). Being born into God's family and becoming a child of God is not of human choice or efforts, but God's.
The gospel's Gift of Eternal Life is explicitly unmerited. John 1:13 clarifies that this new birth is'not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.'Human effort, heritage, or religious works cannot secure this status. It is solely the result of God's initiative. This truth magnifies God's grace and removes any grounds for boasting (Ephesians 2:8-9).
To be born of God means to experience a spiritual transformation initiated by God Himself. God is the Person who brings individuals into His eternal family. John's Gospel repeatedly emphasizes this divine birth as essential for becoming a child of God.
God gives the right to become His children to as many people who receive Jesus. Those who believe in His name are born of God.
John 1:12-13 establishes that being born of God is distinct from any human process'whether lineage, human effort, or desire. It is a supernatural act of grace given to those who receive Christ and believe in Him.
People contribute nothing to initiate their own physical existence. People do not cause themselves to be born. Physical life is a gift people receive from their parents; they do not contribute to their own conception or gestation in any manner. So too do people contribute nothing to initiate their own spiritual existence into God's family. People are not the source of their own spiritual birth. God is the source. And Spiritual birth, like physical birth is a gift that people receive.
The way the Gift of Eternal Life is received is through faith. This was true in the Old Testament, as Genesis proclaimed Abraham was declared righteous in God's sight because he believed God (Genesis 15:6). Paul noted this in his defense that righteousness before God comes by faith alone (Romans 4:3).
Now, in the era after the cross, we know that the righteousness of faith comes through the agency of Jesus; it was He who bore the sins of the world (Colossians 2:14). Abraham's era looked forward to the cross. Jesus's death was foreshadowed in events such as the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-12). In the current era, spiritual birth is tied to belief in Jesus and acceptance of His identity as the Messiah and the Son of God. In John 3:16, Jesus declares:
'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.'
Belief in Christ is the means by which one is born of God. This belief goes beyond mere intellectual assent. It involves trusting in Jesus as Savior and placing our hope of redemption in His life.
Being born of God results in a new relationship with Him as His children.
Just as physical birth is irrevocable, the Gift of Eternal Life and being a member of God's family is irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Just as there is nothing that people can do to cause themselves to be born into God's family, there is nothing His children can do to lose their right and place as His children. They have eternal belonging, and their status as God's children is safe and secure.
Jesus described lasting security of this relationship when He said:
'I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.'
(John 10:28-29)
Jesus described the freedom of this new relationship when He said:
'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.'
(John 8:34-36)
Those born of God are no longer slaves to sin. They are set free and are now empowered to live as His children. This new birth empowers them to live in harmony and communication with His Spirit and in obedience to God. They are not compelled to do so, but are enabled.
In his first epistle, John also emphasizes the spiritual freedom of God's family:
'No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.'
(1 John 3:9)
The expression 'born of God' in 1 John 3:9 describes the overarching theme of John 1:12b'13: those who believe in His name'were born'of God.
Those of His children who obey Him increasingly reflect His character, and will receive great honor from Jesus (Matthew 10:32, 40-42, 19:28, Romans 2:6-7, 10, 1 Corinthians 3:11-14, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 2 Timothy 2:12, James 1:12).
Those of His children who do not obey Him will endure His wrath and suffer great loss (Matthew 10:33, Romans 2:6, 8-9, 1 Corinthians 3:11-13, 15, 2 Timothy 2:12b). But though such loss is great, it does not mean the loss of being God's child (John 10:28-29, 2 Timothy 2:13). Nothing can separate one of God's children from God or His love (Romans 8:29-39).
Once a person receives Jesus and is born a child of God, he is forever a child of God. Just like a human child, a spiritual child has a life that cannot be revoked. However, just like a human child, a spiritual child has agency to make choices, and those choices have consequences. The child needs to learn and grow in order to mature. John wrote this gospel so that each person could be born again in order to receive the Gift of Eternal Life ('believe that Jesus is the Christ') and then learn to live in faith, and experience the Prize of Eternal Life ('and that believing you may have life in His name,' John 20:31).
96:T15259,There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:14.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (v 14).
The first half of this commentary will focus on the initial phrase of John 1:14, where John makes the incredible claim that the creator of all things became a part of His own creation'And the Word became flesh.
John's statement in verse 14 is the pinnacle of the Gospel's prologue. The preceding verses (John 1:1-13) build up to the climax of this astonishing claim. The remaining verses of the prologue (John 1:15-18) unpack its fuller meaning.
The Word's becoming flesh is the catalytic event of the Gospel. God's becoming human initiated the fulfillment of God's promises through the Law and the Prophets to redeem Israel and bring salvation to the ends of the earth for God to dwell with His people.
The subject of John's Gospel narrates and provides insight into the Word's life as a human as He makes the reality of redemption and eternal life po
John 1:14
There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:14.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (v 14).
The first half of this commentary will focus on the initial phrase of John 1:14, where John makes the incredible claim that the creator of all things became a part of His own creation'And the Word became flesh.
John's statement in verse 14 is the pinnacle of the Gospel's prologue. The preceding verses (John 1:1-13) build up to the climax of this astonishing claim. The remaining verses of the prologue (John 1:15-18) unpack its fuller meaning.
The Word's becoming flesh is the catalytic event of the Gospel. God's becoming human initiated the fulfillment of God's promises through the Law and the Prophets to redeem Israel and bring salvation to the ends of the earth for God to dwell with His people.
The subject of John's Gospel narrates and provides insight into the Word's life as a human as He makes the reality of redemption and eternal life possible for all who believe in His name.
AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH'
The first word of John 1:14 is the conjunction: And. And conjoins all that has been said thus far in John's prologue to John's claim that the Word became flesh.
Some of the key assertions thus far in John's prologue include:
(John 1:1a)
(John 1:1b)
(John 1:1c)
(John 1:3)
(John 1:4a)
(John 1:4b)
(John 1:5)
(John 1:6)
(John 1:10-11)
(John 1:12)
The conjunction'And'connects all of these truths to the amazing event: the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, etc.
The Greek term translated: Word is 'λόγος' (G3056'pronounced: 'lo'gos'). Logos is the same term used in John 1:1. It is often translated in Greek literature as 'speech' or 'reason.'
The Greek term translated became is a form of γίνομαι (G1096'pronounced: 'ghin''omh'ai'). It describes the fundamental change from not existing to existing. It describes a coming into being or existence. The form of 'ginomai' in verse 14 translated as became is the exact form of the same Greek word used earlier in John's prologue when he described the creation of the world, how 'all things came into being' through the Word (John 1:3) and how 'a man came [into being]' who was sent from God (John 1:6).
The Greek term translated flesh is σὰρξ'(G4561'pronounced: 'sarx'). Flesh in this context refers to a human body which is composed of organic matter. Specifically, flesh in this context means a living human.
As discussed in The Bible Says commentary for John 1:1, Logos is a richly loaded term that would have resonated with both the Jewish and the Greek readers of John's Gospel.
The Jews would have immediately recognized the Logos as God's Word which called forth creation and through which the Law was written down and communicated. Additionally, John's Jewish readers would have likely been familiar with the idea that the Logos was intimately connected with God or even synonymous with Him because their Aramaic translations of the Hebrew scripture (called 'Targums') regularly assigned agency and personality to the 'Memra' or 'Word of the Lord').
'Memra' means Word/Logos.
The Memra of the Lord was seen as the tangible expression of God on earth.
The Targums said that the Memra of the Lord was the cloud and the pillar of fire that guided Israel through the wilderness:
'The Memra of the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
(Targum Neofiti. Exodus 13:21)
The Targums also say that Moses personally met with the Memra of the Lord:
'The Memra of the Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.'
(Targum Neofiti. Exodus 33:11)
To learn more about the Memra and how it corresponded to the Word of the Lord, see The Bible Says article''How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
But though the Targums appear to personify and give divine agency to the Memra of the Lord, and even claim that there were some special manifestations of the Memra throughout the Old Testament, they do not say that the Memra of the Lord became fully human. The Targums may foreshadow the incarnation of the Word in the above and similar passages, but the Targums do not reveal that the Memra became flesh.
John's statement appears rooted in the Targums' Memra'tradition, but his statement And the Logos became flesh would have gone further than the Targums projected.
John's statement also appears to be phrased in a manner such that it spoke directly to those with a worldview steeped in the Greek philosophic tradition.
From their philosophic and scientific traditions reaching back to Heraclitus of Ephesus (535 B.C.'475 B.C.), the Greeks would have immediately recognized the Logos as the eternal Order or Mind which established the Cosmos. John, the author of this gospel, may have become familiar with Heraclitus, Greek philosophy, and their Logos'tradition while he lived in and served the church in the Greek city of Ephesus (~70 A.D.'~98 A.D.).
There will be more analysis of John's statement and its relationship with Greek philosophy further down in this commentary. This analysis can be found under the heading: The Word become Flesh from a 1st Century Greek and Roman Perspective.
There would have been little controversy and much agreement (from Jews and Gentiles alike) with John's statements, such as:
(John 1:1c)
(John 1:3a)
(John 1:4)
But such tacit consent would have been unlikely from either Jews or Gentiles with the core claim of John 1:14: And the Word (Logos) became flesh.
This provocative and profound statement simply means: 'God became human.' If John's statement seems less provocative or startling today, it is a testimony of either the remarkable spread and general acceptance of or apathy to the gospel message that God became human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to save the world. But millennia of time and billions of converts do not diminish the immense profundity of John's claim.
That the Word became flesh is just as profound today as it was when it was written two thousand years ago. It will be no less profound in eternity, perhaps more than many other events recorded in the annals of heaven, including the creation of the world, the fall of Lucifer, the judgment of the world, and the establishment of the new heavens and the new earth. To understand John's statement is to be in awe.
Logos refers to God'who is Spirit (John 4:24a). The nature of the immaterial Logos incomparably contrasts the material nature of flesh.
The Logos is the Creator and flesh is His special creation. Though men and women were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), they are distinct from God. And God is distinct from humans. In many respects, Logos and flesh are on opposite ends of the spectrum:
Logos and flesh do not just appear to be opposites, but they seem to be altogether incompatible. Consider then, the profound wonder of John's statement that the Logos became flesh.
When John wrote the Word became flesh, he is not saying that the Logos came into being or began to exist. But rather, John uses 'ginomai' (became) to convey the radical transformation of the immaterial, invisible, immortal, and eternal Logos entering His own creation as organic flesh that is composed of visible, mortal matter.
As the divine Logos, Jesus had no beginning. For in the beginning the eternal Word already was (John 1:1). But the humanity of the Word did have a beginning. The human existence of the Logos began when the Word became flesh.
In Jesus of Nazareth, God did not come as a disembodied Spirit. Nor did He come in appearance or semblance of a man. But rather, God came in the flesh, and entirely as a man. In Jesus of Nazareth, God Himself came to humanity as a human. The Word genuinely and entirely became human. The eternal God became a mortal man.
The Word as Flesh'Jesus's Human Nature
Jesus was entirely human (and He was entirely God).
While John's prologue considers the Word becoming flesh largely in philosophical terms, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell the human account of when the Word became flesh. Matthew and Luke share details of His miraculous conception inside of the virgin Mary's womb by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-23, Luke 1:26-38). Matthew and Luke also record the biographical story of His birth (Matthew 1:24-25, Luke 2:1-20).
Hebrews reveals 'since God's children [humanity] share in flesh and blood, He Himself [the Son of God'the Logos] likewise also partook of the same' (Hebrews 2:14a) and that He was 'made like His brethren [fellow man] in all things' (Hebrews 2:17). This includes being tempted in every way that other humans are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). He 'has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin' (Hebrews 4:15). Additionally, Jesus suffered and died as we suffer and die.
The immortal Word became mortal flesh in order to fulfill the Law (Romans 8:3-4, Galatians 4:3) and to be capable of dying for the sins of the world. Hebrews explains that God became human so that 'He might taste death for everyone' and bring many sons to glory' (Hebrews 2:9-10) and render the devil powerless (Hebrews 2:14). We will elaborate on God's reasons for the Word becoming flesh in the Jesus as God and Man section of this commentary.
Jesus is a merciful high priest to make propitiation for the sins of the people and come to the aid of those who are tempted as He was tempted because He became human and experienced temptation, suffering, and death just as we experience these things (Hebrews 2:17-18, 4:15).
As a man, Jesus lived by faith and trusted God in every action. By relying on God His Father instead of His own strength for everything He did, Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy that the Messiah would learn to become a disciple (Isaiah 50:4-5).
Hebrews further reveals how Jesus, 'in the days of His flesh' offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death' (Hebrews 5:7) And how even though He was the divine Word, 'He learned obedience from the things which He suffered' (Hebrews 5:8).
During His final Passover Seder with His disciples before His crucifixion, Jesus told them that the unleavened bread represented His sinless body/flesh and the wine His blood, sacrificed for them (Matthew 26:26-28, Luke 22:19-20). Because of Christ's sacrificial offering, the author of Hebrews encourages his readers that they 'have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is His flesh' (Hebrew 10:19-20).
Paul describes the humanity of Jesus in his letter to the Philippians when he encourages them to assume Christ's humble perspective (Philippians 2:5-9). Even though Jesus was God, He did not cling to nor assume the privileges of God when He lived as a human. He limited His divine powers and constrained Himself to accomplish only what was capable of natural man.
All the trials Jesus overcame and the accomplishments that He achieved from His birth to His baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) to His final words on the cross (Luke 23:46, John 19:30) were done by faith in God.
In their accounts of Jesus's life, Matthew, Mark, and Luke often depict the physical, spiritual, and emotional frailties of Jesus's humanity.
Even John's Gospel, which explicitly highlights Jesus's divinity, also emphasizes His humility and the limitations of His humanity through Jesus's own words about Himself:''The Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing' (John 5:19) and 'I can do nothing on My own initiative' I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me' (John 5:30). (See also: John 6:38, 7:16, 8:26, 8:28-29, 8:54 10:32).
Perhaps the statement that most clearly displays Jesus's humanity in John's Gospel is when He confides: 'Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour'' (John 12:27).
In becoming flesh, the Word not only fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17, John 19:30) by living a perfect life. But He also became a perfect sacrifice, offering Himself as the atonement for the sin of the world (Hebrews 9:28, 1 John 2:2), He also set the perfect example for the rest of humanity to follow (Luke 9:23-24, John 12:25-26, 13:15, 13:34, 15:12).
Paul, reflecting upon the example of Jesus's humility and humanity, said that He 'emptied Himself' of His divine prerogative in obedience to His Father (Philippians 2:7). And Paul encourages the believers of Philippi to adopt the attitude and perspective which Jesus had during the days of His flesh so that we too will please our Father and be exalted in due season (Philippians 2:5-15).
Finally, the Word was eternally God, but when the Word became flesh, He became forever human. That is, Jesus Christ will always retain His humanity. Jesus is the second Adam and the heavenly man (1 Corinthians 15:44-48), the firstborn of the dead (Colossians 1:18), the forever High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20) whose ministry is without end (Hebrews 7:24-25) and the living One who was dead, and is alive forevermore (Revelation 1:18).
The Incarnate Logos'Jesus's Divine Nature
Jesus was fully God (and He was entirely human).
Jesus is the Logos who was in the beginning with God and indeed was God (John 1:1). This is not only the opening assertion of John's prologue'it is the core claim of his entire gospel account. John tells us that the things that he wrote were 'so that you [John's readers] may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name' (John 20:31). This means John's objective in writing his account was to lead people to be born again as God's children, by faith, to gain the Gift of Eternal Life, then learn to live a life of faith in order to gain the experience and reward/Prize of Eternal Life.
In addition to John's claims that Jesus of Nazareth is God (the Word became flesh) are Jesus's own words about Himself. Perhaps the most overt of Jesus's claims of divinity are His 'I Am' statements.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus made numerous 'I Am' statements that reveal His divine identity and mission. These statements are significant because they echo God's declaration to Moses of His name, where He identifies Himself as 'I AM WHO I AM' (Exodus 3:14).
At least seven of Jesus's 'I Am' statements involve a descriptive metaphor revealing the character of His divine nature:
1. 'I Am the Bread of Life'
'Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.''
(John 6:35)
Jesus repeated this statement in John 6:48, 51. In saying this, Jesus claimed divinity as being the source of life.
2. 'I Am the Light of the World'
'Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.''
(John 8:12)
Jesus repeated this statement in John 9:5. In making this statement, Jesus claimed divinity in being the source of light, which is essential to life.
3. 'I Am the Door of the Sheep'
'So Jesus said to them again, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.''
(John 10:7)
Jesus repeated this statement in John 10:9. In making this statement, Jesus claimed to be the Redeemer of humanity.
4. 'I Am the Good Shepherd'
'I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.'
(John 10:11)
See also: Psalm 23:1 and Ezekiel 34'especially vv 11, 15, 23, 31.
Jesus repeated this statement in John 10:14. In making this statement, Jesus claimed the creative divinity of being the One who cares for His creation.
5. 'I Am the Resurrection and the Life'
'Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.''
(John 11:25)
In making this statement, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the author/creator of life.
6. 'I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life'
'Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.''
(John 14:6)
In making this statement, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the author of redemption, the I AM of existence and the creator of life.
7. 'I Am the True Vine'
'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.'
(John 15:1)
Jesus repeated this statement in John 15:5. In making this statement, Jesus claimed the divinity of being the sustainer of life.
In addition to these metaphorical statements, Jesus also made at least five absolute "I Am" declarations in John's Gospel where He directly claimed divinity.
1.' When Jesus was walking on the water during the storm, He called out to His disciples: 'It is I; do not be afraid.'
(John 6:20)
2.' 'Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.'
(John 8:24)
3.' 'So Jesus said, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.''
(John 8:28)
4.' 'Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.''
(John 8:58)
5.' At His arrest, Jesus asserts, 'I am He'; and His words caused the soldiers to fall to the ground.
(John 18:5-6)
Individually and collectively, these statements feature how Jesus's self'identified as God.
In Revelation, the glorified Jesus again asserts I Am statements:
(Revelation 1:17-18)
(Revelation 22:13)
During Jesus's ministry, Peter confessed to Jesus: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God' (Matthew 16:16). In his epistles, Paul repeatedly describes or declares of Jesus as divine. Two of the most notable declarations are:
(Colossians 1:15'See also 2 Corinthians 4:4).
(Colossians 1:19).
These truths from Colossians mean that Jesus is exactly like God and that all of God is in Jesus.
The author of Hebrews claims Jesus is God:
(Hebrews 1:3a).
Finally, Paul, Peter, and Jude all explicitly describe Jesus as 'God and Savior' (Titus 2:13, 2 Peter 2:1, Jude 1:25).
Jesus and His followers all claim that He is God.
The Word made Flesh'Jesus as God and Man
Jesus of Nazareth is fully God and He is fully human. Jesus's dual natures of fully God and fully human is the unexplainable, founding paradox of Christianity. Theologians sometimes refer to the mysterious duality of His divine and human natures as the 'hypostatic union.'
'Hypostatic' comes from a Greek term meaning 'underlying reality.' The dual natures of divinity and humanity mysteriously coexisting in Jesus is multi-paradoxical. (A paradox is when two apparently contradictory truth claims coexist side by side.) Consider some of the paradoxes of the divine and human natures coexisting in Jesus of Nazareth as the Word and flesh.
Logically, each of these truth pairings are incompatible. According to the rules of logic, either one or both of their statements must be false. But paradoxically every statement is true. It requires faith to accept them as true. It is the nature of all philosophical truths that they are paradoxical. An example from physics relates to geometry. The founding truth of Euclidian geometry (parallel lines never approach each and never converge) contradicts the founding truth of non'Euclidian geometry (parallel lines can approach each other while still never converging). Both systems can be used to describe and predict nature. Yet they stand in opposition, leaving us in wonder.
Such observations of paradox in nature point us to the paradoxical nature of God. He seems contradictory to us. But that should only lead us to wonderment, because God is the creator and is above all that is. Our observation of such paradoxes should lead us to wonder as Paul wondered when he exclaimed:
'Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!'
(Romans 11:33)
God does not require us to perfectly understand Him by means of logic or empirical evidence. In fact, this is not even possible. While facts and evidence may point to His identity, it takes faith to come to God (Hebrews 11:6). God requires us believe in Jesus with faith (John 1:12-13, 3:16).
Although this is observably true, it is also true that all knowledge begins with faith. Even if we appeal to experience, we must decide whether we can trust the experience (Is this real?) And whatever experiences we have will be an extremely small sample size of all that is, so are inherently untrustworthy.
Accordingly, Christianity is not the only system that requires faith. Every worldview, including those who claim to be non-religious or objective rest upon one or more paradoxes that do not rationally line up but yet, must be believed, accepted, or received as a matter of faith. Every worldview rests upon a Founding Paradox. To learn more about this phenomenon, see The Bible Says article: 'Founding Paradox.'
That God became human and the Word became flesh are central to the Christian faith because if Jesus of Nazareth was not human, then His death and consequently His resurrection were not real, and according to Paul our 'faith is worthless' and believers 'are still in [their] sins' (1 Corinthians 15:17). Moreover, if Jesus was not human, then the Law is still unfulfilled because no human has ever fulfilled it.
The main warning of 2 John is 'many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist' (2 John 1:7). It is essential to the gospel that Jesus was fully human, so that His death and resurrection could redeem His brethren.
The reason God sent His Son and the Word became flesh was to fulfill the Law and sacrificially die on humanity's behalf (Romans 8:3, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Hebrews 9:11-12, 10:10, 14).
Because of our sin nature, we were and are incapable of fulfilling the righteous requirements of God's Law ourselves and were and are condemned by it. But God loved us and through Christ accomplished for us what we could not do for ourselves,
'For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us''
(Romans 8:3-4a)
Paul reveals even further that the Word of God did not only become flesh, but that on the cross God the sinless Word became sin on our behalf so that we could receive His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The book of Hebrews is even more explicit: the everlasting and immortal Word became mortal flesh precisely in order to become capable of dying 'so that'by the grace of God He might'taste death'for everyone' (Hebrews 2:9).
Perhaps the most elaborate scripture explaining why the immortal Word assuming mortal flesh was to become capable of death is:
'Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.'
(Hebrews 2:14-15)
Jesus, speaking of His own death (John 12:33) said it was 'for this purpose that I came' (John 12:27b). The Word became Flesh and the Son of God was born the Son of Man in order to die. He died in order to be raised and gain victory over death.
The early church father, Athanasius, in his work, 'On the Incarnation,' skillfully articulated that the reason the Word became flesh was to become capable of death:
'The Word, perceiving that no otherwise could the corruption of men be undone save by death as a necessary condition, while it was impossible for the Word to suffer death, being immortal and Son of the Father, for this reason He takes to Himself a body capable of death, that it, by partaking of the Word who is above all, might be worthy to die in the stead of all, and might, because of the Word which had come to dwell in it, remain incorruptible, and that henceforth corruption might be stayed from all by the grace of the resurrection.'
(Athanasius. On the Incarnation of the Word. 2.7)
Athanasius explained that humanity's corruption could only be undone by the death of God. But God, being immortal, could not die. Therefore, He became incarnate in a mortal body to undergo death on behalf of all, thus breaking the power of corruption.
All of this points to the incomprehensible conclusion that The Word became flesh and the Son of God was born as the Son of Man in order to die to redeem humanity.
Furthermore, only God's death could atone for the sins of the world.
Only God's death had the power to save and redeem everyone. No other sacrifice would suffice.
Animal sacrifices do not have the power to remove sins.
'Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.'
(Hebrews 10:11-12)
The point the author of Hebrews is making is that we will be saved 'through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all' (Hebrews 10:10).
From a hypothetical standpoint, it is reasonable to speculate that even if a human (who was not God) somehow managed to live a sinless life and perfectly fulfill God's Law, that person's sacrifice would have limited power to redeem other people. From this perspective, it may be that the willing sacrificial death of a righteous human would be of finite worth'perhaps a one-to-one ratio. One human life for one other human life. But God's life and death is of infinite value and can therefore redeem all of humanity.
As Athanasius explained:
'He who is Life itself bore our death in His body, and by this death, He destroyed the power of death for all. A mere human life would not suffice, but the Life'giver's death is of infinite weight.'
(Athanasius. On the Incarnation of the Word. 2.9)
And:
'The Word of God was above all and therefore, by offering His own temple and bodily instrument as a substitute for the life of all, He fulfilled in death all that was required. Being of infinite worth, His death was sufficient to meet the debt of all.'
(Athanasius. On the Incarnation of the Word. 7.19)
In any case, the Bible is clear that we 'were not redeemed with perishable things' but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ' (1 Peter 1:18-19) and that 'He Himself is the propitiation for [believers'] sins; and not for [theirs] only, but also for those of the whole world' (1 John 2:2).
For the gospel to be good news for everyone, God had to become man to fulfill the Law, die for the sins of the world, and rise from the grave.
Jesus was God, the Word become flesh 'who takes away the sins of the world' (John 1:29). In the human life of Jesus, God became the second Adam,
'For since'by a man'came'death, by a man also'came the resurrection of the dead. For'as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.'
(1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
The Word Become Flesh from 1st Century Greek and Roman Perspectives
The idea of God becoming human would likely have struck the Pagan Greeks and Romans as strange and would have gone against their expectations. Whether in their myths or their philosophies, one of the core aspirations of the Greeks and Romans was to escape the burdens of mortality.
Greek Philosophy
The Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato taught that the soul was weighed down by the desires and pains of the flesh:
'The soul is like a nail fastened to the body, caught fast in its own desires, and it partakes in the body's nature.'
(Plato. Phaedo. 83d'e)
They believed a person could escape wickedness and the corruptions of the flesh through living virtuously,
'Justice in the soul is like health in the body: when the soul is ruled by wisdom and reason, it avoids corruption.'
(Plato. Republic. 443c)
For Socrates and Plato, the highest virtue was justice because it was the harmony of the other virtues working together. (Interestingly, the Greek term Socrates and Plato used for 'justice' is the same Greek term that is typically translated as 'righteousness' in the New Testament'δικαιοσύνην, G1343, pronounced: 'dik'ah'yos'oo''nay''See: 'What is Righteousness?')
Plato's pupil Aristotle believed similar things. For him a virtuous life was the essential path to the good life and was an escape from all the distractions and pains brought on by indulging one's appetites or ego. For Aristotle, the good life was one that was full of contemplation of eternal goods and truths, including the majestic Order (Logos) that sustained the cosmos'the Prime Mover.
For Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and their influential schools of thought, the idea that the Logos'the supreme order that established the universe'became flesh would have been mind-blowing.
With Socrates, an enlightened philosopher may reenter the Cave to bring truth to the prisoners chained in the darkness, but the Sun'the source of light and truth'does not become human and enter the cave's shadows Himself.
(See: 'How the Light of John's Prologue Illuminates Socrates's Allegory of the Cave.')
With Aristotle, the unchanging Prime Mover 'is not corporeal" (Aristotle. Metaphysics. 1072b4) and does not become corruptible flesh.
Even Heraclitus, the more ancient Greek philosopher, never imagined that the eternal Logos would directly become part of the changing material world,
'This Logos is eternal; yet men fail to understand it.'
(Heraclitus, Fragment 50)
The teachings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and others offer profound insights into the nature of the soul, virtue, and the cosmos, but they fall short of imagining the revolutionary concept presented in John's Gospel: that the Logos'the eternal order and reason undergirding the universe'would take on corruptible flesh.
While Greek philosophy emphasized the soul's struggle to escape the corrupting influence of the body through virtue, the Christian claim that the Logos became flesh introduces a transformative idea that God Himself entered the brokenness of the material world to redeem it. This concept would have been incomprehensible to these philosophers, whose understanding of the divine was fixed in immutable separation from the physical realm.
The incarnation of the Logos as described in John's Prologue bridges the gap between divine perfection and human frailty in a way that Greek philosophy could not conceive.
The Greeks could conceive that a man could approach the divine through moral and philosophical effort, but the Greek philosophers never imagined that the ultimate Truth would condescend to dwell among humanity. The Gospel's proclamation of the Logos becoming flesh offers not just a philosophical resolution to the problem of human corruption, but a relational and redemptive one, redefining the divine-human relationship in ways that both challenge and fulfill the aspirations of Greek philosophy.
'For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified' to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.'
(1 Corinthians 1:22-24)
Greek and Roman Mythology
While the pagan myths of the Greek and Roman religion were full of stories of gods assuming human form to perform mischief on earth to satisfy their pettiness and lusts, they never did so for selfless reasons. The pagan gods occasionally mingled on earth for brief moments of intrigue or indulgence, but they always maintained their divine detachment.
The Greek and Roman gods used temporary human guises to manipulate mortals or pursue their own selfish desires. The idea of a god taking on flesh permanently and sacrificially for the benefit of humanity was utterly foreign to pagan mythology.
The Word becoming flesh, as presented in the Gospel of John, contrasts sharply with these myths. Here, God does not assume human form out of caprice or selfish ambition but to redeem humanity from sin and death in obedience to His Father (Matthew 20:28, John 3:16-17, Philippians 2:5-8).
The Word's selfless act of sacrificial love redefines the relationship between the divine and the mortal, showing a God who is not only transcendent but also immanent, and personally invested in the wellbeing of His creation.
Such a concept would have been unfathomable in the tales of the Greek and Roman pantheons.
Moreover, the permanence and purpose of the Incarnation elevate it far above the fleeting escapades of the pagan gods. While Zeus, for example, might disguise himself as a mortal to deceive or seduce, Christ took on human nature fully and irrevocably, entering into the struggles and suffering of humanity. This self-emptying was not to exploit or dominate but to restore and redeem, and to offer an eternal relationship with the divine. In this light, the Word becoming flesh is not only unique among divine interventions, but it also fulfills humanity's deepest longings to be united with God.
God partook Himself in suffering and death so that all who believe in Him can have eternal life, and those who partake in His suffering by faith will also partake in His glory. The reality of a God who understands and shares in humanity's plight and makes available the glories of heaven is an undreamed hope that no Greek or Roman myth could ever deliver.
The incredible significance of the Word becoming flesh is constantly revealed as John describes and depicts Jesus in his gospel account.
The life of Jesus made it possible for as many people who receive Him by faith (in His identity as God and Messiah) to be born into God's eternal family (John 1:12-13, 3:5, 14-15). Jesus's actions and words reveal God's heart to the world and His example of sacrificial love is one He invites us to follow that we may have life abundantly (John 10:10b, 15:12).
' AND DWELT AMONG US'
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us'
John's expression'and dwelt among us'reinforces the full humanity of the Word when He became flesh. God dwelt and lived among us as a man (Jesus of Nazareth) in community with and among other humans.
Before we discuss the rich meaning of dwelt, we should first discuss what John means by the phrase: among us.
Who does 'us' refer to?
The pronoun'us'could be understood in three senses:
1. Inclusively referring to all humanity.
2. Nationally or ethnically referring to the Jews.
3. Specifically referring to John and Jesus's other close disciples.
Among us underscores the communal aspect of Jesus's incarnation. He did not isolate Himself but lived within the fabric of human society, experiencing its joys and sorrows, and forming deep relationships. He shared meals, engaged with sinners, healed the sick, and taught multitudes. The inclusivity of us invites reflection on the relational nature of God, who desires not only to save individuals but to restore relationships and establish a community of believers united in Christ.
John's description that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us is a fitting one for Jesus who is called ''Immanuel', which'means 'God with us'' (Matthew 1:23).
When the Word became flesh, He was born as a human who lived in the world of humans. Jesus experienced all the things every other human being experiences'impulses, appetites, emotions, desires, ambitions, physical sensations.
As a baby, Jesus needed to be fed, burped, and changed. As a boy, He likely scraped His knee, and had to learn to read and write, and the skills to work a trade to earn money. As a young man, He likely worked to support Himself and possibly had to provide for His mother.
The book of Hebrews says that Jesus became like us (Hebrews 2:14) and was tempted in every way that we are tempted, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus felt deprivation (Matthew 4:2), fatigue (Mark 4:38), grief (John 11:33-35), depression (Matthew 26:37-38), humiliation and shame (Matthew 27:39-40), and excruciating pain (John 19:1'see also Exploring the Unimaginable Suffering of Crucifixion).
Jesus was exactly as Isaiah predicted the Messiah would be: 'a man of sorrows' (Isaiah 53:3).
The Word condescended from the comforts of heaven for the troubles of earth because He loved us. And even though He was God, He did not use His divine authority to shield Himself from either temptation or suffering (Philippians 2:6-7). But rather, He was obedient unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
The inclusivity of the pronoun us refers to Jesus's mission to redeem humanity. God came to earth as a human so that He could save the world (John 3:16). Jesus is the World Messiah''the Light of Men (John 1:5) and 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12, 9:5).
Jesus was a Jew, who lived among Jews in Judea. He was born in the Jewish town of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-6). He grew up in Nazareth (Matthew 2:22-23, Luke 2:39). He participated in Jewish customs (Luke 2:41, John 2:13, 10:22-23) and was known as 'Jesus of Nazareth' or Jesus the Nazarene (Mark 10:47, John 1:5, 18:5, 19:19).
Jesus was familiar to His neighbors (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 3:31-31, Luke 4:22). He was known throughout Israel (John 7:41-42). He was known by His enemies (Matthew 13:55-56, John 6:2, 8:41).
When John wrote among us, he could have been referring to his own people.
During His ministry Jesus lived with His disciples. They saw Him perform numerous miracles (both public and private) and heard Him deliver sermons. His disciples traveled with Him, broke bread with Him, and asked Him questions about His teachings. Jesus revealed things to His disciples that He did not reveal to anyone else.
If and/or as John might have intend the pronoun us to refer to Jesus's disciples, this would have bolstered his authority as the author of this Gospel. John would have personally seen and witnessed the things he is writing about.
This most exclusive sense of the pronoun us would have a similar meaning to what John says near the end of his gospel account:
'This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.'
(John 21:24).
All three senses of'us'are mutually valid and could be intended by John.
'Tabernacled' among us
When John says that God dwelt among us, his terminology is descriptive and deeply significant.
The Greek verb, translated as dwelt, is a form of σκηνόω (G4637, 'sk'no',' pronounced: 'skay'nah''ō'). It literally means 'to tabernacle,' 'encamp,' or 'pitch a tent.'
'Sk'no' evokes the Old Testament tabernacle. In fact, 'sk'no' is the verbal form of the Greek noun translated as 'tabernacle' in the Septuagint'the Ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament.
The tabernacle was a special tent that God commanded be constructed according to His specifications shortly after He delivered Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 25:8-9, Exodus 26). It was designated to be the place where God's presence resided on earth (Exodus 29:43-46). (To learn more about the Tabernacle, see The Bible Says article: 'The Temple').
The phrase dwelt among us communicates the tangible reality of God's presence. In the Old Testament, God's glory filled the tabernacle, and it was a visible sign of His nearness to His people (Exodus 40:34-38).
Similarly, in Jesus, the fullness of God dwelt in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). Through His words, actions, and miracles, Jesus revealed God's character, wisdom, and love in ways humanity could see and understand. The Word dwelt among us affirms that God has made Himself knowable and approachable in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The tabernacle expressed God's desire to dwell among His people (Exodus 29:45). Jesus, the Word become flesh, was the embodiment of God's desire to dwell among His people. Again, Jesus is Immanuel, 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23). The life of Jesus manifests God's ultimate intention to live in close relationship with humanity (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 10:10, 17:21).
The phrase dwelt [tabernacled] among us conveys the truth that the infinite God has chosen to enter into His creation, to walk among His people, and to invite them into fellowship with Him. Just as God 'tabernacled' (dwelt) among the Israelites in the wilderness as He led them to the Promised Land, so too did the Word of God tabernacle among men as He took away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
In Exodus, the manifestation of God's presence and glory was visible in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 40:34-38). During the Exodus, God 'tabernacled' in a physical replica of the heavenly temple (Hebrews 8:5). During the life of Jesus, God 'tabernacled' (dwelt) in human flesh. As a human, Jesus 'is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature' (Hebrews 1:3a). 'He is the image of the invisible God' (Colossians 1:15a).
'Sk'no' ('tabernacled') also highlights the temporary and humble nature of Jesus's life on earth.
A tent is not a permanent dwelling place, but a temporary one. 'Tabernacled (dwelt) among us' signifies the brief time Jesus, the Son of God, actually lived among us on the earth. Jesus lived among us for approximately thirty-three years. Thirty'three years is not a long time. It is a comparatively short lifetime for a human. And it is a mere blip in human history, not to mention the history of the universe or eternity.
In the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4), Jesus 'tabernacled' among us for a specific reason. The Word became flesh, and Jesus was born in order to fulfill the Law by faith (Matthew 5:17). He came to live as a man and endure terrible suffering then to die to redeem humanity and His creation from the destructive power and deadly penalty of sin (Galatians 4:5, 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Son of God became flesh to experience the hour of His own death (John 12:27, 12:33) on our behalf (Hebrews 2:9, 2:14-15). In other words, Jesus was born and dwelt among us to die for us.
The Son of God's act of condescension and death (Philippians 2:6-8) demonstrates the immense love God has for humanity (John 3:16, 15:13, Romans 5:8).
Jesus temporarily dwelt on earth to accomplish this mission. But His brief time among us has eternal consequences for human destiny. On the night before His death, Jesus promised His disciples some amazing things:
'In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.'
(John 14:2-3)
The Word became flesh and temporarily dwelt among us, so that we might eternally dwell with God in His Father's house.
In the meantime, even after Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, God's presence, though not currently present among us in the flesh, is still among us in spirit.
Jesus promised to be with His disciples 'always' (Matthew 28:20) and to send the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers (John 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit came a few days after Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 2:1-4).
The Word's dwelling among humanity assures us of God's intimate involvement in our lives. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the most significant demonstration of His unwavering commitment to redeem and restore all things through Him. The phrase: 'tabernacled (dwelt) among us' conveys the truth that the infinite God has chosen to enter His creation, to live and walk among His people, and to invite them into fellowship with Him.
' AND WE SAW HIS GLORY, GLORY AS THE ONLY BEGOTTEN FROM THE FATHER'
John recognizes the boldness of his astonishing claim that God became human and dwelt among us. The phrase and we saw His glory conveys the eyewitness testimony of John and others who encountered the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ (John 21:24).
The pronoun we in this phrase can refer to the same three meanings as the pronoun us refers to in the previous phrase. These three meanings were:
While all three meanings are mutually valid, it seems as though John is referring to himself and his fellow disciples as a way to demonstrate his credentials for writing this Gospel account.
His glory refers to Jesus's glory, Jesus the Word/Logos made flesh.
John writes that we saw His glory, referring to the glory of the Word made flesh during the time He dwelt among us.
Glory'the Shekinah of God
The Greek term translated as glory is δόξα (G1391'pronounced: 'do'xa'). Glory means the essence of something being observed by others.
Through'Jesus, humans can observe and understand the true essence of God.
In Jesus, John and others were able to observe the glory of God. As the only begotten Son from God the Father, Jesus is the manifestation of divine majesty and splendor.
John appears to expand his expression'and we saw His glory'in the opening of his first epistle: when the aged apostle reminisced about his time with Jesus:
'What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life''
(1 John 1:1).
The Greek verbal tenses for 'what we have heard' seen' looked at' touched' (1 John 1:1) make it appear as though John is reminiscing of his time with Jesus. The aged apostle is replaying scenes or dialogue in his mind. John can still visualize Jesus's expressions and still hear the inflections in Jesus's voice as he recalled the things Jesus said.
When John writes we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, he is emphasizing that Jesus, though fully human, revealed the magnificence of God in a way that was observable and undeniable to those who witnessed His life and ministry.
In the Old Testament, the manifestation of God's glory is associated with His shekinah glory which dwelt in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35) and later the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). During the Exodus, God's glory was manifested in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night (Exodus 40:34-38).
The cloud and pillar of fire symbolized God's glory, presence, and power among His people. Jesus was the human manifestation of God's shekinah glory. And Jesus is the literal embodiment of God's glory, presence, and power among His people.
In stating we saw His glory, John asserts that the same divine glory, once confined to the tabernacle, was now revealed in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This aligns beautifully, with John's earlier proclamation that the Word became flesh and 'tabernacled' (dwelt) among us (John 1:14a).
Interestingly, the Aramaic translations of the Old Testament ('the Targums') specify that it was literally the ''Memra' ['the Word'] of the Lord' which:
When John writes: The Word dwelt (tabernacled) among us and we saw His glory, he appears to be making a direct link to what the Targums previously said concerning the Memra (Word), the tabernacle, and the Shekinah glory.
For instance, when the Lord promised to meet Israel in the tabernacle that He might dwell among them, the Targums read:
(Targums Onkelos and Neofiti. Exodus 29:43).
(Targums Onkelos and Neofiti. Exodus 29:45).
Targum Neofiti continues: 'My Memra will be for them a redeeming God' so that the glory of My Shekinah might dwell among them'
(Targum Neofiti. Exodus 29:45-46).
It is possible that John had these Targum translations in mind when he wrote: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt ('tabernacled') among us, and we saw His glory.
To learn more about the Memra and other similarities between it and the Logos, see The Bible Says article: 'How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
It seems the most brilliant and undeniable time John saw Jesus's glory was when he, Peter, and James beheld Jesus's divine glory during His transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). During this occasion Jesus's divine nature was momentarily unveiled in radiant splendor. The three disciples saw Jesus's glory.
The disciples who observed Jesus's transfiguration saw His face shining like the sun and His garments gleaming white, leaving no doubt about His divine identity (Matthew 17:2). Peter, not really knowing how to properly respond to seeing the fuller glory of God, blurted out: 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish,'I will make three'tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah' (Matthew 17:4).
We are told that the prophets Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Jesus when He was transfigured. We can observe that Peter immediately thought of tabernacles when he saw the divine glory of Jesus.
Also notice what happened next during the moment of Jesus's transfiguration:
'While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!''
(Matthew 17:5)
The imagery of the bright cloud and the language, 'This is My beloved Son' (Matthew 17:5) spoken by the voice from that cloud both match what John claims to have witnessed: we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father. It is possible that John had the moment of Jesus's transfiguration in mind when he wrote this line in John 1:14.
Jesus's glory was not merely displayed in moments of grandeur but was also revealed through Jesus's humility and obedience. The ultimate expression of His divine glory came through the cross and resurrection. Jesus Himself spoke of the cross as the hour in which He would be glorified (John 12:23-24, 13:31).
In His sacrificial death, Jesus revealed the glory of God. Jesus's death revealed the unfathomable depth of God's love and justice. Jesus's resurrection revealed the glory of God. With His resurrection, Jesus demonstrated God's power to conquer sin and death.
This paradoxical glory'manifested in both suffering and triumph'is central to the Gospel.
Jesus thought little of the shame and tortures of the cross in comparison to the joy (Hebrews 12:2) and glorious reward that was set before Him (Isaiah 53:12, Philippians 2:9-11).
Jesus invites us to share in His sufferings by faith and promises us glory if we do (Matthew 10:32, 38-42, Luke 22:28-30, Revelation 2:8-11). Paul reinforces these claims (Romans 8:16-18). So does Peter (1 Peter 1:3-9). So does James (James 1:2-4, 1:12).
Only Begotten Son
The phrase glory as of the only begotten from the Father reveals Jesus's unique relationship with God the Father.
The Greek term translated 'only begotten' is μονογενής'(G3439'pronounced: 'mon'og'en'ace'). It means 'unique' or 'one of a kind.'
'Monogenace' is a compound term from 'mono' meaning, only or 'unique,' and 'gen-ace' meaning begotten, 'birthed,' or 'produced.' In strictly human terms, 'monogenace' can mean 'only child' (Luke 8:42, 9:38, Hebrews 11:17). But when applied to Jesus, the expression'only begotten'does not imply creation but rather signifies the uniqueness of who He is and His relationship as God the only Son to God the Father.
As God the Son, Jesus's existence is eternal. 'He was in the beginning' (John 1:1a, 1:2). Consequently, Jesus did not have a beginning. He was not born or begotten in the same sense that children are begotten or born of their parents. Children have a beginning to their existence. Their beginning starts when they are begotten (conceived). Jesus is not merely begotten'He is only begotten, uniquely begotten. Jesus is eternally begotten.
'Monogenace' emphasizes Jesus's singular and unparalleled status as the eternal Son of God. It is a term intended to convey how Jesus, the Word, uniquely shares the divine status with God. Jesus's glory (His essence) is distinct and unparalleled because it is directly derived from His identity as the eternal Son of God (John 1:1-3.)
Even though the Word became flesh and entered creation as a human, He is utterly distinct from all creation. He is only begotten''monogenance.'
'Monogenance' is the same Greek term used in John 3:16 to describe the unique, only begotten essence of God's Son. And interestingly, the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses 'monogenace' in the Messianic psalms when the psalmist cries out for God to save his 'only life' (Psalm 22:20, 35:17).
Only begotten is foundational to understanding Jesus's identity within the Trinity and His role in salvation.
Paradoxically, God is Three and God is One. The One God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Father in John 1:14 is God the Father. The Father loved the world (John 3:16) and did not want it to perish from its rebellion against Him. God the Father had a plan to save it by sending His Son (John 3:17).
God the Son is Jesus, the Word (John 1:1, 14). When God the Father sent His Son into the world, God the Son became human and was born Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, like a faithful Son obeyed His Father in all things'even unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8).
God the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to send the Spirit to be with His followers forever, calling Him 'the Spirit of truth' who abides with them and is in them (John 14:16-17). God the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Through the indwelling of the Spirit, God's presence is no longer confined to a physical temple, or to the bodily presence of Jesus on earth. As the Spirit, God now resides in the hearts of those who believe, transforming them into the tabernacle of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). Colossians 1:27 also says that Christ is 'in you, the hope of glory.'
Only begotten also reveals God's intention to share His glory with humanity through Jesus.
By virtue of being the only begotten from the Father, Jesus makes the glory of God accessible to those who believe in Him. This aligns with Jesus's High Priestly prayer:
'The glory which You have given Me, I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one.'
(John 17:22)
Believers are invited into this divine glory with the Father and Spirit through their relationship with the only begotten'Jesus.
John's testimony'and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father'serves as both a declaration and an invitation. It is a declaration of who Jesus is: the Word become flesh. And it is an invitation to encounter the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ. John's Gospel reveals who Jesus is.
'FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.
The final phrase of John 1:14'full of grace and truth'succinctly describes the character of God and the mission of the Word made flesh. Jesus embodies the fullness of God's divine attributes in His human life.'Jesus is full of grace. And He is full of truth.
Full of Grace
The Greek term, which is translated here as grace, is χάρις (G5485'pronounced: 'khar-ece'). It simply means 'favor' or 'kindness.' Favor is a disposition or expression of love, goodwill, or blessing. We see 'charis' translated as 'favor' in Luke 2:52, which speaks of Jesus growing in favor ('charis') with God and man.
Kindness is a quality or action characterized by benevolence, compassion, and care toward others'often at one's own expense. Grace is both a reflection of God's nature and a practical expression of His love.
Context determines who is dispensing the grace, to whom it is being offered, and the basis for grace being bestowed.
Sometimes grace or favor is undeserved; it is dispensed as a matter of mercy. In the Old Testament, the Lord's grace was demonstrated in His covenant faithfulness to Israel, despite their repeated unfaithfulness (Psalm 30:5, Lamentations 3:22-23).
In the New Testament, the good news of Jesus is that people receive the forgiveness of sins and the Gift of Eternal Life on the basis of unearned grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). Although this amazing grace or favor is unmerited by humans, the favor is granted based on the merit of Jesus Christ, who died in our place.
But God also bestows favor upon those who walk in obedience to His word. This is the favor/grace of eternal rewards. It is what Jesus referred to as 'treasure in heaven' for doing good deeds on earth (Matthew 19:21). This verse from 1 Peter illustrates this point:
'God is opposed to the proud but gives grace ['charis'] to the humble.'
(1 Peter 5:5b)
We see in this verse that God tells us specifically what He will favor (humility) and what He disfavors (pride). This fits with one of the Apostle Paul's theme verses, Habakkuk 2:4, which is quoted in the New Testament in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. It shows us that pride (faith in self) is the opposite of faith, which is trusting God. Since this is what God desires, it is what He promises to reward.
Notwithstanding this promise, God's favor is always a matter of His mercy, for there is no standard that is above Him. No one can demand anything from God, for He is not accountable to any standard. However, this is likely better for us as humans, because He is a God that is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Here in John 1:14, full of grace describes a core element of God's character. Grace is God's initiative to bless and save humanity despite their sinfulness.
God's grace is on full display in the life of Jesus. In Jesus, grace is personified and fully realized. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus extended God's grace to humanity.
Through Jesus we are graciously offered:
(Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14, 1:19-20),
(John 1:12-13),
(John 11:25, Ephesians 2:8-9),
(Matthew 19:28-29, Romans 8:17-18).
In Jesus, there is an inexhaustible supply of God's favor: 'For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace' (John 1:16). God's supply of grace will never run out or empty (Psalm 136:1).
His grace never decreases nor diminishes. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23a). Where sin abounds, His grace increases (Romans 5:29). It is impossible for too many people to receive Jesus and exhaust His mercy and grace. His grace is infinite. As many people who do receive Him will experience the gospel's blessings (John 1:12-13).
The gospel's supply of grace is infinite and unlimited. Infinite grace is part of what makes the gospel such good news.
This is possible, in part because Jesus as the Creator was the Maker of grace (John 1:17). His grace is available to all who believe in Him.
Grace is personified and fully realized in Jesus.
Full of Truth
The Greek term which is translated as truth is ἀλήθεια (G225'pronounced: 'al''thee'ah'). Truth describes reality. As a description of the Word, the expression full of truth describes God's nature as absolute reality.
When God revealed His name to Moses, He told Moses He was: 'I Am Who I Am' (Exodus 3:14). God's self-description can be understood to mean 'I Am Reality Himself.'
Jesus proclaimed Himself as 'the way, and the truth, and the life' (John 14:6). Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God's moral truth and the way to complete fulfillment. Whatever is real is from God and of God. All that the world offers as being real is simply a passing illusion of what is real (1 John 2:17).
As God, Jesus 'is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all' (1 John 1:5b). This claim means there is no trace of deceit, falseness, ignorance, or evil in God at all.
As a man, Jesus is the embodiment of truth. He was entirely righteous, meaning He lived entirely according to God's design for humanity. He lived according to the truth as He was completely and perfectly faithful to the Law of God (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus is described as 'the faithful and true witness [martyr]' (Revelation 3:14) because He was faithful and true unto death (Isaiah 53:10-12, Philippians 2:8, Hebrews 2:14-15). Throughout His ministry, Jesus demonstrated truth in His teachings. Jesus exposed sin and falsehood while always pointing people to the righteousness of God (John 3:19-21).
Jesus is 'the Light of the World' (John 8:12, John 9:5). He came to bring the light of truth and goodness to the darkness, ignorance, and wickedness of humanity (John 1:5). Jesus came to deal with the terrible reality of human sin and suffering with grace and truth.
'You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.'
(1 John 3:5)
'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'
(John 1:29b)
Jesus graciously took away our sins, not by ignoring them but by confronting them in truth. He took away our sins by taking them upon Himself in exchange for His righteousness (Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2:14).
If we receive Jesus as God and Messiah'i.e. believe in His name for our salvation, we are born into God's eternal family (John 1:12-13) and we are promised that our sins will not separate us from God in eternity (Romans 8:1).
John's description that Jesus is full of truth, like Paul's reminder that 'the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable' (Romans 11:29), assures us that Jesus is completely trustworthy. God is faithful to fulfill His promises of grace to save us from sin and death.
Grace and Truth together
Jesus was and is full of grace and truth at the same time. Jesus was not one of these things without the other:
In short, if there is no standard of'truth then there is no possibility for grace. Postmodern relativism can sometimes picture what it looks like when people attempt to have grace without truth.
Without grace, God's love for sinners is impossible. Truth without grace can only love what is perfect. And no human apart from Jesus is perfect. Therefore, there would be no hope of being loved by God or others. Without grace, humanity would be doomed and irrevocably denied its greatest good'fellowship with God and community with other people.
The scribes and Pharisees are a depiction of truth without grace (Matthew 23). Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for standing for truth, but then told them He would remove their 'lampstand' or witness if they did not return to their 'first love.'
The combination of grace and truth in Jesus is essential to the Gospel. Without grace, God's truth would be unbearable, as it exposes human sin and unworthiness. Without truth, God's grace would lack direction and substance. In Jesus, these attributes coexist perfectly and fully, offering both forgiveness and the path to righteousness.
Jesus is neither grace without truth, nor is He truth without grace. Jesus is full of grace and truth. In Matthew 24:12-13, Jesus warns future disciples to endure, and not let their love 'grow cold' because lawlessness (i.e. lack of truth) has abounded. He says that if any believer 'endures to the end' in keeping their love in the face of lawlessness, 'he will be saved.' We can infer that the 'saved' in this instance is being delivered from standing for truth, against lawlessness, without continuing in love. This shows the vital importance of having both in combination in order to live in a manner that displays Jesus to the world and pleases God.
Here are three examples of the fullness of grace and truth of Jesus put into action when He dwelt among us:
1.' The Woman Caught in Adultery
' ' '(John 8:2-11)
Jesus reflects the heart of God's character (full of grace and truth) to the adulterous woman.
Jesus did not overlook, condone, or downplay her sin (truth). Neither did He condemn her for her sin (grace). He forgave her and told her to sin no more (John 8:11). He does not compromise truth to extend grace, nor does He withhold grace in the name of truth. His interaction with the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) illustrates the fullness of both grace and truth in Him. He upholds the truth by acknowledging her sin and telling her to sin no more but extends grace by refusing to condemn her, urging her to leave her life of sin.
By being full of grace and truth, Jesus models the transformative power of grace and truth working together.
Grace is not just about forgiving sin but also empowering believers to live differently. Grace changes hearts and lives by drawing people into a relationship with God and enabling them to grow in holiness. True grace does not excuse sin, but rather, it motivates us to live in gratitude and obedience to God. Part of that motive is that we know that God promises He will reward/favor our obedience as faithful witnesses. This was a primary motive of Jesus as well as the Apostle Paul (Hebrews 12:2, 2 Corinthians 4:17, 2 Timothy 4:8).
2.' Jesus's Cleansing the Temple of Extortioners
' ' '(John 2:13-17)
The former high priest, Annas, set up a racket to extort the sincere worshippers of God, by forcing them to use special temple coins (instead of the Roman'issued currency which bore Caesar's likeness) for temple sacrifices. There was an upcharge on the exchange. Annas's bazaars also sold animals for sacrifice at a premium price.
Jesus was righteously angered by this unjust abuse of His Father's temple and His people. He took time to make a whip (John 2:15a) and violently drove out money changers and animal sellers, turning over their tables (John 2:15b).
At first glance, this may seem like an action of pure truth, with little to no grace. But even in violently clearing the temple of this market, Jesus's action was full of grace and truth. It was motivated by His deep love for God and compassion for His people (grace). Jesus refused to tolerate the injustice or abuse done in His Father's name (truth) in His Father's house.
Truth was expressed in His righteous indignation toward sin and corruption, and at the same time, His act of cleansing was an act of grace for those who came to the temple to worship, as it restored the proper focus on God.
Grace does not mean passivity. Sometimes, grace requires bold action to confront wrongdoing for the sake of truth and justice.
3.' Jesus's Crucifixion
' ' (John 19:1-30)
The cross is the ultimate demonstration of both grace and truth. On the cross, Jesus bore the judgment for sin that humanity deserved (Colossians 2:13-14), satisfying God's justice (truth) while extending forgiveness and salvation (grace) to sinners.
As God, fully God, Jesus was full of grace and truth. And the fullness of grace and truth was on full display during His crucifixion:
'For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.'
(Colossians 1:19-20)
The cross is the ultimate demonstration of both grace and truth. On the cross, Jesus bore the judgment for sin that humanity deserved (Colossians 2:13-14), satisfying God's justice (truth) while extending forgiveness and salvation (grace) to sinners (John 3:16).
Grace and the Lake of Fire
Furthermore, the cross of Jesus, where He sacrificially suffered and willfully surrendered His life in obedience to the Father for the sins of the world, is how an all'loving, all-powerful God who is full of grace and the terrible reality of eternal damnation and separation from God in the lake of fire are both possible.
The truth is that all have sinned and are deserving of death (everlasting torment and separation from God in the lake of fire)'(Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23a, Ephesians 2:1-3, Revelation 20:15). But because of God's gift of grace through sending His Son Jesus, all people can receive eternal life through faith in Him (John 3:16, Romans 6:23b, Ephesians 2:4-8).
The cross is able to rescue us from the reality of hell. The cross is God's act of grace to save us from this terrible truth. But the grace must be received in order to save us.
Each person must receive God's grace through faith in Jesus as God and their Messiah (Savior), and as many who receive Him are born into God's eternal family and are saved (John 1:12-13). Again, Jesus is 'the way, and'the truth, and'the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him]' (John 14:6).
Rejecting Christ means choosing God's wrath and judgment instead of grace (John 3:18-19, 3:36, 8:24, 12:48, 15:22). Those who spend eternity in the lake of fire do so because they chose it. Even in this, God's favor toward humanity abounds because He granted agency to each person to choose their path, and a window of time in which to choose it.
It is good to remember that while grace is free to us, it was costly to God. The awful sacrifice of God's Son reveals the truth of sin's gravity. Jesus's suffering and death on the cross is the price of grace. Jesus's sacrificial death on the cross demonstrated the greatest act of love the world has ever seen (John 15:13).
And His sacrifice on the cross demonstrated that He was full of grace and truth.
97:T577f,John 1:15 has no apparent parallel in the Gospels.
John 1:15, supports the remarkable but true claims of John 1:14 and the thesis of John's gospel, which is that Jesus is the eternal Word who created the universe, who came in human form to earth.
Having made the chief assertion that God became human and lived among us, revealing His divine glory (John 1:14), John now reinforces this spectacular claim with the historical testimony of John the Baptizer.
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me'' (v 15).
The John who is mentioned here is John the Baptizer (not John the author of this gospel and one of Jesus's twelve disciples). John the Baptizer was previously mentioned in the prologue:
'There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.'
(John 1:6-8)
John the Baptizer was Jesus's cousin. His father was Zacharias the priest and his mother was Elizabeth, the relative of Mary, mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John was miraculously born to his parents when they were both extremely old and beyond the age when couples were able to conceive a child without God's power (Luke 1:7).
Gabriel the angel told Zacharias while he was serving in the temple that he and his wife would have a son (Luke 1:8-13). Zacharias's son was to be th
John 1:15
John 1:15 has no apparent parallel in the Gospels.
John 1:15, supports the remarkable but true claims of John 1:14 and the thesis of John's gospel, which is that Jesus is the eternal Word who created the universe, who came in human form to earth.
Having made the chief assertion that God became human and lived among us, revealing His divine glory (John 1:14), John now reinforces this spectacular claim with the historical testimony of John the Baptizer.
John testified about Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me'' (v 15).
The John who is mentioned here is John the Baptizer (not John the author of this gospel and one of Jesus's twelve disciples). John the Baptizer was previously mentioned in the prologue:
'There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.'
(John 1:6-8)
John the Baptizer was Jesus's cousin. His father was Zacharias the priest and his mother was Elizabeth, the relative of Mary, mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John was miraculously born to his parents when they were both extremely old and beyond the age when couples were able to conceive a child without God's power (Luke 1:7).
Gabriel the angel told Zacharias while he was serving in the temple that he and his wife would have a son (Luke 1:8-13). Zacharias's son was to be the prophesied forerunner who prepared the way for the Messiah (Luke 1:14-17). When Zacharias heard this, he doubted the angel's message, and was struck mute until the prophecy was fulfilled and he named the baby John when his son was eight days old (Luke 1:18-20).
John's lifestyle was unusual. He was an extreme aesthetic, dwelling in the wilderness and relying on God for his sustenance. He wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). His lifestyle was part of his message of spiritual preparation for the coming of the Messiah. John's humble way of life reflected his role as a prophet, calling the people to repentance and detachment from worldly comforts.
The Baptizer openly confronted the religious leaders of his time, particularly the Pharisees and Sadducees, accusing them of hypocrisy and spiritual pride. When they came to him for baptism, he called them a 'brood of vipers' and warned them to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:7-8).
John challenged their reliance on their heritage as descendants of Abraham, declaring that God could raise up children for Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9). His bold denunciation of their corruption and failure to lead the people spiritually made him a controversial and unwelcome figure among the religious elite.
The prophet Isaiah declared: 'A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make straight in the desert a highway for our God'' (Isaiah 40:3).
John identifies himself as that voice (John 1:23) and he points to Jesus as the LORD whose way he was preparing. This fulfillment reinforces the divine identity and mission of Jesus, which John the Baptizer boldly proclaimed and John the Gospel'writer now records.
Similarly,'Malachi'predicted a messenger in the spirit of Elijah who would precede the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6), a role which John the Baptizer fulfilled (Matthew 17:12-13). Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, written roughly four hundred years prior to the first advent of Jesus. If you read the last verse of Malachi, then turn to the first verse of the Gospel of Mark it reads like a story written with no time gap.
The next to last verse of Malachi says: 'I am going to send you Elijah the prophet' (Malachi 4:5). Then the Gospel of Mark begins by describing Isaiah's prophecy of the 'voice of one crying in the wilderness' that was John the Baptizer, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Mark 1:2-3).
John testified about Him.
The pronoun Him refers to Jesus, 'the Word become flesh' (John 1:14).
The Greek term that is translated as testified is the same root verb that is translated as 'testify' in John 1:6-8. It is a form of μαρτυρέω (G3140'pronounced: 'mar-ter''ō'). It means to 'bear witness' or to 'tell the truth' about a person or event. It is from this Greek verb for 'testify' that the English word 'martyr' is derived. John testified of Jesus until he was executed by Herod the Tetrarch (Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29) and became the first known martyr for Jesus of Nazareth.
John the Baptizer's primary mission was to point people to Jesus, 'the Light of the world' (John 8:12). His testimony was not about himself but about Jesus the Messiah, God in human form (John 1:6-8). This aligns with the Baptizer's statement quoted later in John's gospel: 'He must increase, but I must decrease' (John 3:30). John the Baptizer recognized his role and humbly fulfilled it in submission to Jesus's greater purpose.
When John the Baptizer was mentioned previously in this prologue (John 1:6-8), his message appears to have been summarized. But here the Apostle John seems to quote John the Baptizer. He writes that John (the Baptizer) cried out, saying.
This is what John was quoted as saying: 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.''
In this quote, John the Baptizer references his own prior statement. Before John quotes himself, he begins with a preparatory statement: This was He of whom I said.
The pronoun He in the Baptizer's quote is in reference to Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:17, 1:45). John's preparatory statement means: 'This man, Jesus, He is the one I have been telling you about.'
We are not given the exact context for when John the Baptizer said this quote. But it most likely came when Jesus was first beginning His Messianic ministry. John's statement demonstrates that he had already been preparing the way for the Messiah well before Jesus began His Messianic ministry.
Luke, the most historically minded of the gospel writers, tells us that John the Baptizer began his ministry during the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius (Luke 3:1). It is unclear if Luke had Tiberius's co-reign in mind or when he became the sole emperor of Rome. If the former, then this would have been around 26/27 A.D. If the latter, then 28/29 A.D.
John the Baptizer's ministry was one of preparation, calling the people of Israel to repentance in anticipation of the coming Messiah. He preached in the wilderness of Judea, urging the masses to 'repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 3:2).
His message emphasized turning away from sin and bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, warning that judgment was imminent for those who remained unrepentant (Matthew 3:7-10). John's ministry included baptizing (immersing people in water) those who confessed and turned away from their sins. This immersion symbolized spiritual cleansing and renewal. John baptized people in the Jordan River (Mark 1:5).
The reason the kingdom was at hand (Matthew 3:2) was because the Messiah (the Christ, the King of Israel) was about to appear. When Jesus did appear, even though He was without sin, He was baptized by John (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:33).
John predicted the Messiah'King's arrival in prophetic riddles.
One of John's prophetic riddles concerning the Messiah was:
'I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'
(Luke 3:16'see also Matthew 3:11 and Mark 1:7-8)
The Gospel of John seems to quote this prophetic riddle this way:
'Among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.'
(John 1:26b'27)
And it is this prophetic riddle that the gospel writer seems to be quoting in John 1:15,
He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.
Later in this chapter, the riddle is quoted again concerning the true identity of Jesus:
'This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.''
(John 1:30)
This riddle contains two essential truths about Jesus's identity:
1.' John cryptically points to Jesus as the promised Messiah
John indicates that Jesus is the Messiah by identifying Jesus as: He who comes after me has a higher rank than I.
Chronologically, Jesus began His ministry sometime after John had already had begun his ministry. This is why John describes Jesus as He who comes after me. Jesus is also younger than John by six months and is therefore after him by order of birth. There is nothing cryptic here about Jesus coming after John.
What is cryptic is that John says that He (Jesus) who comes after me has a higher rank than I.
The riddle is found in what John means by Jesus having a higher rank than John.
In order to understand the meaning of John's riddle, one must first understand that John was the Messianic forerunner'the prophetic 'voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the LORD' as Isaiah the prophet said' (John 1:23).
As the Messianic forerunner, by definition, John must come before the Messiah.
If one understands that John is the Messianic forerunner, then the riddle's meaning is comprehended as: Jesus is the Messiah who comes after the forerunner (John) and whose rank is higher than His forerunner's.
John's riddle: This was He of whom I said, 'He who is coming after me has a higher rank than I', is also code for: 'Jesus is the Messiah.'
This was a conclusion that many God'fearing Jews who were looking for the Messiah and His forerunner would be likely to understand, while Roman authorities who knew and cared little of Jewish scriptures would have difficulty understanding his meaning.
The expression He who is coming after me has a higher rank than I further reflects John's recognition that even though John himself was a prophet of the Lord, Jesus surpassed John in significance. There was no higher spiritual rank among humans than that of being a true prophet of God. So when John said Jesus had a higher rank he is inferring that Jesus is God, the One who appointed prophets.
John's message: This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me'' is consistent with the Jewish understanding of the forerunner preparing the way for the Messiah.
In'Matthew's gospel, written to help the Jews understand that Jesus is their Messiah, John the Baptizer is quoted as saying something similar in more vivid language,
'As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'
(Matthew 3:11'see also Mark 1:7-8 and Luke 3:16)
This imagery further demonstrates John's acknowledgment of Jesus's divine authority and his own unworthiness in comparison.
John understood the importance of his mission as the Messianic forerunner.
The Messianic forerunner was a tremendously important role. Jesus even said: 'among those born of women there has not yet arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!' (Matthew 11:11). The masses of people who came out to hear John preach his message of repentance and to be baptized by him (Matthew 3:1-5) believed that John was a prophet of God (Matthew 11:9, 22:26).
But as important as the Messianic forerunner is, the Messiah is more important. The Messiah has a higher rank than His forerunner. Jesus, the Messiah, has a higher rank than John, the Messianic forerunner.
John consistently understood his role and rank before and after Jesus began His Messianic ministry. After Jesus began to become more well known and John's role began to wane, the Baptizer encouraged his own disciples: 'He must increase, but I must decrease,' (John 3:30).
John told his disciples that he was the only friend of the Bridegroom, and that Jesus was the Bridegroom (John 3:29). Both of these statements show how John continued to recognize his role and humbly fulfill his service in submission to Jesus's greater identity and purpose.
John's riddle: This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I,' was his subtle but prophetically clear way of telling the faithful Jews of his generation that 'Jesus is the Messiah whom I've been telling you about.'
Why did John speak this important message in prophetic riddles? Why was he not explicit and obvious so that everyone would know Jesus's identity as the Messiah?
Possible reasons for John's subtlety about Jesus's identity include:
The Jews understood the Messiah to be a King. But Judea was under Roman rule. Roman authorities from Herod the tetrarch, to Pilate the governor, to Caesar the emperor would have been quick to eliminate any potential rivals.
King Herod the Great'Builder (Herod the tetrarch's father) had already tried to kill Jesus as a young child (Matthew 2:13-16). Pilate the Roman governor would ultimately order Jesus's execution (John 19:15-16)
If John was explicit saying 'Jesus is the Messiah,' it would possibly mitigate the need for faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Jesus Himself actively cloaked His identity as the Messiah according to His Father's plan (Isaiah 49:2, Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:34, John 7:4-6).
Both these reasons of security and faith are mutually compatible. John may have also had other reasons for being clear but somewhat discreet. What we do know is that Jesus Himself actively masked His identity as the Messiah according to His Father's plan (Isaiah 49:2, Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:34, John 7:4-6).
Jesus encouraged people to believe His words. But He also said, 'believe because of the works themselves' (John 14:11). He said 'If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me.' He also said to Peter that he was blessed because it was God who revealed to him that Jesus was God's Messiah. This indicates that Jesus's identity as Messiah was both apparent and obscured, it was clear and cloaked at the same time.
It seems God opened the eyes of those with searching hearts and hardened those who had hardened their hearts. Therefore, it is apparent that God wanted the mystery of Jesus's identity to be revealed according to His own plan'and John was obedient as the Lord's prophet and the Messianic forerunner.
2.' John cryptically claims that Jesus is God.
John indicates that Jesus is God when he says: for He existed before me.
The conjunction'for'connects John's claim that He existed before me with the previous statement: He who comes after me has a higher rank than I.
Taken together, John's claim'He existed before me'is a logical premise to the conclusion that He has a higher rank than I (even though He comes after Me).
John the Baptizer existed before Jesus as a human. John was conceived and physically born six months before Jesus was conceived and born (Luke 1:36). John also began his prophetic ministry before Jesus began His Messianic ministry.
John was speaking another riddle when he was saying: He existed before me. The answer to the riddle is that even though John's existence preceded Jesus's human existence, as the Son of God, Jesus existed before John.
By acknowledging that Jesus's existence predated his own, John was pointing to Jesus's eternal nature as God. John's divine riddle echoes what John the gospel-writer emphasized in the opening verse of the prologue:
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
(John 1:1)
The word that is translated existed is the Greek verb ἦν'(G1510'pronounced ''hn'). It is a verb of being. It is the same Greek verb that is translated as 'was' in John 1:1. In both John 1:1 and here in John 1:15, the implication of was/existed speaks to the eternal being of the Word/Logos, Jesus.
Jesus alluded to His prior (i.e. eternal) existence in a similar but even more striking claim than the Baptizer's riddle when He told His antagonists:
'Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'
(John 8:58)
Jesus was 'not more than fifty years old' (John 8:57) when He claimed to be before Abraham (John 8:58). The reason Jesus's claim was starker than John's was because by human reckoning, Abraham lived 2000 years before Jesus (roughly the same amount of time between Jesus's life on earth and the present'2025) and John was only half a year older than his cousin when he declared that Jesus existed before me.
And yet Jesus was before both John the Baptizer (born six months prior to Jesus) and Abraham (born 2000 years prior to Jesus) because He is eternal God. John also made this claim when he taught his disciples the following:
'He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.'
(John 3:31)
Notice how 'He who comes from heaven' is a similar pattern of speech as He who comes before me. The'He'in both John 1:15 and 3:31 refer to Jesus. The One 'who comes from heaven' is Jesus, He is 'above all.'
John 1:15 speaks of the particular truth that Jesus specifically has a higher rank than John. John 3:31 speaks of the universal truth that Jesus 'is above all.'
John's riddle that He existed before me provides a glimpse at the elaborations of Paul: 'He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together' (Colossians 1:17).
As the divine Creator, Jesus eternally existed before all things, including Abraham and John, and everything else (John 1:2-3). Thus, Jesus has a higher rank than John, and is above all things (John 3:31) not only because He is the Messiah, but even more fundamentally because He is God. John was a prophet of the Lord. Jesus is the Lord.
While John had a significant role as the final prophet of the Old Covenant, Jesus's rank is higher. He is the eternal Logos (John 1:1), the fulfiller of the Old Covenant (Matthew 5:17), and the Messiah (John 1:5). He is the Redeemer who far surpasses every human and all creation (John 3:31). Jesus is higher than John the Baptizer, and His name is above every name (Philippians 2:11).
By quoting John the Baptizer here in John 1:15, the gospel writer presents a powerful declaration of Jesus's identity and preeminence. And it gives great support for the statement of John 1:14'that Jesus, the Logos (Word), became human and dwelt among us.
Before Jesus began His ministry or publicly revealed Himself, the testimony of John the Baptizer was long proclaiming Jesus's Messianic identity, His higher rank and eternal existence as God (John 1:15).
As Jesus's ministry began, John proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and the eternal Son of God (John 1:34). Moreover, John also appears to be first person besides Jesus to understand and proclaim the Gospel:
'He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life...'
(John 3:36a)
The Gospel of John will more fully detail John the Baptizer's role in John 1:19-34 and John 3:22-36.
98:T6619,John 1:16 declares that we have received the fullness of Jesus as well as grace upon grace. There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:16.
In John 1:14-15, we saw John the Baptizer's testimony supporting his claim that Jesus was God become human, who dwelt among us in His glory full of grace and truth. Now, the Gospel writer turns to discussing the f
John 1:16
John 1:16 declares that we have received the fullness of Jesus as well as grace upon grace. There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:16.
In John 1:14-15, we saw John the Baptizer's testimony supporting his claim that Jesus was God become human, who dwelt among us in His glory full of grace and truth. Now, the Gospel writer turns to discussing the fullness of Jesus,
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace (v 16).
This short verse consists of two distinct but related thoughts which are connected through the conjunction and.
The first thought is the statement: For of His fullness we have all received grace.
The second thought is the rhetorical amplification: grace upon grace.
FOR OF HIS FULLNESS WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED GRACE
For of His fullness we have all received grace can stand on it its own as a complete sentence.
The conjunction'For'connects the thought of John 1:16 to what preceded it, in this case the thoughts expressed in John 1:14, that Jesus became human and dwelt among us, which was just before the Baptizer's testimony (John 1:15).
The pronoun'His'refers to Jesus'God (the Word/Logos) as human (John 1:1, 1:14).
The phrase: of His fullness, then refers to 'the fullness of God' which was made visible or tangible in the human existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Directly or indirectly, this testimony was given to all of humanity.
The Greek word translated as fullness is πλήρωμα (G4138'pronounced: 'plē'rō'ma'). 'Plērōma' conveys the idea of totality or completeness.
Jesus was and is fully God (John 1:1, John 1:14).
Jesus told Philip His disciple: 'He who has seen Me has seen the Father' (John 14:9).
The Apostle Paul wrote how:
(Philippians 2:6)
(Colossians 1:15)
(Colossians 1:19)
The author of Hebrews wrote that:
(Hebrews 1:3)
John states that what all we have received from Christ's fullness is grace.
The Greek term for grace, is χάρις (G5485'pronounced: 'khar-ece' or 'charis'). It means favor or kindness. Favor is a disposition or expression of love, goodwill, or blessing. Kindness is a quality or action characterized by benevolence, compassion, and care toward others'often at one's own expense. Much more will be said about grace in a moment when we discuss John's amplification'grace upon grace.
We in the phrase we have all received grace could have four possible meanings.
1.' First, we could mean all humanity.
The Gospel of John was written for believers and unbelievers (John 20:31), Jews and Gentiles. We could generally be applied to any and all of his readers and therefore everyone. We could be an invitation for all people to consider how they are beneficiaries of Jesus, who is God. This is consistent with John 20:31.
2.' We could refer to the Jews.
John, the author of this Gospel, was a Jew. John lived and served in Judea for roughly fifty years until he relocated to the city of Ephesus. His use of we could be an appeal to his fellow Jews to examine how they have been blessed by Jesus and consider how He is their God and Messiah.
John may be identifying with his Jewish roots here in verse 16 before he makes the overtly Jewish claim, 'For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ' (John 1:17). If so, all the world is invited to be blessed through this testimony. If this is the case, then the invitation to the Gentiles would be inferred through the testimony of the Jews concerning Jesus, the Messiah, Son of David.
3.' We could refer to all the followers of Jesus.
The third sense in which the pronoun'we'can be understood is as a reference to all the followers of Jesus. If this is what John meant by we, then it is an invitation to everyone to join him and all the followers of Jesus in partaking of the blessings they have received from believing in Him as God and following His teachings.
4.' We could refer to each of the above.
Finally, it is possible that all of these meanings are intended by John. If so, John wrote this in such a way that it invited his audience to read their own circumstances into the text and personally apply its meaning to their lives.
It is consistent with the way John's prologue is written using language that fits both the Jewish and the Greek perspectives for John to intend we to include the Jews, Gentiles, and the disciples. This is also consistent with his self-explanation for his rationale of writing this gospel, which is intended to apply to all people (John 20:31).
The verb received means 'to accept,' 'lay claim to,' 'take hold of' or 'possess' something that came from someone else. When a person receives something, it becomes their own. In the context of John 1:16, received is inherently beneficial.
The phrase For of His fullness we have all received speaks to the abundant nature of God's fullness as manifested in Jesus Christ that has benefited all people.
In Jesus, the fullness of God, including His grace (and truth'John 1:14b) are not only revealed but are lavished upon all humanity and upon all believers.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the functional equivalents of the statement For of His fullness we have all received are the angelic proclamations:
'for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'
(Matthew 1:20b'21)
'for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'
(Luke 2:10b'11)
But where the angels' statements are predictive of the gospel blessings describing what Jesus will do for'His/all the people, John's testimony is descriptive of the blessings that have been received of His fullness.
The single best term to describe the benefits and blessings that we have all received through Jesus is grace.
AND GRACE UPON GRACE
The second thought of John 1:16 is grace upon grace.
This phrase appears to be a rhetorical amplification of the otherwise complete sentence: For of His fullness we have all received.
The Greek text of this expression literally reads 'grace anti grace.' This phrasing appears to be some sort of idiom meaning 'grace against grace,' or 'grace in place of grace.'
The expression grace upon grace conjures up the notion of unending or ceaseless grace. Like the waves of an ocean, the grace of God is relentless and unending. We have and will receive endless wave of grace after wave of grace after wave of grace'into eternity. In Jesus, believers will receive grace upon grace forever.
Jesus's supply of grace will never run out. It is impossible for too many people to receive Jesus and experience His mercy and grace. His grace is infinite. All and as many people who do receive Him will experience the gospel's blessings (John 1:12-13).
Rather than running out, His grace seems to increase as grace upon grace is given by Him and received by those who receive Him.
The gospel's supply of grace is unlimited. Infinite grace is part of what makes the gospel such good news. As the Apostle Paul asserted, 'where sin increased, grace abounded all the more' (Romans 5:20).
The Old Testament praises the infinite abundance of the LORD's mercies and compassions here described as lovingkindness'i.e. His grace.
"The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.'
(Lamentations 3:22-23a)
As mentioned previously, the Greek term for grace means 'favor' or 'kindness.' Favor is a disposition or expression of love, goodwill, or blessing. Kindness is a quality or action characterized by benevolence, compassion, and care toward others'often at one's own expense.
Grace is both a reflection of God's nature and a practical expression of His love (John 1:14b)
Context determines who is dispensing the grace, to whom it is being offered, and the basis for which it is bestowed. Grace from God is always chosen by Him. Grace is never coerced or given out of obligation, 'otherwise grace is no longer grace' (Romans 11:6).
Sometimes God's grace is undeserved in the recipient. Undeserved grace is bestowed upon one who lacks personal worthiness to receive it. In some cases, instead of grace or favor, the recipients of undeserved grace deserve its opposite'wrath and condemnation.
Biblical examples where undeserved grace was gifted to unworthy recipients include:
(Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Isaiah 41:8-9)
(Deuteronomy 4:32-34, Micah 6:4)
(Deuteronomy 4:7-8, Nehemiah 9:13-14, Romans 3:1-2)
(Deuteronomy 4:37-38, 9:4-6)
(Hosea 11:1-4)
(John 3:16, 1 John 4:10)
(Romans 5:8)
The Gift of Eternal Life is the most significant example of undeserved grace.
The Gift of Eternal Life is offered of God to everyone on the basis of God's grace and nothing more. The Gift of Eternal Life is so undeserved in ourselves that it is sometimes called 'free grace,' because it costs us nothing to receive it by faith.
'But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.'
(John 1:12)
'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.'
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
The Apostle Paul explained to the Roman believers how those who receive Jesus by faith are 'justified [declared righteous and saved from death] as a gift by His grace' (Romans 3:24). Other English translations of Romans 3:24 render 'gift' as 'freely,' that believers are 'justified freely by His grace.' Paul is adamant that no one receives the Gift of Eternal Life on the basis of their own righteous behavior (Romans 3:28).
Sometimes God's grace or favor is founded or deserved and given to a recipient who have proved themselves worthy.
Founded/deserved grace is where favor is granted when God finds approval and/or delights in another's character and/or behavior'often during a difficult circumstance or trial. One of the first mentions of founded grace is when 'Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD' (Genesis 6:8).
In the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the word translated as 'favor' in Genesis 6:8 is 'charis'(χάρις) . This is the same term used in the Greek New Testament that is translated as grace.
God states in multiple scriptures that certain choices will gain His approval.
Other Biblical examples of founded/deserved grace/favor of actions:
(Psalm 119:58)
(Proverbs 8:35)
(Proverbs 12:2)
(Matthew 10:32)
(Matthew 7:21, 25:20-21)
(Acts 7:55-56)
(Matthew 19:29, Romans 8:17-18, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Peter 5:5)
(Philippians 3:14)
(Hebrews 11:39a)
(James 1:2-4,1:12, 1 Peter 1:4-7)
(Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:26-28, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21)
Context determines whether God's grace or favor is deserved or undeserved.
When speaking of God, all grace (whether it is deserved and/or undeserved in the recipient) is always judged by and founded in Him. God's grace or favor is always received on the basis of faith in Him (Hebrews 11:6). There is no measure by which His favor can be demanded. If there were, it would be payment, and no one can obligate God.
The Gift of Eternal Life is an example of undeserved grace granted by God upon those who are wholly unworthy to receive it and were even previously hostile toward Him (Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21). The Gift of Eternal Life, God's grace is given freely and is received entirely through faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross.
The Prize of Eternal Life, is an example of founded/deserved grace. With the Prize of Eternal Life, God's grace is granted to those who by faith overcome life's trials.
To be clear'we do not win the Prize of Eternal Life by, in, or through our own wisdom or strength. We win the Prize of Eternal Life by trusting God in our decisions to let His grace work in our lives. We inherit/win/obtain the Prize of Eternal Life and enter the kingdom through believing God's word, adopting His perspective, trusting His plan, and relying on His strength to do His will (Matthew 7:21).
To inherit the Prize of Eternal Life and enter God's kingdom, we must have a living faith that is put into good practice (James 2:14, 26). Paul describes this as walking by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and/or that we work out our faith with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). To walk in God's ways is to renew our minds, to adopt His perspectives, and be transformed to be separated from the world (Romans 12:1-2). To walk in God's ways is to walk in His Spirit, choosing the indwelling Spirit over our old nature, the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17).
How have we all received grace upon grace through Jesus Christ, the fullness of God?
This question will be considered according to each of the three meanings of the pronoun'we.
1.' We'all humanity'have received grace upon grace through Jesus Christ.
Everyone, believers and unbelievers have all received grace upon grace because of Jesus, our Creator. Here is a short list of the grace we have all received:
(John 1:3)
(John 1:4a)
(Genesis 8:22, John 1:10a, Colossians 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:30)
(Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm 139:13-18a)
These things and similar blessings are sometimes called 'common grace' because they are common to all people, regardless of whether or not they receive Jesus and the Gift and the Prize of Eternal Life. (To learn more about the Gift or the Prize of Eternal Life, either use these links or continue reading this commentary). Concerning the common graces, Jesus said:
'He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.'
(Matthew 5:45)
And while only those who receive Jesus by faith receive the Gift of Eternal life (John 1:11-13, 3:16), all people have been offered the grace of Jesus's forgiveness of our sins (1 John 2:2) and eternal life through Him (1 Timothy 2:4). Paul mentions the universality of God's gracious offer in his letter to his disciple, Titus:
'For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age.'
(Titus 2:11-12)
Existence, physical life, a habitable planet, being made in the image of God which endows each person with divine dignity, purpose, value, and worth, and the incredible opportunity of redemption and eternal life in Him are but some examples of the grace upon grace all human beings have received through Jesus, our Creator.
2.' We'all the Jews'have received grace upon grace through Jesus Christ.
The Jews had received all the common grace humanity has received from Jesus. All the Jews had also received additional grace that was particular to them through Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the long promised and prophesied Christ (Messiah) who would redeem Israel from her shame and restore her to great glory.
(Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Matthew 5:1-7:29)
(2 Samuel 7:12-13, Matthew 21:4-5)
(Isaiah 53:4-12, Matthew 20:28)
As the Word of God, Jesus delivered the Law to Moses who gave it to the people (John 1:17).
Moreover, Jesus fulfilled the Law and opened the fullness of its blessing upon Israel (Matthew 5:17). And it will ultimately be through Jesus that 'all Israel will be saved' (Romans 11:26).
3.' We'all of Jesus's Followers'have received grace upon grace through Him.
All believers in Jesus have received the common grace that is available to all humanity'existence, physical life, a habitable world, being made in the image of God, and the opportunity to receive eternal life through Him.
But in addition, believers in Jesus have all received additional grace upon grace through Him.
All believers have received the Gift of Eternal Life. The Gift of Eternal Life is by His grace and is received through faith in Jesus as God and Messiah. The Gift of Eternal Life includes:
(John 1:12-13, 3:5-6,14-16, 1 John 3:1)
(John 3:16, John 11:25, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, 2:11)
(Romans 3:22-23, 5:1,Galatians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 2:5, Titus 3:7)
(Romans 5:5, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 1:13-14)
(Romans 8:17-19, 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 3:21)
All believers in Jesus as the Son of God and the Christ have received the grace upon grace of the Gift of Eternal Life. In receiving this gift, they have been born into God's family and are His child (John 3:5). Also in receiving this gift, they are grafted into the olive tree that is Israel, and are spiritual children of Abraham (Romans 11:17, Galatians 3:7).
All believers in Jesus who follow Him by faith as faithful witnesses also receive the Prize of Eternal Life.
The Prize of Eternal Life is an inheritance of grace to those who are faithful in their walk and witness for Jesus.
Present Blessings (in this life) of the Prize include:
(John 17:3)
(Mark 10:29-30, John 10:10b)
(Romans 6:16-22, Galatians 5:13-16, Ephesians 4:17-24, 1 Peter 1:4)
(Romans 6:23, 7:24-25; 8:6-10; Galatians 5:19-20)
(Ephesians 4:17-23; 1 Peter 1:4)
(Matthew 11:28-30)
Future/Eternal Blessings (in the next life) of the Prize include:
(Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8; 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 2 Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, Revelation 3:21)
(Matthew 7:21; 2 Peter 1:10-11)
(Mark 10:17-23; Romans 2:7, 8:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:9)
(Matthew 6:1, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, 1 Peter 5:4, Revelation 2:7, 2:10-11, 2:17, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21)
(Matthew 19:28, Romans 8:17b, 2 Timothy 2:12, Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 3:21, 5:10)
Followers of Jesus who win the Prize of Eternal Life will receive grace upon grace in Him by obtaining a reward that is beyond our capacity to comprehend (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The thoughts of John 1:16 are further developed in John 1:17''For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.'
The Bible Says commentary continues by looking at John 1:17. The end of its commentary over John 1:17 considers the meaning of John 1:16-17 together.
99:T51c9,John 1:17 asserts that Jesus Christ completed what the Law could not. Jesus realized grace and truth. There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:17.
The next statement of John's prologue is:
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (v 17).
JOHN IDENTIFIES THE WO
John 1:17
John 1:17 asserts that Jesus Christ completed what the Law could not. Jesus realized grace and truth. There is no apparent parallel gospel account of John 1:17.
The next statement of John's prologue is:
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (v 17).
JOHN IDENTIFIES THE WORD/LOGOS AS 'JESUS CHRIST'
Before we dive into the fuller meaning of this verse, it is important to point out that John 1:17 marks the first time in John's gospel where Jesus is identified by name.
Jesus is the name God (through His angel) told Joseph to name His Son because 'He [Jesus] will save His people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus in Hebrew is 'Yeshua,' and it is a form of the name 'Joshua.' In Hebrew, Yeshua means, 'the LORD is salvation.' So, when the angel said 'for He will save His people from their sins,' he is explaining why Jesus should be named 'the LORD is salvation.'
Jesus is the Word who was in the beginning with God and who was God (John 1:10), and who made all things (John 1:3), who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Further, in Jesus was life and He was the Light of Men (John 1:4) who invincibly shines in the darkness (John 1:5) and gives light to all men (John 1:9). And Jesus is, Himself, salvation, because He is the LORD.
John 1:17 also marks the first time the gospel explicitly identifies Jesus as Christ.
Christ means Messiah (John 1:41). Both mean 'anointed.' The Messiah was the promised prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) and the anointed king in the line of David whose rule would never end (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Luke 1:32-33), who would redeem Israel (Isaiah 42:6-7, 53:12, 61:1-3).
Previously, John strongly alluded to the Word being the Christ/Messiah when he described Jesus as 'the Light of men' (John 1:4). Light is often used in the Old Testament as a metaphor for Christ/Messiah. When John referred to the Word as 'the Light of men,' he was calling Jesus a world'Messiah and not only the Christ/Messiah for the Jews. However, verse 17 is the first time John reveals by name and office that he is speaking of Jesus Christ.
FOR THE LAW WAS GIVEN THROUGH MOSES
Having recognized that verse 17 is the first time John identifies Jesus by name and explicitly as Christ, we will now explore the fuller meaning. The statement For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ is related to the previous one: 'For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace' (John 1:16).
The conjunction'For'connects John 1:17 to John 1:16. John 1:17 is an explanation and expansion of John 1:16.
In speaking of 'His fullness' that 'we have all received' in John 1:16, which gave us all 'grace upon grace,' John now includes both the Law as well as Jesus Christ. The 'fullness' of God was to give us the truth of the Law, then come in human flesh to fully keep the Law in order to die for our sins and give us grace.
Grace translates the Greek word 'charis' and means 'favor' as in Luke 2:52 where Jesus gained 'favor' ('charis') with God and man. God granted all of humanity a great favor by showing us the Law, that we should follow His ways and love one another (Matthew 22:37-39). God's Law showed us our sin, and therefore showed us great favor (Romans 7:7). Then Jesus came in truth and died for our sins in grace. He thus added 'grace upon grace' (John 1:16).
The Law in verse 17 refers to the Mosaic Law. The Law was given to Israel by God through the prophet Moses. It consists of the LORD's commandments that Israel was to follow. The commandments of the Law are primarily found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
Moses was God's prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10). Moses did not create the Law (Exodus 31:18-19, Deuteronomy 9:10, Nehemiah 9:13-14). The Law was given to Israel through Moses. Moses received the Law when he met with the LORD on Mount Sinai on Israel's behalf, because the Israelites were rightfully too afraid to approach the LORD to receive the Law themselves (Exodus 20:18-19, Deuteronomy 5:5). Moses then delivered the Law to the Israelites on God's behalf.
Because Jesus is God (John 1:1), the Law was created by Him (John 1:3) and given by Him.'As God's prophet, Moses was the divine mail carrier who delivered the Law from Jesus to the children of Israel.
When John writes how the Law was given to Moses, he means that it was given to him by Jesus as the pre-incarnate Word of God to deliver to Israel.
The Law of Moses and the Memra
This is even more clear in the Jewish Targums'the Aramaic translations and commentaries of the Old Testament that were in wide use during the first century A.D.
The Aramaic term for 'word' is 'Memra.' The Targums appear to personify the Memra of the Lord and equate the Memra of the Lord with God by attributing God's attributes, personality, and actions to Him.
The Memra gave the Law to Moses:
'Moses came and called for the elders of the people. He presented to them all these words which the Lord had commanded him. All the people responded in unison, and said, 'All that the Memra of the Lord has spoken we will do!''
(Targum Neofiti. Exodus 19:7-8)
The Memra gave the Ten Commandments to Moses:
'The Memra of the spoke all these words (the Ten Commandments), saying''
(Targum Neofiti. Exodus 20:1a)
When Moses recounts the Law to the people, he says he received the Law from the Memra:
'I was standing between Memra of the Lord and you at that time, to tell you the Lord's Memra'''
(Targum Onkelos & Targum Neofiti. Deuteronomy 5:5)
Notice how Memra is used twice in the Targum of Deuteronomy 5:5:
For additional connections of the Memra and the Logos, see The Bible Says article: 'How Do Ancient Jewish Teachings and Greek Philosophy Converge in John's Gospel?'
Jesus is the Memra of the Lord. As the Word of God, Jesus is the Creator of the Law and the Deliverer of the Law. As the Word made flesh (John 1:14)'He is the embodiment of the Law. The Law pointed to Jesus as the Messiah (Galatians 3:24). He is the beginning and end of the Law:
'For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes.'
(Romans 10:4)
The Law was given to instruct Israel how to live (Leviticus 18:5, Psalm 19:7). It was to be a source of life and blessing to them (Deuteronomy 30:15-16). God's giving of the Law to Israel was an act of grace (Psalm 147:19-20). The Law, therefore, is part of 'the grace upon grace' that we have received through Him (John 1:16).
Given the foregoing reasoning, we can reasonably say that the Law was also an expression of grace/favor which we have received through Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17, Romans 8:3-4, 10:4, Hebrews 7:18-19, 8:6, 10:1). Accordingly, we could view the Gospel as a new and better expression of grace which we have also received through Jesus Christ. Both the Law and the Gospel were/are given as gifts of grace. God gave the Law as a gift of grace, to show His favor toward us (v 17). God gave His only begotten Son that we might be redeemed by His grace (John 3:16).
The Law was a covenant/treaty between Israel and the LORD (Exodus 19:5, 24:7-8, Deuteronomy 4:13, 29:1). But though Israel promised they would keep their obligations under the treaty, they never did (Exodus 19:8, Psalm 78:10-11, Jeremiah 7:24, Ezekiel 20:21). No one did (Psalm 14:3, 53:3, Romans 3:10)'except Jesus (Matthew 5:17). He alone is righteous according to the Law (Acts 3:14, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:1-2).
Even though Israel failed to keep their vow under the original covenant/treaty with God, God did not fail to keep His vow under the covenant with Israel. Through Jesus, the Son of God became human and fulfilled Israel's portion of the covenant on Israel's behalf (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 10:9-10) and then established a new and better covenant of grace (Hebrews 8:6-10, 9:15).
The new covenant is entirely dependent on Jesus and in no way does it depend upon ourselves in order to be declared righteous in God's sight (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6, 9:12'see also Romans 3:21-28). The new covenant gives all who believe the Gift of Eternal Life, and the inner spiritual power of Christ in which to walk in His ways. The new covenant also promises immense blessings for all who walk in His ways, and live as faithful witnesses (1 Corinthians 2:9, Revelation 1:3).
The only thing that is required of us to be born into this new and better covenant of grace is faith in Jesus as God and our Messiah, who died in our place on the cross, and who rose from the dead (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The new covenant is a gift of grace and is called 'The Gift of Eternal Life.' This gift also grants us the power to live a life of faith and experience the rewards of eternal life.
GRACE AND TRUTH WERE REALIZED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
After stating that the Law was given through Moses, John then states the superiority of Jesus by stating that grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Moses was one of Israel's greatest prophets. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy that God would send another prophet like Moses, but one who would speak God's word to the people directly (Deuteronomy 18:18). So, Jesus served as a second Moses, and yet as the Word/Logos and Light, Jesus is vastly superior to Moses.
One of the ways Jesus's superiority over Moses is made plain is that Moses delivered the Law which Jesus created and gave. He was and is God, and when He spoke, He spoke to the people directly. And He spoke in such a way that the people could hear without dread (Deuteronomy 18:16). This was because He became human.
Another way Jesus's superiority over Moses is expressed is that the grace and truth upon which the Law was established were realized through Jesus Christ.
Grace and truth are the foundational elements of the Law.
As explained previously, grace'means favor or kindness. Grace refers to the favor and kindness which God extended to humanity. It is not earned by human effort but is a gift that flows from God's character of love and mercy. Grace is evident in both the Old and New Covenants, providing the framework for God's relationship with His people. Grace reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ, who offers redemption and eternal life.
Truth signifies the ultimate reality and reliability of God's word and character.
The Greek term that is translated as truth is ἀλήθεια'(G225'pronounced: 'al-ay'thi'a). It reflects the faithfulness of God to His promises and His revelation of Himself. Truth, like light, illuminates reality. God's Law is moral truth (Psalm 119:147, 119:160, John 17:17). God's Law is truth that reveals the best way to live (Deuteronomy 32:46-47, Psalm 19:7-8, 119:93, 119:105).
God's Law reveals His moral standards and expectations for humanity. It shows the paths that will allow humans to realize the flourishing that leads to a fulfilling life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47, Psalm 19:7-8, Psalm 119:93, 119:105).
In Jesus, truth is perfectly embodied and fully revealed. He is the Light of men and the World (John 1:4-5, 9, 8:12, 9:5). As the Person of truth, Jesus sets us free (John 8:31) and as the truth, He is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6).
In the Greek text for John 1:17, the term for realized is the same Greek word that was used in John 1:3 and 1:6 when John describes how all things 'came into being' through the Logos (John 1:3) and how John the Baptizer 'came' from God (John 1:6).
In these verses the words for:
are translations of the same Greek term' ἐγένετο'('eh-gen-eh'tah') from γίνομαι (G1096' 'gi'ō'mai'). And they have identical meanings''came into existence.'
Another way of saying grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ is 'grace and truth were invented by Jesus.' Jesus created grace and truth. He is the Creator of grace and truth, as well as the means to gain or realize grace and truth. When we receive Jesus and walk in His ways, we walk in grace and truth.
THE BROADER MEANING OF JOHN 1:16-17 TOGETHER
John 1:16-17 marks a pivotal moment in the prologue of John's Gospel, where the surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ eclipses both Moses as well as the Mosaic Law. As mentioned above, these two verses are cojoined by the word'For. Verse 17 is an elaboration of John 1:16.
Together, these verses read:
'For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.'
(John 1:16-17)
Together, these statements present the transformative shift from the old covenant (the Law), delivered through Moses, to the new covenant (the Gospel), brought into existence through Jesus Christ, the eternal Logos.
The phrase 'of His fullness we have all received' (John 1:16) reveals the abundant nature of God's blessing and grace through Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated as 'fullness' conveys the idea of totality or completeness.
Paul affirms the fullness of Jesus's deity when he writes:
'For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.'
(Colossians 1:19)
Through Jesus Christ, the fullness of God's grace and truth are not only revealed but made abundantly available to humanity.
The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ stands in stark contrast to the Mosaic Law. The Law was and is good and holy (Romans 7:12). But it was limited in its ability to bring about the fullness of redemption (Hebrews 7:18-19). Moreover, the Law brought the penalty of death to all who offended it. The Law was a shadow of things to come (Hebrews 10:1). It showed the path to redemption from the Fall of Man; redemption that would only be realized through Jesus Christ.
Moreover, the Law brought the penalty of death to all who offended it (Romans 4:15, 7:5, Galatians 3:10). The Gospel of grace liberates us from the Law's penalty and brings life to all who believe in Jesus (Romans 8:1-3, Galatians 3:21-22).
The Law pointed to humanity's need for salvation (Romans 3:20), but it is through Jesus that this need is met in abundance (Hebrews 10:14).
Through Jesus Christ 'the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age' (Titus 2:11-12). This grace or favor a) reconciles us with God and places us into His forever family, b) gives us a new nature and resurrection power to overcome sin and the flesh, and c) provides us with a means to realize grace, truth, and fullness of life for ourselves.
The expression 'grace upon grace' in verse 16 suggests a continual, overflowing provision of grace through Jesus. The repetition implies that God's blessings in Christ are inexhaustible and surpass anything offered under the Law.
Paul echoes this idea in his letters to the Romans and to the Ephesians:
'The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.'
(Romans 5:20)
'In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.'
(Ephesians 1:7-8)
The Law provided a framework of righteousness and justice, but its grace was conditional, requiring obedience and sacrifices (Exodus 19:5-6, Leviticus 26:14-16, Deuteronomy 11:26-28). James 1:25 likens the Law as being like a mirror that bears the image of who we can become. But it does not provide the power to see that reality as being realized.
In contrast, Jesus offers a new grace that is freely given and unending (Romans 3:21-24), fulfilling the Law's foundation and purpose. Through Jesus and His Gospel, grace is not merely added to the Law, but rather, it supersedes the Law's grace entirely. The grace or favor of Jesus allows us to gain the immense benefits promised by the Law, but gives us the means to achieve it through walking in the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:4).
Through John 1:16-17, the apostle emphasizes that Jesus's mission was not only to reveal grace and truth but to create a new way of relating to God,
'But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.'
(Hebrews 8:6)
By realizing these divine attributes, Jesus bridges the gap between God and humanity, offering a personal relationship based on love and faith rather than mere adherence to rules. This shift is central to the Gospel message: in Jesus, God's ultimate plan for redemption is revealed and made accessible to all who believe in Him (John 3:16). His grace and truth are not theoretical concepts but lived realities that transform lives and bring eternal life (John 10:10).
In conclusion, John 1:16-17 celebrates the surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ in comparison to Moses and the Law. While the Law was good, the Gospel is better. The Law's foundation of grace and truth finds its fulfillment through Jesus, the Logos (Word). By embodying and realizing grace and truth, Jesus offers humanity an invitation to experience the fullness of God's love and faithfulness, fulfilling the Law's purpose and surpassing it with eternal significance (Colossians 2:13-15).
The following verse (John 1:18) concludes John's prologue to his gospel account of Jesus Christ. It is the next section of The Bible Says commentary.
9a:T4135,John 1:18 declares that Jesus uniquely reveals God to humanity. There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:18.
John concludes the prologue to his gospel account of Jesus Christ with a tangible, three-part statement about who Jesus is and what He has done to bridge the relationship between God and humanity:
John 1:18
John 1:18 declares that Jesus uniquely reveals God to humanity. There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:18.
John concludes the prologue to his gospel account of Jesus Christ with a tangible, three-part statement about who Jesus is and what He has done to bridge the relationship between God and humanity:
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him (v 18).
The three parts of this statement are:
John's main point in this verse is that only Jesus has made God fully known to humanity.
NO ONE HAS SEEN GOD AT ANY TIME'
The first part of this statement is an observation: No one has seen God at any time.
No one refers to no human beings. The expression'No one'does not seem to include angels, because apparently angels are able to see the face of God in heaven (Matthew 18:10).
The first phrase of verse 18 could mean absolutely no one at any time in human history has seen God.
It could also mean'no one in human history has seen God at any time since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22-24).
At any rate, even special encounters like Moses's interaction with God's glory (Exodus 34:5-7) or Isaiah's heavenly vision of God's throne room (Isaiah 6:1-5) were veiled or partial revelations. God warned Moses:
'You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!'
(Exodus 33:20)
God's face is beyond human comprehension and visibility. His invisibility seems to be a characteristic of His spiritual essence.
God's nature is spirit (John 4:24). But the spectrum of human vision is limited to physical objects that respond to light. No one has seen God at any time because God transcends human sight.
There have been occasions where people have recognized and interacted with angels in their spiritual forms, but these appearances are comparably rare, and they are always the result of God or the angel(s) making themselves visible to humans (Genesis 28:12, Numbers 22:31, Judges 6:11-12, Judges 13:3, 2 Kings 6:16-17, Isaiah 6:1-4, Ezekiel 1:4-28, Matthew 1:20, Matthew 28:2-3, Luke 1:11-13, Luke 1:26-28, Luke 2:13-14, Acts 1:10-11, Acts 127-10, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 5:11).
The appearances of angels unto humans seem to have a miraculous quality because it is not normal for our physical eyes to see spiritual realties without some sort of spiritual intervention. The physical limitation of human sight also applies to God who is spirit (John 4:24)'except that angel sightings are rare while no one has seen God at any time.
Additionally, God's invisibility may be an expression of His holiness, hidden from human sinfulness (Psalm 24:3-4, Isaiah 6:5, 1 Timothy 6:16). It also may be a feature of His holiness as the Creator from creation (Job 11:7-9, Isaiah 55:8-9, Acts 17:24).
John's observation that No one has seen God at any time sets up his point that Jesus uniquely makes God known to humans.
'THE ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD WHO IS IN THE BOSOM OF THE FATHER'
The second part of the John 1:18 statement is a description of Jesus.
Jesus is the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father.
The term only begotten is a translation of the Greek term 'monogenes' μονογενὴς'(G3439'pronounced: 'mon'og'en'ace'). This term is a compound term from 'mono' meaning only or 'unique'; and 'gen-ace' meaning begotten, 'birthed,' or 'produced.' Monogenes means 'only begotten,' 'uniquely begotten,' or 'mono'begotten.'
In strictly human terms, 'monogenes' can mean 'only child' (Luke 8:42, 9:38, Hebrews 11:17).
In the Septuagint'the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures''monogenes' is translated as 'only life' in the Messianic psalms (Psalm 22:20, 35:17).
In John 3:16, only begotten ('monogenes') is Jesus's description of Himself in His unique relationship to God the Father.
Only begotten highlights Jesus's singular nature as the Son who shares in the divine essence. John opened his gospel by telling us that 'the Word [Jesus] was with God' (John 1:1b) and that 'the Word was God' (John 1:1c). Now at the end of his prologue, John returns to describe Jesus as the only begotten God.
'Monogenes,' as it pertains to Jesus, speaks to the Triune nature of God. God is One. And God is Three: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Jesus is God in His own right. He is God, the Son. Jesus is also eternally with God, the Father, and with God, the Holy Spirit.
When applied to Jesus, the expression'only begotten'does not imply creation but rather signifies His uniqueness as God the Son, and the unique relationship and intimacy He shares with God the Father as His Son.
As God the Son, Jesus's existence is eternal. He was in the beginning (John 1:1a, 1:2). Consequently, Jesus did not have a beginning. He was not born or begotten in the same sense that children are begotten or born of their parents. Children have a beginning to their existence. A child's beginning starts when the child is begotten (conceived). Jesus is not merely begotten'He is mono'begotten'only begotten'uniquely begotten. Jesus is eternally begotten.
Many are begotten'but only Jesus is mono'begotten.
John's description of Jesus as the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father in the closing statement of his prologue recalls the pinnacle statement of the prologue describing when God lived as a man among us:
'And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.'
(John 1:14)
Mono'begotten not only describes Jesus's unique status as God the Son, 'monogenes' also describes the unique relationship and closeness He shares with God the Father.
This divine intimacy is seen especially in how John describes Jesus as the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father.
The phrase'bosom of the Father'symbolizes the intimate and eternal relationship between Jesus and God the Father. The term bosom conveys closeness, trust, and love, akin to a child resting securely in a parent's embrace. It emphasizes Jesus's unique position as the mono'begotten God and 'the only begotten from the Father' (John 1:14).
The image of Jesus in the bosom of the Father conveys unparalleled closeness and intimacy. This phrase reveals the eternal relationship between God the Son and God the Father. It emphasizes Jesus's unique position as the mono'begotten God and 'the only begotten from the Father' (John 1:14).
John's description of Jesus's unique intimacy with God the Father at the conclusion of his prologue here in verse 18 foreshadows Jesus's own statements testifying of His closeness to God, His Father, which will be quoted later in John's Gospel. Jesus said:
'the Father knows Me and I know the Father'
(John 10:15)
'I and the Father are one'
(John 10:30)
'You, Father, are in Me and I in You'
(John 17:21)
But perhaps the verse that best reveals the eternal intimacy Jesus shared with God the Father and the eternal nature of Jesus's only'begotten'ness is when He prayed to His Father:
'Glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.'
(John 17:5)
We see in this verse confirmation of John's statement earlier that Jesus was 'in the beginning' and was 'before' John the Baptist even though John the Baptist was born first (John 1:2, 15).
'HE HAS EXPLAINED HIM.
The final expression of John 1:18 is the statement: He has explained Him.
This statement means Jesus explained God to us. Jesus was able to explain God to humans because He was God (John 1:1) and He was human (John 1:14).
The Greek term which is translated here as explained is a form of the Greek verb: 'exegeomai' ἐξηγέομαι (G1834'pronounced: 'ex'āg'eh'ō'mai'). The English word 'exegete' is derived from this word. 'Exāgehōmai' means to lead or draw out. It is a teaching term describing what a person is able to pull out from the material or subject and make plain for others.
Jesus exegeted God to the world.
Words are used to exegete and explain things. It is fitting, therefore, that it was the Logos'the divine Word made flesh'who explained and exemplified God to humanity. There could never be anyone better to explain God to others than Jesus'the Person who is closest to God the Father, the Son of God who was together with God the Father in the beginning (John 1:1) before the world ever was (John 17:5).
Jesus explained God through His teachings.
When Jesus's disciple Philip asked His Master: 'Lord, show us the Father' (John 14:8), Jesus replied: 'He who has seen Me has seen the Father' (John 14:9).
Through His teachings, Jesus explained:
(John 6:35, 8:12, 9:5, 10:7, 10:11, 11:25-26, 14:6, 15:5).
(John 6:68, 7:16, 12:49-50).
Through His actions, Jesus exemplified:
(John 3:16).
(John 5:30 6:37-38).
Jesus revealed God the Father to the world as no one could or can (John 14:6).
Paul described Jesus as: 'He is the'image [icon] of the'invisible God' (Colossians 1:15). The book of Hebrews introduced Jesus as: 'the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature' (Hebrews 1:3).
While no one can or has seen God directly at any time, Jesus has made Him who is invisible to us, visible. He has explained what was unknown and mysterious about God, known and approachable.
Jesus has made what was unrelatable about God, relatable to humanity; and He desires that we share in His intimacy with Him (John 17:25-26). As the Light of men, who shines in the darkness, Jesus has illuminated what was heretofore shrouded in obscurity of who God truly is and His love for us (John 1:4-5, 1:9, 3:19-21, 8:12, 9:5).
Jesus's incarnation bridges all these gaps, revealing God's character, will, and love for the world.
THE CULMINATION OF THE PROLOGUE & INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL
John 1:18 serves as a culmination to the gospel's prologue (John 1:1-18).
Beginning with the declaration that 'In the beginning was the Word' (John 1:1), the prologue traces the eternal nature of Jesus, His role as Messiah, and His incarnation. He is the Logos (God) and the Light (Messiah).
Some of the key assertions of John's prologue include:
(John 1:1a)
(John 1:1b)
(John 1:1c)
(John 1:3)
(John 1:4a)
(John 1:4b)
(John 1:5)
(John 1:6, 15)
(John 1:10-11)
(John 1:12-13)
(John 1:14)
(John 1:16)
(John 1:17)
(John 1:18)
John 1:18 concludes the prologue by drawing readers into the gospel's central claim: Jesus is God in human form. To see Jesus is to see God. Perhaps more than any of the other gospels, the objective of John's gospel is to enable his readers to behold Jesus as God.
And John 1:18 prepares the gospel's readers to consider John's core invitations. which are to believe in Him for eternal life (John 3:14-16) and then to experience this life abundantly (John 10:10b).
Jesus explained:
'For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.'
(John 6:40)
And speaking of his gospel account, John wrote:
'These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.'
(John 20:31)
This verse tells us that in this gospel, John intends to speak both to unbelievers, that they might believe in Jesus, as well as to believers that they might walk in faith and experience the promised blessings'God gives to believers for walking in obedience to Him.
The Gospel is the good news that redemption has been given to humanity. That is possible because of Jesus. Because Jesus faithfully completed God's will unto death on the cross (John 19:30) and rose from the dead (John 11:25), knowing God and having eternal life (John 17:3) are now possible for as many who receive/believe in Jesus (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 11:25-26).
As the Light of men (John 1:4b) and the Word made flesh (John 1:14a), Jesus explained God and offered life with the Father, which is only possible through Him (John 14:6).
Jesus invites all people to a personal relationship with the Father, offering grace and truth.
The prologue of the Gospel of John (John 1:1-18) sets the stage for readers to journey through John's entire Gospel, beholding the glory of Jesus as the ultimate revelation of the only begotten God (John 1:14b) and to believe in His words (John 5:24) and experience the abundant life He came to give (John 4:14, 10:10b).
9b:Tc9ff,The parallel Gospel accounts of John 1:19-28 are Matthew 3:11-12, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:15-17.
In John 1:19-28, priests are sent to investigate John the Baptist's identity, but he denied being the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet, and declared himself as the prophetic voice preparing the way of the Lord. He further testified that One far greate
John 1:19
The parallel Gospel accounts of John 1:19-28 are Matthew 3:11-12, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:15-17.
In John 1:19-28, priests are sent to investigate John the Baptist's identity, but he denied being the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet, and declared himself as the prophetic voice preparing the way of the Lord. He further testified that One far greater than he was already present among them.
After the prologue to his Gospel, that introduced Jesus as the Word made flesh (John 1:14) and the Light of men (John 1:5), the author of this Gospel (who was also named John) begins his narrative with the testimony of John the Baptizer.
* Note for the sake of clarity, from this point forward this section of commentary (John 1:19-28), unless otherwise noted, will use:
John the Baptist
The significance of John the Baptizer in the life and ministry of Jesus is enormous.
Two of the four Gospels begin their accounts with John (Mark 1:2, Luke 1:5-25). And the other two use the ministry of John to introduce the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 3:1-12, John 1:19-34).
John is first introduced in the middle of this gospel's prologue:
'There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.'
(John 1:6-8)
In the author's brief introduction of the Baptizer, we are told that John was created and sent from God to testify that the Messiah was about to enter the world. John prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah, until Jesus came forward to begin His Messianic ministry. At that point, John transitioned his message to say: this was the One I have been telling you about (John 1:15).
The Gospel of John does not tell us much about Baptizer's life through narrative.
Of the four accounts of Jesus's life, Luke's gives the most extensive information about who John the Baptist was. For instance, it is from Luke's Gospel that we learn about the miraculous circumstances of his conception (Luke 1:5-24) and birth (Luke 1:57-80), and that John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins through their mothers (Luke 1:36).
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all present John as the foretold Messianic forerunner (Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1:2-4, Luke 3:3-6).
Luke also dates the beginning of John's public ministry to 'the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar'' (Luke 3:1-2). Depending on if Luke's reckoning began when Tiberius was co-emperor with Augustus, or began a year later when Tiberius first ruled the Roman empire alone, this would correspond to the dates 26/27 A.D. or 28/29 A.D.
If it was the earlier date, then John began his ministry as the forebearer when he was about thirty years old. Jesus was also thirty years old when He began His ministry as the Messiah (Luke 3:23). Thirty years old was the age that Jewish tradition considered a man to be of 'full strength' (Mishnah. Avot 5:21).
From this it seems that John began his role as the Messianic forebearer six months before Jesus was baptized.
To learn more about John the Baptist, see The Bible Says article: 'Who was John the Baptist?'
John's Use of Dialogue over Narrative
The style of John's Gospel utilizes dialogue rather than narrative to reveal its insights. John's Gospel consistently eavesdrops its readers into meaningful interactions with Jesus and others. But rather than explain or summarize what happened, John's Gospel unfolds its important content through the conversations it records. It provides just enough background to set the framework for its recorded conversations.
The author frames this conversation with three lines of bare narrative.
And right after its prologue (John 1:1-18), the Gospel of John begins its account with this important conversation between the Baptizer and Jewish religious leaders.
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' (v 19).
The gospel writer introduces the entire exchange from verse 19 to verse 27 with the expression: This is the testimony of John.
The Greek word that is translated as testimony in verse 19 is μαρτυρία (G3141'pronounced: 'mar-too'ree'ah'). It is the same Greek word that is translated as 'witness' in John 1:7 and is the noun form of the verb that is translated as 'testify' also in John 1:7. The English word 'martyr' is derived from these Greek terms.
The testimony means a solemn declaration or witness concerning the truth of a matter.
In the context of verse 9, testimony refers to the formal account which John the Baptist gave to the religious authorities who were sent to investigate about his identity and purpose.
John's testimony is the first proof or piece of evidence that the gospel writer provides for his core claim that Jesus is both God (the Logos'John 1:1) and the Messiah (the Light'John 1:4).
As we will see, John's testimony was not self-promoting but was a faithful and truthful witness aligned with God's calling on his life.
The gospel writer says that John gave his testimony when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to the Baptizer.
The Jews and Jewish Religious Culture
Before continuing, it is worth mentioning here that throughout the Gospel of John, the term the Jews is often used to refer to the leading figures and parties of the religious institutions. The author does not necessarily mean the entire Jewish people'when he says the Jews, but rather their religious leadership.
There were multiple religious parties within the established Jewish social structure'the Zealots, the Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The two parties that were the most culturally dominant parties were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Both the Pharisees and Sadducees descended from the tradition established by the Maccabees, who led a resistance against Greek rulers seeking to exterminate Jewish religious practice. The Pharisees were seen as the primary bearer of that torch; they were viewed as guardians of Jewish faith and culture.
They taught the Law of Moses and the prophets in the local synagogues, which they controlled and operated. Closely aligned with the Pharisees were the Scribes'who were legal experts. Together the Pharisees and Scribes developed an oral tradition surrounding the Mosaic law and their interpretations of the Law were seen as authoritative.
This oral tradition is called 'the Mishnah.'
The Sadducees were priests, and they operated the Temple and its system of daily and personal sacrifices. Consequently, the Sadducees were based out of Jerusalem, where the Temple was located. The leader of the Sadducees was the high priest.
Caiaphas, the son'in-law to Annas (John 18:13), was the high priest the year the word of the Lord first came to John in the wilderness (Luke 3:2).
The leading figures of the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees held seats on the Jewish Council called 'the Sanhedrin.'
The Sanhedrin consisted of 70 members who settled religious debates and sat as judges on all matters of Jewish law. The leading Scribes and Pharisees who sat on this council were known as 'the elders' and the leading figures of the Sadducees who sat on this council were called 'chief priests.' The Sanhedrin met in Jerusalem.
In this specific context, the term Jews most likely refers to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem who sent a delegation of priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question John the Baptist.
The author of this gospel frequently (but not always) refers to all of these groups generically as the Jews, while the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke often refer to them specifically by name. (The author of this gospel occasionally specifies these religious parties by name).
One possible reason why this author referred to all these religious groups simply as the Jews instead of specifically identifying them was because at the time of his writing there was no longer any reason to make a distinction between various religious groups of the Jews.
This was because this gospel was written after the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. The first three gospels accounts were likely published before this catastrophic event when the distinctions between religious groups of the Jews mattered more.
After 70 A.D. there was no longer an active party of the Sadducees nor was there the Sanhedrin Council. The Pharisees were the religious party to remain intact following Jerusalem's fall. And by the time this gospel was published, the expression'the Jews'was a widely used term to describe the Jewish religious leaders.
Meanwhile, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke appear to have all been composed before Rome destroyed Jerusalem and stripped its religious leaders of any political authority.
Therefore, it made sense for the first three gospels to make this distinction, while this gospel account did not.
Verse 19 is the first time the gospel writer uses the expression the Jews in this way.
In this specific context, the term Jews most likely refers to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem who sent a delegation of priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question John the Baptist.
The Levites were descendants of Israel's son Levi, and the Levites were designated by God to be the priestly tribe of Jerusalem (Numbers 3:6-10).
The reason the Sanhedrin sent a delegation to John was because John was baptizing large numbers of people in Bethany beyond the Jordan (v 28b). Matthew reports:
'Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.'
(Matthew 3:5-6'see also Mark 1:4-5)
The Baptism and Message of John
This Gospel writer agrees with Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that these things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing (v 28).
Bethany beyond the Jordan refers to a location east of the Jordan River. It was across or beyond the river from where Jerusalem was positioned. It is generally identified with the area near modern-day Al'Maghtas in present-day Jordan. Bethany beyond the Jordan lay outside the immediate influence of the Jewish religious authorities in Jerusalem. It was a fitting place for John to begin his prophetic role in calling people out to the wilderness to' repent of their sins and learn of the path to reconciliation to God (Isaiah 40:3-5).
John was baptizing people in that place'Bethany beyond the Jordan.
It is worth noting that baptism was a common practice in Jewish religious life. Archeology has discovered over a hundred mikvahs near the temple mount in Jerusalem. A 'mikvah' is a small cellar with steps that allows someone to walk down into the water and immerse themselves. The Jews immersed themselves in water as a ritual of purity prior to participating in other religious practices. The House of Caiphas the high priest was also discovered, and it has a mikvah as well.
Further, the Essene ruins at Qumran have ritual mikvahs too. It is believed that the Essenes who copied the Hebrew scriptures there would baptize themselves both before and after they copied God's name, 'Yahweh' on their parchments. Therefore, the fact that Jews would travel all the way to the Jordan River, perhaps walking days, in order to submit to John's baptism shows that there was something very special about his message of baptism for the repentance of sins. The ritual purity baths focused on the external. John's baptism focused on the heart.
As already discussed, to baptize someone is to immerse them. And John was baptizing people by dunking them in the Jordan River. Because John baptized so many people'he is known as 'John the Baptist' or 'John the Baptizer.' John's baptism was an external sign publicly proclaimed by people to show that they had repented of their sins and anticipated the Messiah.
By undergoing John's baptism, these Jews publicly identified themselves with John's message about the coming kingdom. His baptism indicated two things about a person:
Repentance means to change one's mind about something. And to repent of sins means to change one's mind about one's heart and/or behavior and acknowledge that it is not good'but sinful. Repentance of sins (a change of mind) should lead to a change of behavior (Matthew 3:8).
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all emphasize the Baptizer's message of repentance, while the Gospel of John emphasizes the second aspect of the Baptizer's message.
John was sent from God to testify about the Messiah so that all might believe through him (John 1:6-7). John's preaching prepared people for the Messiah's coming:
'He was preaching, and saying, 'After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.''
(Mark 1:7-8'see also John 1:26-27)
John later identified Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:15, 1:29, 1:34).
Decades later, as the Apostle Paul went through Ephesus, he encountered some who were baptized by John, but who still had not yet heard that it was Jesus whom John proclaimed the Messiah (Acts 19:1-3). Paul then said to them:
'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.'
(Acts 19:4)
'When they heard this',' they believed and ''were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus'
(Acts 19:5).
The baptisms of'John (Mark 1:5) and his message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4, Luke 1:77) and the coming kingdom (Matthew 3:2) and Messiah (Mark 1:7-8, John 1:6-7, 26-27) had quickly caused quite a stir. His urgent message, sudden rise, and the large crowds that flocked to him attracted the attention of the Jewish religious leaders. However, as we will see, their attentiveness was not upon John's message but upon his potential threat to their power.
The Priests and Levites' Investigation of John the Baptist
As the spiritual leaders of the Jews, it was their job to investigate who John was and what he was about. They had an obligation to do this before God, to consider John's message and claims and to ensure that he was not a false prophet misleading the people (Deuteronomy 13:1-3, 18:20-22).
The Jewish religious leaders also had a duty to Rome, to let the Romans know if anyone was sowing seeds that would cause an insurrection. Rome was the imperial power over Judea; Roman authorities allowed the Jewish religious authorities a degree of power, so long as they were able to keep the people under control.
With John attracting the attention of large crowds, the Roman authorities would likely notice, and they would expect the Sanhedrin to be able to give them a satisfactory answer about this preacher.
This delegation of priests and Levites that were sent to John ensured that the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem would have an answer.
Taking all these things into consideration, it seems apparent that John had already begun his ministry and begun to gather the crowds in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1-4, Mark 1:4-8, Luke 3:1-2) by the time the Jews sent the priests and Levites to him.
It also seems that their initial investigation phase, recorded here in John 1:19-23, preceded the contentious confrontations between John and the religious leaders recorded in Matthew 3:7-12.
The fact the author says that priests and Levites were sent from the Sanhedrin may suggest that the Council sent more than one delegation to find out who John was. Perhaps they first sent priests and then they sent higher ranking Levites.
In either case, whether they sent one delegation or many, the line of questioning and John's responses were as follows:
The priests and Levites were sent to ask John: 'Who are you?'
This was a formal inquiry from the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem into who John was. What follows is in accordance with John's official testimony to this investigation.
And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ' (v 20).
John appeared to understand who it was they had in mind that he might be'the Christ.
John's intuition aligned with Luke's report that 'the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John,'as to whether he was'the Christ' (Luke 3:15).
The Jews' expectation was in part because the prophet Daniel had proclaimed 'seventy weeks' before the Messiah would come (Daniel 9:24).
The Jews understood Daniel's prophecy to mean seventy weeks of years, or 490 years. In his prophecy, the Messiah would appear after sixty-nine weeks'483 years after a proclamation was given to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. During this time, many believed the end of the 483 year 'prophetic clock' was approaching (Daniel 9:25). In hindsight, we know they were correct. Using one way to count the 'clock,' Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey colt exactly 483 years after a decree to rebuild the wall.
The English word'Christ, is a transliteration of the Greek term Χριστός'(G5547'pronounced: 'Chris'tos'). 'Christos' is the Greek term for 'anointed' and is used throughout the Septuagint'the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament'to translate the Hebrew term 'masiah' ' מָשִׁיחַ (H4899'pronounced 'maw'shē'ack). 'Masiah' also means 'anointed' and is often transliterated into English as 'Messiah.'
Therefore: Christ = Messiah= anointed.
The Messiah is the anointed of the Lord. The Lord promised to send His anointed servant (the Messiah/Christ) to redeem Israel from her captors and restore the Jews to prosperity (Isaiah 61:1-2). The Messiah/Christ was expected to be a king who would establish the Jewish people as a glorious nation on earth. This is because of biblical prophecies that predict exactly this, that the Messiah would reign as king over Israel; the Messiah will be the son of David whose reign would never end (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Psalm 2:6-8, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Daniel 7:13-14).
The Jews were anxiously looking and waiting 'in a state of expectation' (Luke 3:15) for the Christ to liberate them from Roman oppression. The Romans would have viewed anyone claiming to be the Christ who would reign over Israel as a threat to Caesar's claim as the ruling authority.
John's presence and message were so influential that the Jews wondered if he might be the Christ. John was a dynamic figure, and there was an intensity about him that indicated that his message was important. And, indeed, His message was important because John was sent from God to prepare the way for the coming of the Christ.
For these reasons, the Sanhedrin seemed curious if John was the Christ, or at the very least if John claimed to be the Christ.
John's Confession that He is Not the Christ
But from the outset, John confessed: 'I am not the Christ.'
To confess means to agree aloud. When a person confesses their sins, they agree with God by using their own voice that their behavior/and or heart is sinful.
But when John was confessing to the priests and Levites'he was saying aloud using his own voice that he agreed with God (and perhaps his inquisitors) that he was not the Messiah. It is interesting to note that they did not ask him 'Are you the Christ?'' Rather, they asked 'Who are you?' John clearly saw through their question and asked what they were really after.
The gospel writer indicates how John did not deny who he was to the priests and Levites.' And the most important or at least first fact about his identity was that he was not the Christ.
The structure of the gospel writer's statement: And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ,' strongly emphasizes John's faithfulness to his mission.
Twice the gospel writer positively states John's faithfulness by using the word: confessed. And twice the gospel writer negatively demonstrates John's faithfulness, first through the expression and did not deny and again through John's actual confession: I am not the Christ.
If John had declared himself to be the Christ, then he would have been a false prophet and unfaithful to his mission. John was the opposite; he was a faithful and true prophet. Moreover, if John would have declared himself the Christ, he would have given cause to the religious leaders (who themselves were not faithful'Matthew 23:2-36 and John 2:14-18) sufficient grounds to get rid of him.
After faithfully testifying who he was not, the priests and Levites asked John a few follow-up questions:
They asked him, 'What then? Are you Elijah?' And he said, 'I am not.' 'Are you the Prophet?' And he answered, 'No' (v 22).
The fact that they asked him, 'What then?' immediately after John denied being the Christ indicates a measure of surprise from these priests and Levites. Their question amounts to''What!!?? If you are not the Christ, then who are you?'
The delegation of priests and Levites then began to speculate who John might be or claim himself to be.
The first figure they asked him about was Elijah''Are you Elijah?'
John responded: 'I am not (Elijah).'
The second figure they asked him about was the Prophet''Are you the Prophet?'
John replied: 'No'(I am not the Prophet).'
John is Not the Literal Elijah
The likely reason they asked John about these figures was because in the Jews' minds, Elijah and the Prophet were both somehow related to the Christ.
Elijah was one of the greatest prophets of Israel. Elijah was known for his bold confrontation of wickedness and his unwavering commitment to the LORD. He ministered during the reign of Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, a time marked by rampant idolatry and apostasy. During his ministry, Elijah:
(1 Kings 18:38-39, see also: 18:20-40)
(1 Kings 17:1, 18:41-45)
(2 Kings 2:11)
Elijah held a special place in Jewish expectation concerning the coming of the Messiah because the LORD had promised through the prophet Malachi that Elijah himself would return before the great and terrible day of the LORD.
'Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.'
(Malachi 4:5-6)
This prophecy is given in the final verses of the Old Testament. It led many Jews to believe that Elijah would be a herald or forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the people spiritually for the LORD's arrival and the Messianic kingdom.
John was not the literal prophet Elijah returned from heaven to earth. This was why he answered: 'I am not' when they asked him: 'Are you Elijah?' He was not the actual returned prophet; he was John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth.
But John did come in the prophetic role of Elijah that Malachi prophesied. When the angel Gabriel announced John's birth, he said that John would go before the Christ 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17).
Moreover, after John the Baptizer's execution by Herod (Matthew 14), Jesus's disciples Peter, James, and John asked Him: 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' (Matthew 17:10). Jesus answered them: 'I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished' (Matthew 17:12). Matthew then records: 'Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist' (Matthew 17:13).
To this day the Jews are still waiting for Elijah to return and announce the Messiah's arrival, and they believe he will come at Passover. Jewish Seders commemorate this by pouring and leaving a cup of wine for Elijah in anticipation of his return. John may have even been born at Passover in fulfillment of the Jews' own expectation.
It could be that Elijah will come back to earth in person prior to Jesus's second coming as one of the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11; many of the things done by the two witnesses are the same as those done by Elijah in the Old Testament.
John came in the prophetic role of Elijah, but he was not the man Elijah himself. And the Jews missed John's true significance.
John is not the Prophet
The priests and Levites also asked John: 'Are you the Prophet?'
Their question reflected their expectation of a particular prophetic figure promised by God through Moses. Moses declared to the Israelites:
'The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.'
(Deuteronomy 18:15)
Later in the same chapter, the LORD Himself affirmed:
'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.'
(Deuteronomy 18:18).
These prophecies were deeply embedded in Jewish thought. Many believed that a prophet with divine authority and unparalleled leadership would arise in the last days to guide the people.
In the Jewish perspective of the time, the Prophet mentioned by Moses was closely associated with the Messiah/Christ. Some believed the Prophet would be the actual Messiah/Christ. Some believed the Prophet would be Elijah, the Messianic forerunner. Others thought the Prophet would be a counterpart or some other powerful figure within the Messiah's reign. This is why they asked John if he was the Prophet, since he was not the Christ nor Elijah.
We now know who the Prophet is. The Prophet is Jesus Christ. Jesus was and is the Prophet like Moses, who was foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. In fulfillment of this prophecy, Jesus is the Word made Flesh who spoke God's words directly to the people (John 1:14-18).
Deuteronomy 18:16 describes that the people of Israel were afraid on 'Horeb' (Mount Sinai) because God partially unveiled Himself. They asked ''Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.'' Moses then promised 'a prophet from among their countrymen' and said He would 'put My words in his mouth.' Jesus was God in human form that fulfilled this prophecy.
But John was not the Prophet, which is why when they asked him: 'Are you the Prophet?', John answered, 'No.'
Frustrated at John's negative answers to their questions about whether he was the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet, the delegation of priests and Levites finally asked John more open-ended questions that allowed him to speak for himself.
The Role of John the Baptist
Then they said to him, 'Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' (v 22).
The priests and Levites told John they were expected to give an answer to those who sent them. They needed to report on who John was. As explained earlier, those who sent them were likely the Sanhedrin Council in Jerusalem.
This delegation was to report back their findings to their superiors and apparently all they had to report back was that John, the eccentric man who was preaching and baptizing crowds in the wilderness was not the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet. But they had nothing to tell regarding who John was or what he said about himself. Their answer would have been unsatisfactory unless John gave them something positive or more definitive than his denials. So, they asked him: Who are you?'and'What do you say about yourself?
John answered with a descriptive response concerning his identity:
He said, 'I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said' (v 23).
John claimed to be the fulfillment of a prophecy from the prophet Isaiah. Specifically, John claimed to be a voice of one crying in the wilderness that calls out 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'
This prophecy comes from Isaiah 40:3:
'A voice is calling,
'Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.'
(Isaiah 40:3)
The Jews understood Isaiah 40:3 to be the central verse of a broader prophecy (Isaiah 40:1-5) predicting the coming of the Messiah's forerunner'the figure who will announce and prepare Israel for the Christ's coming.
John was the Messianic forerunner who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ (John 1:6-8). And John was the fulfillment of this prediction from the prophet Isaiah (Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1:2-4, Luke 3:2-6).
John was incredibly forthcoming and absolutely correct as he answered the priests and Levites' question about who he was when he said, 'I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said.'
From this statement about himself, the Jews would have instantly recognized that John was claiming to be the Christ's forerunner. This would have been an answer they could return to Jerusalem with.
The Isaiah passage says 'a voice' which indicates a singular voice crying out. John could have applied that passage to himself and said, 'I am the voice spoken of in Isaiah.' However, he says he was a voice. In choosing these words, John defines his ministry as temporary and functional:
He is simply a voice that points beyond itself to One far greater. John's humility in this grammatical change fits John's pattern of constantly minimizing his own importance and pointing others to Jesus and His superiority.
(v 27 ' see also: Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7, Luke 3:16).
(John 1:30)
(John 3:29)
(John 3:30)
John's declining the opportunity to personalize Isaiah's prophecy to assert that he is 'the voice' is another example of his humility. By claiming to be 'a voice' John does not make Isaiah's prophecy about himself, but rather points to how this prophecy about the forerunner is really about the Messiah.
Now we return to the dialogue of John 1:19-28.
The Pharisees' Investigation of John the Baptist
At this point it is unclear if the remaining portion of the dialogue between John and the religious leaders is part of the same specific conversation or if it is a follow-up conversation that took place later. The reason they may be separate occasions is because the author's interjection:
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees (v 24).
This statement could be clarifying that the Jews from Jerusalem who originally sent the priests and Levites to John were Pharisees'or'this statement could be indicating that it was a different interview and delegation'this time sponsored by the Pharisees instead of the Sadducees.
If the author is simply clarifying that it was the Pharisees who sent the priests and Levites, then what follows in verses 25-27 are likely the conclusion of the same conversation that took place on the same occasion. Also, this would mean that the Pharisees who sent them would have been members of the Sanhedrin Council, because only Pharisees who were on that council would have had the authority to give orders to send priests and Levites somewhere. (Priests and Levites were members of the Sadducee party).
On the other hand, the author may be using the line Now they had been sent from the Pharisees to indicate a different occasion. If so, then he is saying that after priests and Levites learned that John claimed to be the forerunner of the Christ, the Pharisees sent their own new delegation to John as they investigated things further.
In either case, whether the dialogue of John 1:19-27 took place in a single conversation, or across multiple days and weeks with different interviewers, the substance of John's testimony and the Jews' line of questioning is the same.
Those who had been sent from the Pharisees asked John a follow up question.
They asked him, and said to him, 'Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?' (v 25).
Their question implies that John had no right to be baptizing since he was not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. And their question reveals also the heart of the religious leaders' concern. Their interrogation was not merely about John's identity. But rather it was about his authority.
The Pharisees' question was designed to frame John and force him to either submit to their authority or to cease baptizing. (We will see in his response how John disregarded their faulty framing designed to trap him when we discuss vv 26-27).
In the minds of the scribes, Levites, and Pharisees, only a divinely anointed figure'such as the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet'would have the right to perform a spiritual practice like baptism'especially one being performed outside their existing systems of the synagogue and the temple and apart from their oversight.
John's baptizing was disruptive to the religious order, and it appeared to threaten their own authority. Accordingly, they demanded to know by what right John was baptizing and calling Israel to repentance. We will see a culmination of this seed of self-seeking and preservation of petty earthly authority later in John's gospel.
In John 11:47-50, the Pharisees and priests will conspire to kill Jesus after He raises Lazarus from the dead. After Jesus raised someone from death you might think the Jewish leaders would at least give some thought as to whether He might actually be the Christ. But they only think of their position, saying 'If we let Him go on like this [doing miracles] all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation' (John 11:48).
The leaders' question also reveals the Pharisees' and Sadducees' assumptions about the coming of the Messiah and the restoration of Israel.
They expected that when the Christ or His herald (Elijah) appeared, it would be with unmistakable authority, signs, and perhaps official recognition from within the religious system itself. It bothered them that John, someone who claimed to be the forerunner to the Christ, had attracted crowds and initiated a powerful movement in the wilderness without such credentials. It seems they were only willing to consider a Christ who answered to them and fit under their authority.
Their question also betrays a deeper issue. It was not that the Pharisees and the other leading Jews lacked information, they thoroughly knew the religious traditions. But they fundamentally misunderstood the nature of true spiritual authority. All true authority (spiritual or otherwise) comes from God, not institutional endorsement.
John's ministry, though unconventional, was fully aligned with the prophetic tradition and divine commission. He was 'sent from God' (John 1:6). John did not need the Pharisees or the Sadducees' endorsement to prepare hearts for the arrival of the Christ. He did not need their permission to preach a baptism of repentance or to call people out of their rituals and into relationship.
As the religious leaders of the Jews focused on titles and positions, they failed to recognize the significance of what was happening right in front of them. Meanwhile the tax collectors and sinners recognized the authenticity of John's spiritual authority and repented in preparation for the Christ's coming.
Sadly, it seems that even after John's death, the leading priests and Pharisees in Jerusalem refused to acknowledge John's authority (Matthew 21:23-27).
John answered them saying, 'I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie' (vv 26-27).
Instead of directly answering (and accepting) the Pharisees' framework (Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?) which was designed to force him to either submit to their authority or stop his ministry, John redirected their attention away from himself and toward the One who was already among them, whose authority far surpassed theirs.
The One who stands among you and He who comes after me are both descriptions of the Christ.
The phrase stands among you indicates that the Christ is not just born and alive, but already is fully grown and standing. The Christ is ready being His ministry.
The religious leaders do not know who this person is, even though He stands among them. ' And at this moment neither does John know the Christ's identity (John 1:29-34). It also inferred that John did not yet know that his cousin, Jesus, was the Christ. In John 1:31, the Baptizer will say this explicitly.
John humbly downplayed the importance his ministry of baptizing people compared to the ministry of He who comes after him.
John said: I baptize with water.
John's baptism was meaningful but symbolic. It was administered with water and was a public display of a changed heart and mind'it was for repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3).' John's baptism indicated that the people he was baptizing wished to be prepared for the coming of the Christ.
John could preach the message of repentance and immerse the penitent in water as a sign of their commitment to God and His approaching kingdom. But John's testimony'I baptize with water'was his way of explaining that this is the limit of his ministry.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke's Gospel accounts, John minimizes his symbolic baptism with water with the baptism which will be instituted by the Christ:
'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.'
(Matthew 3:11b'See also Mark 1:8 and Luke 3:16)
(See The Bible Says commentary for Mark 1:7-8 for a detailed explanation of what John meant by baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.)
John contrasted his unworthiness to the greatness of the Christ when he said: the'thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. The lowliest of servants untied the sandals of their lords. This image depicted how John was not worthy to be the lowest servant of the One who came after him.
And yet John was the forerunner'prophetic voice'preparing the Christ's ministry. Jesus would later describe John as 'one who is more than a [mere] prophet' (Luke 7:26) and how 'among those born of women there is no one greater than John' (Luke 7:28). For John to describe himself as an unworthy servant for such a menial task such as untying a sandal modeled remarkable humility to the Pharisees as he prepared them for the coming Messiah.
Ultimately John's answer humbly expressed to the Pharisees that the reason why he was baptizing was because God and His Messiah wanted him to baptize people and that his authority was from God.
John's authority comes from He who comes after me. Because John is the forerunner to the Christ, John comes before the Christ does. The Christ is He who comes after John.
Therefore, John answers the Pharisees' question: Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? with the implied response: because the Christ, the One who is of immeasurable authority and who is coming after me, told me to.
John will later state even more explicitly how it was God who authorized him to baptize when he said it was 'He who sent me to baptize in water' (John 1:33b).
By swatting away their framing and humbly reframing the issue properly, John not only avoided their trap, but his response exposed the religious leaders' spiritual blindness: they did not recognize the very One whom John's ministry was preparing the way for.
The Gospel of Matthew reports a more contentious exchange between John and the religious leaders (Matthew 3:7-10). In this exchange John sternly rebukes the Pharisees. It is unclear if this was part of the same conversation recorded here in the Gospel of John or if this was a separate encounter.
The Bible Says commentary explaining John's rebuke as recorded by Matthew can be found here and here.
The Gospel Writer's arrangement of John 1:24-2:11 into Seven Days
One final thing to point out is that the writer of this Gospel appears to organize the opening events of his account into a calendar week. There are five events in seven days, one event for each 'day' with the fourth event begin a three-day journey from Judea to Galilee.
By utilizing the seven-day device, the gospel writer may be paralleling the beginning of Jesus's ministry with the seven-day creation account of Genesis (Genesis 1:2-2:3).
The gospel writer concludes these interactions by telling us where they occurred:
These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing (v 28).
As previously discussed, Bethany beyond the Jordan was located east of the Jordan River, approximately 20-25 miles northeast of Jerusalem, across the river in the wilderness region near the edge of Judea.
In the next section of scripture (John 1:29-34), John dramatically identifies Jesus as the Christ when he says 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29).
9c:T6580,There are no obvious parallel gospel accounts of John 1:29-30. However, John the Baptist's reaction to seeing Jesus seems to fit the same event of Jesus's Baptism and appears to be associated with Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22.
In John 1:29-30, John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and gives a prophetic riddle that reveals Jesus to be both the Christ and God.
* Note for the sake of clarity, this section commentary (John 1:29-30), unless otherwise noted, will use:
John 1:29
There are no obvious parallel gospel accounts of John 1:29-30. However, John the Baptist's reaction to seeing Jesus seems to fit the same event of Jesus's Baptism and appears to be associated with Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22.
In John 1:29-30, John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and gives a prophetic riddle that reveals Jesus to be both the Christ and God.
* Note for the sake of clarity, this section commentary (John 1:29-30), unless otherwise noted, will use:
The author divides the previous interaction(s) between John and the religious leaders at Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28) and the claims John makes in this passage. He makes this distinction through the phrase: The next day (John 1:29a).
The next day refers to the day after John answered the Pharisees' question about why he baptized if he was not the Christ, Elijah, nor the prophet (John 1:25).
John humbly answered: 'I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie' (John 1:26-27).
But in a broader context, the phrase the next day is the first indication we have that the writer of this gospel is sequencing its opening events.
It appears that the writer includes five events as occurring within a seven-day timeframe. There are five events in seven days, one event for each 'day' with the fourth event begin a three-day journey from Judea to Galilee.
By utilizing the seven-day device, the gospel writer may be paralleling the beginning of Jesus's ministry with the seven-day creation account of Genesis (Genesis 1:2-2:3).
This is what happened on the next day:
He saw Jesus coming to him and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' (v 29b).
The pronouns'he and him'in verse 29 refer to John the Baptist.
To learn more about John the Baptist, see The Bible Says article: 'Who was John the Baptist?'
John saw Jesus coming to him, while John was 'at Bethany beyond the Jordan' (John 1:28).
The author of this gospel does not state why Jesus was coming to John. The other three gospel accounts state that Jesus came to John in order to be baptized by him.
'Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.'
(Matthew 3:13'See also Mark 1:9, Luke 3:21)
While it is not conclusive from what the gospel writers say, it appears as if the events described in John 1:29-34 coincide with the Baptism of Jesus in the other three gospels (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 1:21-22).
There is a harmony of John 1:29-34 and the other gospel accounts at the end of The Bible Says commentary for John 1:31-34.
When John saw Jesus coming to him, he instantly recognized Jesus's Messianic identity. John proclaimed: Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Though Jesus was John's cousin (Luke 1:36), this was apparently the first time John recognized Jesus as the Christ. John's proclamation was public'the word Behold is a prophetic command for others to pay attention or take note of what God is doing. John was calling attention to Jesus's identity as the Christ.
But John did not say: 'Behold the Messiah/the Christ,' or 'Behold the King.' He said: Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This depiction presents Jesus as a spotless lamb'such as a Passover Lamb'that is sacrificed to God for the atonement of sin.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were commanded to offer lambs and other animals as a sacrifice to God. These sacrifices were symbolic of how innocent life was required to atone for the guilt of sin. The entire sacrificial system pointed to the need for substitutionary death in the place of the sinner (Hebrews 9:22). The Law of Moses prescribes:
'But if he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering, he shall bring it, a female without defect.'
(Leviticus 4:32)
The worshiper would lay his hand on the head of the animal, symbolically transferring his guilt before it was slain (Leviticus 4:33). The blood of the lamb was then applied to the altar as a means of purification and forgiveness, showing that atonement came through the shedding of blood.
Perhaps the clearest foreshadowing of John's proclamation comes from the Passover.
In Exodus, the Israelites were instructed to slaughter a lamb without blemish and place its blood on their doorposts (Exodus 12:21-23). The lamb's blood shielded the people from judgment, demonstrating how God accepted the life of the substitute.
To learn more about how Jesus is the Passover Lamb, see The Bible Says article: 'Jesus and the Messianic Fulfillments of Passover and Unleavened Bread.'
The prophet Isaiah also builds upon this sacrificial imagery when he prophesies about the suffering servant-the Christ:
'He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter''
(Isaiah 53:7).
John's description of Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world alluded to the sacrificial system, the Passover, and Isaiah's Messianic prophecy all at the same time.
John's description was accurate.
There are at least five things about John the Baptizer's description of Jesus as the Lamb of God that are worth noting.
' ' ' 1. Jesus's role as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is the foundation for humanity's salvation from the penalty of sin (death) and'the world's reconciliation with God.
From the beginning, sin brought death and separation from God (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23). Only a perfect, substitutionary sacrifice could satisfy divine justice 'once and for all' (Hebrews 10:11) and restore that relationship. Through His blood, Jesus bore the punishment we deserved, and by His death and resurrection, He conquered sin and death. Jesus's death removed the barrier of sin for those who believe and brought the possibility of full reconciliation with the Father (John 3:14-15).
The forgiveness of sins is one of the main pillars of the Gift of Eternal Life.
The Gift of Eternal Life includes complete forgiveness, adoption as children of God, and the promise of resurrection. Without Jesus as the Lamb, there is no cleansing of sin and no eternal life. With Jesus, our salvation is fully available and eternally secure.
' ' ' 2. John the Baptist's description of Jesus as a sacrificial Lamb reverses expectations of the Christ as a conquering king.'
John's description spoke to the Messianic role Jesus fulfilled when He came to earth (the first time). Jesus did not assert His political kingdom during His first advent'His 'kingdom is not of this world' (John 18:36). But Jesus came the first time to offer Himself as a sacrifice to defeat sin and death 'and to give His life a ransom for many' (Matthew 20:28).
By identifying Jesus as the Lamb, not the Lion or King, John reframes expectations of the Messiah as a suffering servant before He comes as a reigning King. This 'surprise' is echoed in Revelation 5, where John hears about 'the Lion from the tribe of Judah' but sees instead 'a Lamb standing, as if slain' (Revelation 5:5-6).
' ' ' 3. The phrase Lamb of God implies divine origin and selection.
Jesus is not merely a lamb of God (one of many)'He is the Lamb of God (the one and only). He is literally God's Lamb'chosen and provided by God Himself for the purpose of taking away sin.
This title alludes to the Genesis account of Abraham and Isaac, where Abraham tells his son, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb'' (Genesis 22:8). Just as God provided a substitute in that moment, so He now provides Jesus as the ultimate substitute. This divine provision underscores God's initiative in redemption.
In pronouncing that God's Lamb will take away the sin of the world, John is echoing the prophetic pronouncement of Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy. This prophecy set a prophetic 'clock' whose predicted time of the Messiah's coming was approaching, and was likely a reason prophetic expectation was on high alert in Israel. Part of what Daniel prophesied was that during this time the Messiah would 'make an end of sin' and 'make atonement for iniquity' (Daniel 9:24).
' ' ' 4. Jesus continually takes away the sin of the world.
The Greek verb that is translated as takes away is in the present-active tense. This tense can convey ongoing action. The tense suggests that Jesus's role as the Lamb is not confined to a single historical moment (though it was fulfilled at the cross) but continues in effect'Jesus continually removes and takes away sin. The author's use of the present-active tense emphasizes the ongoing power and sufficiency of Jesus's once-for-all sacrifice, as the author of Hebrews agrees:
'For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.'
(Hebrews 10:14)
In his first epistle, the author also says how Jesus continually cleanses us from all unrighteousness as we walk in the light and confess our sins (1 John 1:7-9).
' ' ' 5. Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Jesus's mission was not only for Israel but for all people'Jews and Gentiles alike. John's description anticipates the global scope of the gospel (see John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, Revelation 7:9). It also seems to run contrary to the Jewish expectation of a Messiah who would primarily deliver Israel from political oppression. But the universality of the Christ was predicted long before Jesus was born (Isaiah 49:6).
John's description of Jesus as the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' is on par with how Jesus is the World'Messiah (Light of Men, Light of the World'John 1:4, 8:12, 9:5) universally and is not a Messiah for the Jews only. Jesus is God's Son given of love and for the life of the world (John 3:16).
After John exclaimed, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!' he used a prophetic riddle to elaborate on who Jesus was in relationship to John's mission as the forerunner to the Christ. John went on to say:
This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me' (v 30).
In verse 30 the pronouns'He and Him'represent Jesus, the Christ.
The prophetic riddle is: After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.
Earlier in the prologue to his gospel account, the author quoted this riddle from John in support of the author's claim that Jesus is the Word/Logos made flesh (John 1:14). John's prophetic riddle immediately followed that claim:
'John testified about Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'''
(John 1:15)
Now in verse 30, we have the context for when John spoke this riddle. John spoke it when he first recognized Jesus as the Christ and said He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! And this was the day after he answered the Pharisees' question about why he was baptizing.
John's prophetic riddle contains two essential truths about Jesus's identity:
The first truth is that Jesus is the Christ.
The second truth is that Jesus is God.
1.' John cryptically points to Jesus as the promised Christ
John identifies Jesus as the Messiah when he pointed to Jesus and said: This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I.'
Chronologically, Jesus began His public ministry after John had already been baptizing and preaching. This is why John states that Jesus comes'after'himself. Jesus was also born six months after John (Luke 1:26, 36), making Jesus younger by birth order. There is nothing mysterious about this point of chronology.
And we have already seen John describing the coming Christ as 'He who comes after me' in John's answer to the Pharisees' question, the day before (John 1:27a).
What is mysterious'what forms the first part of the'prophetic riddle'is that John says this One who comes after him'also has a higher rank than I.
To understand this riddle, we must remember that John was sent as the Christ's forerunner'the one who fulfills Isaiah's prophecy about''The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the LORD'''(John 1:23). As the forerunner, John's task was to go ahead of the Messiah and prepare the people for His arrival. Therefore, the One who comes after John the forerunner and yet has a higher rank than the forerunner must be the Christ Himself.
And we have also seen John describe the Christ as a Man who has a higher rank than I in his response to the Pharisees' question when John said of the Christ, 'the'thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie' (John 1:27b).
Until this moment, John described the figure in abstract terms, and the identity of the Christ was a mystery. Now, once John saw Jesus coming to him, the Christ's identity was a mystery no longer. John said: this is He'the person I have been telling everyone about. He is the Christ.
But importantly, John did not explicitly say: 'This is the Christ,' or 'Jesus is the Christ' in those simple terms. John said it clearly, but he said it in prophetic code.
One possible reason John identified Jesus in prophetic code instead of plain language was so that the faithful Jews of John's time'those who knew the Scriptures and were eagerly awaiting the Messiah'would recognize what he was saying, while the Roman authorities or casual listeners who would be enemies of the Christ might miss the layered meaning.
The prophetic code approach identified Jesus as the Christ for the faithful, even as it kept his identity secret to Jesus's enemies until the proper time.
John may have been protecting Jesus's mission from premature political attack.
The Jews expected the Christ to be a king'but Judea was under Roman rule. Any clear declaration of kingship could have provoked the wrath of Herod, Pilate, or even Caesar. Herod the Great had already attempted to kill Jesus as an infant (Matthew 2:13-16), and Pilate would eventually sentence Him to death (John 19:15-16).
Another possibility for John's prophetic riddle and code was that God did not want Jesus's identity to be fully revealed to all, but rather to those with open hearts and believing faith.
If John had declared too directly,''This is the Christ,''it might have removed the opportunity for faith to be exercised.
'Without faith it is impossible to please God.'
(Hebrews 11:6)
Even Jesus cloaked His identity at times according to His Father's timing (Isaiah 49:2; Matthew 16:20, Mark 1:34, John 7:4-6). Jesus told Peter that his recognition of Him as the Christ was not from man but from the Father (Matthew 16:17), showing that revelation was divinely controlled. It seems God used veiled words and riddles to draw out true faith while maintaining His sovereign plan.
So, the first part of John's prophetic riddle identified Jesus as the Christ. And the second part of John's riddle identified Jesus as God.
After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.
2.' John cryptically claims that Jesus is God
John indicates that Jesus is God when he says:'for He existed before me.
The conjunction'for'links this claim'He existed before me'to the previous statement'after me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I.
The second statement logically explains why Jesus has a higher rank than John, Jesus ranks higher than John'because'Jesus existed before John. This is unexpected, since by all human reckoning, John existed first'he was conceived and born six months before Jesus (Luke 1:26, 36) and began his ministry before Jesus began His.
But John is speaking a second part of the prophetic riddle.
John's meaning becomes clear when we recall who Jesus truly is: not just a man, but the eternal Son of God. The gospel writer already introduced this truth in the prologue:
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'
(John 1:1)
The Greek verb translated'was'is ἦν (pronounced: ''hn') in John 1:1, and is the exact verb that is translated as He existed here in verse 30.
A more literal translation of John's prophetic riddle in verse 30 might read After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He was before me.
In both cases (John 1:1 and v 30), the context and the grammar for He was indicates ongoing, eternal existence'something only God possesses.
Jesus Himself would later affirm this eternal identity when He declared,''Before Abraham was born, I am''(John 8:58).
The crowd was stunned because Jesus was not even fifty years old (John 8:57), yet He claimed to precede a man who had lived two thousand years earlier. It is with Jesus's divinity in mind that John'who as a human was six months older than Jesus'could declare that Jesus existed before him.
The point John is making in this part of the riddle is that the reason Jesus existed before me is because Jesus is God.
John used a similar expression when he told his disciples:''He who comes from above is above all' a statement repeated twice in John 3:31. Jesus was 'above all' because He was and is God, who created all that was created (Colossians 1:16-17).
John's teaching echoes the structure of his riddle:''He who comes after me' existed before me.'
The'He'in both statements refers to Jesus. He is not just greater in rank'He is greater in nature. He comes from heaven, and therefore He has a higher rank than all.
John's statement,'He existed before me, presages Paul's teaching in Colossians 1:17,
'He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.'
(Colossians 1:17)
Jesus is not only the Christ, He is also God the Creator. All things were made through Him (John 1:3), and He sustains all things. That is why His rank is higher'not just higher than John's, but higher than every name and power in heaven and on earth (Philippians 2:9-11).
In summary, John's riddle: 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me''reveals two profound truths. Jesus is the'Christ, the human whom God anointed to be king over all the earth, a Man'who comes after the forerunner; and Jesus is'God, who existed before all.
After declaring Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and proclaiming Him to be the Christ, as well as God, John goes on to reveal how he knew Jesus was this figure (John 1:31-34). And this will be the subject of the next section of scripture.
9d:T66f6,There are no obvious parallel gospel accounts of John 1:31-34. However, the events John the Baptist describes seem to fit Jesus's Baptism recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22.
In John 1:31-34, John the Baptist explains that the Spirit's descent upon Jesus revealed His identity as the Son of God and confirmed that He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
To learn more about John the Baptist, see The Bible Says article:- The name: 'John' or 'the Baptizer' when referring to John the Baptist;
- The terms: 'John's Gospel,' 'this gospel' or 'the Gospel of John' when referring to the Gospel According to John;
- The terms: 'the author,' 'writer of this gospel,' or 'John'Jesus's disciple' when referring to Jesus's disciple, John, who was the author of this account.
- Jesus's parents, Mary and Joseph
- John's mother, Elizabeth (and presumably her husband Zacharias)
- The shepherds of Bethlehem whom the angel told
- Simeon, the righteous man
- Anna, the prophetess
- The Gentile Magi who came to offer Jesus gifts
- The Gospel of Matthew was written for Jewish believers and stresses Jesus's Jewish Messiahship
John 1:31
There are no obvious parallel gospel accounts of John 1:31-34. However, the events John the Baptist describes seem to fit Jesus's Baptism recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22.
In John 1:31-34, John the Baptist explains that the Spirit's descent upon Jesus revealed His identity as the Son of God and confirmed that He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
To learn more about John the Baptist, see The Bible Says article: 'Who was John the Baptist?'
* Note for the sake of clarity, this section commentary (John 1:31-34), unless otherwise noted, will use:
John 1:29 begins to describe a scene the day after the Pharisees had questioned John the Baptizer about why he was baptizing and whether he was the Christ. John had denied being the Christ as well as denying he was Elijah, or the prophet predicted in Deuteronomy 18:18 (John 1:21, 25). John 'saw Jesus coming to him' and when he saw the sign God gave to him, John recognized Jesus to be the Messiah from God who was sent to save the world (John 1:29).
According to the Gospel of Matthew, it seems that this sign of the 'Spirit descending as a dove' occurred after John baptized Jesus (Matthew 3:16, John 1:33). There is a harmony of Matthew's account of Jesus's Baptism and the Confession of John (John 1:29-34) at the end of this commentary.
John proclaimed: 'Behold,'the Lamb of God who'takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29b). John then identified Jesus as the Christ and God through a prophetic riddle: 'This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me'' (John 1:30). This riddle demonstrated that Jesus was God because He was born physically after John but existed before Him.
Even though John and Jesus were relatives (Luke 1:36), verse 31 indicates that John did not know that Jesus was the One he had been sent to prepare the way for until this moment.
We can deduce that John did not know Jesus's Messianic or divine identity because of what John said next:
I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water (v 31).
The pronouns'He and Him'in this verse refer to Jesus, the Christ/Messiah.
John freely confessed that he did not know who the Christ was when he said: I did not recognize Him.
The Greek word translated recognize is often translated as 'know' or 'see.' This indicates that John is saying 'I did not know He was the Messiah.' This is remarkable, because John likely knew Jesus because they were related. Their mothers both visited with each other for three months during their miraculous pregnancies with John and Jesus (Luke 1:39-56).
Each mother knew who their son and their relatives' son would be. John's mother, Elizabeth called Mary 'the mother of my Lord' (Luke 1:43). And John's father Zacharias prophesied at his son's circumcision that John would be the forerunner to the Christ (Luke 1:76-79). But the identity of Mary's son, Jesus was apparently not made widely known and either not told to John, or told to him and he chose to wait for God to show him directly rather than believe a secondhand testimony.
Before John revealed Jesus to be 'the Lamb of God' (John 1:29) it seems that only a select few knew of Jesus's identity. Those whom the Bible mentions knew that Jesus was the Messiah before John identified Him include:
(Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:20-21)
(Luke 1:43)
(Luke 2:8-20)
(Luke 2:25-35)
(Luke 2:36-38)
(Matthew 2:1-12)
For all these individuals it is either explicitly stated or strongly implied that God supernaturally revealed Jesus's identity as the Christ through angelic visitations or the Holy Spirit. As we will see, God also supernaturally revealed Jesus's identity to John.
But John was the first person to publicly tell others who Jesus was'the Christ and Son of God. This is fitting because John was the Messiah's forerunner (John 1:6-8, 23).
John explained that Jesus was the reason why he came baptizing in water.
John, the Messiah's forerunner, came baptizing in water so that He (the Christ) might be manifested to Israel.
The world'Messiah was long prophesied to come from Israel and to its people.
The prophecy of the Messiah's coming through Israel was first made during God's covenant with Abraham.' In this covenant, God promised Abraham:
'And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.'
(Genesis 12:3)
The Christ (who came through Israel'Abraham's descendants) was the instrument through which Abraham would be a blessing to all the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3). This covenant promise of blessing was passed on to Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:14). Later, after God had changed Jacob's name to Israel, Jacob prophesied that 'Shiloh''another name Jacob used to refer to the Messiah'would come through his son, Judah (Genesis 49:10).
Other prophecies which predicted that the Christ would be manifested to and/or through Israel include 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Psalm 132:11, Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Micah 5:2.
John, the Messiah's forerunner, came specifically to prepare the way for the Christ so that all would be ready for Him to be manifested in Israel (John 1:23). John 'came as a witness to [the Christ]' so that all might believe through Him' (John 1:7).
Now John has just recognized and identified Jesus as the Christ whom he has been preparing Israel to receive'Jesus is the One whom John has been baptizing in water so that He might be manifested to Israel.
John's baptism was meaningful but symbolic. It was administered in water and was a public display of a changed heart and mind'it was for repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3).
Repentance literally describes a change of mind and/or heart. When someone repents of their sins, they change their perspective about their actions and their attitude. Instead of seeing themselves as good, they see themselves as having fallen short of God's good and holy standard.
John's baptism indicated that the people he was baptizing wished to be prepared for the coming of the Christ. John preached a message of repentance (Matthew 3:1-2) and he would baptize the penitent in water as a sign of their commitment to God and His approaching kingdom.
John's baptism in water foreshadowed the greater baptism of the Christ which was in the Holy Spirit (v 33b). (This commentary will explain the meaning of the Messiah's baptism when it discusses verse 33.)
John came baptizing in water so that He (the Christ) might be manifested to Israel (v 31).
John then explained how it was that he was able to recognize Jesus as the Christ.
John testified saying, 'I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit'' (vv 32-33).
First John testified to what he saw. Then John testified to what God told John he would see.
This is what John testified he saw: 'I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him''(v 32).
The Spirit refers to God'the Holy Spirit.
God is three and God is One. The Bible teaches that the one true God eternally exists as three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal, fully sharing the one divine nature while remaining distinct in their roles and relationships. The Three'and'One nature of God is often called 'the Trinity.' It is foundational to Christian faith, revealing that God is both perfectly unified and perfectly relational.
The Father is the eternal source and origin within the Godhead. He sends the Son into the world and, through the Spirit, accomplishes His will in creation, redemption, and restoration.
The Son, Jesus Christ, is the eternal Word who became flesh (John 1:14), lived a sinless life, died for the sins of the world, and rose again. He is fully God and fully man, and He is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).
The Holy Spirit is the eternal Spirit of God who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He indwells believers, convicts the world of sin, and empowers the church to live in truth, holiness, and mission.
The night before He was crucified, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them in their mission (John 14:16-17, 26, 15:26, 16:13). And the Holy Spirit came, as Jesus said, to the disciples ten days after Jesus's ascension into heaven (Acts 2:1-4).
Here John saw God the Holy Spirit in the form or image of a dove descending out of heaven and alight and/or remain upon Jesus.
The expression out of heaven could refer to John seeing a supernatural vision of heaven with the Spirit descending as a dove out of the spiritual realm into the physical realm. Or it could describe the Holy Spirit in the form a literal dove physically descending out of the sky. (The Greek word that is here translated as heaven can equally be translated as 'sky.')
In Jewish thought, the dove symbolized innocence, purity, and peace.
A dove was also one of the few birds considered clean under the Mosaic Law and was permitted for sacrifice, particularly by those who were poor and could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 5:7, 12:6-8). A dove's gentle nature made it a fitting symbol for tenderness and reconciliation, and its presence often represented the desire for divine favor or acceptance. God used the dove's return to Noah with an olive leaf in its beak to signal the end of His judgment through the flood and the restoration of peace between heaven and earth (Genesis 8:11).
The Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove indicated God's special anointing presence upon Jesus. Jesus was the Christ. Christ (as well as 'Messiah') means 'anointed.' And the Spirit's descending upon Him symbolized Jesus's divine anointing. This was the beginning of Jesus's ministry as the Lord's Anointed'Christ.
Moreover, the way He remained upon Him signified God's special permanent anointing and God's perpetual approval of Jesus.
John testified how he had seen the Spirit descend as a dove out of heaven, and remain upon Jesus (v 32). According to Matthew 3:16, John saw this after Jesus was baptized by him. It appears that John said: 'Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29) after he saw the sign. Until that moment,'John had not seen this promised sign happen to Jesus or anyone else.
John repeated how he did not know who the Christ would be until this moment when he said: I did not recognize Him (v 33). This was the second time in as many verses that John said: I did not recognize Him (v 33), which emphasizes John's ignorance of the Messiah's identity. And this repetition adds to John's surprise and wonder in this moment when he saw the Spirit as a dove (v 32) descend and remain'upon Jesus.
After John testified to what he saw, then John testified to what God told him he would see and how he was to know who the Christ was.
but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit' (v 33).
The expression He who sent me to baptize in water'(v 33)'refers to God.
The expression baptize in water is a reference to John's ministry as the Christ's forerunner.
God sent John to testify that the Light of the World was coming into the world (John 1:4-5).
The expression the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit (v 33) refers to the Christ.
God sent John to baptize the penitent in water. John's baptism was largely symbolic of a sinner's repentance. But John's baptizing foreshadowed the real baptism of the Christ, which is by the Spirit.
The Christ is the One who baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit.
After His ascension into heaven, Jesus the Messiah sent the Spirit into the hearts of every believer so that they will always have God personally with them (John 7:39, Acts 2:1-4, Romans 8:9-10, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 1:13, Titus 3:5-6).
This is why Paul describes our body as a 'temple of God,' because the body of a believer is a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:16, 6:19).
In the Gospel According to Matthew, John also says that the Christ will baptize with the element of fire,
'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire'
(Matthew 3:11b).
Fire represents God's judgment. Everyone will be judged with fire.
Believers' works will be judged by the fire of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-13) and anything that withstands this judgment will be that believer's reward (1 Corinthians 3:14). This reward is sometimes called 'the Prize of Eternal Life.' But even if a believer's works are completely consumed and he suffers loss, that believer will mercifully still be saved from the ultimate penalty of sin because of Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Unbelievers will themselves be consumed by God's judgment in the eternal fire (Matthew 25:41), because they did not believe in Jesus and receive the Gift of Eternal Life.
God (He who sent me to baptize in water) communicated to John how he would be able to recognize who the Christ was. God said to John that he would know the Christ's identity when he saw the sign God gave to him.
The sign God gave to John for how he was to recognize the Messiah was:
He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him'(v 33). So whomever John saw this happen to'this person would be the Christ'the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit'(v 33).
John testified that he saw this happen to Jesus, when he said: 'I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him' (v 32).
Therefore, John was able to know that Jesus was the Christ. The sign which God had told John to look for had taken place upon Jesus. And because it was John's God'ordained role to prepare the way for the Christ, John told many people and testified that Jesus was the Christ.
Luke provides additional insight into how John was able to hear and commune so well with God so that he would know the sign by which he was to recognize the Messiah.
The angel Gabriel announced that John would 'be filled with the Holy Spirit' from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15). To be 'filled with the Holy Spirit' means to be under the guidance or power of the Holy Spirit
Luke writes, that as John grew up, he became 'strong in spirit' (Luke 1:80). To be 'strong in spirit' means to be exceptionally spirit-sensitive or in tune with God and/or things pertaining to the spiritual realm.
Taken together, these two statements from Luke about John demonstrate that he was in strong communion with the Holy Spirit. These verses from Luke help explain how John was able to hear God's specific instructions for how he would recognize the identity of the Christ.
After he explained how he knew Jesus was the Messiah, John then personally verified Jesus's identity as the Son of God:
'I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God' (v 34).
This is one of the few, if only times, John emphasizes himself or his own role. And he does it not to exalt his own importance, but rather, he did it to exalt Jesus and to fulfill his divinely appointed role as the Messianic forerunner.
John said I myself'the one who is the Messianic forerunner sent from God and who is the voice in the wilderness preparing the way of the Lord'have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God'(v 34).
This statement is the seal and authentication of John's testimony of who Jesus is.
Earlier, John described Jesus as 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29)'that is, he described Jesus in terms of a sacrificial Messiah/Christ. But here John testified that Jesus is the Son of God. God revealed to John that Jesus was not only the Christ'He was also God.
Jesus's disciple, Peter, would later make a similar confession (Matthew 16:16).
In saying Jesus is the Son of God, John is declaring that Jesus is the Christ, God's anointed to be king of Israel. We can see this from verses like this one in Matthew:
'But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, 'I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.'"
(Matthew 26:63)
We can see here that the high priest equated 'Christ' with 'Son of God.'
We know from the reaction of the Jewish leaders that what they heard John to say was, 'Here is your new boss, you are no longer the primary authority in Israel.'
A Harmony of John's Testimony (John 1:29-34) and the Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17)
The Gospel of John does not explicitly state that John baptized Jesus. But the other three gospel accounts all describe Jesus's baptism (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22).
Of these three accounts, Matthew's is the most extensive and it will be the account we follow as we consider how Jesus's baptism might overlap with John the Baptizer's testimony recorded in John 1:29-34.
God called John to preach repentance and prepare people for the coming Christ (Luke 3:1-3, John 1:6-7). John baptized people who confessed and repented of their sins (Matthew 3:5'6, Mark 1:4). John began his ministry as the forerunner to the Christ, but he did not know who the Messiah was. But God gave John a sign by which he would recognize the Messiah.
I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit' (v 31).
'Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.'
(Matthew 3:13)
This matches how John was baptizing 'in Bethany beyond the Jordan' (John 1:28). And it aligns with how John 'saw Jesus coming to him' (John 1:29a) when he was baptizing there.
At first, John tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized because even though John did not know Jesus was the Messiah at this time, John knew his cousin was righteous and that He had no need to be baptized,
'But John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?''
(Matthew 3:14)
Remember John's baptism was one of repentance and for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4).' The reason John tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized was not because John knew Jesus was the Messiah. At this time John still did not know that Jesus was the Christ or who the Christ was (John 1:31a).
Therefore, the reason John tried to prevent Jesus from undergoing his baptism of repentance was because John knew Jesus had nothing for which to repent. Jesus had no sins He needed to confess. This says a great deal about Jesus's righteousness, that John the Messianic forerunner recognized his cousin's superior righteousness to his own. This was why John said: 'I have need to be baptized by You' (Matthew 3:14).
'But Jesus answering said to him, 'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him.'
(Matthew 3:15)
Jesus explained to John how it was proper for John to baptize Him, even though He was sinless. And John submitted to Jesus's request and baptized his righteous cousin,
'After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.''
(Matthew 3:16-17)
John saw the sign God gave to him by which he would be able to identify the Christ.
John saw the Holy Spirit descend as a dove upon Jesus and remain upon Him.
At this point John knew that Jesus, his righteous cousin, was the Christ.
Also at this time a voice came out of heaven and said: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased' (Matthew 3:17).
Then John said:
'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.''
(John 1:29b'30)
The voice from heaven affirmed that Jesus was the Son of God. John the forerunner affirmed that Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God and the Christ, for whose way he was sent to prepare.
John then explained how until this moment he did not know the Messiah's identity, even as he was preparing the way for Him:
'I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water' (v 31).
John then shared how he just learned that Jesus was the Christ,
John testified saying, 'I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit'' (vv 32-33).
John realized that Jesus was the Messiah because he saw God's sign. John saw the sign God gave him for how he would know the Christ. John shared what God had told him and how this sign just happened, therefore Jesus was the Messiah John had been preparing the way for. John first testified of Jesus's righteous life from his own experience, then John testified that Jesus was the Son of God because He fulfilled the sign God had given him to identify the Christ.
Then, as the forerunner, John personally verified Jesus's Messianic and divine identity:
'I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God' (v 34).
This is one way in which John's testimony and the sequence of events of Jesus's Baptism may have happened.
In the next section of scripture (John 1:35-42), the author of this gospel tells what happened on 'the next day' (John 1:35)'the day after Jesus was baptized and revealed to be the Christ and Son of God. On this day Jesus will begin to acquire new disciples.
a2:T1399d,There is no apparent parallel Gospel account of John 1:1.
The Gospel of John was the last of the four Gospels to be published. It was not written for any one group or persuasion of people. John's Gospel was written for everyone'Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers'and it sharply focuses on the deity of Jesus. This is in contrast to the other Gospel accounts: