John 1: 1-5, The Logos
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John begins with a philosophical concept, the Greek "Logos" ("Word") and claims that it is God, having been with (part of) God for all eternity.
The Logos is light for mankind; the last phrase of verse 5 could also be translated "the darkness has not overcome it."
John 1: 6-8, John the Baptist
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
This verse is a parenthetical statement; there are two in this passage, the prologue, in which the author, John, digresses. (Tenney)
John 1: 9-14, The Light enters the world
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
A theme is developed in the second paragraph of this passage -- that Jesus created a spiritual lineage, the possibility of a spiritual "birth", parallel to, but quite different from a natural birth. This concept will reappear.
That Jesus appeared to "his own" (verse 11) probably refers to the Jewish nation.
John 1: 15-18, God made known
John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
The person, John, mentioned here, is John the Baptist. The author of this letter never directly names himself.
Jesus is portrayed here as the completion of the Mosaic covenant, representing "grace and truth" and is God-made-known, God in the flesh.
After the prologue, John has a series of events (through chapter 4) in which Jesus is introduced to various communities. In the first set of events, Jesus is introduced to the Jewish nation. Here we learn more about John, the Baptizer.
John 1: 19-28, John the Preparer/Announcer
Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."
They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, `Make straight the way for the Lord.'"
Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The quote in verse 23 is from Isaiah 40:3.
Why did John deny being Elijah? In a sense, wasn't he? Jesus describes him that way, but here (says my friend, Tim Hall) we see John merely doing what the nameless wilderness voice is to do, to put all focus on the Messiah. "John does what the voice does, and no more."
In the next section, John the Baptist begins preaching in the area of Jerusalem, talking about the coming Messiah.
John 1: 29-31, The Lamb of God
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."
John introduces his disciples to the sacrificial lamb, the one who will replace the old ritual of sacrifice once a year in the Holy of Holies.
John 1: 32-34, The baptism of Jesus
Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
Jesus probably appeared to be a rather ordinary man, but the Spirit told John otherwise. Jesus will also baptize people, but his baptism will be different.
John 1: 35-42, Andrew, another, and Peter
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
"Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).
Who was the second disciple, the one with Andrew? We are not sure but one reasonable conjecture is that it was John, the author of this letter. (There is a stackexchange discussion of this here.)
What is the significance of the name change, from Simon to Peter? Why does Jesus do this?
John 1: 43-46, Philip and Nathanael
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.
Why does Nathanael respond, as he does, to Philip's invitation? And how, then, does Philip answer back?
John 1: 47-51, Philip and Nathanael
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."
"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
We are never given any indication as to why Jesus chooses certain men to be his closest followers. But each, when called, respond quickly. Here Nathanael is impressed that Jesus seems to have some special sight, able to see things that happened yesterday, from far away. Jesus's response to Nathanael's awe is essentially, "That's nothing...." It is one thing to see small miracles; it is another thing to walk with the eternal Messiah.
We will look more closely at each passage throughout the rest of this week.
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