John Chapter 1 *


Understanding John Chapter 1: The Word Became Flesh
The Gospel of John stands apart from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) by emphasizing the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His eternal relationship with God. John chapter 1 serves as the theological prologue to the gospel, introducing Jesus as the eternal Word, the source of life and light, and the incarnate Son of God. It also establishes John the Baptist’s role as the forerunner and begins narrating Jesus’ early ministry. Using the English Standard Version (ESV) for scriptural references, this article explores John 1, breaking it into key sections and providing cross-references to illuminate its meaning.

Context and Purpose
John’s Gospel was likely written late in the first century, aimed at both Jewish and Gentile audiences to affirm that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God, so that readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31, ESV). Chapter 1 sets the stage by presenting Jesus’ divine identity and mission, contrasting with the Synoptics’ focus on historical genealogies or birth narratives. It draws on Jewish wisdom traditions and Greek philosophical concepts (like the “Logos”) to communicate universal truths about Christ.

John 1:1-18
Intro
The Gospel of John

Who was the Apostle John?

Among the first disciples John and his brother James were known as the Sons of Zebedee.
They ran a family fishing business along the sea of Galilee.
Their mother Salome was present at the crucifixion and was possibly a close relative of
Mary mother of Jesus.
John was the youngest disciple, Jesus calls them to be disciples while they were mending
their fishing nets. (Matthew 4:21-22; Mark 1:19-20)

John was part of Jesus' inner circle along with Peter and James, witnessing key events
such as:
The transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2)
The raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37)
Jesus' agony in the Garden (Mark 14:33)

John is full of zeal shown in incidents early in Jesus ministry
Requesting to call fire down on a Samaritan village (Luke 9:54)
Seeking prominent positions in Jesus Kingdom (Mark 10:35-37)
Over time he is portrayed as growing in devotion and understanding.

After Jesus ascension, John became a prominent leader in the early Christian Church
performing miracles alongside Peter (Acts 3:1-11)
His mission to Samaria (Acts 8:14-17)
Paul refers to John as a "pillar" of the Jerusalem church alongside Peter and James
the brother of Jesus. (Galatians 2:9)

What is the message of the gospel of John?

That the infinite Triune God became Man

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

What is "the Word"?

"The Word of the Lord" "Logos"

The Jewish Reader would have recognized the phrase from the 240 mentions of
the Word of the Lord in the Old Testament

Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram,
I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
    15:4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your
very own son shall be your heir.”
Eze 1:3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the
Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
Hosea 1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash,
king of Israel.

However the Greek reader would recognize the Greek term used for "word" Logos from the Greek
Hellenist and Stoic Philosophers
Logos - Reason, Word, Order
Heraclitus 585BC Logos is Speech, Rational Thought or the principle of order. While the later
Stoic philosophers developed the concept further to equate Logos to the reason that governed the cosmos as well as human affairs. They saw the Logos as God the creator/sustainer.

Jesus Is the Logos. Jesus is God. John doesn't beat around the bush. He just outright states
that Jesus is God in the first verse of his gospel.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any
thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness
about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear
witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the
world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his
own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor
of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the
only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried
out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was
before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law
was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God;
God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Compare the opening of John's Gospel to the opening of 1 John.

1 John 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the
eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen
and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our
fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things
so that our joy may be complete.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him
is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie
and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

And compare both to the opening of Genesis.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form
and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good.
And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he
called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

What are the similarities? What do they mean?

John 1:19-28
Recap and Intro


Last week in John 1: 1-18 we learned that the Word or “Logos” is Jesus Christ, that He is eternal, the creator, the life, and light of the world. In this section John reinforces these statements with his first evidence. That John the Baptist came testifying the same message.

Main Text


[Jhn 1:19-28 ESV] 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Cross References

Are you the Christ? 
[2Sa 7:12-16 ESV] 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"

Are you Elijah?
[Mal 4:5-6 ESV] 5 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Are you the Prophet?
[Deu 18:15-22 ESV] 15 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers--it is to him you shall listen-- 16 just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' 17 And the LORD said to me, 'They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.' 21 And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?'-- 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Voice in the wilderness
[Isa 40:3-8 ESV] 3 A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." 6 A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Q & A

How did John the Baptist know that Jesus was coming?

[Luke 3:2-3 ESV] 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 

What else in the gospels takes place in Bethany?

The resurrection of Lazarus, and the Mary Martha scene.

 

John 1:29-51

Recap and Intro

Last week in John 1: 19-28 we learned that John the Baptist came witnessing before Jesus arrived. “Making straight a path for God” as prophesied 600 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah. 

Main Text

Jesus’ Baptism
[John 1:29-51 ESV] 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." 

Cross References

[Genesis 22:7-8 ESV] 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
[Exodus 12:5-6 ESV] 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
[Isaiah 53:7 ESV] 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
[1Peter 1:19 ESV] 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
[Revelation 5:13 ESV] 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

Main Text

Jesus Calls Andrew and Peter
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter). 
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael 
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Cross References
[Gen 28:12 ESV] 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
[Mat 4:19 ESV] 19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
[Mat 8:22 ESV] 22 And Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
[Mat 9:9 ESV] 9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
[Mat 10:38 ESV] 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
[Mat 16:24 ESV] 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
[Mat 19:21 ESV] 21 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
[Jhn 1:43 ESV] 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
[Jhn 10:27 ESV] 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
[Jhn 12:26 ESV] 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
[Jhn 13:36 ESV] 36 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward."
[Jhn 21:19, 22 ESV] 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me." ... 22 Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"

 

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