Bible School · New Testament survey · Class 18 of 53
The Word became flesh: the prologue and the first witnesses to Jesus
John 1 · about 20 minutes · The Word became flesh
By the end of this class you should be able to
- Outline John 1 in its two parts: the prologue (1:1-18) and the first days of testimony and calling (1:19-51).
- Explain the background of 'the Word' (logos) in Genesis 1, in the Old Testament's picture of God's word and wisdom, and in the wider Greek and Jewish world.
- Describe what 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us' claims, with reference to the tabernacle and to Exodus 33 and 34.
- Identify the roles of John the Baptist and the ways he refuses and gives titles, especially 'Lamb of God'.
- Interpret Jesus' words to Nathanael in 1:51 in light of Jacob's dream at Bethel (Genesis 28).
Read the passage
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. 8He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, “This is He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’” 16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. 19And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” 20He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.” 21“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands One you do not know. 27He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ 31I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.” 32Then John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. 33I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” 35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39“Come and see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour. 40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus. 41He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ). 42Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter). 43The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.” 48“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus said to him, “Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Open John 1 in the reader (BSB)01Background
The Gospel of John is anonymous in its text, but it identifies a witness behind it, the disciple whom Jesus loved (). From the second century, writers such as Irenaeus attributed it to John the son of Zebedee, who lived in Ephesus in old age. Many modern scholars believe it came from a Johannine circle that shaped the tradition, perhaps around a figure such as John or another John called 'the Elder', and some argue that the Gospel's distinctive detail points to an eyewitness. The date is usually placed in the 80s or 90s of the first century, though some argue for earlier. A small papyrus fragment of (known as P52), usually dated to the first half of the second century, shows the Gospel was in circulation by then.
The Gospel states its purpose in -31: these things are written so that the readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing have life in his name. It is written for readers who may be Jewish or Gentile, and it explains Jewish customs and translates Aramaic words, as in , 41 and 42. It is quite different from the other three Gospels. It includes long discourses, seven signs and the 'I am' sayings, and it begins not with a birth or a baptism but with the eternal Word.
The prologue speaks to a world in which 'word' (logos) carried several meanings. In the Old Testament, God's word creates (; ), reveals (the prophets) and heals (). In the Jewish wisdom tradition, Wisdom was with God at creation (). The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria used logos for God's agent in creation, and Greek philosophy spoke of an ordering reason in the universe. John draws on all this, and then says something none of them had said.
02Outline
- The Word in the beginning: with God, God, the Creator, light and life
- John's witness; the true light comes to his own and is not received
- The Word became flesh: glory, grace and truth; the Son makes God known
- John's testimony to the delegation from Jerusalem: a voice
- The Lamb of God and the Spirit-baptizer
- Two disciples follow; Andrew brings Simon
- Philip and Nathanael; the open heaven
03How to read it
combines poetry and narrative. The prologue () is a hymn-like passage in elevated language, and scholars debate whether it began as an early Christian hymn that John adapted. It is arranged in steps with repeated words, such as 'was', 'life', 'light', 'world' and 'glory', and its themes introduce the entire Gospel. and interrupt the poetry with prose about John the Baptist, and the prologue then moves into the narrative at . The reader should treat the prologue as the lens through which the rest is to be read: every sign and discourse is an act of the Word made flesh.
The narrative that follows is arranged in days. The phrase 'the next day' appears in , 35 and 43, and a third day follows in . Some scholars see a pattern echoing the days of creation, so that John's opening, 'in the beginning', is matched by a week of new creation, though the text does not say so. John's way of telling is to use simple words with layers of meaning. 'Remain' (menō), 'see', 'light' and 'witness' recur across the Gospel and gather depth.
John's Old Testament allusions are often echoes and not quotations: the opening of Genesis, the tabernacle, the Passover lamb, Jacob's ladder. The first hearers, steeped in the Scriptures, would catch them, and the modern reader should follow each to its source before deciding what it means.
04What the text says
Verses 1–5
'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' The opening words echo . 'Word' (logos) is the speech by which God made all things. The Word existed before the beginning, was distinct from God ('with') and was God. The next statement is that all things came into being through him and nothing that exists came to be without him. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The Greek verb (katalambano) can mean 'overcome' or 'comprehend', and both senses may be meant: the darkness neither extinguished the light nor understood it.
Verses 6–13
A man named John was sent from God as a witness to the light, but he was not the light. The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world which he made, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to those who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, born not of blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man, but of God. The prologue states the pattern of the whole Gospel: rejection by many and new birth for those who believe.
Verses 14–18
'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' 'Flesh' (sarx) means human nature in its weakness, and 'became' states a real change of state. The verb translated 'dwelt' (eskenosen) means to pitch a tent and recalls the tabernacle, where God's glory dwelt among Israel (). 'We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.' The phrase 'grace and truth' recalls the Hebrew words chesed and emet, the covenant love and faithfulness by which God described himself to Moses (). contrasts the Law given through Moses with grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ. The contrast is of fullness, not of opposition, since Jesus says that Moses wrote about him (). In no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. The verb 'made known' (exegeomai) is the origin of the English 'exegesis': the Son leads God out into view.
Verses 19–28
Priests and Levites from Jerusalem ask John who he is. He confesses that he is not the Christ. He is not Elijah (in the sense of the returned prophet they ask about), and not 'the Prophet', the prophet like Moses of . He applies to himself: he is a voice in the wilderness. He baptizes with water, and among them stands one they do not know, whose sandal strap he is not worthy to untie.
Verses 29–34
The next day John sees Jesus and says, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' The background of the title is debated: the Passover lamb (), the lamb led to slaughter in , the lamb God provides in , the daily temple offering, or the conquering lamb of Jewish apocalyptic writing. Most readers hear several of these together. John also testifies that he saw the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus, and that God who sent him had said that the one on whom the Spirit remained would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He declares that this is the Son of God (some ancient manuscripts read 'the Chosen One').
Verses 35–42
Two of John's disciples follow Jesus. He asks what they seek. They ask where he is staying (menō), and he invites them to come and see. One is Andrew, who finds his brother Simon and tells him that they have found the Messiah, which John translates as Christ. Jesus gives Simon the new name Cephas, 'Peter', meaning rock.
Verses 43–51
Jesus finds Philip, from Bethsaida, and says, 'Follow Me.' Philip finds Nathanael and says they have found the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. Nathanael asks whether anything good can come from Nazareth. Philip says, 'Come and see.' Jesus calls Nathanael a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit, a contrast to Jacob, whose name was Israel and who deceived his father (). Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him. Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree. Nathanael confesses him Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus promises greater things: you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This refers to Jacob's dream at Bethel (), and Jesus takes the place of the ladder.
05Key terms
- Word logos
- Speech, word, reason. It recalls God's creative word in and the divine Wisdom of , and for John it names a person.
- flesh sarx
- Human nature in its frailty and mortality. 'Became flesh' states the incarnation without softening it.
- dwelt skenoo
- To pitch a tent, from the word for tabernacle (skene). It recalls God's presence among Israel in the wilderness.
- one and only monogenes
- Unique, the only one of its kind. Older translations render it 'only begotten', and the debate over the best rendering is longstanding.
- grace and truth charis kai aletheia
- Likely drawn from the Hebrew chesed we'emet in , God's loving faithfulness.
06In the whole Bible
The prologue states the deity of Christ, the doctrine of creation through the Son and the doctrine of the incarnation more directly than any other passage of Scripture. The Word is eternal ('in the beginning was'), personal ('with God') and divine ('was God'). He is the agent of creation (compare and ). The incarnation does not make him less than God but makes God known. The doctrine that was later defined at Nicaea (AD 325) and Chalcedon (AD 451), that Christ is truly God and truly man in one person, is built on texts such as this one.
The chapter also teaches about light and life, the rejection of revelation, and the new birth. The world, made through the Word, does not know him, and his own people do not receive him, but those who believe become children of God by a birth that comes from God and not from human effort. The chapter also shows continuity with the Old Testament: creation, tabernacle, the glory of God, the covenant name in and the promised Prophet all find fulfillment in the Word made flesh, and yet it is a fulfilment that exceeds what was expected.
07Where Christ is
is entirely about who Jesus is, and it gives him titles in a rising sequence: the Word, God, Life, Light, the one and only Son, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, Rabbi, Messiah, the one of whom Moses wrote, King of Israel and Son of Man. Each draws on the Old Testament. The Word is the creative speech of Genesis and the wisdom of Proverbs. He is God's presence among his people, the tabernacle and its glory. The Lamb recalls the Passover, and the sacrifices, and the declaration that he takes away 'the sin of the world' is a statement of the scope of his work. The Son of God is the royal title of , now joined to the Word who was with God.
The last title is the Son of Man and the Bethel vision. Jacob saw a ladder, a place where heaven and earth met, and called it the house of God and the gate of heaven. Jesus says he is that meeting place. The communication between God and humanity runs through him. This fits the Gospel's picture of Jesus as the one who comes down from heaven (). It is a strong example of fulfillment: the dream was a promise, and the Son of Man is its content.
The prologue's contrast with Moses shows how the New Testament understands fulfillment. The Law came through Moses and was good, but the full revelation of God's grace and truth came in a person. Jesus is the interpreter of God to humanity, as well as the one who bears the sin of the world.
08How traditions read it
The statement that 'the Word was God' has been disputed since ancient times. Arius in the fourth century taught that the Son was created, and the Council of Nicaea rejected that view, confessing him as God from God and of one being with the Father. Modern groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses translate the phrase 'the Word was a god', because the Greek word for God (theos) has no article in the last clause. Most Greek scholars reply that the word order and grammar mark the term as describing the Word's nature, so that it reads 'was God' in the sense of fully divine. Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches all confess the deity of the Word, and they use the Nicene language to say so.
09Review questions
- What Old Testament background does John draw on in , and what three things does he say about the Word's relationship to God?
- What does the verb 'dwelt' (pitched his tent) in recall, and what does 'grace and truth' recall from ?
- How does John the Baptist describe his own role in , and which Old Testament figures does he say he is not?
- What are some proposed backgrounds for the title 'Lamb of God', and which part of Jesus' work does the phrase 'takes away the sin of the world' name?
- What does Jesus' promise to Nathanael in draw on from , and what does it claim about the Son of Man?
Prepared with AI assistance. A scholar's review is still to come; if you spot anything to correct, please tell us.
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