John 1:1-18. The Prologue or Introduction That the first eighteen verses are introductory is universally admitted: commentators are not so unanimous as to the main divisions of this introduction. A division into three nearly equal parts has much to commend it: 1. _The Word in His own Nature_(John... [ Continue Reading ]
The Word in His own Nature 1. _In the beginning_ The meaning must depend on the context. In Genesis 1:1 it is an act done -in the beginning;" here it is a Being existing -in the beginning," and therefore prior to all beginning. That was the first moment of time; this is eternity, transcending time.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The same_ More literally, HE or THIS (Word), with emphasis (comp. John 7:18). This verse takes up the first two clauses and combines them. Such recapitulations are characteristic of S. John.... [ Continue Reading ]
_by him_ Rather, THROUGH _Him_. The universe was created _by_the Father _through the agency_of the Son. Comp. 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16 (where see Lightfoot's note); Romans 11:36; Hebrews 11:10. That no inferiority is necessarily implied by -through," as if the Son were a mere instrument, i... [ Continue Reading ]
_In him was life_ He was the well-spring from which every form of life physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual, eternal flows. See on John 5:26. Observe how frequently S. John's thoughts overlap and run into one another. Creation leads on to life, and life leads on to light. Without life creation... [ Continue Reading ]
_shineth_ Note the present tense; the only one in the section. It brings us down to the Apostle's own day: now, as of old, the Light shines in reason, in creation, in conscience, and shines in vain. Note also the progress: in John 1:1 we have the period before Creation; in John 1:3, the Creation; Jo... [ Continue Reading ]
The Word revealed to Men and rejected by them 6. _There was a man_ Rather, _There_ AROSE _a man_, in contrast to the -was" in John 1:1. The word _was_from all eternity; John _arose_, came into existence, in time. Comp. John 10:19. Note once more the noble simplicity of language. _sent from God_ i.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for a witness_ Better, FOR WITNESS, i.e. to bear witness, not to be a witness: what follows shews the meaning. The word -witness" and -to bear witness" are very frequent in S. John's writings, and this frequency should be marked by retaining the same translation throughout: testimony to the truth i... [ Continue Reading ]
_not that Light_ Better, _not_ THE _Light_. The Baptist was not the Light, but -the lamp that is lighted and shineth" (see on John 5:35). He was _lumen illuminatum_, not _lumen illuminans_. At the close of the first century it was still necessary for S. John to insist on this. At Ephesus, where this... [ Continue Reading ]
_That was_, &c. This verse is ambiguous in the Greek. Most of the Ancient Versions, Fathers, and Reformers agree with our translators. Many modern commentators translate THE TRUE LIGHT, WHICH LIGHTETH EVERY MAN, WAS COMING INTO THE WORLD: but -was" and -coming" are almost too far apart in the Greek... [ Continue Reading ]
_and the world_ Note three points; (1) the close connexion obtained by repetition, as in John 1:4; (2) the tragic tone, as in John 1:5; (3) the climax. -He was in the world" (therefore the world should have known Him); -and the world was His own creature" (therefore still more it should have known H... [ Continue Reading ]
_unto his own_ In the Greek the first -own" is neuter, the second is masculine, and this difference should be preserved: _He came unto His own_ INHERITANCE; _and His own_ PEOPLE _received Him not_(see on John 6:37). In the parable of the Wicked Husbandmen (Matthew 21:33-41) the vineyard is -His own... [ Continue Reading ]
_received_ Not the same Greek word as before: this denotes the spontaneous acceptance of the Messiah by _individuals_, whether Jews or Gentiles. He was not specially offered to any individuals as He was to the Jewish nation. _power_ i.e. right, liberty, AUTHORITY. We are born with a _capacity_for b... [ Continue Reading ]
S. John denies thrice most emphatically that human generation has anything to do with Divine regeneration. Man cannot become a child of God in right of human parentage: descent from Abraham confers no such -power." A bitter word to Jewish exclusiveness. _were born_ Literally, _were_ BEGOTTEN. Comp.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Incarnate Word's revelation of the Father 14. _And the Word was made flesh_ Or, BECAME _flesh_. This is the gulf which separates S. John from Philo. Philo would have assented to what precedes; from this he would have shrunk. From John 1:9 we have the _subjective_side; the inward result of the Wo... [ Continue Reading ]
_bare witness_ Better, BEARS WITNESS. At the end of a long life this testimony of the Baptist abides still fresh in the heart of the aged Apostle. Three times in 20 verses (15, 27, 30) he records the cry which was such an epoch in his own life. The testimony remains as a memory for him, a truth for... [ Continue Reading ]
The testimony of the Baptist to the incarnate Word is confirmed by the experience of all believers. The Evangelist is the speaker. _And_ The true reading gives BECAUSE. _fullness_ The Greek word, _pleroma_, is -a recognised technical term in theology, denoting the totality of the Divine powers and... [ Continue Reading ]
The mention of -grace" reminds the Evangelist that this was the characteristic of the Gospél and marked its superiority to the Law; for the Law could only condemn transgressors, grace forgives them. _For_ Better, BECAUSE. _by Moses_ The preposition translated -by" in John 1:3_; John 1:10; John 1:17... [ Continue Reading ]
The Evangelist solemnly sums up the purpose of the Incarnation of the Logos to be a visible revelation of the invisible God. It was in this way that -the truth came through Jesus Christ," for the truth cannot be fully known, while God is not fully revealed. _No man_ Not even Moses. Until we see -fa... [ Continue Reading ]
_the record_ Better, _the_ WITNESS; see on John 1:7 and comp. John 3:11; John 5:31. _the Jews_ This term in S. John's Gospel commonly means _the opponents of Christ_, a meaning not found in the Synoptists, who seldom use the term. Matthew 28:15; Mark 7:3; Luke 6:3; Luke 23:51, are the only instances... [ Continue Reading ]
The Testimony of the Baptist 19 28. His Testimony to the Deputation from Jerusalem This section describes a crisis in the Baptist's ministry. He had already attracted the attention of the Sanhedrin. It was a time of excitement and expectation respecting the Messiah. John evidently spoke with an au... [ Continue Reading ]
_confessed, and denied not_ Antithetic parallelism, as in John 1:3. _but confessed_ Rather, AND HE _confessed_, to introduce _what_he confessed. _I am not the Christ_ -I" is emphatic, implying that some one else not far distant is the Christ. Throughout the section (20 34) John contrasts himself w... [ Continue Reading ]
_What then?_ - _What then_are we to think?" or, - _What then_art thou?" _Art thou Elias?_ The Scribes taught that Elijah would come again before the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 17:10), and this belief is repeatedly alluded to in the Talmud. Comp. Malachi 4:5. _I am not_ A forger would scarcely... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who art thou?_ They continue asking as to his person; he replies as to his office. In the presence of the Messiah the personality of His Forerunner is lost.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am the voice_, &c. Or, _I am_ A _voice_. The Synoptists use these words of the Baptist as fulfilling prophecy. From this verse it would seem as if they were first so used by himself. The quotation is almost exact from the LXX. John was a Voice making known the Word, meaningless without the Word.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they which_, &c. Perhaps the better reading is, _and_ THERE HAD BEEN SENT SOME OF THE PHARISEES. S. John mentions neither Sadducees nor Herodians; only the Pharisees, the sect most opposed to Christ, is remembered by the Evangelist who had gone furthest from Judaism.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Why baptizest thou then?_ -What right have you to treat Jews as if they were proselytes and make them submit to a rite which implies that they are impure?" Had they forgotten Zechariah 13:1; Ezekiel 36:25? _be not that Christ_, &c. Better, ART _not_ THE _Christ, nor_ YET ELIJAH, _nor_ YET THE _Pro... [ Continue Reading ]
-You ask for my credentials; and all the while He Who is far more than credentials to me is among you. I am not a prophet to foretell His coming, but a herald to proclaim that He has come.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He it is_ These words and -is preferred before me" are wanting in authority: the sentence should run, HE THAT COMETH AFTER ME, WHOSE SHOE'S LATCHET, &c., IS STANDING IN THE MIDST OF YOU, AND YE KNOW HIM NOT. -Ye" is emphatic; -Whom _ye_who question me know not, but Whom I, the questioned, know.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bethabara_ The true reading is BETHANY, which was changed to _Bethabara_owing to the powerful influence of Origen, who could find no Bethany beyond Jordan known in his day. But in 200 years the very name of an obscure place might easily perish. Origen found -Bethany" in almost all the MSS. The site... [ Continue Reading ]
The Testimony of the Baptist to the people 29. _The next day_ These words prevent us from inserting the Temptation between John 1:28. The fact of the Baptist knowing who Jesus is shews that the Baptism, and therefore the Temptation, must have preceded the deputation from Jerusalem. The Evangelist a... [ Continue Reading ]
_of whom_ The best text gives, IN BEHALF _of whom_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I knew him not_ Or, _I_ ALSO _knew Him not_; I, like you, did not at first know Him to be the Messiah. There is no contradiction between this and Matthew 3:14. (1) -I knew Him not" need not mean -I had no knowledge of Him whatever." (2) John's professing that he needed to be baptized by Jesus d... [ Continue Reading ]
_bare record_ Better, _bare_ WITNESS; comp. John 1:7_; John 1:15; John 1:19; John 1:34_. _I saw_ Better, _I_ HAVE BEHELD, or _contemplated_(1 John 4:12; 1 John 4:14), the perfect of the verb used in John 1:14_; John 1:38_. _like a dove_ This was perhaps visible to Christ and the Baptist alone. [ Continue Reading ]
_And I knew him not_ Or, as before, _I_ ALSO _knew Him not_. The Baptist again protests, that but for a special revelation he was as ignorant as others that Jesus was the Messiah. _he that sent me_ The special mission of a Prophet. Comp. John 1:6. _the same said unto me_ Better, HE _said unto me_:... [ Continue Reading ]
_And I saw, and bare record_ Better, _And I_ HAVE SEEN _and_ HAVE BORNE WITNESS. -I have seen" is in joyous contrast to -I knew Him not," John 1:31_; John 1:33_. -Have borne witness" is the same verb as in John 1:7_; John 1:32_: hence -witness" is preferable to -record" both here and in John 1:32.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Testimony of the Baptist to Andrew and John 35. _Again_ Referring to John 1:29: it should come second; _The next day_ AGAIN _John_ WAS STANDING. The difference between this NARRATIVE and that of the Synoptists (Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:16; Luke 5:2) is satisfactorily explained by supposing this to... [ Continue Reading ]
_looking upon_ HAVING LOOKED ON with a fixed penetrating gaze. Comp. John 1:42; Mark 10:21; Mark 10:27; Luke 20:17; Luke 22:61. _Behold the Lamb of God_ This seems to shew that these disciples were present the previous day (John 1:19): hence there was no need to say more than this. This appears to... [ Continue Reading ]
_heard him speak_ Although the declaration had not been addressed to them in particular. _they followed Jesus_ The first beginning of the Christian Church. But we are not to understand that they have already determined to become His disciples.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Testimony of Disciples 38. _saw them_ Same verb as in John 1:14_; John 1:32_. The context shews that He saw into their hearts as well. For -Then" read But. _What seek ye?_ i.e. in Me. He does not ask - _Whom_seek ye?" It was evident that they sought Him. _Rabbi_ A comparatively modern word wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_Come and see_ The more probable reading gives, _Come and ye_ SHALL _see_. _they came_ Insert, THEREFORE. _that day_ That memorable day. _it was about the tenth hour_ S. John remembers the very hour of this crisis in his life: all the details of the narrative are very lifelike. It is sometimes c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Andrew, Simon Peter's brother_ Before the end of the first century, therefore, it was natural to describe Andrew by his relationship to his far better known brother. In Church History S. Peter is everything and S. Andrew nothing: but would there have been an Apostle Peter but for Andrew. In the lis... [ Continue Reading ]
_He first findeth_, &c. The meaning of -first" becomes almost certain when we remember S. John's characteristic reserve about himself. Both disciples hurry to tell their own brothers the good tidings, that the Messiah has been found: S. Andrew finds _his_brother _first_, and afterwards S. John finds... [ Continue Reading ]
_beheld_ Same word as in John 1:36, implying a fixed earnest look; what follows shews that Christ's gaze penetrated to his heart and read his character. _Simon the son of Jona_ The true reading here and John 21:15-17 is _Simon the son of_ JOHN. There is a tradition mat his mother's name was Johanna... [ Continue Reading ]
_The day following_ Better, as in John 1:29_; John 1:35_, _The_ NEXT _day:_the Greek is the same in all three verses. We thus have four days accurately marked, (1) John 1:19; (2) John 1:29; (3) John 1:35; (4) John 1:44. A writer of fiction would not have cared for such minute details; they might ent... [ Continue Reading ]
_Philip was of Bethsaida_ In the Synoptists Philip is a mere name in the lists of the Apostles: our knowledge of him comes from S. John. See above on John 1:42 and on John 14:8. The local knowledge displayed in this verse is very real. S. John would possess it; a writer in the second century would n... [ Continue Reading ]
_Nathanael_ = -Gift of God." The name occurs Numbers 1:8; 1 Chronicles 2:14; Esther 1:9; Esther 9:22. Nathanael is commonly identified with Bartholomew; (1) Bartholomew is only a patronymic and the bearer would be likely to have another name (comp. Barjona of Simon, Barnabas of Joses); (2) S. John n... [ Continue Reading ]
_Can there any good thing_, &c. All Galileans were despised for their want of culture, their rude dialect, and contact with Gentiles. They were to the Jews what Bœotians were to the Athenians. But here it is a Galilean who reproaches Nazareth in particular. Apart from the Gospels we know nothing to... [ Continue Reading ]
_saw Nathanael coming_ This contradicts the theory that Christ overheard Nathanael's question. S. John represents Christ's knowledge of Nathanael as miraculous; as in John 1:42 He appears as the searcher of hearts. _an Israelite indeed_ In character as well as by birth: what follows shews what is m... [ Continue Reading ]
_under the fig tree_ This probably means -at home," in the retirement of his own garden (1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10); the Greek implies _motion to_under. Nathanael had perhaps been praying or meditating there; he seems to see that Christ knew what his thoughts had been there. It was und... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou art the Son of God_ We know from other passages that this was one of the recognised titles of the Messiah; John 11:27; Matthew 26:63; Mark 3:11; Mark 5:7; Luke 4:41. -Son of David" was more common. _the King of Israel_ Omit -the." This phrase "is especially important, because it breathes thos... [ Continue Reading ]
_believest thou?_ Or possibly, _thou believest_. Comp. John 16:31; John 20:29. The interrogative form is here best: He who marvelled at the unbelief of the people of Nazareth here expresses joyous surprise at the ready belief of the guileless Israelite of Cana.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Verily, verily_ The double -verily" occurs 25 times in this Gospel, and nowhere else, always in the mouth of Christ. It introduces a truth of special solemnity and importance. The single -verily" occurs about 30 times in Matthew 14 in Mark,, 7 in Luke. The word represents the Hebrew -Amen," which i... [ Continue Reading ]