Prologue to John

Chapter 1, verses 1-18 outline the main themes of John, and it will be helpful to keep these verses in mind as we read and study the rest of the book.

This prologue consists of a rich theological hymn and some more prose-like verses that deal with John the Baptist.



The references in, and influences on this passage are many-layered:


The gospel writer makes the message accessible to Greek readers by incorporating the concept of "logos" - translated "Word" - which referred to the chief organizing factor that kept the universe from becoming completely chaotic.

A similar concept had resonance in Jewish traditions. Wisdom as described in Proverbs 3:13-20 and 8:22-31 could have been in the mind of the Jewish reader of John 1:1.


The language of light and darkness connects to Gensis1:1-5, but could also be an influence from Zoroastrianism.


Verses 10-13 stress that the true God created the world. This contradicts the Gnostic assertions that the true God had nothing to do with the creation of the world and that the God of the Old Testament was not the true God.

Verses 14-18 stress that Jesus did come to earth as real human being. This contradicts the Docetist assertion that Jesus only seemed to be human.

Gospel of John

We have recently started a study of the Gospel of John.


There seem to be many reasons that this book is often urged on new believers or those exploring an interest in the Christian faith. The most compelling of these is probably the book's stated purpose:

These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31


Regarding the authorship of John, different scholars have suggested that it was written anywhere from 60 to 100 and is the product of at least a community that had connections with John who was a disciple of Jesus, if not a product of John himself. Many believe the book of I John is by the same author, and I John comments on many of the themes found in the gospel.


The Gospel of John begins with a prologue that functions like the overture to a drama in that it presents many of the main themes to be encountered within the body of the work. The prologue also gives us privileged information of which the participants in the story that follows are unaware.

John lacks an emphasis on the endtimes that is pominent in other gospels. Instead, John indicates that the Heavenly Kingdom has broken into the earthly realm of the present. Also, John features miraculous signs, but no exorcisms. These signs are accompanied by theological discourses, but no parables.