An Exegetical Essay On John Chapter 1 Religion Essay

Introduction

Unlike the synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does non get down with the historical Jesus, alternatively, the writer exalts his ageless beings over his earthly entryway into the universe. The ageless being of Jesus is perceived by the usage of ‘Word ‘ ( Sons ) in the prologue. Therefore, the writer begins his Gospel with the words, ‘In the beginning was the Wordaˆ¦ ‘ John ‘s Gospel stresses on the divinity of Jesus, he strikes the reader straight with the Grecian ‘Word ‘ ( Logos ) as a replacing of Jesus until the terminal of the prologue. One could state that the apprehension of this Gospel is centred on the ‘Word ‘ ( Sons ) as a cardinal avowal of the full Gospel. The prologue affirms that Jesus used the ageless ‘Word ‘ which has been translated from the Grecian word ( logos ) . In chapter ( 1:1-5 ) the writer talked about the pre- being, in ( 1:6-8 ) he elaborated on the informant of John the Baptist, in ( 1:9-13 ) he highlighted on the light coming to the universes, in ( 1:14-18 ) he accounted on the embodiment of the Word. This prologue is specially or specifically designed to fix the manner for the grounds of the behaviors of no ordinary individual but Jesus Christ. This paper is an effort to exegete the transition of ( John 1:1-18 ) .

The Pre-existence Word ( 1:1-5 )

The beginning of this Gospel as stated, ‘in the beginning was the word ‘ has something to make with ( Genesis 1:1 ) . John was seeking to state that Jesus Christ was in the beginning and He was the ‘Word ‘ which existed in the beginning before creative activity or before the universe began and ‘was to the full God ‘ ( John 1:1-3 ) . Jesus is so the Godhead, upholder of all properties, our beginning of life and the constitution of ageless life. To understand this construct one must get down with the Father-Son relationship which is the cardinal disclosure of John ‘s Gospel and besides the key to understand the expressions and workss of Christ Jesus ( 17:5, 24 ) . Extensively, this term ( Son ) which has a significance in English as “ the Word ” was used in Grecian literature or theologists and philosophers ; among them were the ‘Stoics who used the term to depict the rule of Godhead ground which caused the natural animal to turn. ‘[ 1 ]Philo of Alexander was the originator of this thought in his Hagiographas and maintained it as an instrument of the universe creative activity. There are unsimilarities between the use of the ‘Word ‘ by John and Philo. In the head of Philo, he by no agencies consider the ‘Word ‘ as a individual and he did non keep its pre-existence, he denied the embodiment of the ‘Word ‘ which is known as Jesus. But in Johns mind the ‘Word ‘ was maintained and became ‘flesh. ‘ This points to Jesus Christ who came to salvage humanity and dwell among them. One could state the 5th poetry of this chapter shows the compassion of the writer as a darling adherent and an eyewitness of Jesus who is seeking to pass on the good intelligence to the Jews, Greek philosophers and all sorts of people from coevals to coevals in his Hagiographas. Here John declares that Jesus Christ is the true visible radiation, who shines in the darkness, but the darkness which can be translated as iniquitous adult male ‘has non understood it. ‘ The better apprehensions of this poetry rely on ( verse10-11 ) .[ 2 ]

Witness of John the Baptist ( 1:6-8 )

At this point, the writer diverted his thought signifier infinity towards historical. These poetries point to the individuality of no other individual but John the Baptist who is non the visible radiation ; nevertheless John ‘s occupation is to attest that Jesus is the coming visible radiation. This testimony of John appears strongly in public in ( verse 15-34 ) .[ 3 ]John ‘s thought is that, people might believe in Jesus entirely and that He is the Jesus.

Light Coming to the World ( 1:9-13 )

In poetries 9-13, John ‘s accent has changed from informant to Jesus as ‘the true visible radiation that gives visible radiation to every adult male coming into the universe. He is the fulfillment of all light foreshadowed and the 1 who called visible radiation into being ( Genesis 1:3 ) . ”[ 4 ]

Sing the statement of John refering the ‘world did non recognize him ‘ here it means something further than created universe? John is mentioning to people who opposed or do non believe in God or those who reject Christ as the true visible radiation. The Israelites were chosen by God to fix the remainder of the universe for Christ ‘s coming but they rejected Him despite the prognostications recorded in the Old Testament.[ 5 ]In poetries 12-13, the writer elaborates on how some people received the Word. John ‘s Centre of attending is based on the covenant people of God or trusters who receive the power to be kids of God. This implies to the kids who are non born of natural or physical human descent. This is for those who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Jesus ; they are spiritually born once more and have received a wholly new life from God through religion.

Embodiment of the Word ( 1:14-18 )

This last subdivision of the prologue explains how the Godhead Word points how Jesus came into the universe in a human signifier. Apostle Paul, one of the major characters in the New Testament writings understood this construct ( Colossians 2:9 ) . ‘The word became flesh and made his home among us ( John1:14 ) . ‘ The first century church debated on how the Word who was God could go human but that ‘s non of import to John because his chief concern is to explicate the monetary value that Christ paid. The bible explains how God ‘s presence was in the thick of the kids of Israel in the Tabernacle ( Exodus 40:34-38 ) , although that was on temporal footing. John besides has a similar position in a sense that ‘the Word became flesh or Jesus became like mortal human being and made his home among us ‘ likewise God ‘s presence to the kids of Israel in the Tabernacle. “ Harmonizing to Kruse, the mention to ‘glory ‘ is besides an allusion to God ‘s presence in the Tabernacle. ” Moses was instructed by God to construct a Tabernacle and after completing Moses could n’t come in the Tent of meeting because it was ‘covered by the cloud and the glorification of the Lord filled the Tabernacle ‘ ( Exodus 40:34-35 ) . And that same manner God ‘s glorification is been manifested in the Word made flesh. John was an oculus informant to Christ ‘s earthly life and ministry and he saw His glorification. He foremost ‘saw the glorification of the ‘One and Only ‘ who came from the Father. Further more, he saw Christ as the 1 who comes from the Father and the fact that he is the beginning of grace and truth. ‘[ 6 ]The revivalist ‘s purpose is for people to see Christ ‘s ministry us a manifestation of God ‘s grace and an exposure of his truth.

Jesus makes it possible for people to cognize God better than earlier, for the ground that God became seeable and touchable in Christ. And he is the perfect manifestation of God in human signifier. Moses accentuated the jurisprudence of God and His justness, but Christ emphasized His clemency, forgiveness, fidelity and love. Moses was known as jurisprudence giver, nevertheless Christ is known as the fulfillment of the jurisprudence ( Matthew 5:17 ) .[ 7 ]

This last poetry of the prologue is a reminder of the first poetry. There was no other better agencies for people to cognize God unless the Word point to Jesus Christ the ‘One and Merely Son ‘ of the life God.

Sing the statement John made that ‘no 1 has of all time seen God ‘ it has something to make with the OT in a sense that Moses did non hold the opportunity to see God face to face, although prophesier Isaiah said ‘my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty ‘ ( Isaiah 6:5 ) , none of the Prophetss were able to see God ‘s indispensable nature. He may be seen in theanthropism, but Christ Jesus made it possible to His interior kernel or nature. Through Jesus Christ God ‘s nature and will is been revealed. The more a individual gets closer to Christ, the better he or she understands the will of God. In Christ people saw the clear image of God and even touched Him.[ 8 ]

Decision

The major concern of John in his prologue is to portray Jesus as an ageless being who has existed from the get downing with God. Furthermore, the prologue describes the embodiment of Christ, by coming in human signifier so as to place with humanity and to salvage them from wickedness. John shows us the complete divinity, the deity and the comprehensiveness of God in Christ Jesus. Christ makes it possible for people to cognize God better than earlier, for the ground that God became seeable and touchable in Christ. And he is the perfect manifestation of God in human signifier. Moses accentuated the jurisprudence of God and His justness, but Christ emphasized His clemency, forgiveness, fidelity and love. John wrote this Gospel so that we might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and by believing we may hold ageless life ( John 20:31 ) .