The Prologue (Part 3): John 1:10-18

Prologue (Part 3) John 1:10-18

1:10-11 – “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

Verses 10-11 introduce an important concept in the Gospel of John: the recognition scene, or lack thereof. R. Alan Culpepper writes about how the Gospel of John is written in a very similar style to a Greek drama. He argues in “The Gospel and Letters of John” that one of the key scenes in Greek plays was characters interacting and recognizing, or failing to recognize, another character’s true identity. This was a key ingredient in crafting a Greek tragedy (the most famous example of this is probably Oedipus). In the Gospel of John, we are given information in the Prologue (1:1-18) that Jesus is the pre-existent Logos. He is God, made human and walking around interacting with humankind, bringing the revelation of the Father. But we see several occasions throughout the rest of this gospel account in which characters struggle (and ultimately succeed or fail) to recognize who Jesus is.

Take, for example, Nathanael at the end of the first chapter. Initially when he is told by Philip that they have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” To which Philip responds, “Come and see.” At first, Nathanael fails to recognize who Jesus is. He thinks Jesus comes from Nazareth, but the Prologue clearly tells us that Jesus existed before the creation of the world. He comes from the Father above, not from below. After encountering Jesus himself, Nathanael is compelled to cry out, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” This is an example of a successful recognition scene.

There are also several scenes in which people fail to recognize Jesus. An example of this is the scene in John 9, after Jesus heals the man born blind. The Pharisees wanted to get to bottom of the miracle that had taken place on the Sabbath. They grilled the man who had been blind, and tried to get information about how Jesus healed his eyes. The Pharisees inaccurately believe that Jesus is “a sinner” (9:24) and “not from God” (9:16), and they do not know where he comes from (9:29). After this they throw the man who had been blind out of the synagogue and Jesus reveals his true identity, to which the man responds in faith, “Lord, I believe!” Ironically, it is the man born blind who sees Jesus clearly, while the Pharisees continue on struggling in their “darkness.”

1:12-13 – “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

I often hear people talk about the idea that every man, woman, and child in the world is a “child of God,” and while there is some truth in that statement (all of humanity is created in the Image of God and loved by God), it is technically incorrect according to John. The condition upon which our sonship or daughtership depends is belief in the name of Christ. At that point, we are freely given – not by merit, but by grace – the right to be called God’s children. The metaphor of birth is used several times throughout the Gospel of John, and refers not to natural birth, but birth “from above.” Everyone comes into this world naturally “from below,” or “born of water (3:5).” But those who believe in Jesus Christ are born “again” or “from above,” and these are the ones who are given the right to be called children of God, and who enter the Kingdom of God.

1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.

Like Joan Osborne’s song, “What if God Was One of Us?” Jesus actually put on flesh and walked around like one of us. Indeed, as Joan sings, you could say that through the incarnation, Jesus actually was, “just a slob like one of us,” in the sense that he had to drink in the entire human experience. It may seem sacrilegious, but Jesus had to go to the bathroom. He had boogers and snot in his nose. When he set his divine power aside, and stepped into humble humanity, he had to embrace all of what it means to be human, both the beautiful, and the gross. Jesus did not commit sin in his life, but he lived as a free human could live – as God truly intended. This is what Paul writes of in Philippians 2:7 when he says that Christ “emptied himself,” setting his glory aside.

Interestingly, this truth is juxtaposed with the statement, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.” The glory being referred to in this verse refers not to the glory Christ has set aside, but to the glorification of Christ on the cross, and his resultant exaltation to the right hand of God. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The glory that is “beheld” in 1:14 primarily refers to this exaltation. It also refers to Christ’s revelation of the Father and to the miracles Christ performs, through the power of the Holy Spirit. These “signs” reveal who Christ is in his glorious essence.

1:15-18 – “John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed med because he was before me.’” From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”

In verse 15, John the Baptist stumbles on the scene again. It has been suggested that perhaps part of the reason for this fixation on John the Baptist is that there may have been some confusion among disciples of John about whether or not they should become followers of Christ, or remain John’s disciples. This Prologue clearly tells us that Christ is greater than John.

1:17 introduces the first specific comparison between Jesus and Moses. The Law was given through Moses, but the blessings that Christ brings us are grace and truth. We no longer need to measure up to the standards written in the Law. In fact the only to enter into life is to believe in Christ and accept his free gift of salvation. Verse 18 refers to Christ’s role as the revealer of the Father. As he will say several times in this gospel account, no one can come to the Father except through Christ.