Thesis on "Gospel of John Verses"

/>* See Appendix I for an original manuscript page John 1

The gospel itself in broken up by most scholars into five main section, The Introduction, which contains the prologue (above) and the testimony of John to Jesus; The Book of Signs; Farewell Discourses and Prayer for the Church; the Passion Narrative; and the Epilogue: The Appearance of Jesus in Galilee. (Perrin and Duling 347) Perrin and Duling further comment on the nature of the hymn as true prologue:

The hymn itself presents features foreign to the gospel -- in the gospel after the prologue Jesus is never called the Logos nor is the phrase grace and truth found -- but its presentation of Jesus as the preexistent redeemer who manifested his glory in the world matches exactly the major aspects of the gospel's presentation of Jesus. In its presentation of Jesus as the redeemer who descends to the world the hymn shares the emphasis of the other christological hymns (Perrin, and Duling 348)

Brodie believes that this "problem" is not only in the beginning of this gospel but a t the end as well. "It is also generally agreed that the beginning and end of the gospel stand out in some way; and so, for this and other reasons, the beginning and end are frequently referred to respectively as the prologue and epilogue." (Brodie 21) However Brodie, as do other scholars, see this as perhaps a connective literary contrivance that attempts to bring together the Old and the New Testaments. "It is connected, obviously, to the question of the relationship between the two testaments, and it raises a difficult problem: how can a steadfast God, having solemnly established what seems to be a permanent covenant, inaugurate an order that is quite new?" (Brodie 243) This broad question is certainly of paramount concern to biblical and Talmudic Scholars (Pitkin 96) and perhaps it was John's intention to answer just such a question through a more creative understanding of the process. Perhaps this is why the wording is strikingly similar to that of the first verses of Genesis.

Two scriptural associations with this passage need to be noted. (21) First, it seems to recall Gen. 1:1. This link is solidified by examining the similarity between the Greek of Jn. 1:1 (En arche en ho logos ...) and the Septuagint of Gen. 1:1 (En arche epoiesen ho theos ...). The first two words, translated "In the beginning," are identical, while the fourth word in the nominative case in each identifies the divine being. (Celsor 3)

Translation and transliteration may have created more of a difference in the texts than is actually present in current version and this plus cultural variances has often plagued the minds of biblical scholars. (Brodie 13)

The Word, Logos, Christ, God, become an interwoven texture whose threads are indiscernible from the whole tapestry of life, according to John's interpretation here. Brodie again feels that the idea that this section is from a hymn is unimportant to the overall problem of scholars feeling that this is not a true part of John's Gospel. He accounts for the difference in style as a matter of interspersing poetry and prose to express the prologue and indeed this Gospel's central theme:

…the descent of the (soaring, poetic) Word into the (prosaic) reality of human life. In other words, the increasing mixing of Word with flesh is reflected in the increasing mixing of poetry with prose, and the persistent failure of scholars to disentangle the poetry is a reflection of something more basic: God - insofar as God is known - cannot be disentangled from humanity. (Brodie 134)

While this passage may at first appear to create some disunity from the whole of the work, its poetry is certainly part and parcel of the inspiration of the evangelical message that John attempts to put forward. While there is certainly evidence of some tradition hymn and a redaction by the author (Kysar 164) there is the creation of lasting imagery that is essential to understanding the message here:

My own view is that the passage is composed of four interlocking human images with an expansion of the last of those images, followed by an explicitly theological image… I mean to suggest that we understand genre only after the structure and unity or disunity of the passage is considered. Genre arises from function. I use the word human only as a way of distinguishing the images having to do with Jesus' relationship with humans as opposed to the theological image (Kysar 165)

Kysar further notes that many scholars have often belittled this passage and called the authenticity of the section into question. Buttman, Brown, Lindars and Robinson all feel that it is a simply hodgepodge of different passages and/or hymns strewn together while Dodd described it as "the wreckage of two parables fused into one, the fusion having partly destroyed the original form of both." (Kysar 164) They all seem to miss the point in one important respect. "What is said of creation in 1:3-4 bears upon an individual's proper self-understanding; it has to do with the reader's proper sense of creatureliness. Hence, it is liturgical and confessional in nature rather than speculative." (Kysar 12)

There are two paramount questions espoused by this prologue and the entire gospel of John: Where do we come from? Where are we going? Here the evangelical reference is that for the believer, "Jesus comes from the Father, makes the Father known, and in so doing, brings light and salvation to the world. These are glad tidings, the euangelion of the gospel, that the kingdom of God is really among us." ("Adveniat Regnum Tuum" 5) Saint Augustine has also previously concurred with their interpretations:

But the Word did not then begin; for [John] said, "That which was from the beginning." See if his Epistle does not confirm his Gospel where just a little while ago you heard, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." Perhaps concerning "the Word of life" one might so take it as a kind of speaking about Christ, not as the very body of Christ which was handled by hands. See what follows: "And the Life itself was manifested." Therefore Christ is the Word of Life. And in what way was manifested? For it "was from the beginning," but it was not manifested to men; it was, however, manifested to the angels, seeing and feeding upon as their bread. (Augustine 121-22)

Many scholars agree with the Augustinian interpretation of this passage. Kuehn looks at this Gospel as a series of movements as in a cosmological symphony. The first movement is the prologue which, "…consists of the Son's procession from the Father in eternity and his incarnation in time, found primarily in John's Prologue but also revealed when Christ discusses his origination from the Father (John 12:47-50, 8:25, etc.)." (Kuehn 577) Perrin, and Duling also agree with this melodic assessment, "This imagery extends even to individual parts of the gospel. Bultmann speaks for many commentators when he describes the prologue to the gospel as an "overture . . . singling out particular motifs from the action to be unfolded."(Perrin and Duling 330) "It strikes one with the same force as an abrupt change of mood or form in a piece of art, say an unusual movement… READ MORE