Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

1:1-18 The beginning of this prologue (1:1-5) might be a poem or hymn sung by the earliest Christians. The prologue’s themes—the coming of the light into the world, the rejection of the light, and its gift of new life to believers—prepares readers for the story that follows.

1:1 Echoing Gen 1:1, John’s Gospel introduces Jesus Christ, through whom God created everything (John 1:3); Jesus also creates new life in those who believe (1:12-13). The Gospel opens with its central affirmation, that Jesus Christ, the Word (Greek logos), not only revealed God but was God. In Greek thought, the logos was the rational principle guiding the universe and making life coherent. For Jewish people, the logos was the word of the Lord, an expression of God’s wisdom and creative power. By Jesus’ time, the logos was viewed as coming from God and having his personality (see Ps 33:6, 9; Prov 8:22-31); John affirmed this understanding (John 1:14).

Verse 3

1:3 The logos is God (1:1-2); all that God does, the logos likewise does. Throughout his Gospel, John rightly viewed Jesus’ actions as divine activity.

Verse 4

1:4-5 God created light and dispelled the darkness (Gen 1:2-5). The darkness resists God (John 3:19-21; 12:35; Matt 6:23; Acts 26:17-18; Eph 4:17-19; 5:7-14; 2 Pet 1:19; 1 Jn 1:5-7; 2:9-11).

1:4 The Word gave life: Life was God’s original gift to his creatures (Gen 1:20-28; 2:7). Now the logos would give these creatures the possibility of new life through rebirth (John 1:13). • As one of his first creative acts, God brought light (Gen 1:3). Now, in the re-creation of humanity through Jesus Christ, God offered light and life anew. Light is a key theme in John’s Gospel.

Verse 5

1:5 the darkness can never extinguish it: Or the darkness has not understood it; literally the darkness cannot grasp it. The Greek word katalambanō (“grasp”) can mean either “understand” or “be hostile”; in John’s Gospel, it means hostility. The darkness would try to destroy Jesus (the light), but it would fail. The light would successfully bring salvation to the world.

Verse 6

1:6-9 God sent a man, John the Baptist, to herald Jesus’ coming and to prepare God’s people to receive Jesus as God’s Son and Messiah (see 1:19-37; Luke 1:5-25, 57-80; 3:1-22; see also Isa 40:3; Mal 4:5-6).

Verse 8

1:8 Some Jews speculated that John the Baptist was the Messiah; some of his followers were even reluctant to follow Jesus (3:22-30). However, John the Baptist was not the light; his role was to announce Jesus (1:19-34).

Verse 10

1:10 The world cannot recognize the true light even when it encounters its Creator. The world lives in rebellion, loving darkness more than light (3:19).

Verse 12

1:12 Only through divine renewal can people follow the light and enter God’s family (3:1-17). • Individuals must believe in Christ to become children of God (12:35-36).

Verse 13

1:13 a birth that comes from God: People can escape the darkness only by God’s grace (8:12; 12:35-36, 44-46).

Verse 14

1:14 The idea that the Word became human (literally became flesh) stunned both Greeks and Jews. Greeks separated the sphere of God from the mundane world of humanity, which they called flesh (Greek sarx). John wrote that God himself became flesh in Christ (cp. 1:1). Jesus’ humanity and divinity were complete, not partial. The two ideas—Jesus as 100-percent divine and 100-percent human—form the bedrock of a Christian understanding of Christ. • the Word . . . made his home (Greek skēnoō, “pitched his tent”) among us: This Greek word is related to the word used for the Old Testament Tabernacle (Greek skēnē, “tent, tabernacle”), the tent in the wilderness where the Lord’s glory resided and where Israel came to worship (Exod 25:8-9). The Father’s glory in the Tabernacle (Exod 40:34-38) was now present in Jesus Christ (John 2:11; 12:23-28, 41; 17:1-5). • Jesus offered God’s unfailing love and faithfulness. Despite the world’s hostile darkness, Jesus entered the world to save it (3:15-17).

Verse 15

1:15 he existed long before me: In a society where age was respected and honored (Lev 19:32; contrast Isa 3:5), John the Baptist emphasized Jesus’ honor by pointing to his existence even before creation (John 1:1-3).

Verse 17

1:17 the law: That is, the torah, the body of instruction given to Moses at Mount Sinai. • Although God’s unfailing love and faithfulness are in the torah, these qualities are fully revealed in Christ (3:16; 13:1).

Verse 18

1:18 Moses was denied his desire to see God directly (Exod 33:18-20). Only Jesus has seen the Father, so he alone completely knows him and can tell us about him (John 3:32-35; 14:9-10). • But the unique One, who is himself God: The Son, who sees the Father, is himself God—not simply a messenger who knows something about God. John explicitly affirms Christ’s deity. Jesus shares the substance of God’s being.

Verse 19

1:19–12:50 Jesus reveals himself to the world through his miraculous signs and sermons. Audiences were divided: Some wanted to believe in him; others opposed him. This division intensifies as the book unfolds. Jesus ended his public ministry with a final appeal for people to believe in him (12:44-50).

1:19-51 John’s Gospel gives limited attention to John the Baptist compared to the synoptic Gospels (Matt 3:1-6; Mark 1:2-6; Luke 1:1-24, 57-80; 3:1-13). Yet the apostle John wants us to see that John the Baptist correctly identified and exalted Jesus. John the Baptist’s disciples leave him and follow Jesus; Jesus took over the ministry John began, increasing as John decreased (John 3:30).

Verse 20

1:20 The Jews expected the Messiah (the Hebrew form of the Greek word Christ) to bring spiritual leadership and political redemption to Israel (see Deut 18:15; see also the Jewish intertestamental book Psalms of Solomon).

Verse 21

1:21 Elijah was to be the Messiah’s forerunner (Mal 4:5). John the Baptist fulfilled the forerunner’s role, though he denied being the prophet Elijah (see Matt 11:14; Luke 1:17). • Are you the Prophet we are expecting? Cp. John 6:14; 7:40-41.

Verse 22

1:22-23 Then who are you? John the Baptist simply wanted to be known as a voice shouting in the wilderness (see Isa 40:3).

Verse 24

1:24 The Pharisees were deeply devoted to the Scriptures and earnestly desired a righteous life. They also believed in the coming Messiah, which explains their inquiries here. Some Pharisees became believers in Jesus (Acts 15:5), including the apostle Paul (Acts 26:5; Phil 3:5).

Verse 25

1:25-26 Jewish baptisms were ritual washings for becoming ceremonially pure following contact with impurity (Lev 8:6; Num 19:7). • John’s announcement of the Messiah’s arrival required that participants confess their sins and be baptized (Matt 3:6). Baptism later became the symbol of membership in Jesus’ kingdom (Acts 2:38; see also John 4:1-2).

Verse 27

1:27 A menial task such as removing a sandal was reserved for a slave; these tasks were never performed by a disciple.

Verse 29

1:29 The phrase Lamb of God might refer to the Passover sacrifice of a lamb or to the daily sacrifice in the Temple (Exod 29:38-46; Heb 10). See also Rev 5.

Verse 32

1:32 John the Baptist’s second testimony (see 1:19-23) told what happened when Jesus was baptized. • In the Old Testament, kings and prophets were anointed with the Holy Spirit, but these anointings were temporary and tied to a particular office or occasion. By contrast, with the Spirit’s resting on him, Jesus’ anointing was permanent (see 3:34).

Verse 34

1:34 the Chosen One of God: See Isa 42:1.

Verse 35

1:35-51 This section introduces the template for discipleship in John’s Gospel. Disciples desired to come and see Jesus (1:39), and when they encountered him, they remained with him.

Verse 40

1:40-42 Simon is well known in the Gospels, not for his courage and faith, but for his failings (see 18:15-18, 25-27). Jesus named him Cephas (“the rock”), referring to the great church leader he would later become (see Acts 1:1–5:42; 8:1–12:25; 15:1-41).

Verse 43

1:43-44 Galilee was the region of northern Israel around the Sea of Galilee. • Bethsaida (“house of fishing”) was a village on Galilee’s north shore and the home of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Later, Peter and Andrew moved to Capernaum, a village west of Bethsaida (Mark 1:21, 29).

Verse 45

1:45 Philip, a Greek name, and Nathanael, a Hebrew name, represent the mix of cultures in Galilee. Jesus’ message there addressed both audiences. When Greeks wanted to see Jesus in Jerusalem, they approached Philip (12:20-22). • Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a mountain village southwest of the Sea of Galilee.

Verse 46

1:46 Can anything good come from Nazareth? This village was not considered famous enough to be the hometown for a great leader (cp. Matt 13:53-58).

Verse 47

1:47 Jesus referred to Nathanael as a man of complete integrity, contrasting him with Jacob, the scheming, deceitful patriarch whom God renamed Israel (see Gen 25:27-34; 27:1-36; 32:22-32). It is as though Nathanael embodied God’s ideal for Israel.

Verse 48

1:48-49 Jesus captured Nathanael’s attention by knowing his character (1:47), then he captured his worship by supernaturally knowing his previous actions. Nathanael witnessed a miracle and took a remarkable step of faith.

Verse 51

1:51 I tell you the truth (Greek amēn amēn): Jesus often used this expression to emphasize what he was about to say. In John’s Gospel, the Greek word amēn is always doubled. • you will all see heaven open: Jesus made the comparison with Jacob explicit (see study note on 1:47; see Gen 28:10-22). Like Jacob, Nathanael would see God at work. Jesus himself is the new Bethel (“house of God,” Gen 28:19), the place where God lives. • Son of Man: See study note on John 9:35; see also Dan 7:13-14; Mark 8:31. • John the apostle used several names for Jesus (Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah). Knowing Jesus’ true identity is necessary to fully understanding and following him.