The first eighteen verses of John's Gospel is often called the Prologue, but as most commentators have recognized, it serves more than just as an introduction. Here's what some of them have to say.
The Prologue is a foyer to the rest of the Fourth Gospel . . . simultaneously drawing the reader in and introducing the major themes.
D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 111.
[The prologue] is far more than a preface. In these eighteen verses we have an explanation of everything that follows from the nineteenth verse of chapter one, to the twenty-ninth verse of chapter twenty. All that follows is intended to prove the accuracy of the things declared in the first eighteen verses.
G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel according to John (London: Fleming H. Revell, n.d.), 17-8.
The explanation for the writing of the Gospel is left to its conclusion (20:30-31). The prologue is "a directive to the reader how the entire Gospel should be read and understood" . . . The Evangelist does not feel it necessary to commend the story of Jesus to his readers. Rather he prepares for the story by describing the Son of God in terms that rivet the attention of his readers, and so encourages them to read the story for themselves. The remarkable feature of this presentation is that it employs categories universally known, possessing universal appeal, which would attract and have attracted alike Jews, Christians and pagans, Hellenists and Orientals in their varied cultures, followers of ancient and modern religions, philosophers and people of more humble status who were yet seekers after God. . . The prologue has frequently been likened to an overture to an opera. The comparison is apt, since an overture is calculated to whet the appetite of the hearers, preparing them for the work to be presented and bringing together themes developed in it.
George R. Beasley-Murray, John (WBC 36; Waco, Tx: Word, 1987), 5.
The prologue lifts readers above history and into mystery, the mystery of God's eternity, glory, inner nature, and saving purpose. It prepares readers to enter the narrative of Jesus' life with openness to an invasion from above..
Lamar Williamson, Jr., Preaching the Gospel of John (Louisville/ London: Westminster John Knox, 2004), 1.
Commentators have traditionally divided the Prologue into three or four sections along the following lines:1
A. The Word and Creation, vv1-5
B. The Witness to the Word by John the Baptist, vv6-8
C. The Reactions to the Word in the World, vv9-13
D. The Confession of the Word by the Church, vv14-18.
These divisions, however, reflect more clearly the Western mode of rational thinking—with its bias for linear progression—rather than the more subtle and artfully sophisticated Oriental story-telling reflected in the Gospel. Modern scholarship recognizes that different cultures have different ways of saying things. To fully appreciate what is being said we need, therefore, to pay attention to how things are said as well as what is said. A very common Hebrew/Jewish approach to structuring narration is to use a chiasmus. Here is the chiasmus that frames the Prologue:
A. The Word and God, vv1-2
B. The Revelation that the Word Gives Us, vv3-5
C. The Witness of John the Baptist, vv6-8
D. The Journey of the Word into the World, vv9-11
E. The Gift of Adoption through Faith in the Word, vv12-13
D'. The Journey of the Word into the World, v14
C. The Witness of John the Baptist, v15
B'. The Revelation that the Word Gives Us, vv16-17
A'. The Word and God, v18.2
In this way John signals to us how all that he has to say about Jesus—His relationship with God, His incarnation and His life, ministry and rejection by the Jews—is an "invasion from above" to gift those who would believe with the "right to be children of God" (vv12-13). Thus, "the main purpose of the prologue," observes Lamar Williamson, "is to say who Jesus is. Its correlative purpose is to announce who readers may become through believing in him."3
There are, of course, other ways of conceiving how John introduces his Gospel. Ramsey Michaels, e.g., breaks with tradition in "identifying the first five verses of John as "preamble," rather than the first eighteen as "prologue . . ."4 We think the chiastic structure along the lines presented above effectively captures what the Prologue says. Chiasma, however, is not a style of seeing things that many of us are used to. Some of us may prefer a more "orderly," perhaps more "logical" approach. If this is your cup of tea, perhaps this will help.
1. V1-2: The Word: His Pre-existence, His Fellowship with God, & His Nature as God.
2. V3-5: The Cosmic Significance of the Word.
3. V6-9 & 15: John the Baptizer's Witness to the Word as Light.
4. V10-13: The Failure of the World to Recognize or Receive the Word & the Gift of Divine Adoption to Those who Do.
5. v14: The Word's Incarnation & Glory.
6. V15:
The Prologue to John's Gospel is challenging for the preacher and teacher precisely because it is such rich ground for growing sermons. Lamar Williamson says:
The prologue to the Fourth Gospel challenges preachers and teachers because it is a pin-cushion of words that are much spoken and little understood. The interpreter must work hard to understand, then speak simply and avoid trying to appear erudite. One must not allow fascination with its language to distract attention from the basic human hunger to which this passage speaks: the hunger to know God. The text contains rich food for the hungry. Its power and beauty are best realized by reading it whole, but in order to be digested it must be chewed a little at a time.5
Christmas is a good time to preach the Prologue; afterall, the Prologue is the Gospel reading in many churches that follow a lectionary in their liturgy. If you have never done it before and you think a Christmas day sermon without 'angels and shepherds' might prove too innovative for your congregation, perhaps one of the sermons in the month leading up to Christmas to prepare the congregation "to enter the narrative of Jesus' life with openness to an invasion from above." If you are fairly confident of your preaching abilities, perhaps a series of three or four shorter sermons or adult Sunday-school studies leading up to Christmas; what better time is there to lift your congregation higher above history and deeper into mystery "of God's eternity, glory, inner nature, and saving purpose"? Here is an article to help you think about it:
Susan E. Hylen, "Telling the Christmas Story with No Shepherds and Angels (John 1:1-14)," Word & World 32/4 (2012) 401-7. Pdf N 5-6
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2013