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    A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1-12
    A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1-12
    A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1-12
    Ebook653 pages9 hours

    A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1-12

    By James D. Quiggle

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    About this ebook

    This commentary on John 1–12 is designed for every Believer who sits in Sunday schools or Bible studies and can’t get reasonable answers to their questions. By default, then, it is also intended for Bible teachers so they can understand what the Scripture says and provide reasonable answers for themselves and their students. Any Believer can study John’s Gospel through this commentary and answer for themselves the two basic questions: what does it mean, and what does it mean to me?

    The author believes John’s Gospel is the accurate, authentic, and credible product of God the Holy Spirit and the Apostle John. John wrote a historically reliable account of that part of the public ministry of Jesus the Christ which was not revealed by the Synoptic Gospels. His message throughout is that Jesus is God the Son, the Son of God, the Christ, and most importantly, the Savior.

    The commentary is thoroughly exegetical and explanatory. It is based on the author’s translation and covers necessary grammatical and theological details without being tedious or exhaustive. It takes a common-sense approach to difficult issues in the Gospel, seeing them in the light of Jesus’ historical and cultural setting. Other commentaries are compared and selectively used where profitable to the reader. Where the author differs in his conclusions from others, it is out of a desire to walk with John and know the same Jesus he knew and loved.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJames D. Quiggle
    Release dateMar 14, 2014
    ISBN9781310676116
    A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1-12
    Author

    James D. Quiggle

    James D. Quiggle was born in 1952 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He grew up in Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. In the early 1970s he joined the United States Air Force. At his first permanent assignment in Indian Springs, Nevada in a small Baptist church, the pastor introduced him to Jesus and soon after he was saved. Over the next ten years those he met in churches from the East Coast to the West Coast, mature Christian men, poured themselves into mentoring him. In the 1970s he was gifted with the Scofield Bible Course from Moody Bible Institute. As he completed his studies his spiritual gift of teaching became even more apparent. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethany Bible College during the 1980s while still in the Air Force. Between 2006–2008, after his career in the Air Force and with his children grown up, he decided to continue his education. He enrolled in Bethany Divinity College and Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theological Studies.As an extension of his spiritual gift of teaching, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to begin writing books. James Quiggle is now a Christian author with over fifty commentaries on Bible books and doctrines. He is an editor for the Evangelical Dispensational Quarterly Journal published by Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary.He continues to write and has a vibrant teaching ministry through social media.

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      A Private Commentary on the Bible - James D. Quiggle

      A Private Commentary on the Bible

      John 1–12

      James D. Quiggle

      Copyright James D. Quiggle 2014

      Published at Smashwords

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Copyright Page

      A Private Commentary on the Bible: John 1–12

      Copyright © 2014 James D. Quiggle. All rights reserved.

      Published by James D. Quiggle, 2014.

      Translation by James D. Quiggle.

      Translations that may be quoted:

      New American Standard Bible, Copyright 8 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

      The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

      New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982, 1983 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, by Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

      The Jerusalem Bible, Reader’s Edition, Copyright 8 1966, 1967, and 1968, by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd., and Doubleday & Company, Inc.

      Contents

      Preface

      Abbreviations

      Introduction

      John One

      John Two

      John Three

      John Four

      John Five

      John Six

      John Seven

      John Eight

      John Nine

      John Ten

      John Eleven

      John Twelve

      Sources

      Preface

      The Private Commentary on the Old and New Testaments is my interpretation of the Bible, neither more nor less. I am responsible for the use made of all quoted and cited material.

      The scope of the Private Commentary series is to bring the reader to a practical understanding of the scriptures. I explain and discuss each verse, idea, theme, and biblical truth as discovered in turn during the course of the exposition. My target audience is the Bible college/seminary student, Bible study/small group leader, Sunday School teacher, and local church Pastor. My point of view is a conservative theology. Other opinions concerning the Scripture are presented and discussed as I believe will profit the target audience. Bible students who desire to understand and apply the scriptures are invited to study the book with me and come to their own conclusions.

      This material is copyrighted to prevent misuse or abuse. Those persons using this material in their teaching/preaching ministry may copy and distribute individual pages (e.g., an excursus, a table/list, or an appendix) for distribution to one’s students or auditors. The entire book may not be copied and/or distributed, nor large portions of the book, such as a chapter or extended comments on Scripture passages. The cost of this work has been kept as low as possible so every interested teacher, preacher, and student may afford a personal copy.

      Greek word transliterations and definitions are from The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates. AMG Publishers, 1993.

      Hebrew word transliterations and definitions are from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, by R. Laird Harris et al. Moody Press, 1980.

      Abbreviations

      AD: Anno Domini (In the year of the Lord [since Christ was born])

      BC: Bello Christo (Before Christ [was born])

      ca.: about (an approximate date) (Latin: circa)

      CE: Current Era (year since Christ was born).

      cf. : compare (Latin: confer)

      e.g.: for example (Latin: exempli gratia)

      etc.: and so forth, and so on (Latin: et cetera)

      HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible

      Ibid: in the same place (referring to source cited in the previous entry) (Latin: ibidem)

      i.e.: that is (Latin: id est)

      KJV: King James Version

      NASB95: New American Standard Bible 1995 edition.

      NEB: New English Bible

      NIV: New International Version

      NKJV: New King James Version

      LXX: Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament completed ca. 130 BC)

      n.: note (referring to a footnote or endnote in the work cited)

      m.: Mishnah (followed by tractate name, e.g., m. Baba Metzia)

      Song: Song of Solomon

      s. v.: under the word (Latin: sub verbo)

      v.: verse

      vv.: verses

      Zodhiates: Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

      Introduction

      INTERPRETATION

      The historicity of every doctrine, narrative, and discourse of the Gospel according to John has been challenged in some way or another, as have matters of authorship, provenance, purpose, theology, structure, and relationship to the Synoptics. The modern theologian discounts apostolic authorship and historical accuracy, preferring a document written by a proposed (but never discovered) Johannine Community that twisted history to create a New Testament theology; or an imaginary John who may have used eyewitness testimony as one element to create a Johannine gospel; or an unknown Jerusalem disciple who wrote while resident in Ephesus. I accept without reservation the inspiration of Scripture: its authenticity, accuracy, and credibility. I accept without hesitation the apostolic authorship and historicity of the account.

      The method of interpretation will be to discover authorial intent toward the original readers, according to the historical-cultural background of the apostolic author, using the lexical, syntactical, theological, and literary conventions of the milieu in which the gospel was written. This method, over others, provides the valid ways and means whereby the intended message of the text may be discovered.

      GENRE

      The Gospels are in a genre known by the Greeks as bíoi, or biography (information in this section was developed from Bauckham [Testimony, 16–21, 93–112; Eyewitnesses, 276–277]). The ancient Greco-Roman biographies were not the same as modern biographies. In substance they ranged from fictional accounts of persons about who little was known, but were held to deserve a biography, to historically accurate narratives reflecting the ideals and methods of ancient historiography. The Gospels, especially John’s gospel, reflect the best characteristics of ancient historiography: an accurate topography and chronology; judicious selectivity in the materials presented; explanatory narrative asides; eyewitness testimony; discourses and dialogues. The Greco-Roman biographies focused more on individuals than the political or military events that were usually the subject of historiography, and the best bíoi used historiographic methods to recount the real past of a real person. The most significant difference between modern histories and biographies and ancient histories and bíoi is the narrative form—story-telling—the ancients used to hold the reader’s attention while instructing him (or her).

      The best histories and bíoi were developed from living eyewitness testimony. In the view of the ancients, history could really only be written within the period in which the author could, if not himself an eyewitness, at least interview still living eyewitnesses. Similarly, it was biographies that also fulfilled this condition that tended to approximate historiography and would be expected to have the kind of accuracy that properly researched historiography would have [Bauckham, Testimony, 19–20]. It was only when a long period of time separated the biographer from his subject that the biography could not be truly historical, and fictive elements crept in. The author of John’s gospel claims to be an eyewitness to the events, 21:20, 24.

      AUTHORSHIP

      The ancient view that John the son of Zebedee was the author of the gospel bearing his name has been disputed by modern critics, but never decisively refuted. Opponents of Johannine authorship assert the superiority of alternative hypothesis as virtually self-evident without adducing supporting evidence [Kostenberger, 7, n. 16]. Kostenberger quotes Keener: traditional conservative scholars have made a better case for Johannine authorship of the gospel . . . than other scholars have made against it. The gospel itself supports Johannine authorship:

      The author is an apostle: 1:14; cf. 2:11; 19:35.

      The author is one of the twelve, being the disciple Jesus loved: 13:23; 19:26–27; 20:2–9; 21:24–25.

      The disciple Jesus loved is consistently associated with Peter; this association identifies the disciple Jesus loved as John the apostle: 12:23–24; 18:15–16; 20:2B9; 21; Luke 22:8; Acts 1:13; 3–4; 8:14–25; Galatians 2:9.

      The earliest testimony of the New Testament church was that John the apostle was the author of the fourth gospel. Irenaeus (ca. AD 125–200) personally knew Polycarp (ca. AD 69–156), who was a disciple of John the apostle. Polycarp related John’s verbal testimony to Irenaeus. Based on Polycarp’s testimony, Irenaeus wrote, John the disciple of the Lord, who leaned back on his breast, published his gospel while he was resident at Ephesus in Asia [Carson, 26].

      The Anti-Marcionite prologue to the gospel of John (Marcion, ca. AD 140, was a heretic who insisted the only inspired writings were Paul’s epistles and parts of the gospel of Luke) is reported to have stated that the gospel was published while John was alive and was written down at John’s dictation by Papias, a contemporary of Polycarp. The Greek word used may also mean they wrote down, which would indicate Papias himself did not write what John dictated, but that Papias was reporting that John’s contemporaries wrote what John dictated. Papias wrote five books titled Expositions of Oracles of the Lord. The oracles of the Lord were said by Papias to have been the verbal testimony of Andrew, Peter, Philip, Thomas, James, John, and Matthew. Irenaeus called Papias a living contemporary of the apostle John [Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.33.4. Eusebius, 3.39].

      Recently, Bauckham [Testimony] has made a case that the disciple of the Lord, the beloved disciple, who wrote the gospel, 21:20, 24, was not John the son of Zebedee, but John the Elder of Ephesus, a Jerusalem disciple of Jesus, not one of the Twelve. His argument, drawn internally from the gospel and externally from historical writings, hinges mainly on the fact that the author of the fourth gospel is never identified as an apostle, but as the the disciple of the Lord, the disciple whom Jesus loved, or the disciple who leaned on Jesus breast. What Bauckham fails to consider is that John the apostle may have been known as the disciple of the Lord etc., because this is how he named himself in his gospel. Bauckham’s arguments concerning authorship are not completely convincing. Of importance is that his argument supports the eyewitness character of the gospel.

      There is good evidence that the titles to the Gospels (e.g., According to John) may have been attached to them (as a title page) from the beginning. The Gospel of John was alluded to at an early date in other writings that indicate its apostolic authorship. The earliest extant New Testament manuscript fragment is from John’s gospel, Papyrus 82 dating from AD 130, containing verses from John 18. Polycarp, writing ca. AD 125, quoted from 1 John, which (as seems likely) was written after the gospel. The first explicit quotation from the gospel may have come from the gnostic Basilides, ca. AD 130, quoting John 1:9 while commenting on Genesis 1:3 [Hyppolytus, Refutation of Heresies, 7.22.4]. A probable quotation is found in a gnostic document dated AD 140 (The Gospel of Truth). The Christian Justin Martyr (AD 100–165) quoted John 3:3 [First Apology, 61.4–5]. There is the possibility Justin used oral tradition. However, his student Tatian (AD 110–180), and others in second century, such as Apollinaris and Athenagoras, unambiguously quoted from the fourth gospel. Tatian created the first gospel harmony, using the fourth gospel as the framework into which the other three were fitted [Carson, 28]. Other second century witnesses are Clement of Alexandria (AD 150–216) and Tertullian (AD 160–220). Clement, after stating that the Gospels containing the genealogies came first, and that Mark wrote his gospel from Peter’s testimony, had this to say about the fourth gospel. But John, last of all, perceiving that what had reference to the body in the gospel of our Savior, was sufficiently detailed, and bring encouraged by his familiar friends, and urged by the spirit, he wrote a spiritual gospel [Eusebius, 6.14]. About AD 181 Theophilus of Antioch quoted from the fourth gospel and assigned John the apostle as the author. The earliest historical evidence is clear: the fourth gospel was written at an early date, and John the apostle wrote the fourth gospel.

      HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

      The fourth gospel displays an accurate knowledge of first century Palestinian culture. John wrote about rituals and ceremonies as required in pre-AD 70 Israel, e.g., 2:6; 7:37; 8:12; 18:28; 19:31–42. He mentioned the Jewish feasts of Tabernacles, Dedication, and Passover. He was acquainted with several Jewish doctrines, such as the inferiority of women, 4:27, Sabbath laws, 5:10; 7:21–23; 9:14, and ideas of hereditary sin, 9:2 [Guthrie, 250]. He had a knowledge of Jewish history, e.g., how long it took to build the temple (up to Jesus’ time), and the politics of the times, knowing that both Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, but Caiaphas was the high priest in the year Jesus was crucified. The gospel demonstrates John was well acquainted with Palestinian geography, details of which have been supported by archaeological discoveries. (For example, the five porches at the pool of Bethesda with descriptions ascribing healing properties to the waters; the area at Pilate’s judgment hall was called Gabbatha.) He correctly identified cities and their locations. These and other details support an eyewitness testimony.

      DATE AND PROVENANCE

      The fourth gospel has been dated variously from pre-AD 70 to the last quarter of the second century. However, dates in the second century are now pretty well ruled out of court by the discovery of Papyrus Egerton 2 [Carson, 82]. This Papyrus was discovered in 1934 and consists of five fragments containing Greek text that is similar to but not from the four canonical Gospels. In relation to the fourth gospel, one fragment is similar to John 5:39–47 and 10:31–39. The Papyrus itself (the physical document) has been dated to the late second century. It is believed the texts on the document are from collections of sayings of Jesus. Because of this view the text is believed to have originated AD 50–100 when the oral traditions of the sayings of Jesus began to be put in written form. Because of these facts, the gospel of John must have been after the sayings on this papyrus were put in written form (which otherwise would have copied the Gospels), which places it well before the second century. Other scholars believe Egerton is dependent on John’s gospel, which again places the fourth gospel prior to the date of the papyrus.

      The mention of Peter’s manner of death, John 21:19, which death occurred about AD 64–65, might be assumed to place the composition of the gospel after that date. Carson [85–86] states four arguments why he believes in a late date for John’s gospel (presented here in an abbreviated form).

      There is no historical pressure for an early date, but the second century dates by which it began to be cited by the church fathers is slight pressure for a late date of composition.

      John’s theological language suggests the language of second century writers, such as Ignatius, indicating the New Testament theology had become well accepted and required a less precise enunciation.

      The fact the destruction of the Temple (AD 70) is not mentioned argues significant time had passed between that event and the composition of the fourth gospel, leaving John free not to make an explicit reference.

      First John seems to confront a developing Gnosticism that the gospel is not concerned to address, arguing that the gospel was written before the epistle. A decade between the gospel and the epistle seems reasonable.

      Based on this last point, Carson assumes a date of AD 80–85 for the fourth gospel. A date in the mid to late 90s is not impossible.

      Point four in Carson’s arguments mentions Gnosticism. Gnosticism was the religious belief that salvation came from knowledge. There were about a hundred gnostic variations on this theme. Jesus was viewed (in very general terms applicable to most gnostic beliefs) as an emanation from God (a sort of created demi-god), usually the lowest of all the emanations. There were many levels of knowledge from the mundane to the esoteric. The basic ideas from which Gnosticism developed were part of Greek philosophy. With the advent of Christianity these ideas began to reflect a distorted form of biblical doctrine. However, there is little evidence of full-blown Gnosticism before John wrote his gospel or his epistles [Carson, 114].

      PURPOSE

      Although some scholars see the gospel as a second century response to Gnosticism or Docetism, the fact is John’s gospel is not immediately concerned with these issues. What John wrote can be applied to these heretical beliefs, but obviously he was not making an argument against them. John explicitly and unambiguously stated why he wrote this gospel: these are written so you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name John 20:31. John’s overarching purpose is the demonstration that the Christ, the Son of God, is Jesus [Kostenberger, 9]. One may interpret this as indicating a strictly evangelistic purpose, that is, as written for unbelievers [Carson, 90]. Or, it may be understood that John was writing a gospel to believers to give them an historical basis for their faith (they were second generation believers) and for their use in evangelism.

      At the late first century date the fourth gospel was written, John was presumably the last living apostle, meaning the oral apostolic witness was about to permanently leave the earth. In a literate culture oral history becomes written history. The apostles wrote their Gospels to provide an historical basis for the faith of those who had not and would not see and hear Jesus, but would believe on Jesus based on the written apostolic testimony, John 17:20.

      Some have proposed John intended to supplement, or correct, the Synoptic Gospels. However, there is no indication John used the Synoptics in his composition, although he must have read one or more of them. Instead, John seems to assume his readers knew the testimony of the Synoptics, because there are so few clear parallels or events common to John’s Gospel and the Synoptics. If we believe John the apostle was the beloved disciple, then he was an eyewitness to the events in the fourth gospel; if we believe John knew the message contained in the Synoptics, then it seems obvious that he chose other incidents from the life of Christ to fulfill his purpose—and he says just that, John 20:30. While the Synoptics focus on the Galilean ministry, John’s gospel focuses on the Judean ministry. The Jesus who spoke simply to the country folk of Galilee could also speak to the better educated and religiously trained Judeans. John had a lot of time in which to compose his gospel; its literary and theological qualities are the result of careful thought and writing.

      THEMES IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL

      The various themes in the gospel are announced in the prologue and worked out in the body of the gospel. Unlike the more concrete teaching in the Synoptics, John tends to present abstract themes, such as light, life, love, truth, and abiding [Guthrie, 239]. Carson [111] provides an informative table relating the introduction of a theme in the prologue to its outworking in the body of the Gospel (theme; prologue; gospel):

      Pre-existence of Logos/Son; 1:1–2; 17:5

      In him was life ; 1:4; 5:26

      Life is light; 1:4; 8:12

      Light rejected by darkness; 1:5; 3:19

      Yet not quenched by it; 1:5; 12:35

      Light coming into the world; 1:9; 3:19 and 12:46

      Not received by his own; 1:11; 4:44

      Born to God/not of flesh; 1:13; 3:6 and 8:41–42

      Seeing his glory; 1:14; 12:41

      The one and only Son; 1:14, 18; 3:16

      Truth in Jesus Christ; 1:17; 14:6

      No-one has seen God, except the one who comes from God’s side; 1:18; 6:46

      Between 1:19–12:50 John presents seven signs demonstrating Jesus is the Messiah.

      Water into wine at Cana, 2:1–12

      Cleansing the temple, 2:13–22

      Healing official’s son, 4:43–54

      Healing a lame man, 5:1–47

      Feeding the multitude, 6:1–14

      Healing a blind man, 9:1–12

      Raising Lazarus, 11:1–44

      John gives seven I am statements made by Jesus.

      I am the bread of life, 6:35

      I am the light of the world, 8:12

      I am the door of the sheep, 10:7

      I am the good shepherd, 10:11

      I am the resurrection and the life, 11:25

      I am the way, the truth, and the life, 14:6

      I am the true vine, 15:1

      John calls out seven witnesses in support of Jesus’ messianic claims:

      The Baptist, 1:6–7

      Jesus’ works, 5:36

      The Father, 5:37

      Scripture, 5:39

      Moses, 5:46

      The Holy Spirit, 15:26

      The disciples, 15:27

      Many commentators divide the book in two main sections, the Book of Signs@ (1:19–12:50), and the Book of Glory (13:1–20:31). However, like many man-made schemes, this one cannot be rigidly applied but is only a guide. Incidents of signs and glory" are mixed throughout the gospel. John makes it clear in 20:30–31 that he considers the entire gospel as a book of signs [Carson, 103].

      A more realistic division recognizes that Jesus’ public ministry is set off by an inclusio formed by the testimony and last mention of John Baptist, 1:19, 10:42, respectively. The private ministry follows from 11:1–16:33 as Jesus focused on his disciples to prepare them for their evangelistic mission to follow his death, resurrection, and ascension. Chapters 17–20 are the story of Jesus’ trials, death, burial and resurrection. Chapter 21 is John’s epilogue—not of Jesus’ ascension—but showing the disciples following Jesus.

      Another organizing principle is that John presented Jesus under two complimentary ascriptions, the Christ, and the Son of God: these things are written that you might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God 20:31. As the Christ, Jesus is the Messiah or anointed king, an ascription which could have its fullest relevance only to the Jewish people, since the concept was not familiar to the Gentile world [Guthrie, 272]. The Son of God was a concept familiar to the Gentiles, but its fullest meaning was in association with the term Messiah, as the one divinely anointed by God to save his people Israel. John intended his gospel for Christian use as a missionary document to unbelieving Jews as well as Gentiles. Viewed from another perspective, in the Old Testament Israel was the Lord’s vine or vineyard to bear the fruit of salvation by their witness of YHWH to the pagan world. John teaches that Jesus is Israel’s replacement; he is God’s vine (or vineyard) bringing salvation to unbelieving Jew and Gentile alike [Kostenberger, 15].

      Carson [105–108] developed an analysis of the gospel, of which only the main points are given here:

      The Prologue, 1:1–18

      Jesus’ Self-disclosure in Word and Deed, 1:19–10:42

      Transition: Life and Death,

      King and Suffering Servant, 11:1–12:50

      Jesus’ Self-disclosure

      in His Cross and Exaltation, 13:1–20:31

      Epilogue, 21:1–25

      Burge [41] provided this outline of John (only the main points are given here):

      The Book of Signs

      The Prologue (1:1–18)

      Jesus and the Baptist (1:19–51)

      Jesus and the Jewish Institutions (2:1–4:54)

      Jesus and Jewish Festivals (5:1–10:42)

      Foreshadowing Jesus’ Death and Resurrection (11:1–12:50)

      The Book of Glory

      The Passover Meal (13:1–30)

      The Farewell Discourse (13:31–17:26)

      The Suffering and Death of Jesus (18:1–19:42)

      The Resurrection (20:1–29)

      Epilogue (21:1–25)

      My working outline will be:

      John’s Prologue, 1:1–18

      Jesus’ Public Ministry, 1:19–10:42

      Jesus’ Private Ministry, 11:1–16:33

      Jesus’ Trials, Death, Burial, Resurrection, 17:1–20:29

      John’s Epilogue, 20:30–21:25

      Most commentators identify one of John’s important themes as misunderstanding. For example, Nicodemus misunderstands Jesus’ statement You must be born-again. The Samaritan woman misunderstands living water. The man at the pool of Bethesda misunderstands Jesus’ question, Do you want to be made well. Jesus uses these misunderstandings to lead people to spiritual perception, understanding, and faith. However, most commentators fail to see that the theme of misunderstanding is closely connected with another theme: the divine source of spiritual understanding. This theme is stated at 3:27, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. In other words, spiritual perception comes from God. The spiritual perception that leads to faith comes from grace. Grace must be given for a person to understand spiritual things and receive God’s gift of grace-faith-salvation, so that he or she may act by faith.

      ALLUSIONS TO OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS

      John probably had knowledge of the other gospels, perhaps all three. This is seen, negatively, in that he has not included in his gospel those things (with few exceptions) already presented in the Synoptics. Positively, there may be some indirect allusions to the Synoptics and other New Testament writings. For example, Mark’s gospel also begins at the beginning, but for Mark it is the beginning of earthly gospel history. It is possible John may be making an allusion to Mark’s work, saying in effect, ‘Mark has told you about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry; I want to show you that the starting point of the gospel can be traced further back that, before the beginning of the entire universe’ [Carson, 114]. If, as tradition asserts, John was resident in Ephesus when he wrote his gospel, then he may have also had in mind Paul’s declaration that God chose the believer in Christ in eternity past (Ephesians 1:4). Perhaps Colossians 1:16 is reflected in John 1:3? While such allusions cannot be definitely proven, they provide some interesting possibilities to show how the writings of the New Testament are interconnected by the Holy Spirit.

      JOHN’S STYLE

      John was a theologian of the first rank. He chose his words carefully in order to communicate the deep things of Scripture to those not so instructed. The main issues of the gospel message—sin, the Savior, salvation—are presented in a way that the unbeliever can clearly see his need to believe and be saved. The terms are simple, so that the youngest believer can become instructed in the first principles of Christianity. Yet, the words John uses, and the way he puts them together, also communicate secondary and deeper meanings. Believers who desire to fully understand the issues underlying sin, the Savior, and salvation will find that this gospel will challenge them, teach them, and mature them. For example, the unbeliever reading John 3:16 can conclude that God sent Jesus to save him, without understanding the theology supporting the meaning. The young believer uninstructed in Scripture can read these words and conclude that he is able to evangelize the lost with the message found in this one verse. The believer seeking fuller knowledge will find in this verse the theology of election, sin, salvation, the Savior, grace, love, eternal life, the incarnation, and the nature of the world. The more one understands the doctrines of the Bible, the more one appreciates John’s ability to communicate those doctrines in both simplicity and complexity. One first reads John’s gospel like a child at the sea shore, seeing the waves, peering into the tidal pools, enjoying the scenery. On further reading one wades into the ocean John has written and discovers a depth and complexity that challenges one to learn all he can. John takes simple threads and weaves a clear picture of Christ the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior. Look but a little closer, and you will find those simple threads were woven into complex patterns that reveal the deepest depths of doctrine and theology.

      Another characteristic of John’s style was his use of first person plural pronouns and verbs as a substitute for I [Bauckham, Eyewitnesses, 370–383]. This use was and is common to all literature, and can be broken down to three forms.

      The associative: the author includes his readers with himself: we means I and you.

      The dissociative: the author distinguishes between a group to which he belongs and his readers: we means I and my associates.

      We as a substitute for I. This use gives added force to the self-reference. It is a plural of majesty or authority.

      John’s use of we ranges across all these forms, and ancient literature freely alternates between I and we without rhyme or reason. In John’s gospel, however, the we of authoritative testimony is frequently used to communicate eyewitness testimony. For example, 1:14–16; 3:10–13. An example in John’s writings outside the gospel is 1 John 1:1–5 (vv. 6–10 are the associative we); 4:14. John uses the first person plural, we know, when solemnly claiming the authority of testimony.

      THE CALENDAR

      The Jewish religious calendar—from Moses to today—is based on the lunar cycle, which is the number of days from one new moon to the next. On the Jewish calendar a new month begins with the new moon. A new moon is when the moon is between the earth and the sun and therefore no sunlight shines on the side facing the earth (and thus the moon is not visible). In modern times the date of the new moon can be accurately calculated. In Jesus’ time the practical reality was that the first day of a new month was when the first sliver of the waxing crescent moon could be discerned by two witnesses. This was, usually, and weather permitting, one or two days after the new moon. The temple kept an account of days since the last new moon, and if the current sighting was 29–30 days (or so, depending on cloudy weather) after the previous sighting, then the beginning of a new month was declared.

      Because a lunar cycle (new moon to new moon) is about 29-1/2 days, giving a lunar year of 354.3672 days, versus a solar year of 365.2654 days, a lunar calendar drifts against the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter); in an agrarian society (such as ancient Israel) it drifts against the harvest cycles established by the seasons. The feasts of Passover-Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks (Pentecost), and Tabernacles were meant to correspond with the grain planting and harvest cycles. The Jews understood the sidereal year (the solar year) and used it. However, because their religious activities (sacrifices, feast days) were regulated by the lunar cycle, they continued to use a lunar-based calendar. The result was that over the years the feast days set by the lunar calendar drifted against the seasons. In order to keep the two cycles (lunar and solar) aligned, an extra day or days, a week, and sometimes a thirteenth month, had to be added from year to year, decade to decade, and century to century. The beginning of any month on the Jewish calendar drifts from year to year in relation to the modern calendar. Because the solar-based calendar has a fixed beginning and ending (January 1; December 31), and a fixed number of days (365, 366), and months with irregular numbers of days (28, 30, 31), the beginning of any one month on the lunar calendar will not be the same day as a month on the solar calendar. For example, the first Jewish month, Nisan, begins about mid-March and ends about mid-April (when adjusted for seasonal drift).

      As a practical illustration of the problem, the date of Easter varies year to year on the modern calendar because it is related to the Jewish Passover. Easter is the day the church celebrates Christ’s resurrection, which in AD 33 occurred on the Sunday following the Thursday Passover. Passover begins on the evening of the fourteenth day of Nisan. The church was concerned to celebrate Easter on the proper day, but because of developing anti-Semitic feelings also desired to separate Christian Easter from the Jewish Passover. However, they had to maintain the lunar connection with the Passover. In an effort to satisfy both needs, in AD 325 the Council of Nicaea created a rule for the churches that Easter would occur the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, but never on the Jewish Passover. Since the spring equinox always occurs on March 20 or 21, the church had established a more or less consistent date for celebrating Easter. However, calendar days still drifted against the true solar year and seasons, because the Julian calendar then in use was not completely accurate, leading to a discrepancy of ten days (between the Julian calendar and the solar year) by 1582. In that year the world began the switch to the Gregorian calendar, which is more accurate, running fast against the true solar year by only 25.96 seconds a year. The reasons why are far too complicated to explain here. Suffice it to say the earth’s daily rotation around its axis and its yearly orbit around the sun varies slightly. Today, time is determined by the oscillations of cesium atoms. The calendar year is measured in relation to certain fixed stars: 365.2654 days. Since the earth’s orbit fluctuates, and its rotation is slowing, the length of a day drifts against the cesium clock, and leap seconds are added to the clock from time to time.

      About 1583 tables were developed that calculated the occurrences of the full moon in relation to Passover. The result was called the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon does not correspond to actual lunar observations, but is calculated as the fourteenth day of the lunar month; the Paschal Full Moon may vary from the actual full moon by as much as two days. The tables established one consistent day on which every Christian around the world would celebrate Easter. Easter is now celebrated world-wide on the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon in the month the Jewish Passover occurs. The Paschal Full Moon can occur anytime between March 21–April 18, inclusive, which means Easter can occur on any Sunday between March 22–April 25, inclusive. Since Easter (and Passover) are set by the lunar calendar, the date drifts against the solar year and seasons.

      To avoid confusion concerning days, months, and years, I have for the most part expressed the Jewish feasts, days, and years for Jesus’ ministry in terms of the modern calendar. Reasonably accurate modern dates for ancient days can be determined through historical and astronomical means. For example, Jesus’ first public Passover was day six (Friday), Nisan 14, 785 AUC on an ancient calendar. This date is a combination of Jewish and Roman calendars. The Jews numbered the days of the week, except for day 7, which was known as Shabbat (Sabbath). The name Nisan was adopted during the Babylonian Captivity (before then the months were numbered; Nisan was month one). The acronym AUC stands for anno urbis conditae, meaning the founding of the city of Rome, Thus 785 AUC is the 785th year of the city of Rome. Because of the inaccuracy of ancient calendars in relation to the solar year of 365.2654 days, the relationship of any ancient date to the modern calendar (established AD 1582) is an approximation. However, because of the accuracy of astronomical calculations, any event in ancient times that can be related to an astronomical event can be accurately expressed in terms of the modern calendar. In the case of the Passover, every Jewish month began with a new moon, so the date of any Passover (always 14th Nisan), can be discovered by calculating the date of the new moon in relation to the modern calendar—assuming the ancient Jews saw the new moon (weather permitting) on the modern calculated date. The first public Passover in Jesus’ ministry, John 2:13, was, on the modern calendar, Friday, April 7, AD 30. The Passover in AD 31 was Wednesday, April 25; in AD 32 it was Monday, April 13; in AD 33 the Passover was Friday, April 4.

      Here is an example as to how I will date events in terms of the modern calendar. Jesus met the Samaritan woman after the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost is 50 days after the first Sabbath after Unleavened Bread. In AD 30, Passover was April 7, Unleavened Bread ended April 14, and Pentecost was June 3. Allowing at least one day travel time to walk the 30–35 miles from Jerusalem to Sychar means Jesus met the Samaritan woman on June 4 or 5.

      TRAVEL TIMES AND ROADS

      In Jesus’ day everyone walked when they traveled from one city, region, or territory to another. Horses were for military use. Donkeys usually pulled carts. Camels, if used at all in ancient Palestine (by Gentiles, not Jews, Leviticus 11:4), carried freight. Personal travel was by foot (occasionally by donkey). There were nominally twelve hours of daylight. The time of day was casually determined from the position of the sun, so that sunrise was 6:00 a.m., the third hour was 9:00 a.m., the sixth hour (e.g., John 4:6) was noon, the ninth hour was 3:00 p.m., and sunset was 6:00 p.m., without regard to seasonal variations. When estimating travel times versus miles walked, one must consider rest stops, times to eat, times to urinate or defecate, a changing pace due to conversation, or lack thereof, the nature of the road or path, crossing rivers, and whether or not the road was up or down hill. A steady pace of four miles an hour (fifteen minutes to the mile) would be tiring even for a people who walked everywhere. The average pace was probably less than three miles per hour. However, using three miles per hour as a base, in an eight hour day of walking one might travel about 25 miles; in ten hours one might travel 30 miles. One might slow to a pace less than three miles an hour for intense conversation, but a pace of up to five miles an hour was not impossible for a short time (I have read that in World War II soldiers in special units were trained to walk 5 in 55 that is, five miles in 55 minutes). In John 4, for example, when Jesus is said to be at the well near Sychar at the sixth hour (noon), he could have left Jerusalem early in the morning, when there was just enough light to see the road, but the sun was still below the horizon, and walked the approximate 30–35 miles to Sychar in seven to eight hours, maintaining an average pace of four miles an hour.

      Time and distance, then, are important in understanding Jesus’ ministry. To understand time and distance one must know the road system in Jesus’ day. There were Roman-made roads paved with stones, and there were dirt paths made by thousands of feet over many years. There were a number of Roman roads coming out of Jerusalem, but only two are relevant to the Gospels. One Roman road ran north from Jerusalem, through Samaria, to Scythopolis in Decapolis. This road was the shortest route to Scythopolis and from there into Galilee. Three Roman roads came out of Scythopolis one east to the Jordan River, one west to the Mediterranean coast, and the main north-south road which continued toward the Sea (Lake) of Galilee. A few miles below the Lake another Roman road, known as Via Maris (the way to the sea), branched off and went west through the heart of Galilee to the Mediterranean. If one continued on the main north-south road he came to the Lake, where the Roman road split and ran east and west. The west road followed the western shore to Tiberius. There is evidence the Roman road ended at Tiberius and became a dirt path from Tiberius to Capernaum. The east road followed the eastern shore to Hippos (Hippus). The Roman road ended at Hippos but a dirt path continued to Bethsaida-Julius on the northeast shore of the Lake (the local village of Bethsaida in Gaulanitis had been developed by Philip the Tetrarch into the city of Julius, named in honor of Caesar Augustus’s daughter, Julia [Bromiley, s. v. Bethsaida]).

      Of the other two roads out of Scythopolis, the west road ran through southern Galilee through the Valley of Jezreel to the Mediterranean Sea. The east road terminated at the Jordan River, resuming on the other side, in Perea, as a north-south dirt path, which, going south for forty-five miles, met with the path that crossed the Jordan and ran into New Jericho.

      A word needs to be said about Bethsaida. Based on John 1:44; 6:17; 12:21; Luke 9:10; Mark 6:45, 53; Matthew 14:22, 34, there were two villages named Bethsaida. There was a Bethsaida-Julius in Gaulanitis on the north-east shore of the Sea of Galilee, about 2 miles east of where the Jordan River enters the lake (see Josephus, Works, Antiquities, 18.2.1; Wars, 2.9.1) near where Jesus fed the 5,000. The other was Bethsaida-Galilee, the village of Philip, Peter, and Andrew on the west side of the lake, John 1:44; 12:21. Scripture supports the existence of two cities named Bethsaida. After feeding the 5,000 in Bethsaida, Luke 9:10, John 6:1, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him down the sea . . . into the boat . . . over the sea toward Capernaum, John 6:16–17, to the other side, Matthew 14:22, to the other side, to Bethsaida. Mark 6:45. They left from Bethsaida on the northeast shore and crossed the lake to Bethsaida on the western shore. Therefore, there was a Bethsaida-Julius on the northeast shore, and a Bethsaida-Galilee on the west shore. John 12:21 makes it definite: Philip was from Bethsaida of Galilee.

      The first Roman road relevant to the Gospels ran from Jerusalem through Samaria to Scythopolis and Galilee. The second Roman road relevant to the Gospels ran east out of Jerusalem, down the mountain, through Old Jericho to New Jericho. New Jericho was about two miles east of the original (old) Jericho. Two Roman roads came out of New Jericho. One went north along the west shore of the Jordan River to Scythopolis. The north road to Scythopolis was within the territory of Samaria. Three Roman roads branched west off this road. The first (as one traveled north from New Jericho) ran to Ephraim in Judea; the second went to Neapolis (Shechem) near Sychar; the third went into northern Samaria. Each of these the branches met with the main north–south road from Jerusalem through Samaria to Scythopolis. The other Roman road coming out of New Jericho went east and terminated at the Jordan River, resuming on the other side, in Perea, as a north-south dirt path, which, going north for forty-five miles, met with the path that crossed the Jordan and from there ran to Scythopolis.

      Certain Jews were prejudiced against the Samaritans, and so went out of their way to avoid walking through Samaria. By crossing the Jordan River east of New Jericho (what I am calling the Jericho Crossing), or east of Scythopolis (the Scythopolis Crossing), one could walk the north-south dirt path along the east shore of the Jordan through Perea. Jesus used both the north-south road through Samaria and the north-south dirt path through Perea.

      The majority of the roads in Palestine were dirt paths worn by centuries of use, running between the various small villages, such as Nazareth to Cana, and Bethsaida-Galilee to Capernaum. When Jesus, the apostles, and disciples preached throughout Galilee and Judea, they used these dirt paths between the villages.

      Having these roads in mind, it is now possible to speak of time and distance. The following estimates are straight line distances [Scroggie, page facing p. 61], thus actual distances would be a little longer. The numbers assume 8–10 hours of walking per day at about 3–4 miles per hour.

      On the north-south road out of Jerusalem through Samaria:

      Jerusalem to Capernaum: about 85 miles, 2–3 days (21–28 walking hours);

      Jerusalem to Sychar: about 35 miles, about 1 day (9–11 walking hours).

      On the eastern road out of Jerusalem:

      Jerusalem to Capernaum through Perea: about 100 miles, 3–4 days (25–33 walking hours);

      Jerusalem to Jericho: about 15 miles (3.75–5 walking hours);

      Jericho to the Jericho Crossing: about 5 miles (1–1.5 walking hours);

      Jericho crossing to Scythopolis crossing: about 45 miles (1–1/2 days; 11–15 hours);

      Scythopolis Crossing to Scythopolis: about 4 miles (about 1 hour);

      Scythopolis to the southern tip of the Lake: about 15 miles (3.75–5 walking hours);

      Southern tip of the Lake to Capernaum: about 14 miles (3.75–5 walking hours).

      In Galilee:

      Scythopolis to Nazareth: west about 18 miles (4.5–6 hours).

      Capernaum to Nazareth: southwest about 20 miles (5–7 hours).

      Capernaum to Nain: southwest about 22 miles, (5.5–7.5 hours).

      Capernaum to Cana: southwest about 16 miles, (3.75–5.5 hours).

      Capernaum, to Tyre: west about 35 miles, (9–11 hours).

      Capernaum to Bethsaida-Galilee: south about 6 miles, (1.5–2 hours).

      Capernaum to Caesarea Philippi: north about 27 miles, (6.75–9 hours).

      Thus, for example, when Jesus walked from Capernaum to Jerusalem through Perea, he walked 14 miles to the southern tip of the Lake, another 15 miles to Scythopolis, then 4 miles to the Scythopolis Crossing, 45 miles to the Jericho crossing, 5 miles to Jericho, and 15 miles (uphill) to Jerusalem: 98 miles; but the actual distance, over hill and dale and winding roads, was a little more. If Jesus walked 40 miles every day then the trip took about 2-1/2 days; 30 miles every day ‘ 3-1/2 days; 20 miles every day ‘ 5 days. Every trip from Galilee to Jerusalem (or vice versa) through Perea was about 100 miles and took between 2-1/2 to 5 days walking time. Times and distances should be kept in mind as one walks with Jesus through ancient Israel.

      CHRONOLOGY AND TIME MARKERS

      The Gospel of John presents the life of Jesus in the most chronological order of the four Gospels. This does not mean John tells the reader about every event. John’s focus is on ministry events not covered by the Synoptics: the early Judean ministry, several discourses, and events both leading into and during Jesus’ final Passover week. I want the reader to understand how John’s testimony fits into the Synoptic testimony. Therefore I have included tables of the Synoptic gospels’ events at the beginning of several chapters.

      John does give the reader an indication of time passed between events. These time markers are not absolute time but relative time. That is, John does not state a calendar date or day of the week, but gives relative time between events. Below is a list of the words and phrases John uses as time markers (listed in alphabetical order).

      after this; after these things; after [number] days; afterward; and it was [thing mentioned]; before the [thing mentioned]; came to; came again; early morning; many days; now it was; now; [number] day; [number] day of week; [number] days; [number] hour; [number] more days; on the [number] day; the following day; the next day; the same day; then [thing mentioned] day; [thing mentioned] was near; yesterday

      The phrases after this and after these things, and the word now are the most important of these time markers. The two phrases indicate the account of the previous event is fully completed and John will now speak of another completely different event. The word now, when used as a time marker, indicates a period of time (sometimes hours or days, sometimes several weeks or months) has passed between the previous event and the current (now) event.

      GEOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

      Unless otherwise indicated, geographic references are based on maps found in: The Carta Bible Atlas; Harper-Collins Atlas of the Bible; Holman Quick Source Bible Atlas.

      GOD THE SON AND THE SON OF GOD

      Throughout this commentary the term God the Son is used to identify the second Person of the Trinity before his incarnation. The term Son of God is used to identify the second Person of the Trinity after his incarnation. To say, God the Son became the Son of God, means the second Person of the Trinity joined a genuine humanity to his essential deity and became God incarnate in humanity. God incarnate in humanity is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, God the Son.

      MY TRANSLATION

      A translation is an attempt to reproduce the original language, in this case Koine Greek, in the target language, in this case American English. To do so most translations will change an expression in the original language to an equivalent expression in the target language. The intent is to express the thoughts and emotions of one language in the thoughts and emotions of another, so that the reader may read what a speaker in their language might have written, if he or she was writing the book. Translation also extends to punctuation. In general, punctuation is not part of the inspired text but a matter of translation preferences.

      The difference between a more literal translation and one less literal is illustrated by two versions of 1 Samuel 15:33. The NKJV translates, Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. The NIV translates, Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal. The Hebrew text reads and Samuel hewed in pieces Agag before the Lord in Gilgal. My preference, if I were translating that verse, would be the more literal version: and Samuel hewed in pieces Agag before the Lord in Gilgal.

      Augustine wrote, In reading Scripture, men seek nothing more than to find out the thought and will of those by whom it was written, and through these to find out the will of God [Schaff, 2:536–537]. My translation of John’s Gospel is more literal than some, uses the word order of the Greek text more than others, and tends to use vocabulary definitions (from the WSDNT lexicon) rather than English equivalents or synonyms. My translation tends to follow the sense quite as much as the words. Other translations—some of which follow the sense, others the words, and some both—have been diligently compared so I might clearly express John’s meaning as I understand it. My translation may not always be the best English version of a verse, but my intent is to let the reader see what John wrote in the way that he wrote it. Translation notes are used throughout to help the reader understand my choices.

      The Hebrew and Greek words reproduced in the commentary are transliterations of the vocabulary form, not the grammatical form, of the John text.

      Additionally, I have chosen not to capitalize personal pronouns, except in quotations from other Bible versions and cited material. I feel certain no one contemporary with Jesus would have thought of him, spoken to him, or spoken about him with a capitalized Him, He, You, Your, etc., especially his enemies. Titles, e.g., Son of God, Son of Man, are capitalized when the speaker is knowingly using them as a title, such as when Jesus refers to himself.

      John One

      1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word.

      2 He was in the beginning with God.

      If a person is present in the beginning, then that person must have existed prior to the historical moment when the beginning began. A beginning is a specific historical event. At the event of which John writes the person known as the Word was present. What was this beginning at which the Word was present? The event was when the person Word created all things, v. 3. John and his readers believed the heavens and the earth and all that exists in them were created by YHWH Elohim (God). The historical moment when creation took place is identified in Genesis 1:1, in the beginning Elohim [God] created the heavens and the earth. Before the historical beginning only the eternal Spirit-being God existed in timeless limitless self-existence. There were no other created things or beings, because the creation of the heavens and the earth was the beginning of all things that were created. The heavens (note the plural) that God created were more than the atmosphere God formed as part of the earth in Genesis 1:6–8. God also made the heaven where the sun, moon, planets, and stars dwell, Genesis 1:14–16. This is the heaven man identifies as outer space. There is yet another heaven, which is the spirit domain of existence where the angels live. Since they are identified in Scripture as immaterial beings, then they must have been created suitable for life in an immaterial domain: the spirit domain. The phrase the heavens and the earth is a merism that indicates the entire universe, material as well as immaterial.

      In the beginning—that historical moment when all created things began their existence—the Word was already present. The person who created all things, v. 3, must be increate because the one who created all could not himself be created. Since he created all, then he himself was not part of all that was created, and therefore was increate: existing without having been created. Is it possible that the Word was himself created by God before God created the heavens and the earth by and through the Word? John answers this question with a resounding No. This Word who created all things was with God in the beginning. God is by definition increate. The One (the Word) who was with God prior to God creating the material and spirit domains of existence (created through and by the Word), must himself be of such a nature as to exist apart from the material and spirit domains he created. Put another way, if the Word was a created being who created all things, then (if he was a created being) before he created all things there must have been some type of created domain in which he, a created being, could have existence. No such domain existed prior to God creating the heavens and the earth, because the purpose of creating the heavens and earth was to create domains in which all created things might exist. To be with God prior to God creating is to be of the same nature as God, which is, that the Word was and is increate.

      John does not leave any room for doubt as to the increate nature of the Word. John says the Word was not only with God, he was God. The Greek text (every Greek manuscript containing John 1:1) reads, theós én ho lógos. The word order literally reads God was the Word. The grammatical construction concerning word theós, God, is anarthrous, i.e., there is no definite article associated with the word theós (if the definite article was present the text would read ho theós én ho lógos). This has led some to suggest John is not referring to God as a specific person, but to the quality of God-ness. (In Greek the general rule is the article present indicates specificity, the article absent indicates quality.) In this view the Word is divine, but is not God. There is a Greek word for divine, theíos, which John does not use. However, the anarthrous construction does not prevent reference to a specific person. There are many places in the New Testament where the predicate noun has no article, and yet is specific [Carson, 117], e.g., John 1:49; 8:39; 17:17; Romans 14:17; Galatians 4:25; Revelation 1:20. The anarthrous construction emphasizes the noun God: God was the Word! Carson wrote, If John had included the article . . . he would have been so identifying the Word with God that no divine being could exist apart from the Word, making the clause of v. 2 nonsensical [Carson, 117]. By excluding the article John says the Word is God, but does not make up the entire Godhead: the divinity that belongs to the entire Godhead belongs also to the Word [Tasker, 45]. By excluding the article, John requires his readers to view the words and works of Jesus the Christ as the words and works of God.

      That the Word who was with God is himself God proceeds from the nature of the case. To create ex nihilo (from nothing) one must be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Since the Word was with God at the moment God created all things, then the Word must have exercised creative activity with God—the one, the Word, who exercised creative activity with God, must himself be God. And so John affirms in v. 1. "Theós [God. Not a god. There is no indefinite article associated with theós] én ho lógos [was the Word]. And in v. 3, All things through him [the lógos] came into being and without him [the lógos] came into being not even one which

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