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WORD SUNDAY

courtesy of Larry Broding

GOSPEL

Jn 1:1

“the Word” “Logos” or “Word” (in English) had different cultural meanings in the ancient world. For Jews, the term “Word” was the vehicle for God’s revelation. In this sense, Jesus was the way God showed himself to the world.

For the general Greek population, the term “Word” was equivalent to wisdom, the principle of right living. But, as wisdom, the “Word” had a broader context; it was the principle the gods used to bring order to a chaotic universe. Hence, the “Word” created an order for the world, both a physical sense and a moral sense.

Jews who lived outside Palestine were influenced by Greek culture. In the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the term “Word” was used in both meanings. God used the “Word” to create the world (Ps. 33:6) and as a vehicle to reveal himself (Jeremiah 1:4; Ezekiel 1:3; Amos 3:1). In Proverbs 8:22-23, the “wisdom” of God existed with God at the very beginning of creation. In the deutero-canonical book, Wisdom of Solomon, “wisdom” had been personified as God’s companion. By the time John wrote his prologue, wisdom and the term “Word” were synonymous within the Judaism. The “Word” was a personal being as an agent of creation and revelation.

“the Word was towards God” The preposition “pros” (Greek for “toward” or “with”) has the meaning of “before” or “in the presence of” AND “in allegiance with.” In the ancient world, presence in a royal court entailed allegiance to the monarch.

Jn 1:1-2

These two sentences formed an “A-B-A” structure. A is “beginning…toward.” B is “the Word was God.” Using verbal bookends of existence and presence/allegiance, the equivalence of the Logos with God was emphasized. Clearly, John saw the Logos as divine.

Jn 1:3

The early Church held Jesus was the agent of creation. (See 1 Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:15-16, and Hebrews 1:2).

Jn 1:3b

“That had come to be.” This phrase makes sense with either 1:3 or 1:4a. In the first instance, the translation would be “Everything through HIM came (to be) but without HIM not one thing came to be, that had become to be. In him was life.” In the second instance, the translation would be as stated above. Arguments for both translation are valid. The editors of United Bible Society which publish the definitive Greek New Testament study texts favor the phrase with 1:4a.

Jn 1:4-5

“life” meant “living in the presence of God” for John. In this sense, “life” was equivalent to “eternal life.”

Jn 1:5

“the dark did not seize it” The verb “seize” can also mean “grasp.” Like many of John’s word uses, the verb described a continuum between a lack of understanding (“grasp”) to violent opposition (“seize”).

Jn 1:7b-8

These two verses formed an “A-B-C-A” format. After stating the Baptist’s purpose, the evangelist restated it for emphasis (A: “so that he might witness concerning the LIGHT”). Then, he stated the result (B: “so that all might believe because of him”) and the Baptist’s identity (C: “That (man) was not the LIGHT”). He ended with the Baptist’s purpose (A: “but so he might witness to the LIGHT”). The evangelist used this form to contrast the roles of the Logos (in 1:1-2) and the Baptist. The Baptist was not the Logos; his witness was to cause faith in the Logos.

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