August 19, 2002
LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for Sept. 1
The narrator sets the stage for a great drama
___ John 1:1-18
___By Robert Creech
___University Baptist Church, Clear Lake City
___The stage is dark. Suddenly a blinding spotlight illuminates center stage where a man stands with a prophet-like appearance --a long robe, a full head of thick, white hair and a long, flowing beard.
___He is the narrator of the drama soon to unfold before our eyes. He is about to deliver a dramatic prologue to the story that will prepare us to grasp its full meaning. When he has fulfilled this task, the story will begin, and he will slip quietly off the stage.
___But he will return often to whisper words of interpretation along the way. He intensely desires us to understand this story and all its implications. He wants to ensure we not be misled. He wants us to come to believe as he does in Jesus, the focus of this marvelous story.
___This passionate storyteller is not named in the drama he introduces. Strong traditions identify him as John, son of Zebedee. He appears as a character in the story he tells only as "the disciple Jesus loved." He walked with Jesus closely during the Master's life. Then he lived with the risen Lord intimately for many decades.
___He stands here to tell us the story that has changed his life. He will invite us to believe as he does, so we might experience the true life he has known (20:30-31).
___Then his deep, resonant voice fills the darkness of the theatre: "In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (1:1). He is onstage for less than two minutes, but the message he delivers in this prologue (1:1-18) sets the stage for us to understand the story in ways even the characters in the drama themselves cannot.
___The information delivered in these opening verses of the Gospel profoundly shapes the way we read the remainder of it.
___We learn of Jesus' origin, though his opponents will be debating it (1:46; 6:42; 7:27-28; 41-42). We are told of his unique relationship to the Father (1:1, 2, 14, 18), which his enemies will challenge (10:30-38). He tells us of the coming conflict Jesus will face (1:10-11), but he also lets us know Jesus will emerge victorious (1:12). We are introduced to the important theme of Light (1:5, 9) as a way of describing Jesus' role in our world. And we are informed of the life Jesus has come to make available to us (1:4).
___Our guide, John the narrator, introduces us to another "John" who plays a key role in this drama--John the Baptist (1:6-8). We are urged not to confuse John the Baptist with the Light (1:8a). He is merely a witness to the Light so that others might believe (1:8b). He will play a key role in the early scenes of the story, but will always have his importance reduced in comparison to that of Jesus (1:26-27, 30; 3:30).
___Jesus is the Word (1:1, 18). John is a voice (1:23). Jesus is the Light (1:5). John is a lamp (5:35). John is the best man (3:29). Jesus is the groom (3:29). Jesus is the Truth (14:6). John is a witness to the truth (5:33).
___The opening prologue also foreshadows the basic shape of the story we are soon to hear (1:11-12). Like all good stories, this one will be marked by conflict--Light vs. Darkness (1:5). The world that the Word spoke into existence (1:3) will not recognize the Voice of its Creator (1:10).
___Jesus will enter into the life of his own people, the Jews, but will encounter a great irony: the only people on earth looking for the appearance of the Messiah do not receive him when he arrives (1:11).
___In one of the characteristic word plays of this story, we learn the darkness, which did not "understand" the Light, could not "overcome" it, either. The word John uses in 1:5, "katalambano," carries either meaning. The first half of the story, chapters 1-12, will be the filling in of the details of this conflict, as the Word presents himself to Israel and is rejected.
___John 1:12-13 introduces the second half of the story to us. Those who received him have their lives changed forever. They become "children of God" (1:12).
___Chapters 13-17 of the story will focus on the Word as he reveals himself intimately to those who received him, those who believed in him. The offer is made to everyone who hears the story as well. If we receive him as they did, we receive the same life from God they received (20:29-31).
___Finally, John the narrator sums up the meaning of this powerful story before stepping off the stage and letting the action proceed.
___The eternal Word, who created all things, pitched a tent among us (1:14). The Shekinah of the God of Israel has been among us. The glory of God has been revealed. Moses gave us the Law, but Jesus has brought us real life in the form of unending expressions of grace and truth (1:17). While we have never seen God, we have encountered his Word, who explains him to us perfectly (1:18). The narrator has delivered his powerful soliloquy. Now, let the drama begin.
___Questions for discussion
___ Does considering the opening verses of John as the setting of a stage of drama change the way they read to you? What new perspective does this bring?
___ John is a book of how Jesus changes lives. How would you like your life to be different at the conclusion of this study of the life of Christ?
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