RSV ~ John 1 Notes
Jn 1:1-18 | ISB Notes
The Prologue functions like a musical overture, introducing the main themes of the Gospel to be developed in subsequent chapters: light (1:4), life (1:4), darkness (1:5), testimony (1:7), faith (1:12), glory (1:14), truth (1:17). This network of images and ideas is held together around Jesus the Word, who is portrayed as the Creator and Redeemer of all things. Similar poetic passages are found in Col 1:15-20 and Heb 1:1-4.
Jn 1:1 | ISB Notes
In the beginning: John traces the origin of the Word into eternity past, where God the Son was present with God the Father before time itself began (17:5).
⢠This opening verse of John is a direct allusion to the opening verse of the Bible. As in Genesis 1, the evangelist draws attention to light, darkness, life, and the spoken Word that brought all things into existence (1:1-5). It is implied that the universe, once created through the Word of God, is now being renewed through that same Word come in the flesh as Jesus Christ (1:14; Rev 21:15; Catechism of the Catholic Church [hereafter CCC] 241, 291).
was with God: Distinguishes the Word from the Father. They are not the same Person, yet they share the same nature in the family of the eternal Godhead (17:25-26) (CCC 25456).
was God: Or, âwas divineâ. This is the first and clearest assertion of the deity of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (5:18; 10:30-33; 20:28) (CCC 242).
Jn 1:4 | ISB Notes
life: Earthly life is a gift that is given and sustained by God through his eternal Word (Heb 1:3). Ultimately, natural and biological life points beyond itself to the supernatural and divine life that Jesus grants in abundance to the children of God (10:10; 2 Pet 1:4; CCC 1997). This new life comes to us when we give ourselves to Christ in faith (3:16; 20:31), and Christ gives himself to us through the sacramental action of the Church (3:5; 6:53).
Jn 1:5 | ISB Notes
light ⌠darkness: Symbolic of the struggle between good and evil (1 Jn 2:8-11). Jesus himself is the true light (1:9) that drives away death, deception, and the devil (1 Jn 3:8). Other contrasts in the Gospel include flesh and Spirit (3:6), truth and falsehood (8:44-45), heaven and earth (3:31), and life and death (5:24).
Jn 1:6 | ISB Notes
John: John the Baptist, who fulfilled a divine mission to Israel (1:31) but was not the divine Messiah (1:20). Emphasis on Johnâs subordinate role to Jesus runs throughout the Fourth Gospel, suggesting that one of the aims of the evangelist is to win over the remaining band of Johnâs disciples who had not yet accepted Jesus (3:25-30; 5:36; 10:41). Support for this is found in Acts 19:1-7, where we learn that a contingent of Johnâs followers lived in Ephesusâthe same city that tradition links with the publication of the Fourth Gospel.
See introduction: Author.
Jn 1:10 | ISB Notes
the world: One of several concepts in John with multiple meanings. The world can refer (1) to the universe created by God (1:10), (2) to the fallen family of man in need of redemption (3:17), (3) and to the sphere of the devil that opposes God and hates the truth (15:18-20).
Jn 1:11 | ISB Notes
received him not: Jesusâ ministry to Israel was often resisted and sometimes rejected (8:56-59; 10:31; Lk 4:2830).
Jn 1:12 | ISB Notes
believed in his name: i.e., believed that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the eternal Son of God (20:31; 1 Jn 5:1, 13). Names are inseparable from persons in Semitic thinking. So, for instance, the Lord himself is invoked when his name is called upon in worship (Gen 4:26; 12:8) and when covenants are ratified by swearing an oath in his name (Gen 21:23; 24:3).
children of God: By the grace of divine generation we are filled with divine life and reborn as sons and daughters of the Father (1 Jn 3:1, 9). This transformation requires faith and takes place in Baptism (3:5-8; Gal 3:26-27) (CCC 2780-82).
Jn 1:13 | ISB Notes
not of blood ⌠flesh ⌠man: Three means or processes that bring about natural birth into the world, i.e., women, the sexual impulse, and men. John is stressing that natural birth does not establish us in a supernatural relationship with God.
⢠A similar cluster of ideas is found in Wis 7:1-2, where human existence is said to depend on the blood of prenatal gestation, the pleasure of marital relations, and the seed of man.
Jn 1:14 | ISB Notes
the Word became flesh: Asserts the mystery of the Incarnation. It means that Christ, who is fully divine, eternal, and equal in being with the Father, came from heaven to earth and entered history as a man. The word âfleshâ signifies all that is natural, earthly, and human (3:6; 6:63; 1 Jn 4:2) (CCC 423, 456-63).
dwelt among us: The Greek means that Jesus âtabernacledâ or âpitched his tentâ among us (Rev 21:3).
⢠John is making a link between the Incarnation of Jesus and the erection of the wilderness Tabernacle in the OT (Ex 25:89). The Tabernacle, once the architectural expression of Yahwehâs presence in Israel, is a prophetic image of Jesus dwelling in our midst as a man. Likewise, as the Wisdom of God once tabernacled in Israel in the Torah of Moses (Sir 24:8), so Jesus is the embodiment of divine Wisdom in the flesh (1 Cor 1:24).
See word study: Word.
grace and truth: Equivalent to the âmercy and faithfulnessâ of God celebrated in the OT (Ex 34:6; Ps 25:10; 89:1; Prov 20:28; CCC 214).
his glory: The magnificence of Godâs presence and Being once visible in the fiery cloud that indwelt the wilderness Tabernacle (Ex 40:3435) and later the Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). The glory of Christ is veiled behind his humanity and becomes visible only when he manifests it through his miracles (2:11; 11:40) (CCC 697).
Jn 1:15 | ISB Notes
ranks before me ⌠was before me: The preeminence of Jesus over John is deduced from his preexistence. Although his ministry followed that of John, his life with the Father predated the foundations of the world itself (1:1; 8:58; 17:5).
Jn 1:16 | ISB Notes
grace upon grace: Or âgrace in place of graceâ. As implied in the next verse, the graces of the Old Covenant have been superseded by the blessings of the New (1:17; CCC 504).
Jn 1:18 | ISB Notes
No one has ever seen God: God is pure spirit and thus invisible to human eyes (4:24; 1 Tim 6:16). Even still, the face of the Father can be seen in the face of Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God (14:9; Col 1:15). Only in eternity will we see God as he truly is (1 Cor 13:12) (CCC 151). the only-begotten Son: A significant textual variant reads âGod, the only begottenâ, which directly asserts the deity of Jesus. The reading followed in the translation can (1) refer to the eternal generation of Christ within the Trinity or (2) mean âuniqueâ and âpreciousâ, as Isaac was the beloved of his father, Abraham (Heb 11:17) (CCC 444).
Jn 1:19 | ISB Notes
Jews: The term has a geographical tint and can sometimes be translated âJudeansâ. It has negative connotations in the Fourth Gospel because Jesus encounters great resistance in Judea (4:43-44) from the Judean leaders of Jerusalem who orchestrate his death (11:47-53; 19:12-16). The term is not a derogatory epithet directed at ethnic Jews in general; after all, Jesus was a Jew, as was his Mother, his disciples, and most of the earliest Christians (CCC 597). See note on Jn 4:47.
Jn 1:20 | ISB Notes
the Christ: i.e., the Messiah (1:41).
See word study: Christ at Mk 14.
Jn 1:21 | ISB Notes
Elijah?: Israel anticipated the return of the prophet Elijah.
⢠Malachi foretold that Elijah would make final preparations for the arrival of Israelâs messianic Lord (Sir 48:10; Mal 4:5). John is not Elijah come again in the flesh, but he fulfills his mission in spirit (Lk 1:17) (CCC 718). . the prophet?: Israel awaited the coming of a prophet in the likeness of Moses.
⢠That the authorities question whether John is the prophet and not simply a prophet suggests they are thinking of this Mosaic figure foretold in Deut 18:15-19. John is not the messianic prophet; it is Jesus who fulfills this role as the new Moses (4:20-26; 6:14; 7:40).
Jn 1:24 | ISB Notes
the Pharisees: The influential leaders of a Jewish renewal movement in NT Palestine. They are fierce opponents of Jesus and his message (7:45-53). See topical essay: Who Are the Pharisees? at Mk 2.
Jn 1:26 | ISB Notes
I baptize with water: The water baptism of John is merely a sign of the sacramental Baptism of Jesus. The former signified our need for cleansing and renewal; the latter effects this by an infusion of the grace and new life of the Spirit (Acts 2:38; Tit 3:5) (CCC 720, 1262).
Jn 1:28 | ISB Notes
Bethany: An unknown location east of the Jordan River (10:40). It is distinct from the Judean village of Bethany near Jerusalem (11:18).
Jn 1:29 | ISB Notes
Lamb of God: Points to the sacrificial dimension of I Jesusâ mission.
⢠This was prefigured by the Passover lambs of the Exodus, whose blood was a mark of divine protection for Israel and whose flesh was eaten in a liturgical meal (Ex 12:1-27), and prophesied by Isaiah, who portrayed the suffering Messiah as an innocent lamb slain for the sins of others (Is 53:7-12; CCC 608). See notes on Jn 12:32 and 19:36.
Jn 1:32 | ISB Notes
the Spirit descend as a dove: The Baptism of Jesus, which initiates his manifestation to Israel (1:31) and prefigures the effects of sacramental Baptism (3:1-13). See notes on Mt 3:15 and Mk 1:10. remain: The Greek expression is used often in John (also translated âdwellâ or âabideâ) for the enduring bond between the Father and Son (14:10; 15:10) and for the indwelling of the Trinity in the believer (6:56; 14:17; 15:4-7).
Jn 1:35 | ISB Notes
two of his disciples: One of these is identified as âAndrewâ (1:40), while the other is probably the evangelist himself. See
introduction: Author.
Jn 1:41 | ISB Notes
the Messiah: A rendering of the Hebrew word for âAnointed Oneâ. This title is rendered into Greek as Christ (4:25). See word study: Christ at Mk 14.
Jn 1:42 | ISB Notes
Cephas: A rendering of the Aramaic word kephaâ, meaning ârockâ. With one
exception from the fifth century B.C., this term was not generally used as a personal name before Jesus renamed Simon. The name Peter is its Greek equivalent. See word study: Peter at Mt 16.
Jn 1:44 | ISB Notes
Bethsaida: A village on the northern edge of the Seaof Galilee. Nathanael: Also called âBartholomewâ in the Synoptic Gospels. See chart: The Twelve Apostles at Mk 3.
Jn 1:45 | ISB Notes
Moses ⌠the prophets: Introduces a theme of scriptural fulfillment that runs throughout the Gospel narrative (2:22; 5:46; 7:38; 10:35; etc.).
Jn 1:46 | ISB Notes
Nazareth: A small and secluded Galilean village considered unimportant to many in Israel.
Jn 1:47 | ISB Notes
an Israelite indeed: i.e., a descendant of the patriarch Jacob, who was renamed âIsraelâ (Gen 32:28). Ironically, Jacob himself was known for his beguiling ways, especially when he intercepted the family blessing intended for his older brother Esau (Gen 27:35).
Jn 1:49 | ISB Notes
Son of God ⌠King of Israel: Titles closely connected in ancient Israel, where King David and his successors are called the âsonsâ of Yahweh (2 Sam 7:14; Ps 2:7; 89:26-27). Unlike his Davidic predecessors, however, Jesus is the Son of God by nature and not by a covenant of divine adoption (1:18) (CCC 441-42).
⢠Nathanael speaks from his knowledge of the OT. (1) That he was âcalledâ while sitting âunder the fig treeâ (1:48) recalls how neighbors will âinviteâ one another under their âfig treeâ in the messianic age (Zech 3:10). Judaism linked this hope with the coming of the royal âBranchâ, a messianic figure mentioned by Zechariah (Zech 3:8; 6:11-13) and modeled on his contemporary Zerubbabel, who rebuilt the Temple after the Exile (Hag 1:14; Zech 4:9). (2) Mention of Jesusâ hometown suggests a connection with Is 11:1, where the âbranchâ that will sprout from David is a term (Heb. netser) linked to the word âNazarethâ (1:46). Once these oracles converged in the mind of Nathanael, he could reason that Jesus is the messianic âBranchâ and thus the royal Son of God.
⢠Allegorically (St. Augustine, Tract. on John 7, 21): the shade of the fig tree is the shadow of sin and death. Nathanael is the Church, who is known in advance by the mercy of God, cleansed of all guilt and impurity, and summoned by the apostles to come forth from darkness to live in the light.
Jn 1:51 | ISB Notes
ascending and descending: An allusion to Jacobâs dream in Gen 28:11-15.
⢠Jacob dreamed of a ladder spanning heaven and earth that enabled the angels to pass in and out of the world. Moved by the experience, he renamed the place where he slept âthe house of Godâ and âthe gate of heavenâ (Gen 28:17). Jesus puts himself in the center of this vision, claiming that (1) he is the place where heaven touches
down to earth; (2) he is the true house of God; and (3) he is the mediator through whom the angels exercise their ministry. See notes on Jn 2:19 and Heb 1:14. the Son of man: Alludes to the heavenly figure of Dan 7:13. See topical essay: Jesus, the Son of Man at Lk 17.