Quotations on the Prologue of John’s Gospel
John – a poem by Malcolm Guite
This is the gospel of the primal light,
The first beginning, and the fruitful end,
The soaring glory of an eagle’s flight,
The quiet touch of a beloved friend.
This is the gospel of our transformation,
Water to wine and grain to living bread,
Blindness to sight and sorrow to elation,
And Lazarus himself back from the dead!
This is the gospel of all inner meaning,
The heart of heaven opened to the earth,
A gentle friend on Jesus’ bosom leaning,
And Nicodemus offered a new birth.
No need to search the heavens high above,
Come close with John, and feel the pulse of Love
Malcolm Guite
The Gospel of John is a rich and profound text that offers deep insights into the nature of Christ, the love of God, and the promise of eternal life. Here are some poems and quotations relating to the opening chapter of John’s gospel to discuss/reflect upon
Richard Bauckham is an English Theologian who spent much of his career studying the gospels and the book of Revelation.
‘In Jesus’ love for his friends God’s love took human, historical form in order to embrace the world’
‘This gospel (John’s) values the relationship of personal witnesses between the individual believer and Jesus. We see this in the beloved disciple’s own special closeness to Jesus. This friendship lays at the root of the gospel’s spirituality.
E. Stanley Jones, a renowned Methodist missionary and theologian, wrote extensively on the incarnation. He regularly met with leaders from other faiths and found that talking to them about who Jesus was often opened up deeper discussions.
“The Word became flesh, and the flesh became the Word. The Eternal entered time, and time was redeemed. The Infinite became finite, and the finite became infinite. God became Man, and Man became divine.” The Christ of the Indian Road” (1925)
Further quotes from his book of daily readings ‘The Word made Flesh’ (1956):
“The word became flesh not just to reveal God but to reveal man to himself – the incarnation is the highest revelation of what man is meant to be”.
“The word is the child of thought. A thought is greater than the word although the thought and the word are one”
“God’s revelation of himself is not an abstract philosophy but the word is a person. When you take hold of Jesus you take hold of God”
“Lao-tse (a Chinese philosopher) explained that ‘the word that can be uttered is not the divine word, that word is silence’. But the silence of eternity has been broken”
“In Brahmin (Hindu) philosophy the highest word is ‘not that’… but the God of the Bible reveals himself as ‘I am’. Brahman has truth, intelligence and bliss… but the God of the Bible is Love”.
“Principles become power when they are embodied in a person. Prayer: ‘Let all my principles become personal in me today’
“Full of Grace and Truth – Grace is first for God is Love and grace is love in action, the word of love become flesh. It is the distinctive thing in the Christian faith. ‘Full of truth’ would become just another philosophy. You have to SEE truth, not just hear it.”
“It is true that Grace can be caricatured so as to become ‘cheap’ but … Grace has law in it, and the law is the law of self surrender. If you take the gift you belong forever to the giver. Jesus gives all, you cannot give less in return”
Poetic Structure of the Prologue
The Word with God
Creation came through the Word
We’ve received life through the Word
Incarnation and the response of the Word
The Word and His own (Israel)
Those who accepted His Word
Authority to become children of God
Those who believed the Word
The word and His Own (Believers)
Incarnation and the response of the community
The testimony of John the Baptist
We’ve received grace from the Word
The Word with God
Online videos
Bibleproject
The Bibleproject is a not for profit organisation that helps Christians explore the books of the Bible in more detail. The animated summaries of each book are very carefully prepared and give a great overview of each of the books of the Bible. However, they do move rather quickly especially if you’re unfamiliar with the book you’re studying. I’d advise watching it a few times and using the pause button to take notes!
General intro to the first half of John’s Gospel https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/john-1-12/