THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS, THE CHRIST AND THE SON OF GOD, ACCORDING TO JOHN. Manfred Diefenbach
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by Jesus (cf., for example, Luke 9:2; 10:1, 3 or especially John 20:21) in contrast to the “sending” of the delegation by the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem (cf. 1:19b, 24): John the Baptist was a “man” of “God” – a “man … from” and for “God” like Jesus (cf. 3:17; 5:36, 38; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25; 20:21).
v. 7: John’s task was to “testify” (in Greek “marturéo” in vv. 7b, 8b, 15a, 32a, 34a and in 3:26; 5:33) “the light” (vv. 4b, 5a, 7b, 8a, b, 9a and in 3:19–21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9–10; 12:35–36, 46) – Jesus – in the “darkness” (cf. v. 5a, b and in 3:19–21; 8:12; 11:9–10; 12:35, 46) of the “world” (in Greek “kósmos” in vv. 9c, 10a, b, c, 29c and in 3:19; 9:5; 12:46). The purpose/aim of his “testimony”25 as a witness was/is that everyone (in Greek “pántes” [= all] in v. 7c and “pánta” [= all] in v. 9b) – then and nowadays – “believes” (in Greek “pɩsteúo” in vv. 7c, 12d, 50d and in 20:31; Acts 19:4) in Jesus Christ, the “light” (cf., for example, John 8:12), as a universal26 invitation – for Christians, Jews(, Muslims, …)
v. 8: He is defined with the help of a correction27 (“not … but”) in the sense of an understatement like in verses 20–21, 27 as being “not … the light but to testify” as His witness “about the light” (cf. 5:35) – Christ Jesus.
+ “To be or not to be” in the “pre-existent”, incarnate Jesus, “the True Light” (vv. 9–13)
v. 9: The incarnate Jesus is described in the metaphoric words as “the (true28) light ( )” (cf. 1 John 2:8 and Isaiah 49:6) for the people as their ray/flicker of hope who illuminates the “darkness” (cf. v. 5a, b) “in the world”. He is like the “shining”29 (cf. Matthew 4:16) of the life-giving sun “into the world” (cf. John 3:19; 6:14; 10:36; 11:27; 12:46–47; 16:28; 17:18; 18:37 or 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; Matthew 5:14) respectively
v. 10: “in the world” (vv. 9c, 10a, b, c, 29c) – note here the concatenation (in Latin “concatenatio”30) in verses 9c–10a as in verses 1–2. In the same words in verse 3a – “expressis verbis”: “… (made) through Him ( )” – are used in verse 10b. So, the author emphasizes that Jesus (of Nazareth), the divine “only Son” (vv. 14d, 18b) of God, was involved in the creation of the world by God, the Creator of all things in Heaven and on earth. However, the so-called “world” did “not know” (in Greek “gɩnósko”31) respectively ignored/ignores Jesus (cf., for example, John 14:17; 16:3 or 1 Corinthians 2:8; 1 John 3:1).
v. 11: In verses 11–12 two groups are described in view of an “either-or-decision”32: On the one side the group which did not accept Jesus as the “only Son” of God (cf. v. 11) and on the other side the group of the believers in Him (cf. vv. 12–13). Either someone trusts in Jesus (cf. vv. 12–13, 16–18 and 20:30–31) or s/he turns against Him by not believing in Him (as the refusal of Him – cf. vv. 10c–11b).
The antithetic parallelism with the noun “tà ídɩa” in verse 11a and the term “ídɩos” in verse 11b – note the same root of word – underlines the “controversy”/“conflict” between Jesus and the “Chosen People” (cf. Matthew 21:38) from the beginning:
“(He came) in/to His/ own ( ),
and /His/ own /people did/ [ ] not receive33/accept [Him]” like a stranger (cf., for example, John 3:11, 32; 5:43).
v. 12: However, everyone who “received”/receives “Him” and “believed”/believes “in (His) name ( )” (20:31 and 3:18; 5:43; 10:25; 12:13; 14:13–14, 26; 15:16, 21; 16:23–24, 26) will be called “children of God” (cf. John 11:52; Romans 8:16, 21; 9:8; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1–2, 10; 5:2, 13 and Matthew 5:45; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:5)
v. 13: because everyone is God’s creature (v. 13d: “ek theoũ egennéthesan” – “from God /were/ born” – cf. John 3:3, 5–6; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). Note the contrast between the heavenly God and the human beings on earth with the help of a correction34 (ouk … oudé … oudé … allá): “neither of” blue-“blooded” human beings “nor of /the/ will /of the/ flesh nor of /the/ will /of/ man” (= human reflections/ideas/plans, desires …), “but of God …”
- Strophe 3: The Incarnated Jesus in the World (vv. 14–18)
“A divine being (God’s Word [1:1,14], who is also the light [1:5,9] and God’s only Son [1:14,18] comes into the world and becomes flesh.”35 “The Word” (vv. 1a, b, c, 14a) “was made flesh and lived among us”, so the “Angelus” prayer. The phrase “became flesh” is an expression of Jesus’ incarnation – the meaning of the Latin word is to “be(come) in flesh” – as the divine God’s Son on earth. Christ is the eschatological, authentic Revealer of “truth”36 (in Greek “alétheɩa” in vv. 14e, 17b) and Saviour sent from God who was/is born through Mary as a human being like us – the Christmas story of Jesus of Nazareth is the history of the incarnate “Son of God” who was/is one of us in “flesh”37 (vv. 13a, 14a) and blood. He “dwelt among us” (v. 14b) in the midst of human beings and in solidarity with us in allusion to the Jewish nomads who lived in tents (cf., for example, Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 26:11–12; Numbers 35:34; Ezekiel 37:27). He was a human being under human beings38. In Jesus, God is present in the world and He links the divine world with the earthly world39. The so-called doctrine of the “Hypostatic Union” at the Council of Chalcedon in 45140 refers in allusion to John 1:1, 14 that the one person Jesus Christ had/has two distinct natures: Jesus of Nazareth was a human being, a man (100 per cent – cf. Romans 1:3; 8:3; 9:5; Philippians 2:7; Colossians 1:22; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7) and He is the Christ, the divine “Son of God” (100 per cent – cf. Romans 1:4; 8:3; 9:5; Philippians 2:6; 1 John 4:2).
For someone who did/does not believe in Jesus of Nazareth, He was only a human being (“sárx” = flesh) on earth41, but for His disciples (cf. v. 14c), John the Baptist (cf. v. 15) and for His believers in Him (cf. 16)42 – then and nowadays –He was/is the “the only” Son (cf. Genesis 22:2) “from the FATHER” (vv. 14d, 18b). So, the Fourth Evangelist suggests that he as Jesus’ disciples together with the others “have seen” (in Greek “theáomaɩ”43 – cf., for example, John 20:18; Acts 9:27; 1 Corinthians 9:1) “(His) glory ( )”44 (cf. Exodus 33:18; 2 Peter 1:17) and were His witnesses (cf., for example, 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1; 4:14).
+ The Witness of John the Baptist for Jesus (v. 15)
John the Baptist (cf. vv. 6–8) is also a witness of Jesus – note the verb “marturéo” (= to testify) in verses 7b, 8b, 15a, 32a, 34a. The pre-existence of Jesus45 in contrast to him is described with the help of an antithetic parallelism:
Jesus “comes” temporally “after” him (vv. 15d, 27a, 30b and Mark 1:7; Matthew 3:11),
but He ranks “before” him,
because “[He was] /the/ first ... [ ]” divine One.
+ The Relationship to Jesus by His Believers (vv. 16–18)
v.