The New Testament starts with the story of Jesus as told in the four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell the story of the Nazrene prophet they believe to be more than a prophet and lay down their arguments in writing. Matthew tells the story of Jesus, the Messiah and the King. Mark tells the story of the Suffering Servant of God. Luke tells the story of Jesus, the perfect Man. The stories are almost identical and differ mostly in the telling through which the narrators establish their various standpoints. John's gospel, the last gospel to be recorded in the New Testament, talks about Jesus, the incarnation of God.
The gospel is believed to have been written by the disciple John, the same John whose visions on the island of Patmos give us the Revelation. So John tells us the story of God incarnate and he begins the story with Jesus' origin story- in the beginning.
The Gospel of John is divided into several distinct sections.
1. Introduction (John 1)
2. Signs and controversy (John 2-10)
3. Raising of Lazarus (John 11-12)
4. Final words of Jesus (John 13-17)
5. Death and Resurrection of Jesus (John 18-20)
6. Epilogue (John 21)
John 1 is about introducing the main character. But John doesn't focus on Jesus the man. So his origin story starts before the beginning of creation, with the second person of the Holy Trinity-the Word of God (Logos). Then this person is re-introduced as Jesus who is Christ. So we have two different introductions going on here.
John 1:1-18 is basically a poem that introduces us to the Word of God and as such it uses several poetic devices in expressing the true nature of the Word. When John begins he is focusing on the timeless nature of God. In the beginning does not point to the starting point of creation but rather to the starting point of time itself and we learn that the Word of God along with God exists outside of time as we know it.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2
The Word is defined as the creative essence of God. In Genesis 1:1-3 we are introduced to the Holy Trinity. As a part of that Holy Trinity we find the Word of God bringing everything into being. He existed as a part of God, the active essence of God while the Holy Spirit existed as the presence of God.
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:3-5
We learn that the Word of God is indispensable to the entire act of creation. In Genesis 1:1 we read about the darkness that was in the world and it is not till God speaks that this darkness is eliminated. The Darkness is eliminated when God says "Let there be light". Thus the Word of God becomes the light shining in the darkness and that is how we should know Him and we know Him because we were granted life to exist in Their own image.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
John 1:6-8
(John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")
John 1:15
John the Baptist is introduced before the writer even makes a mention of Jesus. Chronologically, in an earthly sense, John came first. He started preaching first. The preaching of John the Baptist was to prepare the Israelis for the coming of the Messiah. We shall later see in today's reading that He talks about the timeless nature of the Word of God. Jesus being the second person in the Trinity ranks far above the prophet.
