Sermon Tone Analysis

What is a prologue?

If we were to take that apart, it divides neatly into two words

pro- meaning before

logos - meaning word or saying

So, in a very real sense, a prologue is a word that happens beforehand - a fore-word

Composers, Filmmakers, and Authors alike have utilized preludes, prologues, overtures, and even the opening credits to give hints or clues to their audience about what is to come.

While occasionally this foreshadowed content gives up too much of the storyline - becoming spoilers to the outcome - a well crafted prologue or introduction will create a sense of anticipation.

Today, as we dive into the book of John we are going to examine his prologue, or introduction to his gospel.

These 18 short verses use language to cause us to look forward to what is to come and look back to what has been.

John’s Prologue

I’m not sure that any book of scripture has an introduction that is as beautiful and profound as John’s prologue.

In these 18 verses, John introduces us to Jesus - barely referring to him by name - and yet reveals him in a way that is dripping with insights about his nature, character, uniquenesses, and his work.

In his commentary on the book of John, D.A. Carson has noted 12 things here in the prologue that are revisited elsewhere in the gospel.

Let’s look briefly at this list:

The Gospel according to John (I.

The Prologue (1:1–18))

PrologueGospel

the pre-existence of the Logos or Son1:1–217:5

in him was life1:45:26

life is light 1:4 8:12

light rejected by darkness 1:5 3:19

yet not quenched by it 1:5 12:35

light coming into the world 1:9 3:19; 12:46

Christ not received by his own 1:11 4:44

being born to God and not of flesh 1:13 3:6; 8:41–42

seeing his glory 1:14 12:41

the ‘one and only’ Son 1:14, 18 3:16

truth in Jesus Christ 1:17 14:6

no-one has seen God, except the one who comes from God’s side 1:18 6:46

I realize that’s a lot to take in in just a few moments, but I hope you can see the profound depth of what John is doing here.

Today, as we look at John’s Prologue, we are going to consider the “Word” - the subject of the prologue and in fact the gospel.

We’ll consider a bit of what John is communicating about what we will observe about Jesus - the Word - elsewhere in the book.

Let’s begin by considering...

The nature of the Word

John begins his prologue with...

As he opens with his words “in the beginning” - immediately our minds take us back to the first place in Scripture where we would have read those words - the book of beginnings, Genesis 1:1.

John, I think, does this intentionally.

He wants to display a bit of the mystery and wonder of Who this Word is.

He wants to communicate that this Word was at the beginning.

Nasser al’Qahtani - a Bible Teacher, evangelist, and a new friend of mine, suggests that because John is pulling us back to creation - he is very subtly hinting at the presence of the Trinity - the three-in-one nature of God.

Think about this, Genesis 1:1 states

So there you have God.

In the very next verse, we get to see another element of the trinity - the Spirit

So you have the God and His Spirit represented in the Genesis account.

Now, John is inserting the Word - the expression of God at the beginning - One whom we will see is Jesus.

God the father, God the Spirit, and now the Word - God the Son were all present and working at creation.

But how did God create everything?

With His Word.

He created with a command.

Over and over, the creation account communicates that God said things - “let there be...”

But let’s think a bit more about this “Word” that John is describing.

In many ways, it is wrapped in mystery.

It’s an expression of God - after all - words are the spoken expression of any speaker.

But John also says that this “Word” is with God in the beginning and yet he is also God.

He is God and yet is distinct from God.

John doesn’t really try to explain this here.

He simply makes these statements and these claims about the nature of the Word to pique our interest in order to get us to keep reading.

As the rest of the gospel unfolds, we’ll learn and see more about what John means by the Word being with God and being God.

And yet I think it’s important that we remain content with the mystery of the nature of the Word - the nature of Jesus - the nature of God.

If we could fully explain and understand God, then He might not be that great.

But the mystery only exemplifies his worthiness to be worshipped.

It gives us reason to be in awe of God.

So this Word is God and distinct from God.

John also reveals that the Word is human - verse 14 tells us that the Word became flesh.

For some in John’s day and in the century that followed, this was a big point of contention.

There were some who said that Jesus couldn’t be human because all flesh is evil.

And yet here, John is introducIng Jesus as both fully divine and fully human.

So John gives us some hints about the nature of the Word.

But he also reveals a bit of...

The work of the Word

Just as we use words to communicate, to work, we have to recognize that the Word that John is writing about is at work as well.

Just as the spoken word of God in creation put all of the universe in order, so to we get to see that the lived Word, the revealed word, Jesus, works in profound ways.

First of all, we’ve already seen that he worked in…

Creation (John 1:1-3)

John is clear to point out that Jesus, the Word, was present and active in creation.

But his participation in creation is more than just spinning things into existence.

The Word also brings “life.”

John co-mingles the concepts of “life” and “light” (which ultimately get seen elsewhere in the book) in order to help us see another aspect of the creative work of the Word.

Do you remember back to the Genesis account of creation?

What is the first thing that God speaks into existence?

Light.

So again, John is taking us back to creation.

The spoken word of God brings light into darkness, but also brings life.

(Possibly skip) But it also seems like this life is more than simply an existence.

This life is the embodiment of light in the darkness.

First, in the darkness of the uncreated universe and now in the darkness of a world stained by sin.

There is a second element of work that John foreshadows here in the prologue, that of...

Illumination

This Word, came like light in dark places, to reveal the true character, nature, and heart of God.

He came to illumine the differences between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.

He came to be a life-given presence in the world.

Look at the contrasts in all of these things, the tragedy.

Jesus, the Word, as the co-creator of the world, stepped into the world and yet was unknown by the world.

He came to his own people and was rejected by them.

We will see this throughout John’s gospel as Jesus gets into multiple conflicts with the religious leaders - pointing out where they have things wrong, and yet they are so often unwilling to yield to his authority.

But there is hope, because Jesus is the redeeming one - he is the one who brings hope from despair, life from death, light from darkness, new birth.

He made a way for all people to be his people.

In this, John introduces the redemption theme that is marked by belief.

But notice what he says in verse 12 - those who would believe “in his name.”

What’s in a name?