WORD

When reading this page through an online translator, please be aware that since English does not have engendered nouns, "Word" will not be translated properly with regard to the gender. I have been made aware that Arabic translates Word as a feminine noun and German does so as a neuter noun while in the original Greek, Word or Logos is a masculine noun.


     Everything must have a beginning. The normal questions such as “Where should I start?”, “How far back should I go to begin?” or even “Should I write an introduction?” flood the mind. Yet many experts say, it is usually best simply to begin. Welcome to Episode 1 of the 10 Minutes with the Gospel of John podcast. My endeavor is designed to provide you, my listener, with 10 Minutes to consider one idea or theme from the Gospel of John. These 10 Minutes will include a brief passage from the Gospel of John as well as some thoughts about a central idea introduced there. Since this is Episode 1, the best place to begin is at John 1:1.

The Word was at the beginning,
the Word was with God,
the Word was God.
This Word was at the beginning with God.
Everything came about through the Word,
apart from the Word nothing that exists came about.
What the Word brought about was life,
now this life was the light for humanity;
now this light shines in darkness,
and darkness is unable to put out this light.

The Word, Logos in Greek, was at the beginning. The Word was with God, the Word was God. This idea is frequently easier to grasp than the one which immediately switches out “Word” for “Jesus” and tries to understand how the Trinity operates at the beginning, before all else.

     Yet, this idea also challenges our view of God. Do we envision with our minds that God existed at some point in complete silence-having no discernable internal communication? Do we really think God existed without thought, without internal reasoning, without some recognizable formation of ideas? A human without brain function is considered dead. Human existence consists of activity within our brain, thought patterns forming, dreams engaging complete with dialogue and communication, and yes, for some introverts like myself, a plethora of unspoken thoughts in word form. Do we actually imagine God was “dead” at the beginning?

     The Word was “at the beginning.” Before all else, God’s identity was inexplicably and inseparably linked to Word, Logos, the one we know and today call Jesus of Nazareth. Stated more precisely, before all else, Jesus of Nazareth’s identity was inexplicably and inseparably linked to God, also called Creator, Elohim, Yahweh. Herein lies a major difficulty for our perception of reality, namely, God became human and this human named Jesus was more than us, was uniquely different from us. But more on the incarnation in a later episode. Back to the beginning.

In The Old Testament

     In the background of the informed reader of the Gospel of John are these words from Genesis 1, “At the beginning God made heaven and earth” as well as these, “God said, ‘Bring about light.’ Then light came about.” This similarity between the first verses of Genesis and those at the beginning of John colors our perception. The words, “at the beginning” as I translate them and “light came about,” are phrased and formed in exactly the same way in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible widely read in the Mediterranean region. When the Gospel states “apart from the Word nothing that exists came about,” it is describing the creative process as recorded in Genesis. God spoke the Word, and stuff appeared.

     Now, we don’t actually know whether God created audible sound waves or whether these words existed only as part of the thinking process described earlier. The key element for us to consider is found in Genesis 1:1, “God made the heaven and earth.” From the verb, “made,” it would be natural for one to assume that this involved effort on God’s part. Such actions are part of the Genesis 2 story about Adam and Eve. But Genesis 1 stands apart and is remarkably different. What Genesis describes as “coming about” happened through a word, indeed, it must have been a powerful word.

Elsewhere in John

     So, then, there must be more to this idea of Logos than merely the combination of consonants and vowels that form a distinct construct we call “a” word. John’s Gospel emphasizes speech, and specifically the content of any such speech of Jesus. The episode found in John 5 draws attention to this basic point of emphasis. At this point in the narrative Jesus speaks to those religious leaders gathered in the temple and says, ‘I speak truthfully to you, “The one who hears my word and believes the one who sent me possesses life of the ages”’ (5:24). Here we find the Word from John 1 speaking a message containing the power to provide life, in particular a distinct type of life. Later in this confrontation, Jesus speaks about the Father’s word, by which he means the Logos of John 1:1. He tells the religious leaders, whose main task is to broker the Holy Writings to common folk, that they have neither heard nor seen God nor do they even possess his Holy Writings because they don’t trust the one God sent. (5:37-38).

     When we try to remember all that Jesus taught, it is easy to become complacent with the power undergirding his words. The other Gospels describe that those listening to Jesus had never heard anyone else speak with such authority. (Mt 7:28; Mk 1:22, 27; Lk 4:31, 36) The teaching of Jesus was qualitatively different from that of another rabbi, or even a Greek philosophical teacher. When considering the authority of Jesus’ words spoken to the people it is appropriate to remember Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are given which begins with “Then the Lord spoke all these words” and ends with the people pleading with Moses, “You speak to us, but don’t let God speak to us (again) or we will die.” (20:1, 19). Those who hear the word of God spoken by the voice of God recognize their awesome power.

     The episode found in John 8:31-55 presents one of the most intense encounters between Jesus and his audience in John’s Gospel. Logos appears in this section with its highest frequency, appearing on five occasions. In the first instance, and in an oft-quoted verse, Jesus identifies his very own word with truth. ‘Therefore, Jesus was saying to those among the Judeans who had begun believing him, “if you continue to let my word rest in you, then you truly are my followers and you will know truth, and that truth that will set you free.”’ (8:31) The idea of truth in relation to Jesus has already been introduced in John 1:14, 17 and 5:33. It is associated with coming to the Light in John 3:20-21, and with the worship of God in 4:23-24.

     The following discussion turns to consider whether these listeners of Jesus thought they needed to be set free-ironic in its bold statement of an untruth. Later Jesus says God is not their father because they are unable to identify the one God sent–an identical charge as Jesus made in John 5. “You do not recognize what I am saying because you are unable even to hear my word.” (8:43) Jesus then associates his own word with life–as we also saw in John 5–when he states, “if anyone keeps my word he will not experience death in this age.” (8:51) Finally, returning to the idea of knowing the truth and repeating his identification with God, Jesus indicates that he himself keeps God’s word. He then states for a second time that they are incapable of even hearing this word. (8:55)

Concluding Thoughts

     The identification of Jesus in John 1 with Logos as well as with God is crucial for perceiving later arguments in this Gospel concerning Jesus’ identity. To repeat from earlier, Jesus of Nazareth’s identity was inexplicably and inseparably linked to God, Elohim, Yahweh. Everything Jesus says and everything Jesus does are identified as the words and deeds of the living God. We are challenged by the Gospel of John to take seriously, indeed to guard and protect these words, for in them exist truth and life.

Take 5 Minutes More

     Have you ever thought deeply regarding your inner perception of the words of Jesus you read in the gospels? Are you willing to state aloud before you read, “LORD God, I do not fully understand the power present in the words I read. May your words bring life to me as I read.”

     Can you recall a time when the words you read did bring light and life to your mind, heart, or soul? Have you taken the opportunity to share that experience with another, both to confirm God’s work in you and to give hope to them?

     Take a few moments to jot down on paper a sentence or two describing your own perspective on the intertwined relationship of Jesus with God, the Word at the Beginning.


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