Join us as we delve into the unique narrative and theological insights presented in the Gospel According to John. Ronald L. Dart unravels the mysteries of why John’s account is distinct from the synoptic gospels, offering a perspective that compels both belief and reflection. From the timeless words that open the gospel to the profound prologue, this episode explores how John’s narratives about Jesus resonate deeply within the Christian tradition.
00:00:02 Introduction and Overview of John’s Gospel
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
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The Gospel According to John is a very special book. Now, if you ask me to explain why, I’d have a hard time telling you. It’s the fourth gospel. Some scholars think it may have been written first. Actually, there’s no hard data on this, so you can safely read the four gospels and decide for yourself. Your opinion will probably be about as good as anyone’s. In fact, now that I think about it, that’s probably a good exercise for a Bible reader. It’ll cause you to pay more careful attention to details, and that’s a good thing when you’re reading through the Gospels. If you start noticing the distinctions between Matthew and Mark and Luke and John, and sort of ask yourself the question, what do I read here that suggests to me when the Gospel was written? I’ve already made the point that I feel quite sure in my own heart that these Gospels were written before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. The reason is because I can’t see any reflection of this event anywhere in the Gospels. I don’t mean that they don’t talk about it. I mean you don’t even sense that they know about it. They know about it as a future event in Matthew 24, but as far as it having happened, I don’t think so. I think it would be there in little ways that we would recognize. So with that in mind, and then beginning to ask yourself, do I think that Mark was written before Luke or not? And then, of course, when you come to John, you have a whole new question to ask. This gospel was written by a very real person. He’s universally recognized as the Apostle John, the author of the three epistles of John, and his other familiar work, the book of Revelation. Years ago, when I was studying New Testament Greek, my final exam was to translate 1 John. Those of us in the class didn’t know this. We got to class. We had to pop open our Greek New Testaments and sit down there and translate 1 John. It was a strange experience in a way. I had to do the translation without referring to any lexicon or Bible, but because of long familiarity, the translation was easy. What was hard was not putting down the words of the King James Version, which I knew all too well. But then having done that translation, when I next read the Gospel of John, it was startling to recognize the same style. And it comes through even in English as I realized, oh, obviously this is the same man. The early church fathers were right who told us who it was. Now, you can’t always identify a writer’s style, but you can quickly spot differences that make it clear who did not write it. You know, you can get a letter with some peculiar things in it that would tell you immediately, my wife did not write that. Somebody else did. Now, in an offhand way, John describes himself as that disciple that Jesus loved. It may seem strange at first that Jesus would have a favorite. After all, we’re all equal in God’s eyes. Why should Jesus have a favorite? Parents don’t do that, do they? Well, of course they do. But it’s at least worth paying attention to the fact that Jesus had one of his disciples that he particularly loved. Maybe it’s because some people are just more lovable than others. But after all, Abraham is described as a friend of God, and not everyone fit that description. One of the more striking things about John’s gospel is the prologue. If you read the prologue of Luke’s gospel and then read John, the difference is really quite dramatic. Edward Harrison notes that some scholars find John’s style tedious and tiresome. It’s quite simple, really, and I can see why some people might say that if they operate at a very high intellectual level. But then we have to explain why this gospel is so compelling. Simplicity has its virtues, I think, especially when it comes to telling a story. Compelling is a good word for John’s story. I find his gospel powerful. The opening statement of the Gospel according to John is unique. He says, John 1, verse 1, “…in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Now, it’s hard to imagine any other way of saying this. The Greek is very simple. It’s impossible to misconstrue it. In fact, I went and checked not only the King James, but four other modern translations against that old King James, and they all agree, word for word, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So, what exactly does John mean by this statement? The concept of the Word is a defining characteristic of John, and it makes a strong connection to the Old Testament. It’s really surprising when you look it up. The expression, the Word of the Lord, capitalized Word, appears 245 times in the Old Testament. What is really interesting is the experience, the Word of the Lord came. As in, after all these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, Fear not, Abram. The word comes and the word speaks, which is strongly suggestive of a personal being. Moreover, the expression in Hebrew is, The word of Jehovah came. The word came to Abraham, to Nathan, who was David’s prophet, to Solomon, to Jehu, to Elijah, to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and several other prophets, named and unnamed. The word of the Lord came and said. So when John picks up the Word and describes it as he does, he is squarely in the center of a very old tradition, and he takes it farther than it has ever gone before. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. None of the other Gospels has this formulation, which suggests to me that John may indeed have been the last Gospel written, that he had the other three Gospels in hand and saw no reason to say the same thing over again. Furthermore, a little more time has passed, and some things have begun to make sense to him that he had not come to before he wrote. This is one of the things that I think have grown on me over the years as I’ve read the New Testament. This realization is that when these guys saw Jesus disappear into the cloud above them, and the angel said, What are you standing here with your mouths hanging open for? He’s going to come back in the same way you saw him go. On that day, the disciples understood Jesus at one level. But in the weeks, the months, and the years that followed, they were able to put things together that they had not put together before. One of the reasons I say that is you read through the gospel accounts, most of them may make themselves look kind of stupid. They really do. They seem almost block-headed, and Jesus seems to look at them as being block-headed and say, why is it you don’t get this? Well, they didn’t have the frame of reference for it. But as time passed… And as they began to think and pray and explain and answer, and people asked questions about what Jesus had done and said, they came to understand things at much greater depth than they did on the day of his ascension. And this is nowhere more evident than it is in the gospel according to John. Now, at the risk of ruining John’s style, let’s parse that sentence. It tells us three things about the word. The Word existed in the beginning. The Word was with God. Now, in most formulations, that would be enough. You say, Word was there in the beginning, and the Word was God. But it was not enough. So John added the third. The Word was God. And we are invited to ask, wait a minute, how can that be possible? How can the Word be with God and be God at the same time? The only way I could do that is to be beside myself, if I may use that expression, because I am just me. I am not with me. Now, this is highly problematic for Arianism. The Bishop Arius, back in the 3rd century, taught that God the Father and the Son did not exist together eternally. Further, Arius taught that the pre-incarnate Jesus was a divine being created by and possibly inferior to the Father at some point before which the Son did not exist. In English language works, it is sometimes said that Arius believes that Jesus is or was a creature. In this context, the word is being used in its original sense of created being. That description of Arius is one you can find readily on the Internet. Arianism did not appear until the third century, but John’s writings lead me to believe its roots go all the way back to the very beginning, as some people thought about Christ one way and some people thought about him another way. John flatly refutes the idea when he says, “…in the beginning the Word was…” John makes no effort to peer beyond the beginning. Nothing of the time before time is revealed anywhere in the book of John or anywhere else in the Bible. All John knows is, in the beginning, the Word was. Arius wrote in a letter, I think it’s quoted by Eusebius, “…by his own will and counsel, the Son has subsisted before time and before ages as perfect God.” Now, here’s our problem. We really don’t know what happened in the time before time. We can speculate about it. We can wonder about it. But I think it was Stephen Hawking in his book, A Short History of Time, who talked about what some people call the Big Bang, which he calls the singularity. And he said it’s impossible to look beyond the singularity because we have no way of knowing what took place or what was going on before that time. It’s utterly and completely impossible. And the same thing is true about the beginning of time where theological matters are concerned. We simply cannot go. Arius almost has to do this, though, because of John’s prologue. But it’s pure conjecture. We know nothing of the time before time. But if anybody were to ask you, Arianism is a belief that believes that Jesus Christ came into existence at some time prior to the beginning of time. that he has not always existed as has the Father. And, of course, we have no way of knowing that. In any case, trying to follow these convoluted arguments that rage between the doctrines of Arius and those of the Trinity are likely to leave you befuddled, so I don’t know how much more you want to follow it. Better to take John’s simplicity and accept the fact that you don’t have to explain everything. In Deuteronomy 29, 29, it says this, The secret things belong to the Lord our God. The things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Life is much simpler and the word much clearer if we master what is revealed. And after all, that is the work of a lifetime.
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Stay with me. I’ll be right back. The Apostle John was that disciple who was closest to Jesus. His gospel offers the greatest insight to the teachings of Jesus. Write or call for a free introductory CD to The Testimony of John Album. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free…
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1-888-BIBLE-44 By the way, I’m often asked what translation I use when I’m doing the program. As a rule, I quote from the old King James Version. When I first started reading the Bible, I’m 73 years old, mind you. The King James Version was the only game in town. It was the only Bible that I found or knew about at the time. So that’s what I read, and I began to develop, as time went by, a habit of modernizing it. I mean, those these and thous and woulds and coulds and all that kind of thing do get a little old after a while. substituted these modern words for the archaic expressions. So what you’re hearing is my own paraphrase of the King James Version. It’s become so automatic, I’m not sure I could read the King James Version exactly as it is. To me, it still seems to be the most literate of all the Bibles. I just try to make it a little more understandable for the listener. Now, coming back to John, John has a nice, clear statement of Christology, which we should all master. It is this prologue to his gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Now, the big problem you can run into this if you’re not careful, you can make mistakes with the antecedents of the pronouns. Grammatically, all things were made by him means made by the word. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Isn’t that amazing? I know exactly how John intends that to be taken. Does it mean the light shines in darkness and the darkness couldn’t quench it? Or did it mean the darkness just didn’t get it? It certainly seems to be the case in his ministry. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. John the Baptist, of course. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He, that is John, was not that light. He was sent to bear witness of that light. This was the true light which lights every man that comes into the world. And if you read 1 John, the letter 1 John, comparing the cadences with the beginning of this gospel, you’ll see what we mean when we say these were written by the same guy. The he, as we will see in this, was clearly the Christ. Because in verse 10 it says this, He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. who were born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Now here comes the crunch. It clears up any remaining questions in this section. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. You get to this point, and you’re absolutely lost if you’re trying to go anywhere except the realization that the Word was Christ, which was in the beginning with God, in the beginning was God. How can you miss it? The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John bore witness of him and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spoke. He that comes after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. Of his fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. And you know, that has some very interesting implications. Because when you go through the Old Testament, you do find people who did seem to see God. If, as Jesus says, no man has seen God at any time, how do we reconcile this? Well, Jesus is plainly talking about God the Father. And it would appear that whoever they saw in the Old Testament wasn’t. Now, this dramatic prologue of John sets the stage for who exactly Jesus is. He was not a spirit masquerading as flesh. He was flesh. It may come as a surprise to you that some early heretics believed that Jesus was not flesh, that he was a manifestation of the flesh, that he appeared on the scene full-born. Jesus did not begin his existence when he was born of Mary. Theologians hedge this with a forest of words, very confusing words. John simply says that the Word was with God and was God and became flesh. Now, how can that possibly be? Well, one way to understand this beginning expression is to say that the word God describes a kind of being of which there are more than one. But to some, that would imply polytheism, and we can’t have that, now can we? Always simplify. Just take John at his word. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Stay with me.
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Be sure and catch this short message, and I’ll be right back. For a free CD of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only. And request the program titled, Introduction to the New Testament, Number 11. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free 1-888-BIBLE44. That’s 1-888-242-5344.
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Be sure and check us out on the Internet. You can listen to this program again if you like, and there will be links to two weeks’ worth of programs. If you want to, you can listen to them online, or you can download them to your computer and transfer them to your iPod, and I can go with you wherever you’re going. This service is free, although we do cheerfully accept contributions. They make this effort possible. Without the help of our listeners, we just wouldn’t go very far. Back to John. Speaking of the Gospel of John, Everett Harrison said he can only say that the thought of the book is profound. Probably no book of the New Testament has invited and provoked more perusal and reflection. Hoskins, in his book, The Fourth Gospel, writes this, The theme of the Fourth Gospel is the non-historical that makes sense of history, the infinite that makes sense of time, God who makes sense of men and is therefore their Savior. One interesting characteristic, by the way, of this gospel is that it gives prominence to the festivals of God. They appear again and again. They feature very strongly, and they give us one subtle clue as to who John was writing this gospel or for whom he was writing it. This is one of the interesting things as you read through all these gospels. You say, okay, what did the writer expect from of the people who would actually read this. Who are they? Where are they? What do they know? What do they not know? Well, one of the most interesting things about this one is he’s the only gospel writer that uses this expression. He’ll mention a festival like the Feast of Tabernacles, and then he adds a festival of the Jews. He would not put it that way if he were writing to a group of Jewish believers. It would be totally unnecessary to say that the Feast of Tabernacle is a feast of the Jews. So he is writing to non-Jews, to Gentiles. One interesting difference in John from the other Gospels is that he never mentions really the large crowds that gathered around Jesus. His Gospel is much more personal, more intimate, which, when I think about it, probably has a great deal to do with his appeal. What is really interesting is that very long set of words and speeches of his to his intimate group of disciples at the Last Supper. The whole section begins in the 13th chapter of John, and it bears reading and careful thought. You’ve probably heard sections out of it many times in your life in sermons or maybe in Sunday school or what have you. But when you really begin to look at it, there’s a lot here. It tells us that before the feast of Passover, when Jesus knew his hour was come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him. And apparently Judas was still here at this moment. It was just in his heart to betray him. That’s really a compelling idea in and of itself. Here were 12 young men seated around a table with Jesus, one of them his betrayer, and Jesus knew who he was. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he was come from God, that he was going to God, he rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and took a towel and girded himself. He poured some water into a basin, and he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he’d wrapped around himself. Now, this is a servant’s job. It is the job of the lowest servant in the house. And I’m sure the disciples were astonished that Jesus began to do this. Didn’t feel right about it. Certainly Simon Peter didn’t. Because when he came to him, he said, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus answered and said, what I’m doing, you don’t know, but you’re going to know it later. Peter said to him, oh, you’re never going to wash my feet. Jesus said, if I don’t wash you, you have no part with me. I guess Peter thought that over and he said, Lord, not my feet only, but my hands and my head. Let’s just wash everything. And Jesus said, no, there’s no need. We just need to wash your feet and you’ll all be clean. And you are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him. And that’s why he said, you’re not all clean. This is really a stunning thing that he says here, especially in the realization that Judas is there. And this is the sort of thing that will cause you to lay your Bible down for a minute and stare into space and think about what this means. Jesus washed Judas’ feet. Really? It’s kind of hard to grasp. After he had washed their feet and taken his garments and sat down again, he said, You know what I’ve done? You call me master and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. Now, if I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I’ve given you an example that you should do what I have done to you. I tell you the truth. The servant is not greater than his Lord. Neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. Now, if you know these things, happy are you if you do them. So here is a huge lesson to be learned by any disciple of Jesus. If Jesus washed our feet, if Jesus made these incredible sacrifices for us, we’ve got to learn to make some very serious sacrifices for one another. For later on this night he will tell his disciples, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, by the love you have for one another. Christian people really need to learn something from this, because we’re going to have to one of these days stand together. If we don’t stand together, we’re going to be rolled over, and our message will be lost. It’s a more than passing interest that Jesus at this point does not go on with the story of the bread and the wine. Instead, we get one of the longest and most intimate conversations with his disciples.
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You have heard Ronald L. Dart. If you would like more information or if you have any questions, write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. In the U.S. and Canada, call toll-free 1-888-BIBLE44 and visit our website at borntowin.net.
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Christian Educational Ministries is happy to announce a new full-color Born to Win monthly newsletter with articles and free offers from Ronald L. Dart. Call us today at 1-888-BIBLE44 to sign up or visit us at borntowin.net.
