John 1 - ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

1:1–18 The prologue of John’s Gospel is like the opening movement of a grand symphony. It is meant to grab our attention and draw us into the story—the story of all stories. The apostle sets the stage for the presentation of the gospel by highlighting the main plotline and central themes of the entire Bible—creation (vv. 1–4), the fall (v. 5), and redemption (vv. 9–13), all of which point to the person and culminating work of Jesus (see also vv. 23,29).

Who is Jesus? This is John’s main question and the quest of discovery that he bids us enter. John’s Gospel helps us understand how to look for Jesus in Moses, the Prophets, and all the Scriptures (5:39–47). He wants us to see how Jesus is the “Yes!” and “Amen!” to every promise God has made (2 Cor. 1:20) throughout the history of redemption.

Jesus is eternally one with the Father—the very Word of God (John 1:1–2), God’s agent in creating all things (vv. 3–4). And as he spoke light and brought life into the dark void of pre-creation chaos, so Jesus brings light and life into the dark world of sin and death. His “new creation” order is none other than the long-promised epoch of redemption and restoration of which Israel’s prophets spoke, and angels longed to see (1 Pet. 1:10–12).

To receive Jesus is to be born from above and to become a member of God’s family, all of which comes to us as a gift of God’s grace (John 1:9–13), not at all of our own doing.

Even as John’s prologue affirms Jesus’ deity, so also it celebrates his humanity. The Word became flesh—God became man, yet Jesus never ceased being God. He came to us as the greater Moses (Deut. 18:15–19), to bring a greater exodus. Moses provided the tabernacle; Jesus “dwelt” (the Greek word literally means “tabernacled”) among us (John 1:14), revealing God’s glory and grace.

The law, which came through Moses, necessitated the grace and truth which came through Jesus (vv. 14–17), for the law could never save us, only drive us to Christ (Gal. 3:23–24). While Moses hid his face from God, Jesus “exegetes”—that is, reveals—the Father to us, as only the only begotten Son could do (see John 1:18, where the Greek word for “has made known” is exegeomai).

1:19–28 John the Baptist is a central character in John’s Gospel because of the unique role he played in the history of redemption. John straddled the Old and New Testaments, like a redemptive bridge. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and at the same time he was the first herald of the arrival of God’s promised kingdom in Jesus (Isa. 40:3).

Elijah is mentioned by John not only because Israel expected someone to come in the “spirit of Elijah” before the day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), but also because he is representative of all of Israel’s prophets. This is why Moses and Elijah appeared together with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–5). The whole Old Testament (the Law, represented by Moses, and the Prophets, represented by Elijah) points toward and is fulfilled by Jesus.

1:29–34 Not only does Jesus fulfill the law of Moses and the hopes of the prophets, he also completes the worship of Israel. In Jesus, old covenant types give way to the new creation antitype—shadow is supplanted by substance. To “Behold, the Lamb of God” is to see in Jesus the arrival of the suffering servant of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 53:4–12), who took the punishment we deserve to give us the grace we could never earn.

To see Jesus is to celebrate the end of the sacrificial system, which was central to Israel’s worship. For the blood of Jesus cleanses us from our sin, once and for all (Heb. 10:10). This good news is so central to John’s message that he spends 40 percent of his Gospel describing one week—the most crucial week of our Lord’s life, the week of his death and resurrection (John 12:1–20:25). John wants us to see Jesus not just as a moral model but, far more importantly, as the substitute sacrifice for our sin.

As the Messiah, Jesus was anointed with the Spirit without measure (cf. Isa. 61:1–3; Luke 4:14–19), and he gives his Spirit without reservation to his people. By the Spirit’s baptism, Jesus unites us to himself and inaugurates us into life and service in his kingdom. With Jesus, eternal life begins before death; earthly death is not the final chapter for those united to Christ eternally. The new age has broken in on us, and all are welcomed into it, by resting upon Christ’s provision and resisting the urge to make our way to God with the merit of our obedience.

1:35–51 Like the other Gospel writers, John shows us the paradox of service in Jesus’ kingdom. As his first disciples and trusted servants, Jesus chooses unlikely men, mostly fishermen, all of whom will fail him at one time or another. God chooses the weak in order to exalt his name (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26–27). This is good news for all of us who recognize our own weaknesses and sin. Our failings do not disqualify us from Christ’s kingdom. Spiritual heroism is not what qualifies us for heaven. There is only one hero in the gospel story: Jesus himself.

The most important qualification for Jesus’ disciples is to know his name—that is, to be absolutely clear in heart and mind about who he is and what he has done. Thus, the first disciples were given an immersion course in Christology. In the span of 16 verses, Jesus is identified as “the Lamb of God,” “the Messiah,” “the Son of God,” “the King of Israel,” and “Son of Man”—all messianic names that take on a fuller meaning throughout John’s Gospel.

At the heart of all these names is the truth that Jesus has come to save—to be the ladder from heaven to earth of which Jacob dreamed (Gen. 28:12) and to which Jesus alludes in John 1:51. But we do not climb our way up to God; God in Christ came down to us.