2.1 Johns Prologue

Question 1

Why was the term logos used in johns prologue

Answer 1

It would have been understood by the Jews, as in Jewish writings the word was used to describe gods creative power e.g. psalms 33:6 ‘by the word of the lord the heavens were made’

Question 2

Influences of Hellenism in the prologue

Answer 2

• for stoics, the logos was god, and seeds of the divine logos were found in the minds of humanity, thus making a special relationship possible between the divine logos and human kind
• the logos was a rational principle rather than a living being for stoics and so they would’ve rejected the incarnation
• the theme of pre-existent logos and light and darkness are found in both john and Gnosticism, suggesting the former was influenced by Gnosticism.

Question 3

Was the prologue added in later?(scholars thoughts)

Answer 3

• brown: yes: it was an early Christian hymn which was adapted to serve as an intro to the gospel narrative
• robinson: yes: it is a later addition by the author to help the early church understand more about the person of Jesus
• Barrett: no: the prologue is part of the original text and its unique style speaks of Jesus’ divine nature
• hooker: no: it is the key that unlocks the gospel: THE GLORIOUS KEY: Jesus’ works are the works of god himself

Question 4

Word made flesh

Answer 4

• john is telling us that Jesus is there word incarnate and incarnate means that god has become embodied in the human form
• hooker says that the logos, the divine quality, had always existed and existed at the beginning of time (pre-existence) its the logos that’s incarnated in Jesus
• “made his dwelling among us” translates to “pitched his tent among us” in greek, and so a Jewish reader would be reminded of the tabernacle
• many Jews thought of gods word as separate from god himself, which led to the concept of ‘holy wisdom’, Jesus being the god incarnate is controversial for Jews as it didn’t align with Jewish thought