What is the Johannine prologue? Flashcards
Where do Matthew and Luke both begin?
Jesus’ birth
Where does Mark begin?
His baptism by JTB
How does John begin?
The creation of the universe and a mystical poem that never mentions Jesus by name, but still links him to God, the OT and JTB
What is a prologue?
An introductory passage at the of a longer piece of work that sets out the main themes and concerns
How does Morna Hooker describe the role of the prologue?
‘The beginning of the story hints at the ideas that will be made plain at the end’
Why does Morna Hooker call the prologue the ‘glorious key’?
Because it focuses on the glory of Christ - his supernatural character as a divine theme on Earth
How do most scholars view the prologue?
A hymn that sums up Jonn’s view of JC
Substantiate the idea that the prologue was a hymn that was later added to the gospel
- Some terms that are important in the prologue don’t appear in the rest of the gospel
- Their is a big change in style from the prologue to the rest of the story
What is the phrase ‘in the beginning’ at the start of the prologue a refernce to?
Genesis
How is the introduction of the theme of light a refernce to Genesis?
God’s first act in Genesis was the creation of light
The prologue seems like somewhat of an interruption. What has this led many scholars to believe?
That it originally came from a separate poem and the two were merged together
How does John’s gospel present JTB?
As a ‘witness’ to God’s work
What does the author take effort to point out JTB is not?
The Logos, as John believes this is JC instead
How do some scholars explain the fact that the author plays down the importance of JTB?
They suggest that there may have been a rival group who worshipped JTB instead of JC
State verse 9
‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world’
What is verse 9 a refernce to?
The key Johannine idea of incarnation - a divine force from the beginning of time entering the physical world
State verse 11
‘He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him’
What is verse 11 a refernce to?
The theme of mistaken identity - the Light from God is not recognised by the people when they meet him
State verse 12
‘Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God’
What is verse 12 a refernce to?
The theme of becoming children of God through faith. This is the idea that believing in the light changes humans from ordinary beings into divine creatures
