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John the Baptist, baptizing at Jordan. LDS Media Library |
OK, so I realize that week for studying this is basically
over, so maybe this is not super helpful to you at this point, but I’ve finally
got some thoughts on John 1. After studying the first couple of chapters of
Matthew and Luke, John 1 is noticeably very different. Scholars refer to
Matthew, Mark, and Luke as the “synoptics” (look-alikes), while John is more
independent. But John 1’s got some really cool stuff, so let’s dive in.
In the Beginning was the Word (1:1–18)
I am not going to say a lot about the “prologue” of John,
but both the Sunday
School and the individuals
and families manual invite us to reflect on John’s testimony of who Christ
was before he was born. So some background on these passages can be helpful.
The word translated as Word is the Greek term logos
(λόγος), which actually means more than just “word,” but reason, teaching,
intellect, etc. Jewish thinkers of the day believed that the Logos (or,
in Aramaic sources, Memra) was a divine intermediary through whom God
interacted with man. Some scholars, such as Margaret Barker and Daniel Boyarin,
argue that similar beliefs extend back into very ancient Israelite times.
By the New Testament period, many Jewish commentators had
come to believe God himself had never directly interacted with humanity, because
they were not worthy. As such, when they translated or interpreted Old
Testament scripture which mentioned God or the Lord speaking with, or being
seen by, prophets or patriarchs, or even just interacting with the material
world at all, they would modify the passage to say that the prophet (or whomever)
really just interacted with the Memra or Logos (cf. 1:18).
So one way to read John 1:1–18 is as one of these translations
or reinterpretations of Genesis 1, with the Logos in the role of creation.
But he goes even further than the typical midrash or targum—he says that the Logos
was made flesh (1:14), and identified Jesus specifically as the Logos incarnate.
So John is using the language and concepts of his time to testify that Jesus
was more than just the Davidic Messiah—he was literally divine (1:1). For
John, understanding this—i.e., knowing who Jesus really is—changes everything,
going back to the very foundations of the world, the creation, “the beginning.”
Elias and “that Prophet” (1:19–23)
One question that the manual
for
individuals and families raises is, “Who is Elias, and who is ‘that
prophet’?” We gain a better understanding of these topics when we understand
that there were a variety of different “messianic” or “messiah-related” figures
in contemporary Jewish thought and expectations. It is important to understand
that these figures were not all necessarily seen as being the same or all
connected to each other. Yet the New Testament connects Jesus to the
fulfillment of them all.
Four of these figures show up here in John’s exchange with
the Levites. So let’s take a look at each of these four, and talk about how
Jesus is connected to them in the New Testament.
The Christ
John’s initial response to the question “Who are thou?” is to
confess, “I am not the Christ” (1:19–20). Clearly, John understood the implicit
intent behind the question was to determine if he was the Messiah or not.[1] The Messiah, or “anointed
one” was expected to be of the lineage of David and would come to overthrow foreign
rule and be established as the rightful ruler of Israel.
It should go without saying that the New Testament portrays
Jesus as the Christ, the Messianic son of David. But it’s worth noting
that he did not do what so many expected the Messiah to do. He did not
overthrow Roman rule and establish himself as king of Israel. Jesus was a
different kind of Messiah than what a lot of people were expecting, but what he
did accomplish—the infinite and eternal sacrifice for sin—is far more important
and far more powerful than simply driving the Romans out of Palestine.
Elias
Next, they ask, “Are you Elijah?” and he replied, “No” (1:21).
(Elias is the Greek form of the name Elijah.
Although Joseph Smith understood this, Elias is also used sometimes as a
title in Latter-day scripture and tradition. For more on this, see Robert
Boylan’s blog here
and here
and here.)
Owing to the prophecy in Malachi 4:5–6, many Jews were
expecting the prophet Elijah to return. Eventually this expectation is manifest
in the setting of an empty place for Elijah during the Passover meal, though
it’s not clear how early this practice began.
John here denies being Elijah. Other gospels do link John to
Elijah (e.g., Luke 1:17; Matt. 11:12–14; 17:10–13). Apparently, there were some
who thought Jesus was Elijah (Matt. 16:14; Mark 6:15; 8:28; Luke 9:8, 19).
For the gospel writers, the coming of Elijah appears to be
at least partially fulfilled on the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus is
ministered to by Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1–3; Mark 9:2–4; Luke 9:28–30). So
while Jesus was not Elijah, he was visited by Elijah before his own “great and
dreadful day” of suffering.
That Prophet
They then ask him if he is “that prophet,” and again John
answers, “No” (1:21).
This is another expected Messianic figure many Jews were anticipating
would come soon, referring to the prophet predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy
18:15). The fact that they ask about this after John denied he was the Messiah
suggests that Moses-like prophet was not necessarily seen as the same person as
the Davidic Messiah.
The early Christians, however, believed that Jesus was both.
In Acts, Peter cites Deuteronomy 18:15 as a prophecy of Jesus (Acts 3:20–23).
It’s perhaps interesting that in original context, many ancient Israelites probably
associated the prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15 with Moses’s successor, Joshua (Heb.
Yehoshua or Yeshua), since the name Jesus is the Greek
form of Joshua.
One Crying in the Wilderness
Finally, I imagine somewhat exacerbated, they ask John,
“Well, who the heck are you then?” (1:22, my paraphrase). Here we get an answer
for how John himself understands his own role:
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. (1:23)
Esaias is the Greek form of Isaiah, and John is
referring to Isaiah 40:3:
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John is proclaiming to be the “forerunner” of the Messiah.
And the gospels unanimously testify that he was the forerunner of Jesus
specifically.
So each of these figures is either is Jesus or is connected
to him in various ways in the New Testament. The message seems to be whatever
kind of Messianic figure one was waiting for, that expectation was fulfilled in
Jesus.
Anyway, I hope these somewhat rough, incomplete, and
scattered thoughts are somehow useful to you, even if you are on the tail end
of your John 1 studies this week.
[1]
Note that Christ, Greek Christos (Χριστός), simply means “anointed one”
and is the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiach, i.e., Messiah.
This was an excellent compliment to my end of the week study!! Thank you!!
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