THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS, THE CHRIST AND THE SON OF GOD, ACCORDING TO JOHN

0. The Macrostructure/Composition of the Gospel according to John

The Gospel according to “John” composes his story about the life of Jesus who is the “Christ” and the “Son of God” (11:27; 20:31), in two⁶ parts after the “Prologue” (cf. 1:1–18):

- The so-called “Book of Signs” (cf. 1:19–12:50⁷) as Jesus’ public ministry in the world and

- The so-called “Book of Glory” (cf. 13:1–20:31⁸]) as Jesus’ return to His heavenly Father.

With John 21:1–25, we have a second conclusion of “John” in the form of an “appendix” which was later (probably in the second or third century) added to the original Gospel to “John”.

The Fourth Evangelist tells about Jesus’ public ministry in words and deeds in Galilee, in Samaria and in Judea/Jerusalem (cf. 1:19–12:50) as a “teaching about His role” as the “Son of God” concerning His Passion (cf. 13:1–19:42) on earth. The Evangelist as an ancient author concludes with the Crucified (cf. 19:16b–42) and the Risen/Glorified Jesus (cf. 20:1–31/21:25).

We agree – more or less – with the renowned catholic biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown’s structure of John’s Gospel. Therefore we slightly modify the composition of the Gospel “according to John” in allusion to Raymond E. Brown as follows:

1. Prologue/Beginning (John 1:1–18)

2. First Part of John’s Gospel: “Book of Signs” as Jesus’ Public Ministry/Self-Revelation in the World (John 1:19–12:50)

2.1 Christological Basic Chapter (1:19–51)

2.2 From Cana to Cana (2:1–4:54)

2.3 Jesus and the Jewish Feasts (5:1–10:42)

2.4 Jesus’ Journey to the last Passover in Jerusalem (11:1–12:50)

3. Second Part of John’s Gospel: “Book of Glory” (13:1–20:31 + “Appendix” in 21:1–25)

3.1 Jesus’ Self-Revelation for His Disciples (13:1–17:26)

3.2 The Passion and Death of Jesus (18:1–19:42)

3.3 The Day of Christ’s Resurrection (20:1–20:29)

3.4 Epilogue (vv. 30–31)

3.5 “Appendix” (21:1–25)

Chapter 1

The so-called “Prologue” – or “preamble” respectively “proem”⁹ – as the “preface”¹⁰ to the Fourth Gospel is similar to a kind of musical overture and emphasized with the words (vv. 1a, 2: “in the beginning”) in allusion to Genesis 1:1a (LXX = Septuagint) as a “hymn”¹¹/poem of the incarnate “Word” (in Greek “lógos” in vv. 1a, b, c, 14a) of God in “Jesus” (cf. vv. 14, 17). It has three parts (cf. vv. 1–5, 6–13, 14–18¹²). The first two strophes are connected with the keyword “light” (in Greek “phõs”) in verses 5a, 8a, b, 9a, b. In each of them, the first theme is the “Word” (cf. vv. 1–5, 14) and then the theme is the witness of John the Baptist (cf. vv. 6–8, 15) and then the decision/beliefs of the human beings for Jesus Christ as “God’s Word” (His acceptance) or against Him (His refusal). “Not” John the Baptist (cf. v. 8¹³ [“the light”], v. 20 [“the Christ/Messiah”], v. 21 [“Elijah”] and v. 25 [“the prophet”]), but Jesus is the “true light” (v. 9).

The passage of 1:19–51 is structured with the help of the phrase “the next day” in verses 29, 35, 43. Verses 6–8 are a part of the prologue (cf. vv. 1–18). The keyword “witness” in verses 7a, b, 8b emphasizes in verse 19 the mission declaration of John the Baptist in the form of his juristic investigation by the Jewish Temple “police” from Jerusalem as a dialogue (cf. vv. 19–28). Between verses 6–8 and 19 the Fourth Evangelist meditates about (incarnate) Jesus as the light of the world (cf. vv. 9–18). He uses some verbs of the conversation in the context of the investigation between the Temple “police” of Jerusalem and John the Baptist with regard to John’s identity (cf. vv. 19–23) and his authority (cf. vv. 24–27): The verbs to “ask” in verses 19d, 21a, 25a and to “say” in verse 22a, d are used for the delegation from Jerusalem; however the Evangelist uses the two special terms of the jurisdiction to “confess” in verse 20a, c, to “deny” in verse 20b and the verbs to “answer” in verses 21g, 26a, to “say” in verses 21d, 26a as well as to “reply” in verse 23a in the view of John the Baptist. He answers four of five questions (cf. vv. 19d, 21a–b, d, 22; 25) in the negative (cf. vv. 20b, 21c, e, 26c, 27b). A comment by the Evangelist concludes the juristic hearing and it localizes John the Baptist’s ministry at the river Jordan near Bethany (cf. v. 28).

John 1:19–51 contains a list of witnesses to Jesus by John the Baptist to two of his disciples (cf. vv. 19–28, 29–34) and by Andrew to Simon (cf. vv. 40–42), one of his own disciples, who follows Jesus (cf. vv. 35–42) of “Nazareth” (v. 45), “the Lamb of God”¹⁴ (vv. 29, 36) as well as by Philip to Nathanael (cf. vv. 43–51) with the help of the phrase “the next day” in verses 29, 35, 43. After the call of His first two disciples (cf. vv. 35a–39c), a comment by the Evangelist (cf. vv. 39d–40) emphasizes the call of Simon Peter (cf. vv. 41–42) which differs from the synoptic versions of the call of His first disciples (cf. Mark 1:16–20; Matthew 4:18–22 in contrast to Luke 5:1–11).

Microstructure of John 1

1. Prologue/Beginning (vv. 1–18)

The background of the prologue is the principal question: Who is Jesus? The “chief actor” of the “hymn” is the original “word” (in Greek “lógos” in vv. 1a, b, c, 14a) like in Wisdom 9:1–2 which is described with the attributes of a hero or of God.

- Strophe 1: The (Divine) Logos-Hymn (vv. 1–5)

vv. 1–2: In allusion to Genesis 1:1a, the Fourth Evangelist introduces the so-called “Prologue” as a “hymn” with the same words “in the beginning” in verses 1a, 2 (cf. Proverbs 8:22–24 [LXX]; Jesus Sirach 24:9 [LXX]) – note the inclusion¹⁵! The keywords “lógos” (= word in vv. 1a, b, c, 14a) and “theós” (= God) are used as a “concatenation” (in Latin “concatenatio”¹⁶) as follows:

“In the beginning was the WORD,

and the WORD was with GOD

and GOD was the WORD.

This was in the beginning with GOD” (cf. John 17:5; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16–17; Hebrews 1:2; 1 John 1:1; 2:13; Revelation 3:14).

As in Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29, the monotheistic¹⁷ God (cf. John 5:18) had spoken this “Word” as His own decision during His creation of the world (cf. Revelation 19:13).

- Jesus is the Creating Word (vv. 3–5)

v. 3: In this way, “all” things – Heaven (for example, the sun, the moon, the star) and earth (for example, the plants, the animals, men) – were “made”¹⁸/created “through” God, the Creator of all (cf. Genesis 1:1–2:4a and Wisdom 1:14; 9:1; 11:24; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 3:9; 4:10; Colossians 1:16–17, 20; Hebrews 1:2–3; 2:10; Revelation 4:11). Note the play on the verb (infinitive “gínomaɩ”) in Aorist “egéneto” (= made) in verse 3a, b, c:

“All” things were “(made) through Him ( )” – note the parallelism with verse 10b,

“and without Him /was/ made nothing

that /was/ made”. All things in creation are sacred since they originated in God’s Word.

v. 4: So, the heavenly God(’s Word) has spent the “life” (in Greek “zo锹⁹ in v. 4a, b and in 6:63; 8:12; 11:25; 14:6; 20:31) which was the “light” (in Greek “phõs” in vv. 4b, 5a, 7b, 8a, b, 9a and in 3:19–21; 5:26; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9–10; 12:35–36, 46 – cf. Genesis 1:3–5; Psalm 119:105) “of men” respectively human beings on earth. This “light” as His life-giving power enlightens the people/every (wo)man like a plant “through Him” (cf. Colossians 1:16).

v. 5: A contrast²⁰ – “light” versus “darkness” (in Greek “skotía” in v. 5a, b and in 6:17; 8:12; 12:35, 46 – cf. Isaiah 9:1) – concludes the first strophe of the hymn with the help of an antithetic parallelism:

“… The light (shines)” – note the present tense! – “in the darkness ( )” of the world,

“and the darkness” of Satan has “not grasped²¹/overcome” the divine light (cf. John 3:19).

- Strophe 2: The Roles of John the Baptist and Jesus (vv. 6–13)

“God sent” John the Baptist, “his messenger”, “to prepare his people for Christ’s coming” (cf. vv. 6–8), “but the role of” the pre-existent, incarnate, transcendent-immanent²² Jesus, “his only Son”, “is to make God known”²³ (cf. v. 18).

+ John the Baptist – the Role as a Witness for the Light respectively Jesus (vv. 6–8)

v. 6: “John”²⁴ the Baptist (cf. Mark 1:4–5; Matthew 3:1; Luke 3:2) is like an “angel”/messenger (cf., for example, Luke 1:19, 26) respectively the “forerunner”/“precursor” (v. 23 and Isaiah 40:3–5 [LXX]; Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:2–3; Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4–6) who has been “sent” (in Greek “apostéllo” in v. 6b and in 3:28 and “pémpo” in v. 33b) by God or like an apostle who has been “sent” by Jesus (cf., for example, Luke 9:2; 10:1, 3 or especially John 20:21) in contrast to the “sending” of the delegation by the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem (cf. 1:19b, 24): John the Baptist was a “man” of “God” – a “man … from” and for “God” like Jesus (cf. 3:17; 5:36, 38; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23, 25; 20:21).

v. 7: John’s task was to “testify” (in Greek “marturéo” in vv. 7b, 8b, 15a, 32a, 34a and in 3:26; 5:33) “the light” (vv. 4b, 5a, 7b, 8a, b, 9a and in 3:19–21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9–10; 12:35–36, 46) – Jesus – in the “darkness” (cf. v. 5a, b and in 3:19–21; 8:12; 11:9–10; 12:35, 46) of the “world” (in Greek “kósmos” in vv. 9c, 10a, b, c, 29c and in 3:19; 9:5; 12:46). The purpose/aim of his “testimony”²⁵ as a witness was/is that everyone (in Greek “pántes” [= all] in v. 7c and “pánta” [= all] in v. 9b) – then and nowadays – “believes” (in Greek “pɩsteúo” in vv. 7c, 12d, 50d and in 20:31; Acts 19:4) in Jesus Christ, the “light” (cf., for example, John 8:12), as a universal²⁶ invitation – for Christians, Jews(, Muslims, …)

v. 8: He is defined with the help of a correction²⁷ (“not … but”) in the sense of an understatement like in verses 20–21, 27 as being “not … the light but to testify” as His witness “about the light” (cf. 5:35) – Christ Jesus.

+ “To be or not to be” in the “pre-existent”, incarnate Jesus, “the True Light” (vv. 9–13)

v. 9: The incarnate Jesus is described in the metaphoric words as “the (true²⁸) light ( )” (cf. 1 John 2:8 and Isaiah 49:6) for the people as their ray/flicker of hope who illuminates the “darkness” (cf. v. 5a, b) “in the world”. He is like the “shining”²⁹ (cf. Matthew 4:16) of the life-giving sun “into the world” (cf. John 3:19; 6:14; 10:36; 11:27; 12:46–47; 16:28; 17:18; 18:37 or 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; Matthew 5:14) respectively

v. 10: “in the world” (vv. 9c, 10a, b, c, 29c) – note here the concatenation (in Latin “concatenatio”³⁰) in verses 9c–10a as in verses 1–2. In the same words in verse 3a – “expressis verbis”: “… (made) through Him ( )” – are used in verse 10b. So, the author emphasizes that Jesus (of Nazareth), the divine “only Son” (vv. 14d, 18b) of God, was involved in the creation of the world by God, the Creator of all things in Heaven and on earth. However, the so-called “world” did “not know” (in Greek “gɩnósko”³¹) respectively ignored/ignores Jesus (cf., for example, John 14:17; 16:3 or 1 Corinthians 2:8; 1 John 3:1).

v. 11: In verses 11–12 two groups are described in view of an “either-or-decision”³²: On the one side the group which did not accept Jesus as the “only Son” of God (cf. v. 11) and on the other side the group of the believers in Him (cf. vv. 12–13). Either someone trusts in Jesus (cf. vv. 12–13, 16–18 and 20:30–31) or s/he turns against Him by not believing in Him (as the refusal of Him – cf. vv. 10c–11b).

The antithetic parallelism with the noun “tà ídɩa” in verse 11a and the term “ídɩos” in verse 11b – note the same root of word – underlines the “controversy”/“conflict” between Jesus and the “Chosen People” (cf. Matthew 21:38) from the beginning:

“(He came) in/to His/ own ( ),

and /His/ own /people did/ [ ] not receive³³/accept [Him]” like a stranger (cf., for example, John 3:11, 32; 5:43).

v. 12: However, everyone who “received”/receives “Him” and “believed”/believes “in (His) name ( )” (20:31 and 3:18; 5:43; 10:25; 12:13; 14:13–14, 26; 15:16, 21; 16:23–24, 26) will be called “children of God” (cf. John 11:52; Romans 8:16, 21; 9:8; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1–2, 10; 5:2, 13 and Matthew 5:45; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:5)

v. 13: because everyone is God’s creature (v. 13d: “ek theoũ egennéthesan” – “from God /were/ born” – cf. John 3:3, 5–6; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23). Note the contrast between the heavenly God and the human beings on earth with the help of a correction³⁴ (ouk … oudé … oudé … allá): “neither of” blue-“blooded” human beings “nor of /the/ will /of the/ flesh nor of /the/ will /of/ man” (= human reflections/ideas/plans, desires …), “but of God …”

- Strophe 3: The Incarnated Jesus in the World (vv. 14–18)

“A divine being (God’s Word [1:1,14], who is also the light [1:5,9] and God’s only Son [1:14,18] comes into the world and becomes flesh.”³⁵ “The Word” (vv. 1a, b, c, 14a) “was made flesh and lived among us”, so the “Angelus” prayer. The phrase “became flesh” is an expression of Jesus’ incarnation – the meaning of the Latin word is to “be(come) in flesh” – as the divine God’s Son on earth. Christ is the eschatological, authentic Revealer of “truth”³⁶ (in Greek “alétheɩa” in vv. 14e, 17b) and Saviour sent from God who was/is born through Mary as a human being like us – the Christmas story of Jesus of Nazareth is the history of the incarnate “Son of God” who was/is one of us in “flesh”³⁷ (vv. 13a, 14a) and blood. He “dwelt among us” (v. 14b) in the midst of human beings and in solidarity with us in allusion to the Jewish nomads who lived in tents (cf., for example, Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 26:11–12; Numbers 35:34; Ezekiel 37:27). He was a human being under human beings³⁸. In Jesus, God is present in the world and He links the divine world with the earthly world³⁹. The so-called doctrine of the “Hypostatic Union” at the Council of Chalcedon in 451⁴⁰ refers in allusion to John 1:1, 14 that the one person Jesus Christ had/has two distinct natures: Jesus of Nazareth was a human being, a man (100 per cent – cf. Romans 1:3; 8:3; 9:5; Philippians 2:7; Colossians 1:22; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7) and He is the Christ, the divine “Son of God” (100 per cent – cf. Romans 1:4; 8:3; 9:5; Philippians 2:6; 1 John 4:2).

For someone who did/does not believe in Jesus of Nazareth, He was only a human being (“sárx” = flesh) on earth⁴¹, but for His disciples (cf. v. 14c), John the Baptist (cf. v. 15) and for His believers in Him (cf. 16)⁴² – then and nowadays –He was/is the “the only” Son (cf. Genesis 22:2) “from the FATHER” (vv. 14d, 18b). So, the Fourth Evangelist suggests that he as Jesus’ disciples together with the others “have seen” (in Greek “theáomaɩ”⁴³ – cf., for example, John 20:18; Acts 9:27; 1 Corinthians 9:1) “(His) glory ( )”⁴⁴ (cf. Exodus 33:18; 2 Peter 1:17) and were His witnesses (cf., for example, 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1; 4:14).

+ The Witness of John the Baptist for Jesus (v. 15)

John the Baptist (cf. vv. 6–8) is also a witness of Jesus – note the verb “marturéo” (= to testify) in verses 7b, 8b, 15a, 32a, 34a. The pre-existence of Jesus⁴⁵ in contrast to him is described with the help of an antithetic parallelism:

Jesus “comes” temporally “after” him (vv. 15d, 27a, 30b and Mark 1:7; Matthew 3:11),

but He ranks “before” him,

because “[He was] /the/ first ... [ ]” divine One.

+ The Relationship to Jesus by His Believers (vv. 16–18)

v. 16: We agree with Michael Theobald to define the phrase “we all” (in Greek “pántes” in vv. 7c, 16b) with the “graceful” believers (cf. Ephesians 3:19) in Jesus as the Christ and “the only” Son of God – then and nowadays as readers/hearers in the sense of the “receivers” (vv. 12a, 16a₂) of the Good News according to the Fourth Gospel⁴⁶.

v. 17: We also agree with Theobald that the parallelism of verse 17a – “through Moses” – and verse 17b – “through Jesus Christ” (cf. John 17:3; 20:31⁴⁷) is not to be understood as an “antithesis”⁴⁸ (“aut – aut” – either-or) of “Law”⁴⁹/“Torah” (vv. 17a, 45c) – the first part of the Hebrew Bible, the so-called “TaNaK”: the Torah, the prophets (nebiim), the writings (ketubim) – versus “grace and truth”⁵⁰ (cf. Exodus 34:6; Psalm 25:10; 40:11; 85:11 [LXX]; Romans 5:21), but rather it is to be read in the positive sense of “et – et” (cf. Matthew 5:17–18; 7:12) that means both – “Law”/“Torah” & “grace and truth” – complement one another.

v. 18: The Johannine Prologue concludes with the theological statement that the pre-existent “Jesus Christ” (v. 17b) and the incarnate “Son of God” (cf. 14a, d) had only “(seen)” (in Greek “horáo”) “God ( ), the only God” (cf. Exodus 33:20 and John 3:32; 5:37; 6:46; 12:45; 14:9; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 4:12). This One is like an “exegete”⁵¹ (v. 18c) who could explain, interpret God and report about Him because of His (mutual) relationship with His divine “FATHER”. The believers in “Jesus Christ” (v. 17b) and “children of God” (v. 12c) are the receivers of His “explanation”, “interpretation” of the monotheistic God respectively His “report” about Him.

2. First Part of the Fourth Gospel: “Book of Sign” as Jesus’ Public Ministry/Self-Revelation in the World (1:19–12:50)
2.1 Christological Basic Chapter (vv. 19–51)

2.1.1 “First Day”⁵²: The Identity and Authority of John the Baptist – His Mission Declaration to the Jewish Authority of Jerusalem (vv. 19–28⁵³)

Where: the river Jordan near Bethany⁵⁴ near Jericho and Qumran (v. 28)

Who: John the Baptist (cf. vv. 6, 19a) as an individual versus the group of the Jewish delegation – probably the Temple “police”⁵⁵ – from Jerusalem (v. 19b) who was composed of priests⁵⁶, Levites⁵⁷ (v. 19b), Pharisees⁵⁸ (v. 24)

A delegation “from Jerusalem” (v. 19b) on behalf of the authority in Jerusalem questioned (cf. vv. 19e, 21b–c, f; 22b–d; 25b–d) “John the Baptist” who clearly answered them in the form of three⁵⁹ negative (cf. vv. 20d, 21e, h) and two positive sayings (note v. 23b–c as a quotation of the prophet Isaiah 40:3 [LXX] and vv. 26b–27c).

- The Identity of John the Baptist (vv. 19–23)

v. 19: Two comments of the Evangelist John in verses 19 and 28 come before and after the juristic hearing (cf. John 9:13–34; 10:22–30; 18:19–24, 28–19:16b) between the Jewish Temple authorities and John the Baptist. Verse 19 is the setting of the actors of the interview (cf. vv. 19–28) in the view of the judicial inquiry whether the public ministry of John the Baptist on behalf of God was allowed according the Law of Moses (cf. Leviticus 24:10–16, 23; Numbers 15:30; Deuteronomy 18:15–20): John the Baptist and the delegation of priests, Levites (cf. v. 19b), and Pharisees (cf. v. 24) as the Jewish Temple-“police” “from Jerusalem”.

Verse 28 located the place of this event. For the sake of the Law and inner peace (cf. John 11:47–53; 18:1–19:16), they tested John the Baptist whether he was authorized to preach the baptism of the repentance (cf. vv. 23, 26, 28). The first part of the interview is that they asked⁶⁰ him who called to account like a policeman for his identity on behalf of the Jewish authority⁶¹ in Jerusalem (cf. vv. 21–22):

“Who are you?” (cf. v. 22b and John 8:25; 12:34; 21:12 – cf. 19:9) – note the Greek interrogative pronouns “tís” (= who) in verses 19d, 22b and “tí” (= what) in verse 21b.

v. 20: John the Baptist clearly gave them an account. So he did not deny his special prophetic ministry, in contrast to Peter (cf. 13:38; 18:25, 27: “arnéomaɩ”) and “confessed” – note the Greek verbum compositum “homo-logéo” in John 9:22; 12:42 and 1 John 1:9; 2:23; 4:2–3, 15; 2 John 7), in a negative way: “I am not⁶² Christ” (Greek)/the “Messiah” (Hebrew) – cf. vv. 17b, 20c, 25c, 41b and especially John 20:31⁶³.

v. 21: Second, the delegation “from Jerusalem” (v. 19b) also asked him two questions which are like the first question of their interview in verse 19d:

“What (are you) now?” and the second one is a specifically refers to the prophet Elijah –

“Are you Elijah?” (in Greek “Elías” in vv. 21c, 25d and in Mark 6:15; 8:28; 9:4–5, 11–13; 15:35–36; Matthew 11:14; 16:14; 17:3–4, 10–12; 27:47, 49; Luke 1:17; 4:25–26; 9:8, 19, 30, 33).

Again He said “NO” that he is not the “prophet”⁶⁴ (cf. vv. 21e, 23d, 25d; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18), the “new prophet Elijah”⁶⁵ (cf. v. 25 and Malachi 3:1, 23).

v. 22: Thirdly, they asked him in the context of their interview again:

“Who are you”? – note the question in verse 19d.

Then the delegation “from Jerusalem” – probably including some Pharisees⁶⁶ – explained to him why they had to ask him. They requested him to answer them with his own statement of his identity.

v. 23: He answered their question with the help of the quotation from Isaiah⁶⁷ 40:3⁶⁸. “Desert”⁶⁹ is the place of John the Baptist’s ministry – Bethany (cf. John 1:28) and/or “Aenon” near “Salim” (3:23) – from his youth (cf. Luke 1:80). He had his own disciples⁷⁰. He preached and called for the conversion or a renewal of life(-style) by a ritual washing in the Jordan as a visible sign of this, in combination with the public confession and the forgiveness of sins. His aim is to be the (eschatological) messianic “preacher of repentance”⁷¹. John the Baptist never tires of talking about [the Coming of] Christ and of preparing the Day of the Lord as well as the people to accept Jesus as the “Christ” and “God’s Son”. So his self-assessment is to be the “messenger” of [the Coming of] Christ as a precursor on earth. For this, the Evangelist John rereads and quotes the text of the Hebrew Bible – our so-called Old Testament – Isaiah 40:3⁷² as a fulfilled prophetic promise and prediction of the relationship between the “precursor”, John the Baptist and the “redeemer”, Jesus of Nazareth.

John the Baptist is the one who preceded the Lord, prepared His way, and pointed to Jesus as the Messiah – note the right side of the pictures of the so-called “Isenheimer Altar” by the painter Matthias Grünewald between 1506 and 1515 B.C.: Jesus said about Himself: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). His chief interest was the revelation of Jesus’ identity – “the Lamb of God” (v. 29). In this way, he is a model of total witness to Christ (cf. vv. 6–8). The sense of the quotation is also that people should give up their selfish way of living, renounce and repent their sins, seek God’s forgiveness, and establish a good relationship with God. They, then in John’s time, and we, today, have to be ready for the Second Coming of Christ.

+ The Authority of John the Baptist (vv. 24–27)

v. 24: The job of the Pharisees was to test all people who were neither from the priestly class nor qualified in the Law, for all who preached and acted in the name of God YHWH in a public ministry. In this way the Evangelist suggests they straighten out the matter by order of Sanhedrim for the correct use of the Law, and also on behalf of the occupying power of the Roman Empire, for peace within Palestine. In Jesus’ time the Pharisees did not have this authority but in the Evangelist’s time they did. Especially the Pharisees are pictured in the Fourth Gospel as responsible controllers of the Law (cf. John 7:32, 45, 48; 8:3, 13; 9:13, 15-16, 40; 11:46–47, 57; 12:19, 42).

v. 25: The Pharisees sum up the first part of their investigation by saying that John the Baptist is neither the Christ of Daniel 9:25 (cf. v. 20b) nor the expected Elijah of Malachi 3:23 (cf. v. 21c) nor the Mosaic prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 (v. 21e), and they introduce the second part of the judicial inquiry with the question of his authority – for example, Jesus in John 2:18 after His cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem –: “Why then does he baptize?”

vv. 26–27⁷³: He answers them in a negative way (cf. vv. 26c, 27b) again – with the help of a self-confident “I” (vv. 20b, 23a, 26b) – and he testifies the Coming Christ (cf. v. 27a) – “unsaid” Jesus. The special actions of John the Baptist were: to preach and to “baptize”⁷⁴ (vv. 25b, 26b, 28b, 31c, 33b) (only) with “water”⁷⁵ (vv. 26b, 31c, 33b – cf. Acts 1:5) from the brook/river Jordan⁷⁶ in the desert. John’s baptism with water prepared the people to receive Jesus’ ministry in word and deed.

v. 27: Afterwards he describes the role of Jesus with the help of an understatement of himself. He replies in his self-assessment that he is unworthy⁷⁷ to “untie … the ( ) sandal⁷⁸ (strap⁷⁹)” (cf. Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; Acts 13:25) of the one coming after him – Jesus (cf. vv. 6–8). He wants to say that Jesus, the Christ, would be infinitely greater than he. This was the beginning of the spiritual process, and in this way, Jesus finished and fulfilled all that John had begun and prepared.

v. 28: The Fourth Evangelist had the questioning of John the Baptist by the delegation “from Jerusalem” and his answering (cf. 1 Peter 3:15) in “Bethany”⁸⁰ – take place not near Jerusalem (cf. John 11:1, 18; 12:1) but – “on the other side of/across the Jordan”⁸¹ (v. 28 and 3:26; 10:40).

2.1.2 “Second Day”⁸²: John the Baptist at Sight of Jesus (vv. 29–34⁸³)

- The Setting (v. 29a)

Who: John the Baptist, Jesus, the crowd of “Israel” (v. 31), a dove – symbol for the Holy Spirit (vv. 32–33), God who sent John the Baptist (v. 33)

Where: “Bethany on the other side of the Jordan” (v. 28) near Jericho and Qumran

When: during Jesus’ baptism – note Luke’s remark that Jesus of Nazareth “was about thirty years old when He began His” public “ministry” (3:23)

v. 29: On a new (“next) day” (cf. vv. 29a, 35a, 43a and 6:22; 12:12), when Jesus came to “John the Baptist”⁸⁴ – a son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:5–25, 57–80) and His cousin (cf. Luke 1:36) –, at the beginning he proclaimed Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (in Latin “Agnus Dei” – cf. Isaiah 53:7) – note verse 36 in the context of the call of His disciples from John’s fellowship – “who takes away the sin of the world”, and at the end, he underlined that Jesus is “the Son of God” (v. 34b).

Every morning and evening, a one-year-old lamb was sacrificed in the Temple of Jerusalem for the sins of the people (cf. Exodus 29:38–42). The prophets Jeremiah (cf. 11:19) and Isaiah (cf. 53:7) prophesied that the Messiah, God’s servant, would be led to the slaughter like a lamb – in this way, Jesus as the “Servant of God” (cf. Isaiah 42:1; 49:3; 50:10; 52:13) is also the “Lamb of God”. To pay the penalty for sin, a life had to be given – and God chose to provide the sacrifice Himself/Jesus like a “scapegoat” which took all the sins of the Jewish people and took them away/send them into the desert on the “Day of Atonement” (cf. Leviticus 16:10). The “sin(s) of the world” (cf. 1 John 3:5) were removed when Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice (cf. John 19:14, 36 and 1 Peter 1:19) as the Passover Lamb and the sins of all⁸⁵ people – Jews and Gentiles in the whole world – were forgiven in the “soteriological”⁸⁶ sense (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7) forever. This is an interesting aspect because of the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 A.D. and the end of the daily sacrificing of lambs in Jerusalem. According to the Fourth Evangelist, the Passover⁸⁷ Feast was soon (cf. John 2:13) and the Jewish people should smear the doorposts with the blood of the slain lamb on the night in memory of the exodus when they left Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:12–14). Besides in this context of the Evangelist, Jesus passed Bethany like a (flock of) lamb(s) which will serve as sacrifices for the Passover Feast⁸⁸.

v. 30: As in verses 20 and 26–27, an understatement of John the Baptist emphasizes Jesus’ special role as the “Lamb of God” (vv. 29c, 36b) and the “Son of God” (v. 34b) in the sense of the pre-existence of Jesus by God (cf., for example, John 16:5): “After me” (= John the Baptist – note in Greek “opíso mou” in vv. 15c, 27a) “comes” – note the present tense! – “a man” (= Jesus) who “was before me” (v. 30c, d). Therefore Jesus should be infinitely greater than John the Baptist because He finished and fulfilled all that John had begun and prepared.

v. 31: John the Baptist underlines his role as Jesus’ forerunner with the help of a correction⁸⁹ (“not … but”): “( ) I /did/ (not) know Him” – note the parallel with verse 33a – cf. v. 26d –, “but … I baptized” (vv. 25b, 26b, 28b, 31c, 33c) only “with water” (cf. vv. 26b, 33c) as the sign of the cleansing and repentance of “Israel”⁹⁰ (v. 31b). His baptism with water was preparatory, because it was for repentance and symbolized the washing of sins.

v. 32: John the Baptist “testifies”⁹¹/“convinced” (cf. vv. 7b, 8b, 15a, 34a) that he “saw”⁹² (vv. 32b, 33e, 34a) Jesus as the “Son of God” (v. 34b) like a “witness”⁹³ (cf. John 19:35; 21:24), because the Holy “Spirit comes down” (vv. 32b, 33e, 51e ) “from Heaven” (cf. Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 61:1 – note also John 6:58) “as a dove”⁹⁴ (cf. Luke 3:22a/Matthew 3:16 and less Mark 1:10) during Jesus’ baptism “and remains on Him” (v. 33d) in public. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus permanently from then on (cf. John 14:17 and 6:56; 8:31; 15:4–10) in the sense of Ezekiel 36:26–27 and not as a momentary inspiration at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in word and deed. That is the message of John the Baptist as the “precursor” of Jesus, the “redeemer” and “Saviour” (cf. John 3:16).

v. 33: As in verse 31a, John the Baptist emphasizes again with the help of a second correction⁹⁵ (“not … but”) that he “( ) /did/ (not) know Him” – note the same words in verse 31a –, “but” he “who has been sent” by God “to baptize with water” – note again verse 26b and especially verse 31c as an earthly-immanent event. However, He explains that the “Spirit coming down” – note the same words in verse 32b –as a dove (from Heaven) which “remained on Him” – note the parallel with verse 32c – as the heavenly-divine/transcendental act of God’s Holy “Spirit” is a sign of the “Lamb” and the “Son of God” (v. 34b) in Jesus. Note the climax: John’s Baptism with “water” here (vv. 26b, 31c, 33c) – Jesus’ Baptism with the “Spirit” there!