INTRO
As a follower of Jesus, John was an eyewitness to the life of a man John worked out in his mind to be the Son of God. John wrote an account of Jesus’ life, including stories and details, with the sole purpose of convincing those who would come generations later, to reach this same conclusion. In this devotional series, we will work through the Book of John together – reading through John’s eyewitness account to determine for ourselves who Jesus is.
Read: John 1:1-9 NRSV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
At the beginning of every play there’s a helpful page called the dramatis personae, a list of the principal characters in the story, sometimes with their titles or roles written alongside their names. (Think: Hamlet, son to the late and nephew to the present King.) Before you even begin reading the dialogue, the author has included some background information to help you recognize the characters when they appear on stage. Sometimes, to add some suspense and mystery to the plot, the playwright might conceal an identity from the other characters on stage, or from the audience.
The opening of the Book of John can be read as a sort of dramatis personae. We start with three characters:
God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
God might be the most straightforward character here. He is YHWH, the God of the Jews about whom so much is written. John’s audience, including us, understands right away the character of God.
John, a witness to testify to the light.
Here’s where things start to get a little more interesting. John the Baptist is an important character in the gospels. We know him as a righteous man who baptizes Jesus and eventually gets executed. He is introduced here as a prototype of what is to come, a “witness.” Think of how that word is used in Acts 1:8. John’s primary role in the gospel account is to reveal the identity of the mysterious third character in the opening lines, or to “bear witness” to his true nature.
The Word/Light
This mysterious character might be listed under many different “personas” at the beginning of our play: Anointed One, Teacher, Lamb of God, Son of God, God with Us, Son of Man. He’s the shadowy figure that the playwright reveals to us in bits and pieces, teasing us with references to other stories until it’s revealed that it’s none other than the King himself.
