John 1:11-15
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The New Testament > John > Chapter 1
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Questions
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Verse 13
What does this verse tell us about how we come to have the power to become the children of God? What does it mean to say that those who believe on God are not born of blood? That they are not born of the will of the flesh? That they are not born of the will of man? What does it mean to be born of God? In the Old Testament flesh often refers to human weakness, as in Isaiah 40:6. Blood in the Old Testament is usually associated with death. Might John have those associations in mind? If so, how does that help us understand this verse? Some have suggested that "blood" means "natural generation," that "flesh" means "natural desires, such as the desire to have children," and that "the will of man" means "the human ability to choose." Does that help give insight into a possible meaning of this verse?
Verse 14
How do you think that those of a Greek culture, including educated Jews, would have responded to this announcement: God was made flesh and dwelt among human beings? How would Greek and Roman intellectuals have responded?
What does it mean to say that Jesus is full of grace? That he is full of truth?
Verse 15
Just as John began his commentary on this hymn by talking about John the Baptist, he ends by talking about John the Baptist. Why? Why was John the Baptist so important to explaining the mission of Jesus? (Compare Mark 1:7 and Matthew 3:11.)
Lexical notes
Verse 11
- His own. See this post by Kevin Barney at the Feast blog for an analysis of the underlying Greek text here. The first occurrence of idios ("his own") is neutral in gender whereas the second is masculine. Here are a list of alternate translations. The NRSV rendering is: "He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."
Verse 12
- Receive. Another translation of the Greek word translated "receive" is "accept."
Verse 14
- Grace. The word translated "grace" could also be translated "mercy." The phrase "grace and truth" seems to imitate a pair of characteristics used to describe God in the Old Testament: his loving-kindness (esed) and his faithfulness in keeping his covenants (‘emet). Exodus 34:6 is representative of many Old Testament scriptures that mention these attributes of God, probably the most important of the divine attributes discussed in the Old Testament. (See also Psalms 25:10, 61:7, 86:15; and Proverbs 20:28.) This early hymn explicitly identifies Christ with the God of the Old Testament.
- Truth. The word translated "truth" means truth, but it originally meant "what is unconcealed" or "what is revealed" (though by the time of Christ that origin had probably long been forgotten).
Exegesis
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Verse 14
Structurally, this verse repeats verse 1. Like verse one it testifies of Christ’s existence, of his relation to the Father, and of his attributes: "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us"—he exists; "we beheld his glory, the glory of the unique Son of the Father"—his relation to the Father; full of grace and love—his attributes.
Though "only begotten" is an accurate translation, that translation changes the emphasis of the original. The Greek emphasizes the uniqueness of the Son. Literally, this says "the glory of a singular Son coming from the Father."
Related links
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