In search of Water…
Peace be to all people of Good Will! I pray that the past few weeks have been a blessing to you and your family. As the holiday season comes to a close, let us return to our exploration of the Gospel of John. As we left off we were given a first glimpse of the text of chapter three. So we begin the first part of our commentary on the chapter. We will proceed slowly at points. This first posting will concentrate on helping the seeker to define key terms used in the Gospel.
In chapter three we have what is arguably one of the central dialogues of the Gospel. The Jesus engages one of the Leaders and Teachers of the Religious establishment. We will explore this chapter in several parts. Today we will look at verses 1-6. A formula of sorts is provided to the seeker of truth. This formula leads to an awakening if understood in the proper context. Let’s take a look at the verses:
1. There was a certain man from the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2. This man came to The Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you were sent from God as a teacher, because man is not able to do the miracles you do unless God is with him.”
I will ask you to make a few decisions as we look at this section of the Gospel. The first concerns the definition of a very important element of scripture, the idea of the “night.” Here we see that the Gospel is careful to record the fact that Nicodemus comes to Jesus “at night.” Why is this significant? It is---I assure you---but why? Before you can experience the awakening of the Spirit there are certain ideas that you should explore. One such idea is the symbolism of the “night.”
You would do well to explore the Gospel for other references to the “night.” It may also be helpful to explore the Hebrew Scripture (the Christian Old Testament) for references to “night.” It’s not for me to spell out all the answers for you, but I can point you in a safe direction. Understanding what scripture and tradition mean when they mention “night” is important for you on this journey. Don’t rely on what anyone else tells you about the definition or symbolism of the “night.” Instead, discover it for yourself.
In the verses that follow the Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about what needs to happen before a person can enter the Kingdom of God:
3. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not born from the start again, he is not able to see the Kingdom of God.”
Ok, what we have here is some pretty heavy stuff! What does it all mean? We have just read a definitive statement concerning one’s eligibility to enter the Kingdom of God. If you are familiar with other translations of this Gospel you will notice that verse three does not contain the expression “born again” or “born from above” that one usually finds when reading this verse in some other versions. I have translated this expression as “born from the start again” because I believe it is a more accurate translation. There are other modern scripture scholars who have also translated this expression as I have. Is this just quibbling over minutia? I think not. This is one of the few times that the Jesus gives such a direct quote on what is required for eternal life in the Kingdom of God. It’s well worth pondering.
Ask yourself this: Is Jesus speaking figuratively here?
I don’t know if a Christian can really make any progress in the search for spiritual truth and awakening without first answering this question. If he was speaking figuratively, what good is this dialogue? If he was speaking literally, do we really believe him? What does it mean to be born from the start again? Let’s continue with the verses. Read verses 4-6:
4. Nicodemus said to him, “How is an old man able to be born? Is it possible to enter the womb of his mother and be born a second time?”
5. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not born from water and the Spirit he is not able to enter into the Kingdom of God.
6. The thing which is born from flesh is flesh. The thing which is born from spirit is spirit.
This exchange should help use decide what Jesus means when talking about being born from the start again. Here the Jesus refers to being born “from water and the Spirit.” What does this mean? We hear this verse so often in the Christian life, but do we ever stop to really listen to the words? What does it mean to be born “from water”? Can you really profess a belief in the Christian faith without a firm understanding of such a fundamental Christian idea? I think not. So, what then is meant by “born from water?”
Reference to water can be found in the scriptures of all major faiths. Can you recall other references to water in the Gospel or other books of the bible? Do the references have any common theme? What can water represent…or is the reference to water literal? Decide before you move on because it will become important later.
We are given a little help in understanding this idea by the addition of the term “Spirit” to the expression…“born from water and the Spirit.” The juxtaposition of the terms suggests that they are not interchangeable in this context. So water does not refer to something spiritual (or non-material). It speaks of something unlike---but not antagonistic to---spirit.
So what is water?
Take the next week to ponder this element. The answer is really very obvious. I will post part two in a week or so. In the meantime, search for the meaning of water. Good Luck. As always, I am available by email if you are seeking a little extra support on the journey. Peace!
Wednesday
Friday
Part two of Chapter 3
Please be advised that the section of commentary on the third chapter will be available in December. The bishop is currently overseeing another project at this time and will begin posting to this site again in December.
Thank you,
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Thank you,
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Tuesday
Chapter 2 (part 3 of 3) and Chapter 3 (part1)
Chapter 2 (Part 3 of 3)
We’ll conclude our section on chapter two and present the text of chapter three in this post. In chapter two we have seen the juxtaposition of two major elements of the Gospel message: the wedding feast miracle and the cleansing of the temple. Both elements really go hand-in-hand so to speak.
As we have seen the wedding feast miracle can be understood as the essential first step of discipleship. This miracle tells of the joining of the body and spirit elements of the person. The spirit and the body are joined and become one. This joining then is blessed with the good wine of divine life as a result of being open to the presence of Jesus in the marriage.
The cleansing of the temple can be viewed in a different way. In this scene Jesus is essentially the unwelcomed aspect (at least unwelcomed by the temple authorities). He is not invited by the religious authorities and his very presence and action is questioned by them. As we see, Jesus has the authority, right, power, and privilege to dismiss the questions and claims of authority of the religious leaders. His very presence gives him divine rights.
How are we to understand the presentation of the two scenes in scripture in this way? In the one scene Jesus demonstrates the abundance of God’s love and blessings in the joining in love of the couple at Cana. In the text notice that this miracle is worked without the couple themselves even knowing about the wine running out. I have always found this point to be of interest.
Jesus acts to bring blessing and joy to the couple and the celebration and it seems that God required no action on the part of the couple. Why is that? Can it be because the reality of God’s great love is shown explicitly in this essential miracle of discipleship? Is it not the case that God desires our happiness and the fulfillment of our love without requiring anything from us in return but for an open heart? I believe it is.
When we see the reaction of Jesus to the request of his mother we are given an important clue to the personality---if you will---of God. His “time” has not come and by his own words the fact that the wine has run out has little to do with him or his mother. Translation: it not by his doing that the wine is gone. Yet, the very idea that children of God are in need of help in order to make their lives happy is enough to bring the abundant flow of God’s miraculous love upon the people. (Of course we should understand that the couple are acting in response to love and so they are given love in return)
Compare this reaction to Jesus’ reaction to the scene in the temple. Here the people are attempting to barter with God. The authorities have created a system of exchange that is profitable to the temple and one that endorses the burdensome system of sacrificial offering to God. Can we not see that God’s reaction through Jesus is evidence of his true desires for his people?
In keeping with the imagery that we have used to help the reader mediate on and experience the Gospel, I ask this: If the wedding scene represents your total self---united and happy in God’s joy---what does the temple scene represent? If it represents your institutional religious practice, I ask you: do you agree with the actions of Jesus? That sounds like a “loaded” question, right? Perhaps it is. Let’s examine further…
Are you a part of a religious institution where you experience the Jesus of the wedding feast? Is your institutional experience one that brings you the richness of God’s blessings simply because you are a loving child of God inviting Jesus into your life or do you feel as though you are burdened and taxed by your religious experience? Do you feel that Jesus reacts to you as he did to the people in the temple? Is he driving you out of the temple?
Do you think that Jesus was right to drive the moneychangers and people out of the temple in that way? Was he doing this to punish or judge them or was he simply looking out for their best spiritual interests? If your child is reaching for a hot stove-top, what do you do? Was Jesus not reacting in a similar way when he turned over the money tables? or was Jesus simply treating those in the temple the way they were treating each other...just as he did at the wedding feast (where everyone was loving and blessing each other)?
I invite you to ponder these questions and also to let the Holy Spirit open up the meaning of the second chapter of the Gospel to you in more intimate ways. What is this chapter saying to you? How can you experience the freedom of Jesus in your own self and your own life through the words of this chapter?
What scenes do you bring to the Gospel of your life? How does Jesus react in your life scenes?
_______________________________________
I will post now the first part of chapter three without commentary. Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus continues the ideas presented in chapter two and expands those ideas in many ways. In about a week I will post a commentary with reflection questions connected to the verses that follow:
Chapter three
1. There was a certain man from the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2. This man came to The Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you were sent from God as a teacher, because man is not able to do the miracles you do unless God is with him.”
3. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not born from the start again, he is not able to see the Kingdom of God.”
4. Nicodemus said to him, “How is an old man able to be born? Is it possible to enter the womb of his mother and be born a second time?”
5. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not
born from water and the Spirit he is not able to enter into the Kingdom of God.
6. The thing which is born from flesh is flesh. The thing which is born from spirit is spirit.
7. Do not marvel that I have said to you that it is necessary for you to be born again.
8. The wind will blow were it desires and you hear its voice but you do not know from where it comes or to where it goes. It is the same for everyone who is born from spirit.”
9. Nicodemus answered, “How is it possible for these things to be?”
10. The Jesus answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and these things you do not understand.
11. So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that we speak the things we know and testify to the things we see and yet you do not receive our testimony.
12. If I have told you about worldly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about Heavenly things?
13. No man has ascended into Heaven except he who descended from Heaven, the Son of Man who is in Heaven.
14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, in that manner the Son of Man is about to be lifted up.
15. So that everyone who believes in him will not be destroyed but will have eternal life.”
16. For in that manner God loved the world and would give his only-begotten Son that whoever would believe in him would not be destroyed but have eternal life.
17. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to give life to the world by his own action.
18. He who believes in him is not judged and he who does not believe is already judged because he does not believe in his name, that of the Only-begotten Son of God.
19. This is the judgment: the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness more than the light because their works are evil.
20. Everyone who does hateful things hates the light and does not come into the light because his works will not be hidden.
21. He who does truthful things comes to the light that it may be known that his works are done in God.
We’ll conclude our section on chapter two and present the text of chapter three in this post. In chapter two we have seen the juxtaposition of two major elements of the Gospel message: the wedding feast miracle and the cleansing of the temple. Both elements really go hand-in-hand so to speak.
As we have seen the wedding feast miracle can be understood as the essential first step of discipleship. This miracle tells of the joining of the body and spirit elements of the person. The spirit and the body are joined and become one. This joining then is blessed with the good wine of divine life as a result of being open to the presence of Jesus in the marriage.
The cleansing of the temple can be viewed in a different way. In this scene Jesus is essentially the unwelcomed aspect (at least unwelcomed by the temple authorities). He is not invited by the religious authorities and his very presence and action is questioned by them. As we see, Jesus has the authority, right, power, and privilege to dismiss the questions and claims of authority of the religious leaders. His very presence gives him divine rights.
How are we to understand the presentation of the two scenes in scripture in this way? In the one scene Jesus demonstrates the abundance of God’s love and blessings in the joining in love of the couple at Cana. In the text notice that this miracle is worked without the couple themselves even knowing about the wine running out. I have always found this point to be of interest.
Jesus acts to bring blessing and joy to the couple and the celebration and it seems that God required no action on the part of the couple. Why is that? Can it be because the reality of God’s great love is shown explicitly in this essential miracle of discipleship? Is it not the case that God desires our happiness and the fulfillment of our love without requiring anything from us in return but for an open heart? I believe it is.
When we see the reaction of Jesus to the request of his mother we are given an important clue to the personality---if you will---of God. His “time” has not come and by his own words the fact that the wine has run out has little to do with him or his mother. Translation: it not by his doing that the wine is gone. Yet, the very idea that children of God are in need of help in order to make their lives happy is enough to bring the abundant flow of God’s miraculous love upon the people. (Of course we should understand that the couple are acting in response to love and so they are given love in return)
Compare this reaction to Jesus’ reaction to the scene in the temple. Here the people are attempting to barter with God. The authorities have created a system of exchange that is profitable to the temple and one that endorses the burdensome system of sacrificial offering to God. Can we not see that God’s reaction through Jesus is evidence of his true desires for his people?
In keeping with the imagery that we have used to help the reader mediate on and experience the Gospel, I ask this: If the wedding scene represents your total self---united and happy in God’s joy---what does the temple scene represent? If it represents your institutional religious practice, I ask you: do you agree with the actions of Jesus? That sounds like a “loaded” question, right? Perhaps it is. Let’s examine further…
Are you a part of a religious institution where you experience the Jesus of the wedding feast? Is your institutional experience one that brings you the richness of God’s blessings simply because you are a loving child of God inviting Jesus into your life or do you feel as though you are burdened and taxed by your religious experience? Do you feel that Jesus reacts to you as he did to the people in the temple? Is he driving you out of the temple?
Do you think that Jesus was right to drive the moneychangers and people out of the temple in that way? Was he doing this to punish or judge them or was he simply looking out for their best spiritual interests? If your child is reaching for a hot stove-top, what do you do? Was Jesus not reacting in a similar way when he turned over the money tables? or was Jesus simply treating those in the temple the way they were treating each other...just as he did at the wedding feast (where everyone was loving and blessing each other)?
I invite you to ponder these questions and also to let the Holy Spirit open up the meaning of the second chapter of the Gospel to you in more intimate ways. What is this chapter saying to you? How can you experience the freedom of Jesus in your own self and your own life through the words of this chapter?
What scenes do you bring to the Gospel of your life? How does Jesus react in your life scenes?
_______________________________________
I will post now the first part of chapter three without commentary. Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus continues the ideas presented in chapter two and expands those ideas in many ways. In about a week I will post a commentary with reflection questions connected to the verses that follow:
Chapter three
1. There was a certain man from the Pharisees whose name was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2. This man came to The Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you were sent from God as a teacher, because man is not able to do the miracles you do unless God is with him.”
3. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not born from the start again, he is not able to see the Kingdom of God.”
4. Nicodemus said to him, “How is an old man able to be born? Is it possible to enter the womb of his mother and be born a second time?”
5. The Jesus answered, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that if a man is not
born from water and the Spirit he is not able to enter into the Kingdom of God.
6. The thing which is born from flesh is flesh. The thing which is born from spirit is spirit.
7. Do not marvel that I have said to you that it is necessary for you to be born again.
8. The wind will blow were it desires and you hear its voice but you do not know from where it comes or to where it goes. It is the same for everyone who is born from spirit.”
9. Nicodemus answered, “How is it possible for these things to be?”
10. The Jesus answered, “You are a teacher of Israel and these things you do not understand.
11. So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that we speak the things we know and testify to the things we see and yet you do not receive our testimony.
12. If I have told you about worldly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about Heavenly things?
13. No man has ascended into Heaven except he who descended from Heaven, the Son of Man who is in Heaven.
14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, in that manner the Son of Man is about to be lifted up.
15. So that everyone who believes in him will not be destroyed but will have eternal life.”
16. For in that manner God loved the world and would give his only-begotten Son that whoever would believe in him would not be destroyed but have eternal life.
17. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to give life to the world by his own action.
18. He who believes in him is not judged and he who does not believe is already judged because he does not believe in his name, that of the Only-begotten Son of God.
19. This is the judgment: the light has come into the world and men loved the darkness more than the light because their works are evil.
20. Everyone who does hateful things hates the light and does not come into the light because his works will not be hidden.
21. He who does truthful things comes to the light that it may be known that his works are done in God.
Monday
Meditative Exercise for Chapter 2
At this point in our translation of the Gospel we have treated many ideas. Let us now recapitulate the events and ideas presented concerning the second chapter of the Gospel (in the form of a meditative exercise) before we complete the commentary on this section. We have asked the reader to place himself in the Gospel as the characters and scenes of the Gospel (which represent the totality of the person who encounters Jesus). In this way we have advised the reader to begin a process of self-searching and self-identifying. Our hope is that the reader will discover his true relationship with Jesus as a result of this approach.
In the first section of the chapter we are placed in the scene of the wedding feast. In keeping with the imaginal reading technique, the reader is the scene and the characters are elements of the reader. In this posting we wish for you to engage in a meditative exercise:
Re-read the verses relating to the wedding feast, imagining that you are in a room seated across from Jesus and this time you will speak all the parts to him as in a conversation.
Now the characters and elements and how they relate to your person:
• The couple (who do not speak but are only referred to) represent your future self as a disciple of Jesus…or as St. Paul would say, another Christ. This is your soon-to-be-born divine aspect.
• The Mother of Jesus, represents the aspect of your self that is open to giving birth to this new creation, this united self…this other Christ. She is that which nurtures the divine life within you.
• The disciples represent all the traits within you that have made prepared you for the conversion. These are your Christ-like attributes.
• The servants are the aspects of your person that are concerned with the mundane, daily chores of life. They are neither good nor bad, they are simply the parts of you that maintain your material life. They are always obedient to you. They serve you.
• The master of the feast the part of you that makes moment by moment decisions and life plans. He is your planner.
• The stone jars are the “empty” events or persons you encounter in life. These represent anything that is void of fully-actualized divine substance. They are vessels waiting to be filled.
• The water represents the everyday current of normal earthly life and earthly activity.
• The ordinary wine represents ordinary joy and an ordinary earthly, happy life.
• The good wine represents divine joy and the divine, heavenly life.
Once you have an understanding of the bulleted points above, prepare yourself for the mediation and reading. Imagine that what you are about to do (the meditation itself) is your wedding feast moment. This is the act of the Mother of God speaking through your heart and imagination. This is you inviting Jesus to your wedding. It is the moment that you will ask him to bring you the good wine and become that new creation ready for the divine journey with him through the Gospel of life.
I recommend that you prepare for this mediation by using the bulleted points above to make a list identifying specific traits or persons or situations in your life that correspond to the descriptions of the characters and elements listed. For example: what in your life would be the “water” or the “ordinary wine.”? Who or what would be the stone jars? What parts of your personality or what aspects of your life are represented by the disciples? …the servants? …the master of the feast?
Let yourself have the time and privacy to engage this mediation appropriately and go slowly. Mediate on each verse and listen to the Voice of the Spirit in your heart.
See if you can feel the moment when Jesus turns your water in to the good wine.
I will post the last part of the commentary in about a week, giving our readers time to experience this meditative exercise first.
In the first section of the chapter we are placed in the scene of the wedding feast. In keeping with the imaginal reading technique, the reader is the scene and the characters are elements of the reader. In this posting we wish for you to engage in a meditative exercise:
Re-read the verses relating to the wedding feast, imagining that you are in a room seated across from Jesus and this time you will speak all the parts to him as in a conversation.
Now the characters and elements and how they relate to your person:
• The couple (who do not speak but are only referred to) represent your future self as a disciple of Jesus…or as St. Paul would say, another Christ. This is your soon-to-be-born divine aspect.
• The Mother of Jesus, represents the aspect of your self that is open to giving birth to this new creation, this united self…this other Christ. She is that which nurtures the divine life within you.
• The disciples represent all the traits within you that have made prepared you for the conversion. These are your Christ-like attributes.
• The servants are the aspects of your person that are concerned with the mundane, daily chores of life. They are neither good nor bad, they are simply the parts of you that maintain your material life. They are always obedient to you. They serve you.
• The master of the feast the part of you that makes moment by moment decisions and life plans. He is your planner.
• The stone jars are the “empty” events or persons you encounter in life. These represent anything that is void of fully-actualized divine substance. They are vessels waiting to be filled.
• The water represents the everyday current of normal earthly life and earthly activity.
• The ordinary wine represents ordinary joy and an ordinary earthly, happy life.
• The good wine represents divine joy and the divine, heavenly life.
Once you have an understanding of the bulleted points above, prepare yourself for the mediation and reading. Imagine that what you are about to do (the meditation itself) is your wedding feast moment. This is the act of the Mother of God speaking through your heart and imagination. This is you inviting Jesus to your wedding. It is the moment that you will ask him to bring you the good wine and become that new creation ready for the divine journey with him through the Gospel of life.
I recommend that you prepare for this mediation by using the bulleted points above to make a list identifying specific traits or persons or situations in your life that correspond to the descriptions of the characters and elements listed. For example: what in your life would be the “water” or the “ordinary wine.”? Who or what would be the stone jars? What parts of your personality or what aspects of your life are represented by the disciples? …the servants? …the master of the feast?
Let yourself have the time and privacy to engage this mediation appropriately and go slowly. Mediate on each verse and listen to the Voice of the Spirit in your heart.
See if you can feel the moment when Jesus turns your water in to the good wine.
I will post the last part of the commentary in about a week, giving our readers time to experience this meditative exercise first.
Wednesday
Chapter 2 (part 2 of 3)
Here we begin part two of the three-part section on the second chapter of this Gospel. In an attempt at brevity for the sake of the nature of this blog, I will make a recommendation for further study rather than expound on (what is really a key) idea in this section. It would be of benefit to the reader to do a bit of research concerning the principles of the “Passover of the Jews” as referred to in this chapter. I do not mean that you should become familiar with simply the rituals or history, but with the essential meaning of this idea.
13. The Passover of the Jews was approaching and The Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14. He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the moneychangers who were sitting.
15. He made for himself a whip from cords and all of them he drove out from the temple even the sheep and oxen and moneychangers. He poured out their exchange money and their tables he overturned.
16. To those who were selling doves he said, “Take these away from here and do not make the house of my Father a house of bartering.”
Let us look now at this passage in the way we introduced in the introduction to the first part of the commentary to this chapter. Let’s identify the “players.” We have Jesus, who is the manifestation of the Word of God. We have those expelled from the Temple, the authorities of the Temple, the disciples, and the Temple area itself is an important “player” here as well. All of the non-Jesus elements come together to form a picture of you.
People are often described as the Temple of the Spirit. So, the Temple area is synonymous with your spirit. Here Jesus enters the temple of your spirit and finds an attitude of belief that presumes God can be bartered with. He finds ideas that animalistic sacrifice can somehow buy God’s love. What’s worse is that he finds ideas that think money can be used and translated into favor with God. Still worse is the thought that after exchanging worldly money for “godly money” that one can buy other creatures and sacrifice them in place of one’s self (we won’t even address the fact that God does not desire sacrifice at all). All together Jesus finds myriad wrong ideas about God. Do you have these same or similar ideas in the temple of your thoughts?
In addition to the wrong ideas represented by the actions visible, we have the cast of players who personify these ideas and perpetuate them. The moneychangers represent many personifications. They exist on the idea of slavery in that they depend on the peoples’ enslavement to money. They also perpetuate the idea of slavery in that they presume to own God’s creatures and so they believe they have the right to sell them to the unsuspecting penitent who comes to the Temple desperate to gain favor with God. The Temple authorities certify these beliefs and advocate them. The authorities personify the systems of the world that seek to replace God by usurping divine authority and replacing God’s thought with their own thoughts.
Are you the moneychangers in life? Are you the Temple authorities? Are you the unsuspecting penitents? You will know for sure which group best personifies you by your reaction to Jesus when he enters the thoughts of your temple area. Will you react like the moneychangers and cling to all that represents worldly wealthy, making it your god? Will you challenge the authority of Jesus like the Temple authorities will? or will you recognize the truth he speaks and free yourself from unnecessary burdens that have not been imposed on you from God but from worldly creatures?
17. His disciples remembered that it is written that “the zeal of your house has devoured me.”
This verse is important. I do not interpret it the way many theologians have. I do not believe it is a reference to the zeal with which Jesus cleanses the Temple of ungodliness. I believe that it refers to the fact that if one is over zealous about the things of outward appearance (like worldly ritual, reputation, and wealth) that such an attitude of belief literally devours (consumes) the truth that God speaks into the heart. This attitude thinks (in error) that God’s voice is a consumable, disposable commodity that can be bought, sold, and controlled by worldly authority. This thinking has the potential to make slaves of God’s creatures if the Voice of God’s truth is rejected.
18. The Jews answered and said, “What can you do to show us you have the authority to do these things?”
19. The Jesus answered, “Tear down this temple and after three days I will raise it.”
20. The Jews said to him, “forty and six years built this temple and you will raise it in three days?”
21. But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Jesus represents God’s power to expel wrong thoughts. Notice that Jesus did not need any “permission” to expel the moneychangers. His mere presence in the Temple area was enough to expel them. The authorities were powerless to do anything. All they could do is question him. Even their questions were in a sense dismissed by Jesus. He doesn’t answer their question. He doesn’t need to prove anything to them. The truth is that the authorities know this. They question him often but they can do nothing to force him to do anything. They do not even have the power to make him answer their meaningless questions. Worldly authority does this from time to time also. The truth is that once you have Jesus’s authority in the Temple of your spirit, there is not one single thing that worldly authority can do to you unless you permit it. Just command with the authority of Jesus in your Temple of thought and the “authority” of the world must obey.
Jesus proves that any authority that tries to enslave God’s children is powerless. Worldly authority (which is personified in this passage---as it often is in the world---by religious authority) presumes (and depends upon the hope) that you will submit to it rather than claim your divine right to be free. Listen to the Voice of God, personified by Jesus in this lesson. You are free by right of the fact that you hear and recognize the divine Voice. Do not submit to any authority that claims to be God’s authority. God---in Jesus---frees you from any outside rule. By virtue of Jesus in the temple of your spirit, God is with you and no worldly power has any authority over you no matter how much that “authority” may try to convince you. You are free.
22. When he rose from the grave his disciples remembered that he said this and they believed the scriptures and the word that The Jesus had said.
23. While this was taking place and The Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast many believed in him when they saw the miracles that he did.
What is this rising from the grave spoken of when it comes to Jesus? I pray that this rising from the grave is happening for you now. Jesus (God’s own true thoughts and words) was buried in you (as in a tomb) when you were born in the flesh. The world (personified by the moneychangers and “authorities” in this passage) had tried to keep this Jesus in the tomb of your heart and mind by suppressing your divine freedom and by trying to keep you submissive to false-worldly authority. The moment you recognize this Jesus buried within you and believe, you roll away the heavy stone placed before the tomb and God is able to rise in you. This is your resurrection also. This is your third day. This is your liberation. This is the moment that “in your hearing, the scripture is fulfilled.”
24. The Jesus did not turn himself over to them because he did understand every man
25. And he did not depend on men to testify to him concerning any of them because he knew what was in man.
Jesus doesn’t allow himself to be used by anyone who will try to harm, control, or enslave you. Your litmus test for anyone (whether they present themselves as secular or religious authority) should be love, mercy, and forgiveness. Any “authority” that tries to lord over you or that tries to remind you of any past fault or “sin” is not from God. Love alone comes from God. Love does not enslave. Love does not remember past faults. Love does not judge or condemn.
Jesus will cleanse the temple of your thoughts. Once he does, continue to live in your freedom. Do not fall back under any authority that tries to enslave you.
In part three we will discuss the juxtaposition of the miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the Temple. We will see how the Gospel highlights the fact that God’s life and joy is found in the beauty of love relationships and not in the law of religion and sacrifice.
Please e-mail me with your thoughts or comments at dominicanvocations@hotmail.com
13. The Passover of the Jews was approaching and The Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14. He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the moneychangers who were sitting.
15. He made for himself a whip from cords and all of them he drove out from the temple even the sheep and oxen and moneychangers. He poured out their exchange money and their tables he overturned.
16. To those who were selling doves he said, “Take these away from here and do not make the house of my Father a house of bartering.”
Let us look now at this passage in the way we introduced in the introduction to the first part of the commentary to this chapter. Let’s identify the “players.” We have Jesus, who is the manifestation of the Word of God. We have those expelled from the Temple, the authorities of the Temple, the disciples, and the Temple area itself is an important “player” here as well. All of the non-Jesus elements come together to form a picture of you.
People are often described as the Temple of the Spirit. So, the Temple area is synonymous with your spirit. Here Jesus enters the temple of your spirit and finds an attitude of belief that presumes God can be bartered with. He finds ideas that animalistic sacrifice can somehow buy God’s love. What’s worse is that he finds ideas that think money can be used and translated into favor with God. Still worse is the thought that after exchanging worldly money for “godly money” that one can buy other creatures and sacrifice them in place of one’s self (we won’t even address the fact that God does not desire sacrifice at all). All together Jesus finds myriad wrong ideas about God. Do you have these same or similar ideas in the temple of your thoughts?
In addition to the wrong ideas represented by the actions visible, we have the cast of players who personify these ideas and perpetuate them. The moneychangers represent many personifications. They exist on the idea of slavery in that they depend on the peoples’ enslavement to money. They also perpetuate the idea of slavery in that they presume to own God’s creatures and so they believe they have the right to sell them to the unsuspecting penitent who comes to the Temple desperate to gain favor with God. The Temple authorities certify these beliefs and advocate them. The authorities personify the systems of the world that seek to replace God by usurping divine authority and replacing God’s thought with their own thoughts.
Are you the moneychangers in life? Are you the Temple authorities? Are you the unsuspecting penitents? You will know for sure which group best personifies you by your reaction to Jesus when he enters the thoughts of your temple area. Will you react like the moneychangers and cling to all that represents worldly wealthy, making it your god? Will you challenge the authority of Jesus like the Temple authorities will? or will you recognize the truth he speaks and free yourself from unnecessary burdens that have not been imposed on you from God but from worldly creatures?
17. His disciples remembered that it is written that “the zeal of your house has devoured me.”
This verse is important. I do not interpret it the way many theologians have. I do not believe it is a reference to the zeal with which Jesus cleanses the Temple of ungodliness. I believe that it refers to the fact that if one is over zealous about the things of outward appearance (like worldly ritual, reputation, and wealth) that such an attitude of belief literally devours (consumes) the truth that God speaks into the heart. This attitude thinks (in error) that God’s voice is a consumable, disposable commodity that can be bought, sold, and controlled by worldly authority. This thinking has the potential to make slaves of God’s creatures if the Voice of God’s truth is rejected.
18. The Jews answered and said, “What can you do to show us you have the authority to do these things?”
19. The Jesus answered, “Tear down this temple and after three days I will raise it.”
20. The Jews said to him, “forty and six years built this temple and you will raise it in three days?”
21. But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Jesus represents God’s power to expel wrong thoughts. Notice that Jesus did not need any “permission” to expel the moneychangers. His mere presence in the Temple area was enough to expel them. The authorities were powerless to do anything. All they could do is question him. Even their questions were in a sense dismissed by Jesus. He doesn’t answer their question. He doesn’t need to prove anything to them. The truth is that the authorities know this. They question him often but they can do nothing to force him to do anything. They do not even have the power to make him answer their meaningless questions. Worldly authority does this from time to time also. The truth is that once you have Jesus’s authority in the Temple of your spirit, there is not one single thing that worldly authority can do to you unless you permit it. Just command with the authority of Jesus in your Temple of thought and the “authority” of the world must obey.
Jesus proves that any authority that tries to enslave God’s children is powerless. Worldly authority (which is personified in this passage---as it often is in the world---by religious authority) presumes (and depends upon the hope) that you will submit to it rather than claim your divine right to be free. Listen to the Voice of God, personified by Jesus in this lesson. You are free by right of the fact that you hear and recognize the divine Voice. Do not submit to any authority that claims to be God’s authority. God---in Jesus---frees you from any outside rule. By virtue of Jesus in the temple of your spirit, God is with you and no worldly power has any authority over you no matter how much that “authority” may try to convince you. You are free.
22. When he rose from the grave his disciples remembered that he said this and they believed the scriptures and the word that The Jesus had said.
23. While this was taking place and The Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast many believed in him when they saw the miracles that he did.
What is this rising from the grave spoken of when it comes to Jesus? I pray that this rising from the grave is happening for you now. Jesus (God’s own true thoughts and words) was buried in you (as in a tomb) when you were born in the flesh. The world (personified by the moneychangers and “authorities” in this passage) had tried to keep this Jesus in the tomb of your heart and mind by suppressing your divine freedom and by trying to keep you submissive to false-worldly authority. The moment you recognize this Jesus buried within you and believe, you roll away the heavy stone placed before the tomb and God is able to rise in you. This is your resurrection also. This is your third day. This is your liberation. This is the moment that “in your hearing, the scripture is fulfilled.”
24. The Jesus did not turn himself over to them because he did understand every man
25. And he did not depend on men to testify to him concerning any of them because he knew what was in man.
Jesus doesn’t allow himself to be used by anyone who will try to harm, control, or enslave you. Your litmus test for anyone (whether they present themselves as secular or religious authority) should be love, mercy, and forgiveness. Any “authority” that tries to lord over you or that tries to remind you of any past fault or “sin” is not from God. Love alone comes from God. Love does not enslave. Love does not remember past faults. Love does not judge or condemn.
Jesus will cleanse the temple of your thoughts. Once he does, continue to live in your freedom. Do not fall back under any authority that tries to enslave you.
In part three we will discuss the juxtaposition of the miracle at Cana and the cleansing of the Temple. We will see how the Gospel highlights the fact that God’s life and joy is found in the beauty of love relationships and not in the law of religion and sacrifice.
Please e-mail me with your thoughts or comments at dominicanvocations@hotmail.com
Sunday
Chapter 2 (part 1 of 3)
Brief introduction to Chapter 2:
The Second chapter of this Gospel, with its short 25 verses, presents two very important scenes from the life of Jesus. I will present this chapter in three sections. First I will post the translation of the section describing the wedding feast at Cana with questions to ponder in the form of a brief commentary. Then I will post the translation of the section describing the cleansing of the Temple also with reflection questions. In the third post related to this chapter I will attempt to provide you with a key to unlock the deep spiritual truth of the two events of the chapter.
Before we look at the first section of the chapter I wish to give you a clue to understanding the depth of this Gospel so that as we go on your experience will be enriched.
I offer you a different way to read this Gospel. I would like you to imagine that the Gospel has only two "characters." The primary character is Jesus of course. The other character is you. You are the totality of all the other players mentioned. Each other person mentioned in the Gospel is a different aspect of your personality. The collective cast of people in the story makes up the complete you.
Does that sound a little abstract? Maybe it will at first, but try and follow this idea. We are never really told for sure who the author of this Gospel is meant to be. Even in the references within the Gospel, the author is called "the beloved disciple" or "the one whom Jesus loved" or other like descriptions. If we understand the name John (as I described in the commentary of the first chapter) as a stage of human development and not simply as a particular individual, then we can view the one called "John-the beloved" as any person who is able to attain a personal loving relationship with Jesus. I certainly hope that you fall into that category.
If we embrace this idea we can then understand this Gospel as a sort of roadmap of discipleship. We can read the Gospel not as a strictly historical document (about a group of people in first century Palestine) but as a personal guide to spiritual growth. It becomes a living---right now---personal document.
Here is my challenge to you: As you read the Gospel, ask yourself which characters represent the most accurate picture of you. See if you can truly see yourself in the role of the "beloved disciple." I don't mean see if you can imagine yourself "playing" the role in first century Palestine, but are you---right now---in your life the beloved of Jesus? or are you one of the accusors? or are you the blind person who is healed? etc...
As you experience this Gospel imagining yourself as every person in the story except Jesus, I also want you to look deeper at the events of the Gospel as if they are happening to you. Here is what I mean: in the event of the cleansing of the Temple, you are the Temple. Examine what would happen if Jesus were to truly enter your life during an average day of your usual business. What would he find you doing? Would he have reason to act as he did upon entering the Temple? In every event we encounter I will guide you in the commentary to consider how the event/miracle/preaching either changed or didn't change the worldview of those who witnessed the event. Then I will ask you to ponder whether or not Jesus has been able to have the same effect on your true worldview.
Now, this will not be the way I will ask you to approach the entire Gospel. As we enter the chapters containing the Last Supper Discourses, I will ask you to shift entirely from this way of reading the Gospel to a different perspective. I will then present a third perspective when we enter the chapters of the Passion. I can assure you that the shifts will amaze you and you will experience an explosion of Godly light that will change the way you experience life itself.
I promise you solemnly, this way of experiencing this Gospel is nothing less than transformative. So now let us begin the first section of chpater 2:
We are about to encounter the first and definitive miracle of Jesus. In order to appreciate its significance one must first uncover the mystery behind the meaning of the terms “wine” and “water.” Besides these key terms you will have to go beneath the surface to find the deeper spiritual meaning presented in this chapter of the Gospel. I promise you solemnly: if you imagine the type of wedding scene often represented in cinematic portrayals of the Gospel message, you will miss the mark here. Remember that the meaning or essence existed before the image that represents the story. What is a marriage feast? Don’t “picture it” but instead understand the meaning it tries to convey. Come to know the words, intimately and as precisely as possible. “Take nothing with you on this journey!” That means that you must leave behind any images that may distract you from discovering the truth of this essential miracle of Jesus. I will state this: the miracle of the wedding feast deserves volumes written about its meaning. Since it is surely not the moment to make a digression of encyclopedic proportion I will endeavor to point out only a few ideas for you to ponder. Even after stating this I wish that there was a way that I did not have to present such a cursory commentary on this miracle, however this little blog is meant as an introduction only and my more complete commentary will follow in a printed version.
I will give you a clue to begin your reading of this chapter: notice the “when” of the feast. It takes place “on the third day.” This reference is very significant. It does not refer to three 24-hour periods after the call of Nathaniel in chapter one. Of this I assure you. The reference to the wedding feast occurring “on the third day” should speak to you directly. “The Third Day” is not a singular event in past history. It is a reference to the conversion and resurrection experienced by anyone who experiences the transcendence of participation in divine life. Essentially all followers of Jesus are called to their own “third day” and their own personal experience of the wedding feast.
1. On the third day, there was a wedding feast in Cana, a city of Galilee and the mother of The Jesus was there.
2. Also The Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding feast.
3. The wine was running out and his mother said to The Jesus, “They have no wine.”
4. The Jesus said to her, “What is it to you and to me? Woman, my hour has not yet arrived.”
5. His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
6. There were six jars of stone that were set there for the purification of the Jews which each held two or three measures of water.
7. The Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” They filled them to the very top.
8. He said to them, “Draw some now and take it to the master of ceremonies.” And they took it.
9. When the master of ceremonies tasted that water that had become wine and did not know from where it came (but the servants knew because they had filled the water), he called to the groom.
We return to the importance of the central symbol of wine and now we experience the juxtaposition of the symbol of water. Again, this blog is simply an introduction to this translation and commentary. In the printed version we will explore more fully the symbols of water and wine. There are many ways to understand this miracle. For the moment I will offer you an idea to ponder. Let us imagine that the wedding feast is the marriage of the disciple’s mundane self with the spiritual bride of the divine self. The earthly/human element, is joined to the heavenly/spiritual element, becoming one person who is now a divine child of God.
10. He said, “Everyone first brings good wine and when they are drunk, that which is inferior. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
11. This was the first sign that The Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and made known his glory and his disciples believed in him.
12. After this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brothers and his disciples and they stayed there a few days.
Ask yourself the following questions:
The Second chapter of this Gospel, with its short 25 verses, presents two very important scenes from the life of Jesus. I will present this chapter in three sections. First I will post the translation of the section describing the wedding feast at Cana with questions to ponder in the form of a brief commentary. Then I will post the translation of the section describing the cleansing of the Temple also with reflection questions. In the third post related to this chapter I will attempt to provide you with a key to unlock the deep spiritual truth of the two events of the chapter.
Before we look at the first section of the chapter I wish to give you a clue to understanding the depth of this Gospel so that as we go on your experience will be enriched.
I offer you a different way to read this Gospel. I would like you to imagine that the Gospel has only two "characters." The primary character is Jesus of course. The other character is you. You are the totality of all the other players mentioned. Each other person mentioned in the Gospel is a different aspect of your personality. The collective cast of people in the story makes up the complete you.
Does that sound a little abstract? Maybe it will at first, but try and follow this idea. We are never really told for sure who the author of this Gospel is meant to be. Even in the references within the Gospel, the author is called "the beloved disciple" or "the one whom Jesus loved" or other like descriptions. If we understand the name John (as I described in the commentary of the first chapter) as a stage of human development and not simply as a particular individual, then we can view the one called "John-the beloved" as any person who is able to attain a personal loving relationship with Jesus. I certainly hope that you fall into that category.
If we embrace this idea we can then understand this Gospel as a sort of roadmap of discipleship. We can read the Gospel not as a strictly historical document (about a group of people in first century Palestine) but as a personal guide to spiritual growth. It becomes a living---right now---personal document.
Here is my challenge to you: As you read the Gospel, ask yourself which characters represent the most accurate picture of you. See if you can truly see yourself in the role of the "beloved disciple." I don't mean see if you can imagine yourself "playing" the role in first century Palestine, but are you---right now---in your life the beloved of Jesus? or are you one of the accusors? or are you the blind person who is healed? etc...
As you experience this Gospel imagining yourself as every person in the story except Jesus, I also want you to look deeper at the events of the Gospel as if they are happening to you. Here is what I mean: in the event of the cleansing of the Temple, you are the Temple. Examine what would happen if Jesus were to truly enter your life during an average day of your usual business. What would he find you doing? Would he have reason to act as he did upon entering the Temple? In every event we encounter I will guide you in the commentary to consider how the event/miracle/preaching either changed or didn't change the worldview of those who witnessed the event. Then I will ask you to ponder whether or not Jesus has been able to have the same effect on your true worldview.
Now, this will not be the way I will ask you to approach the entire Gospel. As we enter the chapters containing the Last Supper Discourses, I will ask you to shift entirely from this way of reading the Gospel to a different perspective. I will then present a third perspective when we enter the chapters of the Passion. I can assure you that the shifts will amaze you and you will experience an explosion of Godly light that will change the way you experience life itself.
I promise you solemnly, this way of experiencing this Gospel is nothing less than transformative. So now let us begin the first section of chpater 2:
We are about to encounter the first and definitive miracle of Jesus. In order to appreciate its significance one must first uncover the mystery behind the meaning of the terms “wine” and “water.” Besides these key terms you will have to go beneath the surface to find the deeper spiritual meaning presented in this chapter of the Gospel. I promise you solemnly: if you imagine the type of wedding scene often represented in cinematic portrayals of the Gospel message, you will miss the mark here. Remember that the meaning or essence existed before the image that represents the story. What is a marriage feast? Don’t “picture it” but instead understand the meaning it tries to convey. Come to know the words, intimately and as precisely as possible. “Take nothing with you on this journey!” That means that you must leave behind any images that may distract you from discovering the truth of this essential miracle of Jesus. I will state this: the miracle of the wedding feast deserves volumes written about its meaning. Since it is surely not the moment to make a digression of encyclopedic proportion I will endeavor to point out only a few ideas for you to ponder. Even after stating this I wish that there was a way that I did not have to present such a cursory commentary on this miracle, however this little blog is meant as an introduction only and my more complete commentary will follow in a printed version.
I will give you a clue to begin your reading of this chapter: notice the “when” of the feast. It takes place “on the third day.” This reference is very significant. It does not refer to three 24-hour periods after the call of Nathaniel in chapter one. Of this I assure you. The reference to the wedding feast occurring “on the third day” should speak to you directly. “The Third Day” is not a singular event in past history. It is a reference to the conversion and resurrection experienced by anyone who experiences the transcendence of participation in divine life. Essentially all followers of Jesus are called to their own “third day” and their own personal experience of the wedding feast.
1. On the third day, there was a wedding feast in Cana, a city of Galilee and the mother of The Jesus was there.
2. Also The Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding feast.
3. The wine was running out and his mother said to The Jesus, “They have no wine.”
4. The Jesus said to her, “What is it to you and to me? Woman, my hour has not yet arrived.”
5. His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
6. There were six jars of stone that were set there for the purification of the Jews which each held two or three measures of water.
7. The Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” They filled them to the very top.
8. He said to them, “Draw some now and take it to the master of ceremonies.” And they took it.
9. When the master of ceremonies tasted that water that had become wine and did not know from where it came (but the servants knew because they had filled the water), he called to the groom.
We return to the importance of the central symbol of wine and now we experience the juxtaposition of the symbol of water. Again, this blog is simply an introduction to this translation and commentary. In the printed version we will explore more fully the symbols of water and wine. There are many ways to understand this miracle. For the moment I will offer you an idea to ponder. Let us imagine that the wedding feast is the marriage of the disciple’s mundane self with the spiritual bride of the divine self. The earthly/human element, is joined to the heavenly/spiritual element, becoming one person who is now a divine child of God.
10. He said, “Everyone first brings good wine and when they are drunk, that which is inferior. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
11. This was the first sign that The Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and made known his glory and his disciples believed in him.
12. After this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brothers and his disciples and they stayed there a few days.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have I experienced the wedding of my worldly self with my spiritual self?
What does this mean? The idea of marriage relates to a bond of unconditional love that makes two into one. Marriage is a unity. In a successful marriage there is harmony and honesty. A true partnership exists in a successful marriage. Does this describe you in that your bodily/worldy aspect is in harmony with your spiritual/intellectual aspect. If you are at odds with yourself it will be difficult for you to follow the way of Jesus. You are the couple.
In this part of the Gospel we can imagine that the wedding scene is actually a person who is trying to reach a place of balance in life---an end to any conflict between human needs and desires and spiritual/intellectual ideals. The person, who is both body and spirit, is trying to maintain a happy relationship between the two. The person is trying to have a good marriage.
Marriage takes committment. It is not uncommon for a married couple to experience testing along the path of married life. In the same way, the person can experience the same struggles in the internal marriage of body and spirit. Continuing with the imagery of the Gospel account we see this struggle presented in relation to the wine.
Wine is a symbol of joy and divinity. If the marriage feast here is our inner marriage, then the wine is our inner joy or our inner share in the experience of the divine life in Christ. When the wine runs out it can be understood as the person running out of the joy of life. This is experienced when there is an imbalance in the marriage of body and spirit. If Jesus is invited to your wedding feast he is able to work this miracle for you. He is able to turn the water of human struggle into the wine of human joy...but as we see there is another element.
Jesus not only brings the joy/wine back to your inner marriage feast, he brings better wine. Jesus brings a joy that is not merely a human joy/wine but a divine joy/wine. The miracle of the wedding feast is essential because it has many layers of importance. For now, I think we have covered enough.
As I mentioned above, it will not be possible to give any sort of exhaustive commentary on this essential miracle, but I do hope that the brief reflection here has opened up a new way for you to personalize this event of the Gospel. I also hope that you begin to see the myriad reasons why this is the quintessential first experience of the conversion of discipleship.
I will work to post the next section of this chapter over the next week. Please e-mail me with any comments or reflections you may have concerning this section at dominicanvocations@hotmail.com
Thursday
The Prologue and Chapter 1
The verses appear numbered and in bold font. Commentary in regular font.
The prologue of John’s Gospel, properly understood, is a creation story. It refers to the beginning (or “the head” from the Hebrew---more on that later). In first-century Palestine one could find several creation myths in use. The creation story found in the Hebrew book of Genesis was not the only creation story of the time. It came into use only about 600-700 years earlier. When read as a creation story, the prologue becomes more fruitful to the reader and can open the spirit to the deeper truth presented by the apostle.
1. In the beginning (head) was the (substance, word)* and this (substance, word) was with God, God was in fact that (substance, word).
*here the Aramaic word can be translated into several possible words. When the context of the entire Gospel is considered the term often translated as “word” exclusively is lacking. More appropriately this term conveys the idea of God’s very substance. It refers to the totality of that which God is. To understand this term as “Word of God” only is to limit the term considerably and therefore limit God and limit the understanding that the apostle is trying to give us through his inspired testimony. I have left the word in parenthesis throughout this translation as a reminder of the significance of the term and to help the reader in developing a deeper understanding of the Truth presented.
2. This (substance, word) was in the beginning (head) with God.
Before the created universe there was God. God was wholly God and complete. God was complete, but alone. With God was his own substance which, understood in a spiritual context, is his thoughts (though it can be understood as his “word,” we must admit that God’s inner words are infinitely full and even one word spoken in God’s own language would be out of our intellectual reach).
3. Everything existed through God’s action (hands), without God not even one thing existed of all that has existence.
Here we see the use of the term “hands” in many translations. In order to comprehend the scripture properly, one must have a precise as possible understanding of the terms used in scripture. For now, we will accept the term “hands” but without assigning any significance to it except for the fact that it involves “action.” As in “a man builds the thing by his own hand.” We will especially not think of this term as referring to an appendage extending from the human arm with five digits/fingers. The term “hands” cannot mean a material hand if we accept that God is a pure spirit---intellect and will. We can, however, presume that some world exists at this point from the context that “everything existed.” Simply because the author is not as concerned with the details of the creation of the material world (as found in the Genesis account) we cannot dismiss the fact that we are dealing with a creation story here. The question for us is: at what point in the creation of the world? Is it before or after the start of the creation of the material world? The next verse gives us a clue:
4. In God was life and this life was the light of men.
5. That light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.
“In” God (or rather in the thoughts of God) was the idea of life. We see here the expression “light of men.” We encounter here, the creation of “men.” The nature of this “men” is not totally clear yet. What we do know is that God has created the ideal at least of life and men. The words “light” and “darkness” understood in the proper context here refer to the intellect and not to the material world because we see the terms referred to in the context of the life of the men. Light is enlightenment (or developed intellect) and darkness is its opposite. The use of the term “light” is also important because of its reference to actual light waves/particles; however, this blog will not be the appropriate place to introduce the marriage of science and faith that is evidenced by the study of the physics of light. For now, let us focus on a more philosophical understanding of “light” as encountered here.
A note on the translation of the word “comprehend:” Some manuscripts translate the word as “overcome” the root languages can allow for either translation however “overcome” is misleading. It can connote a material-world-like struggle. Here it is not such a thing. God does not struggle against material. Whereas “overcome” could be used when properly explained (to overcome an idea or a thought is to comprehend it and therefore we could never fully comprehend or “overcome” God’s infinite thoughts) it is often not explained in detail and often a misleading idea is formed in the mind of the reader. So, I have left to word translated as “comprehend” because it is the most accurate English language expression.
6. A man appeared, sent from God, named John.
7. This man came that he might testify as a witness concerning the light that all might believe through his action (hand).
I find the use of “appeared” to be important. Some early manuscripts refer to “manifested” as well. It is unfortunate that this word has sometimes been translated as “sent.” Even though this term “sent” can be understood properly (God is spirit so anything sent from God would be a spiritual sending and if a man were spiritually sent and then became perceivable in the material world he would “appear” or “manifest”) it is often overlooked. We must appreciate that in the context of a creation account, this “man” that appeared is (at least in this account) referring to the first material man or stage of development of men that came directly on God’s errand. (As if the race of men was already present but not developed enough to comprehend God’s message until after a certain time of development. When the first age of “thinking man” was present, this was the stage called “John”)
Since “light” is enlightenment/intellect, certainly an individual man would not be the totality of that substance, but a beneficiary of that substance. It is appropriate to understand that God sent into the world a race of man who possessed a developed intellect so that those who did not possess such would see his ability and believe that it is possible to attain (to some degree) that same “light” possessed by him and therefore seek to imitate him or rather learn from him.
We encounter “hand” again and might assume that the term refers to the human hand considering “man” exists materially at this point. I would urge you to keep your understanding of “hand” open to several possibilities including the understanding that “hand” refers to the action/work of this man.
As I stated above, I submit that this creation account refers to the first intellectual man or stage of men. If we take into account the evolutionary plan of God we can assume that “pre-historic” man existed on the Earth before man was developed enough to understand the spirit and pass on learning and skills. I believe that the “man” referred to here is the first stage of intellectual men. God let his creation develop until communication on the spiritual/intellectual level was possible. When life on the planet evolved to a point, God was able to send messengers/prophets into the world to teach men. This was the stage of “John.” The name John is a designation that is important. Think of “John” as a title and not a first name. There was John “the Baptizer,” John “the Beloved,” etc. We are reading about a time when names were very significant. The name “John” was preserved and passed on for a reason. We will digress if we entertain this topic of names further here, but it is worth consideration on the part of the reader because of the spiritual truth hidden here beneath the surface.
8. He was not the light; rather he would bear witness concerning the light.
9. The light was truth that which shines on all who come into the world.
10. He (light) was in the world and the world existed by his action (hand) and the world did not know him.
Here “light” is referred to as “he” which means that the (substance, word) that was in the beginning with God (and was God) is now given the attribute of person. God’s own thought, given to men to enlighten them, is now present in the world as a person. We see the expression “his own.” We will see in verse 13 who these were. These who were his own had the ability to accept and believe him or to reject him. Those who accepted and believed received authority as Sons of God. One is required to believe “in his name” before attaining the authority as a Son of God. What does this mean? We cannot know until we know his name. So for now, we must leave this point open.
11. He came to his own and his own did not receive him.
12. But those who did receive him he gave to them, who believed in his name, the authority that they might be the Sons of God.
13. Those whose birth came neither by blood nor by the will of the flesh nor by the will of a man, but by the will of God.
His own were those who came to exist by God’s will. Flesh, blood, and man’s action are not necessary for these to exist in the world. God sent these ones into the world for his purpose and they belong to him. We now must begin to contemplate just how a man could exist without need of flesh, blood, and other men. (More on this later)
14. And the (substance, word) became flesh and (pitched his tent/”tabernacled”) dwelt among us and we saw his glory, The One who is from the Father, who is full of grace and truth.
It would seem here that for the first time, God’s own direct thought manifested itself and became “flesh.” We will explore the expression “pitched his tent” later in our study. What is curious at this point is the fact that this light was in the world (v10) before becoming flesh. A subtle point often overlooked is that the “person,” who is the light, existed in the world and was working in the world before dwelling in the world as flesh. This light is God’s own intellect and more, light waves and particles.
15. John witnessed concerning him and cried out and said, “This is he whom I said would come after me and yet he existed before I existed.”
16. From his fullness we all have received a portion, grace answering grace.
Here we read a beautiful expression, “grace answering grace.” We can understand that from the fullness---the abundance---of God’s own intellect we receive our intellect, but this process does not end with our reception of intellect. We use that intellect for God’s purpose. We answer God by the action of our intellect in the world. This constitutes our acceptance of God’s grace---our response. What, though, is the nature of that response?
17. The law was given through Moses, but through The Jesus was given the Christ, which is truth and grace.
18. God has not seen man ever, The One of God---he who is in the bosom of his Father---he has interpreted him (man).
First let us look at the expression “the Jesus.” I believe this is significant in that early manuscripts refer to “the Jesus” and not simply “Jesus.” I have left this expression unaltered in this translation.
Looking at the Aramaic structure of this verses 17-18 we see a more precise rendering of the meaning here. The grace and truth we receive from The Jesus gives us the Christ (making us one of God’s anointed). We have obscured the nature of The Jesus (and done harm to his primordial status) by affixing the term Christ (a Greek term referring to “God’s anointing”) to the name of The Jesus in any way. The Jesus is not the recipient of God’s anointing (as was said of David and other Old Testament figures). The Jesus is that anointing and the vehicle through which we receive God’s anointing. God does not anoint himself with himself---he never lacked himself so there can be no self anointing because there was never a period when God did not fully posses his nature. The next verse is very interesting and continues this idea.
When translating the ancient languages properly we can attain a more precise understanding here. God---the creator, the Father---who exists in unspeakable perfection, has not directly “seen” man. Since God has no human eyes, but is pure spirit, it is difficult to debate this concept. Certainly God has “communicated” with man through the light (his own intellect) which has been at work since the beginning, but God did not “see” man with human eyes until his own intellect became flesh and walked among us in the world. Now, through The Jesus, God can “see” and interpret man---and in-turn interpret God’s thought for man. God can now “see” how man has responded to his gift of grace in the material world. Surely God could know men’s hearts and intentions but to be in the material world and “view” (and experience in the flesh) the actions and interactions of men is wholly different. It is only through his being in the world in this way that he “sees” the ones who are separated from him. If before the light became flesh, God’s only “interaction” with man was on an intellectual (spiritual) level, what of those who exist but do not seek communion with God? We see (v 10-11) that man has the ability to reject the light. If the light is the intellectual communion with God and it is rejected, then God (while still holding a man in existence) is cut off from any experience of the man---and the man from God. This accounts for the presence of what we call “evil” in the world. We cannot question why God allows evil to exist because he does not “see” it before it happens. This statement does not suppose a limitation on God; it asserts the universal reason found in God. God can only “see” the aftermath of man’s evil because he can see it through the eyes of those who are in communion with him. This he can see because The Jesus came into the world.
19. This is the witness of John given when, from Jerusalem, the Jews sent priests and Levites to inquire of him, “Who are you?”
20. He confessed and did not deny in declaring that, “I am not the Messiah (the one who ends the curse).”
21. They asked him again, “Who are you, Elijah?” and he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” and he said, “No.”
22. They said to him, “Who then are you? That we might give an answer to those who sent us, about what you say concerning yourself.”
23. He said, “I am the voice of the crying in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord’ as had said the prophet Isaiah.”
I find this exchange to be most illuminating. If we accept the idea that this “John” was a single individual man in first-century Palestine, then we must ask several questions at this point: 1) Why would Jewish authorities question his identity in this seemingly strange way? Surely they would know his parents and place of birth. 2) Why would they ask if he was Elijah or one of the Prophets? Surely the time of Elijah and the Prophets was long past. Did the Jews believe that it was possible for a prophet of old to appear again in the flesh? 3) What does the term prophet really mean? Is a prophet a flesh-and-blood man? If so, how is it possible for a flesh-and-blood man to become alive again generations after he lived in the world? We will not resolve these questions presently (and it is not for me to give you all the answers as yet) but it would do you well to ponder this exchange because a deeper spiritual reality is hidden here. I advise you to ponder the exchange without attempting to fit your ideas into any currently fashionable denominational doctrine, because such doctrines did not exist when this Gospel appeared and so we should (at least for now) not consider later ideologies when trying to discover the original meaning.
24. Those who were sent on this errand were of the Pharisees
25. and they questioned him and said, “Why, therefore, do you baptize if you are not the Messiah (the one who ends the curse), nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26. John answered and said, “I baptize with water, but among you stands him who you do not know
27. this is he who will come after me yet is before me. I am not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals.”
We find here a few items of interest. First, it seems certain that’s John’s baptism was bearing good fruit so why would religious authorities take such an aggressive stance with John? Surely John was not the Prophet, nor Elijah, nor the Messiah (the one who ends the curse)---but neither were the Pharisees. Why attack him this way if his work was a good work?
We also encounter a somewhat strange reference to the sandals of the Messiah (the one who ends the curse). This reference is important and often overlooked. For now I ask you to ponder this statement without the usual emotional attachment often preached when explaining these words. Look instead for other references in the scripture concerning shoes or sandals. You will find many in the Old Testament. See if you find any common details. We will discuss the reference more fully in later sections of this Gospel.
28. All this happened in Bethany at the crossing of the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Here we will begin to look at the phraseology of the Gospel closely. “At the crossing of the Jordan” requires attention. You must discover the meaning of the word “Jordan” in the Hebrew. Do not attach it to any particular river as yet. The words existed before the places; this is certain. When you have discovered the meaning of “Jordan” you will see the deeper spiritual reality hidden in the saying “the crossing of the Jordan.”
Throughout the Gospel we will see references to “crossing” or “the other side” or “going up,” coming down.” Be open to the possibility that the Gospel is purposely using these expressions and do not attach any modern colloquial meaning to them. Let your spirit connect with God and “see” their meaning unfold. This ultimately is where the Gospel is leading you: to the place of unfolding of the spirit.
29. On the day that followed, John saw The Jesus who was coming towards him and said, “Behold the lamb of God---he who takes away the sin of the world.
Reference to time (especially when referring to “days”) is important. Keep an account of the days spoken of in the Gospel. Do not assume that the reference is to a twenty-four hour period. If you look at the scripture as a whole and seek out the references to “day” you will discover a deeper truth connected to the use of this word.
30. This is he of whom I spoke will come after me. A man, yet he was before me because he existed before me.
31. I did not know him except that he be made known first to Israel. This is why I have come with water that I might baptize.”
32. John bore witness and said, “I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove and it rested upon him.
33. I did not know him but he who sent me with water to baptize said to me, ‘the one whom you see the Spirit descend and rest upon will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34. I saw and I testified that he is the Son of God.”
35. On another day, John and two of his disciples were standing.
Why does the Gospel make a point to tell us that John and his disciples were standing? Can you find any other reference in the scripture to standing and sitting? Notice also the reference “on another day.”
36. He stared at The Jesus while walking and said, “Behold the lamb of God.”
37. Both his disciples heard this when he spoke it and they went, after The Jesus.
38. The Jesus turned and saw those who were coming after him and said, “What do you want?” and they said to him, “Master, where are you?”
39. He said to them, “Come and you will see.” They came and they saw where he was and they remained with him that day, it was about the tenth hour.
The expression “where are you?” here is a form of an Aramaic expression that can be translated as: Where do you dwell? I have left it translated more closely word-for-word to bring attention to it. It is easy to let someone else do the discovering for us! We should be careful, however, not to outsource our salvation. Light is speaking to you directly. It is important to travel the road with the Light and make the appropriate discoveries of word. Here we can translate for the reader: where do you dwell? …or where do you live?
I think it is important for you to understand how the idiomatic expression in the Aramaic developed into a then-colloquial meaning close to our “Where do you live?” The followers of John were not simply asking a material man to tell them where his material house happened to be located in space. These men were asking the Jesus where he existed in life. The Jesus responds (at least on the surface) by not answering the question. “Come and you will see,” says the Jesus. Come where? See what? “Where” were they when they encountered him and asked this question? Does Jesus not exist “everywhere”? Is it possible to “not see” where Jesus exists? These questions must be pondered if we expect to travel the same road that the disciples traveled. Certainly the disciples thought it significant to ask. We should try to understand why they asked.
40. One of them who had heard, from John, and went after him, was Andrew the brother of Simon.
41. This one saw his brother Simon first and said to him, “I have found the Messiah (the one who ends the curse).”
42. He brought him to The Jesus and The Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah, you will be called ‘stone.’”
There is much to understand concerning the curious statement made to Simon here. It will require a lengthy digression so I believe it is not the moment for the discussion. I will say this: the use of the word here is not the same word (in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek) for rock, bedrock, foundation stone, or cornerstone. These other words are used in the scripture to refer to God. Here the word is specifically not referring to foundation stone or bedrock. Here the word used is the same word that would be used in the expression, “they picked up stones to stone her.”
43. On another day The Jesus wanted to depart to Galilee and found Philip and said, “Come after me.”
44. Now Philip was from the place of fishing from the city of Andrew and Simon.
45. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, “He who wrote, concerning Moses and the law and the prophets, we have found him. He is The Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth.”
46. Nathaniel said to him, “Is it possible that anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and you will see.”
I stated in the preface that I would not comment on each point of value in the Gospel (certainly the points of value are myriad) but I would clear a little path for you. Here I wish to bring your attention not only to the different types of “calls” to discipleship but to the different types of actual discipleship.
First we encounter the Baptist who (based on what he heard from the one who sent him) had a knowing concerning who (and how to recognize) the one who was before him but would come after him and baptize with the Holy Spirit. He recognized Jesus but did not “follow” him. Instead he remained in the path prepared for him. Can he be called a disciple of Jesus? I don’t know many who would say he was not, however the Baptist did not “leave everything and follow Jesus.” Did he? Certainly I could comment more here, but suffice it to say that it is worth pondering the fact that we should be slow to judge the path of others since the Baptist certainly did not behave like a “good follower” on the surface. However if he had stopped his path to follow Jesus publically, would that not have had drastic implications on how the rest of the Gospel played out? For now we move on, but come back to this idea if it is of value to you. Especially recall the idea that “John” refers to an entire age of man---a certain stage of development.
Now let us look further at the different types of calls. We have just seen the call that can be termed “a knowing.” The second type we encounter can be termed “a being told.” The Baptist told his disciples of the one who would come after him and, when this one appeared, sent his own disciples to follow the one. In Phillip’s case we see the direct calling from Jesus. This can be termed “a personal encounter.” Concerning Simon and Nathaniel we discover a type of call that can be termed “a preached encounter.” They were brought to Jesus by others who themselves were called in some way.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the types of calls to discipleship. It is meant to inspire you to look at your own experience of Jesus. How were you called? Have you been? Perhaps you are one of the many who have not been called but are searching for the experience of God. If you cannot discover your call…if your encounter with the divine has not yet taken place, do not be troubled. If you seek that encounter, God will find you. Stay on course.
47. The Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said, “Behold, truly a son of Israel in whom there is no guile.”
48. Nathaniel said to him, “From where do you know me?” The Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, while under the fig tree I saw you.”
49. Nathaniel answered and said to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”
Here we encounter another essential moment in the life of the disciple: the confirmation of being called. Jesus will confirm your call if it is a true calling. If your call is “a personal encounter” your confirmation is implied in the encounter (but there is still an element left to seal your call---that is to come) but if you were called another way you will know that you are confirmed when Light permits you that personal encounter with the divine. In verse 47 we see Nathaniel’s confirmation: Jesus speaks directly to him.
This direct encounter with the divine can be jarring. Even though hearing Jesus’s word should be confirmation enough, Nathaniel responds the way many of us responds to such an unfiltered encounter with God. He becomes defensive and questions. Jesus, undaunted, re-affirms Nathaniel’s confirmation by telling something only God would know. The words of Jesus lead to Nathaniel’s amazement and transformation by the Light of God.
The beautiful example of Nathaniel’s call paints a clear picture of how discipleship begins: a call, a response, a confirmation, and a transformation.
50. The Jesus said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree you have believed? Even greater than these things you will see.”
51. He said to him, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that from now on you will see the Heavens that are opened and the angels of God, while ascending and descending to the son of man.”
For the first time we encounter the expression usually translated as “Amen, amen I say to you…” or “Truly, truly I say to you…” (Ronald Knox employs: “Believe me when I say to you…” which comes closer to conveying the clear meaning). I have always found the tendency to only partially translate a document into a particular vernacular language to be curious. The Hebrew expression translated as “Amen” means “so be it.” In repeating the expression we can understand Jesus’s firm assertion that what is about to be said “will be so” or “it is certainly so.” To convey this I have included the word “indeed” because what Jesus speaks will become so “in deed” or “in action.” Of this we can be certain. We so over-use the expression “Amen” that it has become almost “invisible” to the eye and ear. Its over-use (and because it is not always properly understood when it is used) makes it ineffective in the Gospel text for most contemporary readers.
In verse 51 we encounter a more exact translation of the word order spoken by Jesus. I stated in the right-side introductory text of this blog, it is not for me to give you all the quick answers. You are on a journey of personal discovery in God, but here I will give you a clue to a deeper spiritual truth: Is Jesus not telling Nathaniel that from the moment he begins his journey of discipleship he will “see” from his own perspective two “things”: Heaven itself which is opened and God’s angels? And that Nathaniel will see these things as Nathaniel himself is ascending and descending to the son of man? Is Jesus not telling Nathaniel that a disciple will join in the work of God’s own Light? Jesus is the work and word and thought of God. To become a disciple is to become the thought and work of God…it is to become light. This means that our work in Jesus is eternal. If we are to follow his way, we should follow completely. Jesus is telling Nathaniel that he will become part of the flowing thoughts and ideas of God that come out from Heaven and fall onto the children on Earth by means of divine light. The disciple becomes like the seed being sown and the fruit being reaped all at once. Time and space hold no sway over the disciple and Heaven is opened to him. In a later edition we will look at the parable of the Good Shepherd (Ch. 10) and Jesus will confirm what I have just now preached to you. For now I invite you to ponder this idea and discover its value for your spiritual journey.
So ends the first chapter of the Gospel According to John. Now I hope that even the title as refers to “John” will give you a deeper understanding of the meaning of the text. If “John” is the stage of development before the Jesus, what comes next? What will the Gospel look like for those who are in light? It’s something to ponder as we continue this path.
The prologue of John’s Gospel, properly understood, is a creation story. It refers to the beginning (or “the head” from the Hebrew---more on that later). In first-century Palestine one could find several creation myths in use. The creation story found in the Hebrew book of Genesis was not the only creation story of the time. It came into use only about 600-700 years earlier. When read as a creation story, the prologue becomes more fruitful to the reader and can open the spirit to the deeper truth presented by the apostle.
1. In the beginning (head) was the (substance, word)* and this (substance, word) was with God, God was in fact that (substance, word).
*here the Aramaic word can be translated into several possible words. When the context of the entire Gospel is considered the term often translated as “word” exclusively is lacking. More appropriately this term conveys the idea of God’s very substance. It refers to the totality of that which God is. To understand this term as “Word of God” only is to limit the term considerably and therefore limit God and limit the understanding that the apostle is trying to give us through his inspired testimony. I have left the word in parenthesis throughout this translation as a reminder of the significance of the term and to help the reader in developing a deeper understanding of the Truth presented.
2. This (substance, word) was in the beginning (head) with God.
Before the created universe there was God. God was wholly God and complete. God was complete, but alone. With God was his own substance which, understood in a spiritual context, is his thoughts (though it can be understood as his “word,” we must admit that God’s inner words are infinitely full and even one word spoken in God’s own language would be out of our intellectual reach).
3. Everything existed through God’s action (hands), without God not even one thing existed of all that has existence.
Here we see the use of the term “hands” in many translations. In order to comprehend the scripture properly, one must have a precise as possible understanding of the terms used in scripture. For now, we will accept the term “hands” but without assigning any significance to it except for the fact that it involves “action.” As in “a man builds the thing by his own hand.” We will especially not think of this term as referring to an appendage extending from the human arm with five digits/fingers. The term “hands” cannot mean a material hand if we accept that God is a pure spirit---intellect and will. We can, however, presume that some world exists at this point from the context that “everything existed.” Simply because the author is not as concerned with the details of the creation of the material world (as found in the Genesis account) we cannot dismiss the fact that we are dealing with a creation story here. The question for us is: at what point in the creation of the world? Is it before or after the start of the creation of the material world? The next verse gives us a clue:
4. In God was life and this life was the light of men.
5. That light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.
“In” God (or rather in the thoughts of God) was the idea of life. We see here the expression “light of men.” We encounter here, the creation of “men.” The nature of this “men” is not totally clear yet. What we do know is that God has created the ideal at least of life and men. The words “light” and “darkness” understood in the proper context here refer to the intellect and not to the material world because we see the terms referred to in the context of the life of the men. Light is enlightenment (or developed intellect) and darkness is its opposite. The use of the term “light” is also important because of its reference to actual light waves/particles; however, this blog will not be the appropriate place to introduce the marriage of science and faith that is evidenced by the study of the physics of light. For now, let us focus on a more philosophical understanding of “light” as encountered here.
A note on the translation of the word “comprehend:” Some manuscripts translate the word as “overcome” the root languages can allow for either translation however “overcome” is misleading. It can connote a material-world-like struggle. Here it is not such a thing. God does not struggle against material. Whereas “overcome” could be used when properly explained (to overcome an idea or a thought is to comprehend it and therefore we could never fully comprehend or “overcome” God’s infinite thoughts) it is often not explained in detail and often a misleading idea is formed in the mind of the reader. So, I have left to word translated as “comprehend” because it is the most accurate English language expression.
6. A man appeared, sent from God, named John.
7. This man came that he might testify as a witness concerning the light that all might believe through his action (hand).
I find the use of “appeared” to be important. Some early manuscripts refer to “manifested” as well. It is unfortunate that this word has sometimes been translated as “sent.” Even though this term “sent” can be understood properly (God is spirit so anything sent from God would be a spiritual sending and if a man were spiritually sent and then became perceivable in the material world he would “appear” or “manifest”) it is often overlooked. We must appreciate that in the context of a creation account, this “man” that appeared is (at least in this account) referring to the first material man or stage of development of men that came directly on God’s errand. (As if the race of men was already present but not developed enough to comprehend God’s message until after a certain time of development. When the first age of “thinking man” was present, this was the stage called “John”)
Since “light” is enlightenment/intellect, certainly an individual man would not be the totality of that substance, but a beneficiary of that substance. It is appropriate to understand that God sent into the world a race of man who possessed a developed intellect so that those who did not possess such would see his ability and believe that it is possible to attain (to some degree) that same “light” possessed by him and therefore seek to imitate him or rather learn from him.
We encounter “hand” again and might assume that the term refers to the human hand considering “man” exists materially at this point. I would urge you to keep your understanding of “hand” open to several possibilities including the understanding that “hand” refers to the action/work of this man.
As I stated above, I submit that this creation account refers to the first intellectual man or stage of men. If we take into account the evolutionary plan of God we can assume that “pre-historic” man existed on the Earth before man was developed enough to understand the spirit and pass on learning and skills. I believe that the “man” referred to here is the first stage of intellectual men. God let his creation develop until communication on the spiritual/intellectual level was possible. When life on the planet evolved to a point, God was able to send messengers/prophets into the world to teach men. This was the stage of “John.” The name John is a designation that is important. Think of “John” as a title and not a first name. There was John “the Baptizer,” John “the Beloved,” etc. We are reading about a time when names were very significant. The name “John” was preserved and passed on for a reason. We will digress if we entertain this topic of names further here, but it is worth consideration on the part of the reader because of the spiritual truth hidden here beneath the surface.
8. He was not the light; rather he would bear witness concerning the light.
9. The light was truth that which shines on all who come into the world.
10. He (light) was in the world and the world existed by his action (hand) and the world did not know him.
Here “light” is referred to as “he” which means that the (substance, word) that was in the beginning with God (and was God) is now given the attribute of person. God’s own thought, given to men to enlighten them, is now present in the world as a person. We see the expression “his own.” We will see in verse 13 who these were. These who were his own had the ability to accept and believe him or to reject him. Those who accepted and believed received authority as Sons of God. One is required to believe “in his name” before attaining the authority as a Son of God. What does this mean? We cannot know until we know his name. So for now, we must leave this point open.
11. He came to his own and his own did not receive him.
12. But those who did receive him he gave to them, who believed in his name, the authority that they might be the Sons of God.
13. Those whose birth came neither by blood nor by the will of the flesh nor by the will of a man, but by the will of God.
His own were those who came to exist by God’s will. Flesh, blood, and man’s action are not necessary for these to exist in the world. God sent these ones into the world for his purpose and they belong to him. We now must begin to contemplate just how a man could exist without need of flesh, blood, and other men. (More on this later)
14. And the (substance, word) became flesh and (pitched his tent/”tabernacled”) dwelt among us and we saw his glory, The One who is from the Father, who is full of grace and truth.
It would seem here that for the first time, God’s own direct thought manifested itself and became “flesh.” We will explore the expression “pitched his tent” later in our study. What is curious at this point is the fact that this light was in the world (v10) before becoming flesh. A subtle point often overlooked is that the “person,” who is the light, existed in the world and was working in the world before dwelling in the world as flesh. This light is God’s own intellect and more, light waves and particles.
15. John witnessed concerning him and cried out and said, “This is he whom I said would come after me and yet he existed before I existed.”
16. From his fullness we all have received a portion, grace answering grace.
Here we read a beautiful expression, “grace answering grace.” We can understand that from the fullness---the abundance---of God’s own intellect we receive our intellect, but this process does not end with our reception of intellect. We use that intellect for God’s purpose. We answer God by the action of our intellect in the world. This constitutes our acceptance of God’s grace---our response. What, though, is the nature of that response?
17. The law was given through Moses, but through The Jesus was given the Christ, which is truth and grace.
18. God has not seen man ever, The One of God---he who is in the bosom of his Father---he has interpreted him (man).
First let us look at the expression “the Jesus.” I believe this is significant in that early manuscripts refer to “the Jesus” and not simply “Jesus.” I have left this expression unaltered in this translation.
Looking at the Aramaic structure of this verses 17-18 we see a more precise rendering of the meaning here. The grace and truth we receive from The Jesus gives us the Christ (making us one of God’s anointed). We have obscured the nature of The Jesus (and done harm to his primordial status) by affixing the term Christ (a Greek term referring to “God’s anointing”) to the name of The Jesus in any way. The Jesus is not the recipient of God’s anointing (as was said of David and other Old Testament figures). The Jesus is that anointing and the vehicle through which we receive God’s anointing. God does not anoint himself with himself---he never lacked himself so there can be no self anointing because there was never a period when God did not fully posses his nature. The next verse is very interesting and continues this idea.
When translating the ancient languages properly we can attain a more precise understanding here. God---the creator, the Father---who exists in unspeakable perfection, has not directly “seen” man. Since God has no human eyes, but is pure spirit, it is difficult to debate this concept. Certainly God has “communicated” with man through the light (his own intellect) which has been at work since the beginning, but God did not “see” man with human eyes until his own intellect became flesh and walked among us in the world. Now, through The Jesus, God can “see” and interpret man---and in-turn interpret God’s thought for man. God can now “see” how man has responded to his gift of grace in the material world. Surely God could know men’s hearts and intentions but to be in the material world and “view” (and experience in the flesh) the actions and interactions of men is wholly different. It is only through his being in the world in this way that he “sees” the ones who are separated from him. If before the light became flesh, God’s only “interaction” with man was on an intellectual (spiritual) level, what of those who exist but do not seek communion with God? We see (v 10-11) that man has the ability to reject the light. If the light is the intellectual communion with God and it is rejected, then God (while still holding a man in existence) is cut off from any experience of the man---and the man from God. This accounts for the presence of what we call “evil” in the world. We cannot question why God allows evil to exist because he does not “see” it before it happens. This statement does not suppose a limitation on God; it asserts the universal reason found in God. God can only “see” the aftermath of man’s evil because he can see it through the eyes of those who are in communion with him. This he can see because The Jesus came into the world.
19. This is the witness of John given when, from Jerusalem, the Jews sent priests and Levites to inquire of him, “Who are you?”
20. He confessed and did not deny in declaring that, “I am not the Messiah (the one who ends the curse).”
21. They asked him again, “Who are you, Elijah?” and he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” and he said, “No.”
22. They said to him, “Who then are you? That we might give an answer to those who sent us, about what you say concerning yourself.”
23. He said, “I am the voice of the crying in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord’ as had said the prophet Isaiah.”
I find this exchange to be most illuminating. If we accept the idea that this “John” was a single individual man in first-century Palestine, then we must ask several questions at this point: 1) Why would Jewish authorities question his identity in this seemingly strange way? Surely they would know his parents and place of birth. 2) Why would they ask if he was Elijah or one of the Prophets? Surely the time of Elijah and the Prophets was long past. Did the Jews believe that it was possible for a prophet of old to appear again in the flesh? 3) What does the term prophet really mean? Is a prophet a flesh-and-blood man? If so, how is it possible for a flesh-and-blood man to become alive again generations after he lived in the world? We will not resolve these questions presently (and it is not for me to give you all the answers as yet) but it would do you well to ponder this exchange because a deeper spiritual reality is hidden here. I advise you to ponder the exchange without attempting to fit your ideas into any currently fashionable denominational doctrine, because such doctrines did not exist when this Gospel appeared and so we should (at least for now) not consider later ideologies when trying to discover the original meaning.
24. Those who were sent on this errand were of the Pharisees
25. and they questioned him and said, “Why, therefore, do you baptize if you are not the Messiah (the one who ends the curse), nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26. John answered and said, “I baptize with water, but among you stands him who you do not know
27. this is he who will come after me yet is before me. I am not worthy to loosen the strap of his sandals.”
We find here a few items of interest. First, it seems certain that’s John’s baptism was bearing good fruit so why would religious authorities take such an aggressive stance with John? Surely John was not the Prophet, nor Elijah, nor the Messiah (the one who ends the curse)---but neither were the Pharisees. Why attack him this way if his work was a good work?
We also encounter a somewhat strange reference to the sandals of the Messiah (the one who ends the curse). This reference is important and often overlooked. For now I ask you to ponder this statement without the usual emotional attachment often preached when explaining these words. Look instead for other references in the scripture concerning shoes or sandals. You will find many in the Old Testament. See if you find any common details. We will discuss the reference more fully in later sections of this Gospel.
28. All this happened in Bethany at the crossing of the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Here we will begin to look at the phraseology of the Gospel closely. “At the crossing of the Jordan” requires attention. You must discover the meaning of the word “Jordan” in the Hebrew. Do not attach it to any particular river as yet. The words existed before the places; this is certain. When you have discovered the meaning of “Jordan” you will see the deeper spiritual reality hidden in the saying “the crossing of the Jordan.”
Throughout the Gospel we will see references to “crossing” or “the other side” or “going up,” coming down.” Be open to the possibility that the Gospel is purposely using these expressions and do not attach any modern colloquial meaning to them. Let your spirit connect with God and “see” their meaning unfold. This ultimately is where the Gospel is leading you: to the place of unfolding of the spirit.
29. On the day that followed, John saw The Jesus who was coming towards him and said, “Behold the lamb of God---he who takes away the sin of the world.
Reference to time (especially when referring to “days”) is important. Keep an account of the days spoken of in the Gospel. Do not assume that the reference is to a twenty-four hour period. If you look at the scripture as a whole and seek out the references to “day” you will discover a deeper truth connected to the use of this word.
30. This is he of whom I spoke will come after me. A man, yet he was before me because he existed before me.
31. I did not know him except that he be made known first to Israel. This is why I have come with water that I might baptize.”
32. John bore witness and said, “I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove and it rested upon him.
33. I did not know him but he who sent me with water to baptize said to me, ‘the one whom you see the Spirit descend and rest upon will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34. I saw and I testified that he is the Son of God.”
35. On another day, John and two of his disciples were standing.
Why does the Gospel make a point to tell us that John and his disciples were standing? Can you find any other reference in the scripture to standing and sitting? Notice also the reference “on another day.”
36. He stared at The Jesus while walking and said, “Behold the lamb of God.”
37. Both his disciples heard this when he spoke it and they went, after The Jesus.
38. The Jesus turned and saw those who were coming after him and said, “What do you want?” and they said to him, “Master, where are you?”
39. He said to them, “Come and you will see.” They came and they saw where he was and they remained with him that day, it was about the tenth hour.
The expression “where are you?” here is a form of an Aramaic expression that can be translated as: Where do you dwell? I have left it translated more closely word-for-word to bring attention to it. It is easy to let someone else do the discovering for us! We should be careful, however, not to outsource our salvation. Light is speaking to you directly. It is important to travel the road with the Light and make the appropriate discoveries of word. Here we can translate for the reader: where do you dwell? …or where do you live?
I think it is important for you to understand how the idiomatic expression in the Aramaic developed into a then-colloquial meaning close to our “Where do you live?” The followers of John were not simply asking a material man to tell them where his material house happened to be located in space. These men were asking the Jesus where he existed in life. The Jesus responds (at least on the surface) by not answering the question. “Come and you will see,” says the Jesus. Come where? See what? “Where” were they when they encountered him and asked this question? Does Jesus not exist “everywhere”? Is it possible to “not see” where Jesus exists? These questions must be pondered if we expect to travel the same road that the disciples traveled. Certainly the disciples thought it significant to ask. We should try to understand why they asked.
40. One of them who had heard, from John, and went after him, was Andrew the brother of Simon.
41. This one saw his brother Simon first and said to him, “I have found the Messiah (the one who ends the curse).”
42. He brought him to The Jesus and The Jesus gazed at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of Jonah, you will be called ‘stone.’”
There is much to understand concerning the curious statement made to Simon here. It will require a lengthy digression so I believe it is not the moment for the discussion. I will say this: the use of the word here is not the same word (in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek) for rock, bedrock, foundation stone, or cornerstone. These other words are used in the scripture to refer to God. Here the word is specifically not referring to foundation stone or bedrock. Here the word used is the same word that would be used in the expression, “they picked up stones to stone her.”
43. On another day The Jesus wanted to depart to Galilee and found Philip and said, “Come after me.”
44. Now Philip was from the place of fishing from the city of Andrew and Simon.
45. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, “He who wrote, concerning Moses and the law and the prophets, we have found him. He is The Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth.”
46. Nathaniel said to him, “Is it possible that anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and you will see.”
I stated in the preface that I would not comment on each point of value in the Gospel (certainly the points of value are myriad) but I would clear a little path for you. Here I wish to bring your attention not only to the different types of “calls” to discipleship but to the different types of actual discipleship.
First we encounter the Baptist who (based on what he heard from the one who sent him) had a knowing concerning who (and how to recognize) the one who was before him but would come after him and baptize with the Holy Spirit. He recognized Jesus but did not “follow” him. Instead he remained in the path prepared for him. Can he be called a disciple of Jesus? I don’t know many who would say he was not, however the Baptist did not “leave everything and follow Jesus.” Did he? Certainly I could comment more here, but suffice it to say that it is worth pondering the fact that we should be slow to judge the path of others since the Baptist certainly did not behave like a “good follower” on the surface. However if he had stopped his path to follow Jesus publically, would that not have had drastic implications on how the rest of the Gospel played out? For now we move on, but come back to this idea if it is of value to you. Especially recall the idea that “John” refers to an entire age of man---a certain stage of development.
Now let us look further at the different types of calls. We have just seen the call that can be termed “a knowing.” The second type we encounter can be termed “a being told.” The Baptist told his disciples of the one who would come after him and, when this one appeared, sent his own disciples to follow the one. In Phillip’s case we see the direct calling from Jesus. This can be termed “a personal encounter.” Concerning Simon and Nathaniel we discover a type of call that can be termed “a preached encounter.” They were brought to Jesus by others who themselves were called in some way.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the types of calls to discipleship. It is meant to inspire you to look at your own experience of Jesus. How were you called? Have you been? Perhaps you are one of the many who have not been called but are searching for the experience of God. If you cannot discover your call…if your encounter with the divine has not yet taken place, do not be troubled. If you seek that encounter, God will find you. Stay on course.
47. The Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and said, “Behold, truly a son of Israel in whom there is no guile.”
48. Nathaniel said to him, “From where do you know me?” The Jesus said to him, “Before Philip called you, while under the fig tree I saw you.”
49. Nathaniel answered and said to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel.”
Here we encounter another essential moment in the life of the disciple: the confirmation of being called. Jesus will confirm your call if it is a true calling. If your call is “a personal encounter” your confirmation is implied in the encounter (but there is still an element left to seal your call---that is to come) but if you were called another way you will know that you are confirmed when Light permits you that personal encounter with the divine. In verse 47 we see Nathaniel’s confirmation: Jesus speaks directly to him.
This direct encounter with the divine can be jarring. Even though hearing Jesus’s word should be confirmation enough, Nathaniel responds the way many of us responds to such an unfiltered encounter with God. He becomes defensive and questions. Jesus, undaunted, re-affirms Nathaniel’s confirmation by telling something only God would know. The words of Jesus lead to Nathaniel’s amazement and transformation by the Light of God.
The beautiful example of Nathaniel’s call paints a clear picture of how discipleship begins: a call, a response, a confirmation, and a transformation.
50. The Jesus said to him, “Because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree you have believed? Even greater than these things you will see.”
51. He said to him, “So be it, so be it indeed: I say to you that from now on you will see the Heavens that are opened and the angels of God, while ascending and descending to the son of man.”
For the first time we encounter the expression usually translated as “Amen, amen I say to you…” or “Truly, truly I say to you…” (Ronald Knox employs: “Believe me when I say to you…” which comes closer to conveying the clear meaning). I have always found the tendency to only partially translate a document into a particular vernacular language to be curious. The Hebrew expression translated as “Amen” means “so be it.” In repeating the expression we can understand Jesus’s firm assertion that what is about to be said “will be so” or “it is certainly so.” To convey this I have included the word “indeed” because what Jesus speaks will become so “in deed” or “in action.” Of this we can be certain. We so over-use the expression “Amen” that it has become almost “invisible” to the eye and ear. Its over-use (and because it is not always properly understood when it is used) makes it ineffective in the Gospel text for most contemporary readers.
In verse 51 we encounter a more exact translation of the word order spoken by Jesus. I stated in the right-side introductory text of this blog, it is not for me to give you all the quick answers. You are on a journey of personal discovery in God, but here I will give you a clue to a deeper spiritual truth: Is Jesus not telling Nathaniel that from the moment he begins his journey of discipleship he will “see” from his own perspective two “things”: Heaven itself which is opened and God’s angels? And that Nathaniel will see these things as Nathaniel himself is ascending and descending to the son of man? Is Jesus not telling Nathaniel that a disciple will join in the work of God’s own Light? Jesus is the work and word and thought of God. To become a disciple is to become the thought and work of God…it is to become light. This means that our work in Jesus is eternal. If we are to follow his way, we should follow completely. Jesus is telling Nathaniel that he will become part of the flowing thoughts and ideas of God that come out from Heaven and fall onto the children on Earth by means of divine light. The disciple becomes like the seed being sown and the fruit being reaped all at once. Time and space hold no sway over the disciple and Heaven is opened to him. In a later edition we will look at the parable of the Good Shepherd (Ch. 10) and Jesus will confirm what I have just now preached to you. For now I invite you to ponder this idea and discover its value for your spiritual journey.
So ends the first chapter of the Gospel According to John. Now I hope that even the title as refers to “John” will give you a deeper understanding of the meaning of the text. If “John” is the stage of development before the Jesus, what comes next? What will the Gospel look like for those who are in light? It’s something to ponder as we continue this path.
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