The Gospel of John: A Translation from the Greek, with Devotional Reflections

By Charles C. Comey

This book is a devotional translation from the Greek text of the Gospel of John appearing in Barbara Aland et al.'s The Greek New Testament (5th rev. ed., 2014). Throughout Charles Comey's journey with cancer, he found comfort, strength, and inspiration from being able to return to John's Gospel each day and read devotionally in the original Greek and Hebrew while preparing this translation. The author hopes this book will serve as a reference for fellow Christians, seekers of the truth, and fellow travelers on life's long and sometimes lonely road.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Release date: Jun 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9781666789034

Book preview

Introduction

John’s Prologue and the Meaning of the Incarnation

The prologue of John’s Gospel (1:1–18) begins with a single point of revelation: Christ the Word, ho logos (ὁ λόγος) in the Greek.

To understand the idea of the Word and its implications, it is helpful to briefly review the Jewish and Hellenistic thought-world of first-century Palestine in which John the beloved disciple lived and wrote.

Interestingly, the Greek philosophical and Jewish theological traditions of John’s day both pursued the idea of a divine word:

"Λογος is from λεγω, [an] old word in Homer [meaning] to lay by, to collect, to put words side by side, to speak, to express an opinion. Λογος is common for reason as well as speech. [Greek pre-Socratic philosopher] Heraclitus described it as the controlling principle of the universe. The Stoics employed it for the soul of the world, and [Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher] Marcus Aurelius used σπερματικος λογος [literally, ‘word of seed’, or ‘fruitful word’] for the generative principle in nature. The Hebrew [term] memra [מימרא, taken from the root אמר/’mr, say, speak] was used in the Targums

³

for the manifestation of God like the Angel of Jehovah and the Wisdom of God in Pr.

8

:

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… John’s standpoint is that of the Old Testament [rather than] that of the Stoics … [or] even of Philo."

⁴

References to ὁ λόγος in the New Testament include John 1:1,14; Rev. 19:13; and 1 John 1:1 concerning the Word of life.

⁵

In the prologue to his Gospel, John presents the Word, ὁ λόγος, as being not only coexistent with the Father from all eternity in John 1:1, but further as having become flesh and dwelling among us in 14:1.

As his Gospel opens, John therefore is teaching us that Jesus, the Word, is the Revealer of God (1:18).

⁶

In effect, John is carrying forward from Jewish tradition the implicit but never fully articulated idea of God’s word constituting and revealing His person to humanity through His creation, covenant and revelation.

Regarding that tradition, nineteenth-century Irish Anglican scholar and Archbishop of Dublin J. H. Bernard writes:

"The Hebrew Scriptures have much to say about the Divine Voice in creation, the Creative Word (see John

1

:

3

). In the Targums, or paraphrases of the Old Testament, the action of . . . [YHWH] is constantly described as His Word (מימרא), the term Memra being sometimes used as of a Person. Thus, the Targum of Onkelos on Gen.

28

:

21

says that Jacob’s covenant was that ‘the Word of . . . [YHWH] should be his God’ . . .

The idea in the Greek of a Divine λόγος "was widely distributed in the first century. The Hebrew Targums . . . the Wisdom literature of Judaism, …Philo; the philosophy of Heraclitus, and that of the later Stoics, all use the idea of the Logos to explain the mysterious relation of God to man.

. . . But the philosophers, whether Hebrew or Greek . . . had not found it possible to bridge the gulf between God and man. How can we reconcile Spirit and Matter, the One and the Many, the Infinite and the Finite? It was left for Christian philosophy to proclaim the only solution of these problems, which metaphysics had failed to solve, was historical. And the first statement of this is in the Prologue to [John’s] Gospel, Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο [the Word became flesh,

1

:

14

]. The philosophers had said that the Word is the Revealer of God. That is true, for Jesus is the Word."

⁷

Reading John’s prologue, we can also see another difference that John draws between Christ the Word and מימרא and ὁ λόγος as conceived in Philo and the Greek philosophical schools, namely its Incarnational nature: "For Greek thought in general the logos, as a participant in the divine order, was by that very fact distinct from the material and historical world. By contrast, for John, the Word is revealed precisely in His ‘becoming flesh’."

⁸

In other words, because He is the Son of God and has become flesh, Jesus is the only way from heaven to earth and back again.

Having lived, studied, and worked in China and Taiwan in the 1980s and from 2003–2010, I find it interesting that every Chinese translation of John 1:1 and 14:6 I am familiar with translates the Word (ὁ λόγος; logos) as 道 (dao) or 道路 (dao lu), which in English means path or way:

太初有道，道与神同在，道就是神。

这道太初与神同在(1:1).

耶稣说我就是道路、真理、生命；若不藉着我，没有人能到父那里去(14:8).

Read within this context, it is striking how from its very opening words Jesus’ story as told by John transcends and, in the process, transfigures the wisdom of humanity’s greatest ancient cultures, not only the Greek idea of ὁ λόγος, but also the cornerstone of Chinese philosophical tradition embodied in the 道 (dao).

(First articulated during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC), the concept of the 道 (dao) carries multiple interpretations. Most fundamentally, it refers to the transcendent and incessantly imminent ‘way’ of the cosmos, always present and always emerging as it creates the world.

⁹

) In the Gospel of John however we discover an entirely different reality beyond the classical philosophical conceptions of ὁ λόγος, or 道. In John’s prologue, God the creator reveals Himself personally with the express purpose of saving humanity. The one who brings this change about is none other than Jesus the Word, as John and other New Testament witnesses testify:

"The Word became flesh and dwelt [literally, tabernacle] among us . . . full of grace and truth." 1:14.

Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, . . . πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας.

道成了肉身,住在我们中间充充满满地有恩典,有真理.

"But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I too am working" (5:17),

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι·

耶稣就对他们说，我父作事直到如今, 我也作事.

"For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible . . . all things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16–17).

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ⸆

ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς . . .

τὰ πάντα δἰ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται·

καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων

καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν . . .

因为万有都是靠他造的，无论是天上的，
地上的，能看见的，不能看见的.

…一概都是借着他造的，又是为他造的.

他在万有之先，万有也靠他而立.

"And He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’" (Rev. 21:5).

Καὶ ⸀εἶπεν ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τῷ θρόνῳ· ἰδοὺ ⸂καινὰ ποιῶ⸃ πάντα καὶ λέγει ⸆· γράψον, ὅτι οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι πιστοὶ καὶ ἀληθινοί ⸇ εἰσιν.

坐宝座的说，看哪，我将一切都更新了. 又说，你要写上. 因这些话是可信的，是真实的。

In John’s prologue then, we learn several fundamental truths about Jesus. John develops these further as continuing themes throughout the rest of his gospel:

•First, as the Word of God, Jesus is one in essence with the Father and the perfect expression of God’s person and His redeeming power and love. There is no distinction between God the Father and God the Son, His spoken Word.

¹⁰

In the dynamic symphony of the Trinity, the words and deeds of Jesus are the words and deeds of God Himself.

¹¹

Christ coexisted with God in the beginning, is God Himself and is the very agent of the creation described in Gen. 1:1ff:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,And the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through Him, and without Him there was not anything made that was made (1:1–3).


•Second, Jesus embodies God’s life, and His life is our light. The darkness of our souls and in our world is very real, but Jesus’ light shines nonetheless. The darkness is powerless to stand against Christ our Redeemer:

In Him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (1:4–5).

•Third, Jesus is God’s only begotten (not created) Son, and in Him we see God’s glory:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (1:14–15).


•Finally, Jesus is the way God chooses to reveal Himself to humanity. Christ is the one of whom the writer of Hebrews says He is radiance of the glory of God and the essence of His being, bearing all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3), and whom Paul writes in Colossians For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Col. 1:16–17).

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known (1:18).

John’s message is that ultimate wisdom is to be found not in philosophical concepts like ὁ λόγος or the 道, but in Christ the Word through Whom God spoke the world into being at the beginning of time. Christ is thus not only the agent of creation but also, incredibly, the Savior of mere humanity.

Think about what this suggests about how highly God values people. Jesus is God’s love personified, coming to earth to die that we may live. His power and kingdom never end, and as Messiah He enters human history full of grace and truth (1:14b).

Where does John’s prologue find you today? Reflect on John 1:1–18, and travel where it leads you.

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. The Targums are original spoken Aramaic interpretive paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible dating from approximately the first-century AD when the common language in Israel was Aramaic, and biblical Hebrew was used in worship and schooling only. The Targum paraphrases were used as liturgical explanations in the synagogue service. See Bouyer, Meaning of Sacred Scripture,

28

.

4

. Philo of Alexandria (d.

50

AD?) was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher in the first century AD who utilized allegory in an effort to harmonize the Torah with Greek philosophy.

"Philo, thinking of the Book of Wisdom and attempting to express his Jewish faith in terms that he derived from the [Greek] philosophers, says that the entire universe as it is apprehended by the mind is the ‘idea of ideas,’ the very Word of God. Elsewhere he comes a little closer to attributing personhood to the Word, saying that the logos was the first-born of God, an intermediary between the divine and the material, as Plato’s forms occupied an intermediary position between the ultimate form, that of the Good, and the formed and material creatures of the world. For ‘the most foundational being is God, and second is the Word of God’."

Esolen, In the Beginning,

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(citing Philo’s On the Creation).

5

. Robertson, Word Pictures,

5

:

4

.

6

. Bernard, Critical and Exegetical Commentary,

1

:cxlii.

7

. Bernard, Critical and Exegetical Commentary,

1

:cxxxviii-cxliii (emph. added).

8

. Milne, Message of John,

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(emph. added).

9

. See Stefon, Dao.

10

. Milne, Message of John,

33

. Milne notes: "The significance of this opening phrase of John is that the God who speaks in the Old Testament, who entered into covenant with his people Israel, and inspired and moved the prophets, was none other than the God known in JesusChrist. God has not changed or evolved. Jesus Christ was always at the heart of God" (emph. added).

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. Bruce, Gospel of John,

31

.

1

John Chapter 1

Verses 1–14

¹

1

In the beginning

²

was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and God was the Word.

2

He was in the beginning with God.

3

All things were made through Him,

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and without Him there was not anything made that was made.

⁴

4

In Him was life,

and the Life was the Light of men;

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5

And the Light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not overcome it.

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6

There was a man, sent from God, named John;

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He came to witness so that he might testify concerning the Light, so that all might believe through him.

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He was not the Light, but [he came] to bear witness concerning the Light.

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The True Light, who enlightens all people, was coming into the world.

10

He was in the world,

and the world was made through Him,

but the world knew Him not.

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He came to His own,

but His own did not receive Him.

⁷

12

But whosoever did receive Him,

He gave to them power to become children of God,

to those believing in His Name.

13

These were not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor from a husband’s will,

but were born of God.

⁸

14

And the Word became flesh

and dwelt among us,

⁹

And we beheld His Glory,

glory as of the only begotten from the Father,

Full of grace and truth.

¹⁰

15

John testified concerning Him and cried out saying,

‘This is He of whom I said, the One coming after me ranks above me, because He was before me.

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For from His fullness we all received indeed grace upon grace;

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For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

* * *

Reflection: Grace and Truth

I am the quintessential type A. How constantly do I need truth and grace, and how seldom do I admit my need for either!

For much of my life, I was all about control, and mine was the kingdom. But dealing with cancer has taught me that I’m not in control. A daily lesson I receive is to remember to recognize God’s grace and truth, which includes his sovereignty in all things. Whether in sickness or in health, my life is in his hands.

Grace or χάρις in the Greek corresponds to the idea in Hebrew of חֶ֥סֶד, which refers to God’s faithfulness, kindness, and mercy. For the Christian, grace begins with and is only possible through Jesus’ atonement.

In John 1:17, John teaches us that notwithstanding the law, Jesus is the new mediator of God’s grace to humanity:

The words of God, the ten commandments, were engraved in stone on Sinai for Moses as the expression of God’s kindness in the old covenant. The Word of God is now engraved in the flesh of Jesus as the embodiment of God’s kindness in the new covenant. God would not let Moses see Him in the Old Testament [as John writes in v

18

, no one has ever seen God] now the Son who has known Him for all eternity reveals Him. The Gospel is the story of that revelation."¹¹

Only when we show to others, however, is grace complete. We bear with, forgive, and serve others, in a measure not possible by our own effort. A hard lesson for me is showing grace to and forgiving myself, for past mistakes or things I feel should have done but didn’t. That latter type of regret for me has been the hardest to let go of. But by grace it’s possible to forgive yourself, and by grace to live honestly as a witness and messenger of Jesus.

Truth, on the other hand, frees and confronts. As with grace, we desperately need truth in our lives. We live in an age of deception but ironically are also the biggest perpetrators of deception against ourselves. Dostoevsky observed that Lying to ourselves is more ingrained than lying to others. This is why Jesus said, I AM the Truth (and the Way and the Life).

Without Christ, I cannot confront the truth of my sin and desperate need for restoration with God.

Later in John’s narrative, Jesus repeats the testimony that the law is given through Moses (Did not Moses give you the law? But none among you does the law (John 7:19).

The point here in John 1:17 is that Moses may have given the law, but Christ himself is the ultimate source of grace and truth.

¹²

It’s not that the Mosaic law isn’t true, so far as it goes, but rather that the truth of Christ frees the believer from bondage to the law. Put another way, the law was given through Moses, but it alone can’t save us.

However, as the perfect Lamb of God (1:29) Jesus has already saved us and gone before us. Our life is hidden with him in God (Col 3:3). In faithful love he intercedes beyond all time for the life of the world. He is God’s very expression of grace and truth and offers these that we may daily partake. This is possible because only Jesus is the substance of what the Mosaic law points to—the creator God who cannot brook sin and yet still loves us faithfully.

Matthew Henry writes, From Christ we receive grace; this is a string He delights to harp upon, He cannot go off from it . . . He is the true paschal lamb, the true scape-goat, the true manna.

¹³

Can I receive the grace and truth that only God can give through his beloved Son?

Prayer

Lord, thank you for grace and truth. Grant me the humility to receive these precious gifts. You are the one who speaks the truth and imparts grace into our lives of quiet desperation. Help me to share and show your grace and truth to others, that they might find peace and life with God. Amen.

* * *

Verses 18–23

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No one has ever seen God;

¹⁴

the only begotten God, the One being in the embrace of the Father, He made Him known.

¹⁵

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And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’’

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And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed that I am not the Christ.

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And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, no.

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Therefore they said to him, Who are you? So that we can give an answer to the ones who sent us; what do you say concerning yourself?

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He said,

"I am a voice crying out in the desert,

Make straight the way of the

Lord

,"

As Isaiah the Prophet said.

* * *

Reflection: A Voice Calling in the Wilderness

In response to the Jewish religious authorities who ask him "who are