Read pages 105-106 and answer theses questions: Respond to this quote from John's Gospel.... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." What did John mean by the "WORD?" Why do you think he decided to use this technique to introduce his Gospel? Do you like John's style? Explain.
John meant that the WORD was Jesus. i think he decided to use this technique because Jesus made God known as we know him know.I like John's style because we see God and Jesus as not only that, God and the Son of God, but more as someone or people we can relate to. I think it is also called the WORD because when people preach we preach about Jesus. We preach that he(Jesus)is the Word. He is the key to salvation and to our hope in God , that we cannot know God without knowing Jesus Christ.(Which is mentioned in Bible.)
ReplyDeleteI think John meant that the "Word" was Jesus but not the physical being of Jesus but the origins of Jesus in the heart of God before the beginning of time. I think he decided to use this technique because he wanted us to fill in what the "word" meant. Anything that gives us hope and a better understanding of God, his forgiveness, and his love for us is the "word". I like it because it allows us to take whatever gives us faith and enter it into his gospel and read it as if it was personally written for you and feel as if you, God, John, and his gospel all have a special connection with each other.
ReplyDeleteJohn used the "Word" to describe the inner person of Jesus. He liked to express the fact that Jesus' alone could save the world and was present from the very beginning. Not only does John, call Jesus "the Word," because while he was alive, there was a lot of talk about a Messiah and some people had superstitions that Jesus might be the one sent from God. John uses this writing style to emphasize how humane Jesus was and to show Jesus as the central part of humanity. I like John's writing style, because he shows the little miracles that Jesus performed and displays a feeling of peace and hope.
ReplyDeleteAllen! Great answer! I hope everyone reads your insight!
ReplyDeleteWhat do we think when we think of "words?" What do words do? Is John's message multi-layered?
Is Jesus the voice (word) of God in the flesh?
Keep thinking everyone.
John used "Word" as a symbol for that Jesus was spreading God's message to all the people. Also because Jesus was expressing who God really is. He expressed who God was and how he felt. I think he decided to use this technique because it made us think and reflect about the nature of Jesus and his message. I do like John's method because he uses symbolic language and images and gives us insight into the meaning of Jesus and his message. It also shows Jesus miracles and gives us a sense of hope for the future.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that by the "Word" John really means that these are the words of God. He also could mean that what ever Jesus does we should look into just like a word in the dictonary, if you don't know what it means look it up but in this case look deeper.
ReplyDeleteJohn used the "Word" as an indication of Jesus spiritually and physically. He wanted to show from the very beginning Jesus was the Son of God who lived among us. He wanted to fulfill the substantial meaning of Jesus and reveal the absoluteness of God. It catches the readers attention to think about what the "Word" truly means in your own judgment. John's style is a unique method that views the value of faith and to cherish the connection between us and God.
ReplyDeleteWe use words to express ourselves, and to convey a message. I think when John uses "Word", he means Jesus - a man heard, loved, and believed by the people. He probably used this technique to introduce his Gospel because he's describing Jesus as the one everyone has heard about, and to say that he was the "truth" of the world. It was to tell the people to have faith in him, and love him as much as they've loved God. I like this style of writing because it shows how he relates to God and how we should have faith in him. It also makes me want to read more about what adventures the "Word" did.
ReplyDeletemmm... i like your answer Allen. I didn't really look at it like that... Well my interpretation of why John chose to portray Jesus as "the word" is slightly different. The whole point of a language is so people could convey a certain idea or trait of something so the person listening can imagine what they are talking about, and maybe even relate. I think he chose to portray Jesus as "the word" because it's such an abstract thought. When people think of "the word" they are most likely going to ask "the word? what word are you talking about? there are so many..." and I think that what John was trying to convey was that Jesus is SO divine that there isn't a word in the human language that can describe him; and instead of trying to convey a tangible image of Jesus he left it to the reader's imagination. Also, there's the possibility that because he felt that Jesus was so divine that he didn't feel WORTHY to even say the name "Jesus." Either way, i like John's writing style because it's so unique, thought-provoking and overall exciting. If you were reading a book and the very first line was mind boggling you'd want to find out "well what did they mean by that...?" and you would feel an urge to read on to find out why the author chose to word that line the way they did. That same scenario can be applied to the Gospel of John.
ReplyDeleteAnd to answer your question, Mr Bauer, yes, I do think another meaning might be that John was trying to portray Jesus as the voice, or WORD of God. It makes sense that for such a great entity (God) to communicate to us (humans), there must be some kind of "middle-man," someone who can relate to God but can also relate to humans; and that was what Jesus was.
Maybe all of these "theories" can be summarized in that one sentence... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In which case that phrase would be multi-layered... wow, John was a very smart man haha.
I believe that when John used the “Word” it meant the spirituality of Jesus. In our eyes, Jesus represents kindness, love, compassion, unity, and many other positive things in life that will help us to grow. So by saying that in the beginning the word was with God, John is saying that the idea and symbol of what Jesus represents was in God’s heart when creating us and the world. I think that John uses this technique to emulate the spiritual being of Jesus. Since we should always have the word of God in our hearts, we should keep the things that Jesus would have stood for with us and try to live our lives with the morals of Jesus close to our spirit. I like John’s style because it helps us to think about what Jesus represents and what he stood/stands for. Instead of just flat out saying that Jesus was with God, him saying that the “Word” was with God makes us reflect on and search for the core meaning of what the “Word” really was and is. In retrospect, reflecting on what Jesus stood/stands for makes our bond with him even more stronger.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Allen when he says the "Word" was the origins of Jesus on God's heart.But I also think when John said the "Word" he meant for people to interpret it in their own way. I think he meant for every one person to place themselves as the "word". To say I myself am in God's heart and I myself am part of God. I think John chose to use this style of writing so people could think beyond the surface of what they read and to find the deeper meaning to what the gospel was saying. He wanted people to reflect on the beginnig of time with Jesus as he himself did. I like this style because it challenges me to think and interpret in my own way what the scripture is saying, not just blatanly telling me what it mean.-kudos to Allen and Steven P.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Allen. I feel the same way. John states the reality of Jesus as the Son of God immediately in this quote. What I think John meant by the "WORD" is that Jesus is the very essence of God in humanity. Words all have a special meaning and I feel that John is attempting to state that Jesus is the meaning of our lives. Jesus is truly what humans aspire for. Jesus is the human essence of God and this shows that God sent Jesus to humanity in order to proclaim his "Word", or meaning. Jesus opened our eyes to the meaning of faith and gave us a reason to believe. I feel John used this technique purposely to get humans to think deeply into the true meaning of his writings and have their own perspective of what they believe the gospel is attempting to state, similar to how we each try and take the meaning of life and faith into our own perspective. Each human has different views, and each person learns and understands differently. In the end, however, regardless of how a person comprehends the true meaning, the meaning itself remains the same, and this meaning is what Jesus was sent to proclaim. I like John's style because it is very effective and allows readers to grasp their own thoughts in order to fully understand what is being said.
ReplyDeleteJohn explains the full meaning of Jesus by exploring his origins in the heart of God. Whenever John speaks of the “Word” he’s referring to Jesus, just as Judicaelle mentioned. Why can’t John use Jesus’ name and not “the Word?” I think he decides to use this technique because words, themselves, are units of information that contain a “meaning.” John is telling us that in Jesus we encounter the fullest expression and meaning of God. For example, he’s explaining that Jesus as “the Word” is some kind of special person who was sent by God that contains a meaning on WHY he was sent. Words, whether spoken or written, tell us the reality or reason they represent. As “the Word” Jesus’ explanation on why he was sent by God was to save us from our sins and to represent a good Leader to his followers. I think that John’s writing was creative as an introduction to his Gospel.
ReplyDeleteAllen and Steven a good point, I never thought about that in that perspective. I think when John says the "Word" he means the spiritual idea of Jesus. He wanted to show us that even in the beginning, Jesus was the Son of God and always will be. I think John describes Jesus ("Word") as always being there and giving assistance to God. I think he used this technique to get his audience thinking, and to look deeper into their souls. Also, he could have wrote it to grab attention, as a powerful opening. I personally like John's style because it is different than other gospels. The way he writes is like putting your name into the story and relating it to your life. John's gospel is more personal to people.
ReplyDeleteBy WORD, I think John means a sort of spiritual essence of Jesus that always existed within God.It was his way of showing us that the 3 parts of God are all eternal and have been there for alongside everything from the begining. John's style is both amusing and annoying, its great for entertainment since it provides a more mythological veiwpoint of the Gospel, but it's exagerations on such divine powers can interfere with the historical truths of the events. His style can be a win/lose depending on what you are hoping for when reading it.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late haha. I think John used the "Word" as a code for Jesus due to the persecutions of Christians during that time period. I think he used this technique to keep other Christians safe. I like his style because if that was the reason he used the "Word", it would reallly show how smart he was.
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