“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God,
and the word was God” (John 1:1).
The reader of the Gospels after reading Matthew, Mark, and
Luke would be immediately met with something somewhat different in the Gospel
of John. This account opens up with an introduction that is thoroughly
theological in nature. It seems that the opening words are consciously based on
the opening phrases of the book of Genesis, connecting the redemption of Christ
to the concept of creation. (εν
αρχή equals ברשית). John uses the word “beginning” (αρχή)
in his opening verses but not in the same sense as Mark and Luke. Mark’s usage
of αρχή means the beginning of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus. (Mark 1:1).
Luke, by the same term, means the beginning point of the gospel tradition
(1:2). John’s usage, however, appears to be the most theological of them all. “In
the beginning,” in John’s usage, means the time before the creation of the
world. Jesus is the Divine Word who was preexistent, “in the beginning,” who
became flesh.
This was John's purpose, to begin his account by a clear presentation of who Jesus is. There is no escaping the fact that John was writing to point out Jesus as God. Here is God, who was always before time, in the flesh. That is an astounding thing to say, bordering on lunacy. Yet, if that opening statement is true, then humanity is doomed. For God had come down and appeared to man in the flesh, as a human, and we, for the most part, rejected Him. Yet to the doubters, John makes no apology. In the beginning was the Word. God was the Word. In some respect, this is shock-evangelism. John presents a shocking claim and the for the rest of the book, tries to persuade you to believe in Jesus Christ.
“εν
αρχή ἧν ό λόγος, και
ό λόγος ἧν προς τόν θεόν, και θεός ἧν ό λόγος” (Jn. 1:1)