thinking bible.

You asked

what philosophical or religious ideas in the first century might john have been engaging with here?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.

The Gospel of John opens not with a birth narrative, but with a profound theological poem. It introduces Jesus not just as a man, but as the 'Word' (Logos) existing with God from the very beginning, through whom all creation came into being.

What does it mean for your understanding of reality to consider a divine 'Word' as the source of all existence and light?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Genesis 1:1-3

    Describes creation through God's spoken word, offering a strong Old Testament parallel to John's 'Word'.

  • Proverbs 8:22-31

    Personifies 'Wisdom' as present with God at creation, a concept that likely influenced John's 'Logos'.

Ask your own follow-up