This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent. From the opening Prologue we see the portrait of Jesus as the fulfillment of all of these Targuminic themes.  Jesus is personified (vv. 1-2), the agent of God and creation (v.3), the life-giver (v.4), the source of life and knowledge (vv.4-5), the maker of covenants (v.12), the means of salvation (v.16), the same as God and different (God and human natures), and the visible presence of God on earth. John 1:14 says:

“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth”

The Prologue also presents Jesus as “grace and truth” – two Old Testament words describing Yahweh in covenant with Israel, thus the Word made flesh (Jesus) establishes a new covenant with his people.  Thus is borne out in John 1:17  “…while the law was given though Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  But more importantly in v.12 we are told “But to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gave the power to become children of God.”  In the OT, covenant is seen as the means of extending family bonds.  Thus Jesus as the maker of covenants becomes the means by which membership in the Divine Family is extended to us.  St Athanasius explains:

“The Son of God became man in order that the sons of men, the sons of Adam might become sons of God….He is the Son of God by nature; we by grace” (De Incarnatione contra arrianos)

This covenant theme becomes a principal component of St John’s gospel message.

The relation of the Word in Old Testament theology sets the stage for John’s telling of the story:

• The Word came,
• The world did not recognize/know the Word,
• The Jewish people did not recognize the Word, and
• Those that did recognize the Word became the children of God
• The Word continues to be the agent of salvation

The relation of the Word to Old Testament theology also establishes the framework of this Scripture study and is the story that we will attempt to understand: The Word was made flesh and is the ultimate agent of salvation. Only by recognizing the Word may we become the children of God and thus obtain salvation.

 Image credit: “Saint John the Baptist Preaching to the Masses in the Wilderness” by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638), Galerie de Jonckheere, Paris | US-PD