The Gospel of John and Moses: II

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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overpower it.

John 1:1-5

The Gospel begins with an invocation of the first words of the Bible; In the beginning. It begins with the first theme of the Bible; God and God creating. The Gospel begins by alluding to the first spoken words of God in the Bible and the creative act that followed the words; Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light (Genesis 1:3) / In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness…(John 1:4-5a).

When we compare Genesis 1 with John 1 we have a motif of:

            The self-existent God

            Creation

            Darkness

            Light

            Life

Furthermore, as in Genesis God creates man in His own image; in John God recreates man in His own image – John 1:12 – 13. This recreation, this new birth, culminates in being brought into the intimacy of the Trinity in John Chapter 17; which is, of course, accomplished through the Cross, Resurrection, Ascension, and the Trinity indwelling those who believe in Jesus Christ.

In Genesis we see the earth without form and void, the earth is in some form of chaos; in John the earth is spiritually without form and void, there is spiritual chaos, and so we read, The Light shines in the darkness. In Genesis there is a separation of light from darkness; in John we see the theme of light and darkness (see John 3:19; 8:12; 12:35 – 46).

In Genesis God is the source of all; in John Jesus is the light, the life, the bread, the water, He is the source of all we need, He is the One from whom new life is breathed into dead man (John 20:22; compare with Genesis 2:7). There is a sense in which John 1:1ff parallels Genesis 1:1ff and then we have John 20:22 as the reenactment of Genesis of 2:7. The difference being that in order for Jesus to breathe new life into us in John 20:22 He must be born (John 1:14), bear witness to the Father throughout His earthly life (John chapters 1 – 17) and then give His life up on the Cross as our Sin-bearer, while also bringing judgment on the enemy (John chapters 18 -19), and rise from the dead and ascend to the Father (John 20:1-18).

In Genesis man is separated from the Tree of Life; in John the Tree of Life comes to man.