{"id":14013,"date":"2010-12-27T02:22:14","date_gmt":"2010-12-27T07:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=14013"},"modified":"2010-12-30T23:17:03","modified_gmt":"2010-12-31T04:17:03","slug":"nt-sunday-school-lesson-1-isaiah-611-3-luke-34-11-joseph-smith-translation-john-11-14-john-2031","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2010\/12\/nt-sunday-school-lesson-1-isaiah-611-3-luke-34-11-joseph-smith-translation-john-11-14-john-2031\/","title":{"rendered":"NT Sunday School Lesson 1: Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 3:4-11 (Joseph Smith Translation); John 1:1-14; John 20:31"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ms\"Before I offer the study questions for this lesson, let me voice my objection to the format of our lesson manuals. They treat the Gospels as if the best way to understand them is to harmonize them, as if they are each histories of the life of Jesus rather than four different testimonies\u2014for different audiences and for different purposes\u2014of who Jesus is, the Messiah. That\u2019s a little bit like taking a particular version of President Monson\u2019s testimony, and one of President Eyring\u2019s, and one of President Uchtdorf\u2019s and pasting them together where they speak of similar things to make one new testimony. The result would be a misrepresentation of what they said. Individually their testimonies are much more likely to get us to the truth of which they speak than they will when shuffled together that way. The same is true of the Gospels. We are interested in the chronological history of Jesus\u2019 life only secondarily. Our primary interest is in what that life reveals about who he is and how he revealed himself and the Father to those who knew him. To learn that, we are better off to read Matthew for his testimony, Mark for his, Luke for his, and John for his.<\/p>\n

In spite of my objection, since my goal is to help those who are interested in looking at the scriptures in more depth as they prepare to attend Sunday School, I will of course continue to offer questions based on the readings assigned by the lesson manual.<\/p>\n

John 1:1-18<\/em><\/p>\n

These verses appear to be based on an early Christian hymn. Perhaps it was written by John; perhaps John is quoting a hymn already familiar to the Christians for whom he is writing. Verses 1 and 2<\/a> form the first verse (strophe) of the hymn, verses 3 through 5<\/a> form the second strophe, verses 10 through 12<\/a> form the third strophe, verse 14<\/a> forms the fourth strophe, and verse 16<\/a> forms the final strophe. Verses 6 through 9<\/a>, the end of 12 and all of 13<\/a>, 15<\/a>, 17<\/a>, and 18<\/a> are probably commentary on the hymn that John inserts at appropriate lineplaces in it. I will begin with the hymn itself (verses 1-5<\/a>, 10-12<\/a>, 14<\/a>, and 16<\/a>). Then I will turn to John\u2019s commentary on the hymn. For comparison to the King James and so that you can see the hymn itself more clearly, I\u2019ve included a suggested reconstruction of the hymn without John\u2019s commentary on it.<\/p>\n

The hymn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nJohn 1:1-5, 10-12, 14, and 16<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n(Rough translation)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nI<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1<\/sup>In the beginning was the Word,<\/p>\n

and the Word was in the presence of God,<\/p>\n

and the Word was God\u2014<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>The same was in God\u2019s presence in the beginning.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nII<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n3<\/sup>Through him all things came into being,<\/p>\n

and without him nothing came into being that came into being.<\/p>\n

4<\/sup>In him was life, and this life was people\u2019s light.<\/p>\n

5<\/sup>And the light shines in darkness,<\/p>\n

and the darkness did not overcome it.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nIII<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n10<\/sup>He was in the world,<\/p>\n

and the world was brought into being by him,<\/p>\n

but the world did not know him;<\/p>\n

11<\/sup>he came to his own,<\/p>\n

but his own did not receive him.<\/p>\n

12<\/sup>But to as many as did receive him, he gave authority to<\/p>\n

become the children of God.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nIV<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n14<\/sup>And the Word came into being as flesh<\/p>\n

and dwelt among us.<\/p>\n

And we have seen his glory,<\/p>\n

a glory like that of a unique Son coming from beside the<\/p>\n

Father,<\/p>\n

filled with grace and truth.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nV<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n16<\/sup>And we have all received<\/p>\n

from his fullness,<\/p>\n

grace for grace.<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Verse 1<\/a>: Why does John begin his testimony of Christ\u2019s ministry with the same words we find at the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 1:1<\/a>), \u201cIn the beginning . . .\u201d? Why does John begin his book by referring to the<\/em> beginning rather than to the birth of Christ? Is he concerned with the creation itself or with something else? If the latter, what?<\/p>\n

The Greek word translated beginning<\/em> has a variety of meanings. For example, it can mean \u201cfirst in time,\u201d \u201cultimate principle,\u201d \u201cruler,\u201d or \u201cnorm.\u201d Thus, a person who spoke Greek would hear not only the meaning we get in the translation (\u201cIn the beginning was the word\u201d), but also the connotations created by these other meanings. Those conno\u00adtations would have influenced how a person reading John when it was first written would understand the passage. The implication of those connotations would be that Christ is the ultimate principle, standard, or ruler, a ruler who has existed, in the presence of God, from the beginning.<\/p>\n

Why is Christ called \u201cthe Word\u201d? The Greek word translated Word<\/em> is logos<\/em>. It has two broad meanings: (1) the explanation or revelation of something (including meanings like \u201caccount,\u201d \u201cspeech,\u201d \u201cproportion,\u201d \u201crelation,\u201d \u201cmeasure,\u201d and \u201cmind\u201d), and, (2) the most essential element of things, the things that makes every other thing intelligible. (The latter broad meaning gives rise to specific meanings like \u201crevelation,\u201d \u201claw,\u201d \u201ctruth,\u201d \u201cknowledge,\u201d \u201cvirtue,\u201d \u201cnature,\u201d and \u201cspirit.\u201d) In what ways does the first of these meanings apply to Christ? In what way does the second apply? The word logos<\/em> comes from the verb legein<\/em>, which means \u201cto gather.\u201d Does that provide any additional insight as to why this hymn might have called Jesus the Word?<\/p>\n

Though John writes in Greek and seems to be addressing a primarily Greek audience, he is probably also depending on the Old Testament use of the word word<\/em>. For us, given the way English works, a word is a sign of a thing. It represents a concept. But in the Old Testament, God\u2019s word refers more to an event or a deed than it does to a concept. A word refers to something that does something. As a result, in the Old Testament, word<\/em> usually refers to prophetic revelation and, often, specifically to the Mosaic Law. It refers specifically to the giving of the revelation rather than to its content. In line with this understanding, word<\/em> can also refer to the word spoken to create something, as in Genesis 1:1. (We can see this use of word<\/em> in Ezekiel 37:4<\/a> and Jacob 4:9<\/a>, and, by implication, in Isaiah 40:26<\/a>.) How is Christ the word of the Old Testament? What does it mean to say that he is?<\/p>\n

Notice that the verse uses the word was<\/em> three times, but that each use is slightly different: \u201cthe Word was in the beginning\u201d tells us that he existed, \u201cthe Word was in God\u2019s presence\u201d tells us of his relation to God, and \u201cthe Word was God\u201d tells us of his attributes. If this verse is a statement of the thesis of the book of John, then the book of John will testify that Christ exists and that he comes from the presence of the Father, and it will testify of his attributes. As you read John\u2019s testimony, you should watch for those testimonies.<\/p>\n

The phrase, \u201cthe Word was with God,\u201d can literally be translated \u201cthe Word was before [\u2018in front of,\u2019 \u2018in the presence of,\u2019 or even \u2018toward\u2019] God.\u201d What does it mean to say that Christ was with the Father in the beginning? What does it mean to be in the presence of God? In what sense might Christ have been \u201ctoward\u201d the Father? (Moses 4:1-2<\/a> seems relevant here.)<\/p>\n

What is the hymn telling us when it tells us that \u201cthe Word was God\u201d?<\/p>\n

Verse 2<\/a>: This verse repeats the content of verse 1: \u201cThe same [i.e., the God mentioned in the third part of verse 1] was in the beginning [cf. the first part of verse 1] with [or \u2018in the presence of\u2019] God [repeating the second part of verse 1].\u201d Why do you think the hymn repeats that content of verse 1 so specifically? Looking at that translation, above, notice that this is the end of the first strophe (verse) of the hymn. Does that explain the repetition? What is this hymn about? How is it particularly appropriate that this hymn introduce the book of John? Perhaps this verse acts as a transition to the discussion of verse 3, taking us back to the mention of \u201cthe beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verse 3<\/a>: This verse begins the second strophe of the hymn. What is this strophe (verses 3-5) about? When the hymn says that \u201call things\u201d were made by Christ, to what is it referring? Is it referring only to the world and the objects in the world?<\/p>\n

Literally, the verse says \u201cThrough him all things came into being and without him nothing came into being that had come into being.\u201d Does that differ from saying that he made all things? How or how not? How do you understand the phrase \u201ccome into being\u201d? How might someone else?<\/p>\n

Why does the hymn repeat the first half of the verse in the second half of the verse, only putting it in the negative?<\/p>\n

Verse 4<\/a>: What does it mean to say that life was in the Word? Physical life? Spiritual life? When did the physical creation occur? When did the spiritual creation, the spiritual life, with which John is concerned occur? What is the connection of this verse to the previous verse? In other words, what does the meaning of this verse have to do with that of verse 3? A more literal translation of the second half of the verse might be, \u201cand this life was the light of human beings.\u201d To what does \u201cthis life\u201d refer? What does the last half of the verse mean?<\/p>\n

In the Old Testament, the word light<\/em> usually refers to experienced brightness; it refers to an event or an experience rather than to a thing or a state of things. Therefore, light<\/em> may also refer to salvation, our experience of being in the right relation with God or our experience of our relation with God made right. God is our light (Psalms 27:1<\/a>): he enlightens us by making our salvation possible (Psalms 97:11<\/a>). The contrast of light and dark is not as important to the Old Testament (or to the B.C. part of the Book of Mormon) as it is to John. In making the contrast John seems to introduce an essentially new element into scriptural language. In the Gospel of John, light stands at least for revelation (see John 12:36<\/a>) and, therefore, also for the Revealer (John 1:5<\/a>?, 8:12<\/a>, 9:5<\/a>, and 12:46<\/a>).<\/p>\n

As you think about what this verse means, it may be helpful to remember that this strophe of the hymn is about the creation. This verse continues that theme in some way. In what way?<\/p>\n

Verse 5<\/a>: Like verse 3, this acts as a transition from the second strophe to the third (in verses 10 through 12). Notice that the verbs in verse 4 were in the past tense, but in this verse the first is in the present tense while the second is in the past:<\/p>\n

verse 4\u2014\u201cIn him was<\/em> life; and the life was<\/em> the light of men\u201d<\/p>\n

verse 5\u2014\u201cthe light shines<\/em> in darkness; and the darkness did not comprehend<\/em> it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does the hymn shift from the past to the present and then back to the past?<\/p>\n

What does it mean to say that the light shines in darkness? What does it mean to say that the darkness did not comprehend the light? To us, the word comprehend<\/em> means, most often, \u201cunder\u00adstand.\u201d But that is misleading; it didn\u2019t mean that to the King James translators, and the Greek word used here doesn\u2019t mean \u201cunderstand.\u201d Instead, it means \u201cto seize,\u201d \u201cto make one\u2019s own,\u201d \u201cto overcome.\u201d The alternate translation, above, is more accurate: \u201cAnd the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This strophe began as a discussion of creation (verse 3). What does this verse have to do with that topic?<\/p>\n

Verse 10<\/a>: Notice how this verse is related to the first two strophes:<\/p>\n

(1) He was in the world (a contrast with strophe 1, where he was described as in the presence of God)<\/p>\n

(2) the world was made by him (strophe 2). It also introduces the subject of this strophe\u2014\u201cthe world knew him not\u201d\u2014a topic suggested by the closing part of verse 5.<\/p>\n

Verse 11<\/a>: It might not be surprising that the world did not recognize him when he came to them, but even his own people did not recognize him when he came to them. Are verses 10 and 11 parallel in meaning as well as grammar, or are they only grammatically parallel?<\/p>\n

As you read this hymn, it may be helpful to remember that the word him<\/em> refers to \u201cthe Word.\u201d We know that \u201cthe Word\u201d stands for Christ, but the direct reference is to the particular name mentioned in verse 1 and, therefore, to the things that name suggests. What does \u201cthe Word\u201d and its meanings have to do with this verse and the previous verse?<\/p>\n

Verse 12<\/a>: The Greek word translated receive<\/em> could also be translated accept<\/em>. Though most did not receive him, he gave the power to be the children of God to those who did. If we are already the children of God, how can he give us the power to become his children? (See Mosiah 5, especially verse 7<\/a>.) Is it significant that he gives them the power to become children rather than making them children? The last part of the verse indicates that we receive him by believing on his name. What is entailed in believing on his name? (See Mosiah 4<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Verse 14<\/a>: How do you think that those of a Greek culture, including educated Jews, would have responded to this announcement: God was made flesh and dwelt among human beings? How would Greek and Roman intellectuals have responded? What does it mean to say that Jesus is full of grace? That he is full of truth?<\/p>\n

Notice that, structurally, this verse repeats verse 1. Like verse one it testifies of Christ\u2019s existence, of his relation to the Father, and of his attributes: \u201cthe Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us\u201d\u2014he exists; \u201cwe beheld his glory, the glory of the unique Son of the Father\u201d\u2014his relation to the Father; full of grace and love\u2014his attributes.<\/p>\n

Though \u201conly begotten\u201d is an accurate translation, I think that translation changes the emphasis of the original. The Greek emphasizes the uniqueness of the Son. Literally, this says \u201cthe glory of a singular Son coming from the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word translated grace<\/em> could also be translated mercy<\/em>. The phrase \u201cgrace and truth\u201d seems to imitate a pair of character\u00adistics used to describe God in the Old Testament: his loving-kindness (esed<\/em>) and his faithfulness in keeping his covenants (\u2018emet<\/em>). Exodus 34:6<\/a> is representative of many Old Testament scriptures that mention these attributes of God, probably the most important of the divine attributes discussed in the Old Testament. (See also Psalms 25:10<\/a>, 61:7<\/a>, 86:15<\/a>; and Proverbs 20:28<\/a>.) This early hymn explicitly identifies Christ with the God of the Old Testament.<\/p>\n

The word translated truth<\/em> means truth, but it originally meant \u201cwhat is unconcealed\u201d or \u201cwhat is revealed\u201d (though by the time of Christ that origin had probably long been forgotten). Does thinking about the word truth<\/em> in that way add any meaning to your understanding of the phrase \u201cgrace and truth\u201d?<\/p>\n

Verse 16<\/a>: The Savior gives us of the fullness that he receives, grace for grace\u2014literally \u201cgrace in place of grace.\u201d (I think that we also see the teaching of this verse in D&C 84:38<\/a>.) What does \u201cgrace for grace\u201d mean? Does it mean \u201cone kind of grace replacing another,\u201d perhaps the expression of divine mercy (esed<\/em>\u2014loving-kindness) in the Mosaic covenant replaced by its expression in the new covenant? Does it mean that \u201cgrace is piled upon grace,\u201d indicting an abundance of fullness? Or, does it mean \u201cgrace in return for grace\u201d? Look at the other places where this phrase occurs in scripture and see whether those help you understand better the meaning of the phrase (e.g., Helaman 12:24<\/a>; D&C 93:12<\/a> and 20<\/a>).<\/p>\n

John\u2019s running commentary on the hymn<\/em><\/p>\n

Verses 6-9<\/a>: Why does John think that it is important to respond to verses 1 through 5 by talking about John the Baptist? Can you explain what in the first five verses might have prompted him to interject this discussion of John the Baptist? Why was \/ is the testimony of verses 8-9 important?<\/p>\n

Verse 13<\/a>: What does this verse tell us about how we come to have the power to become the children of God? What does it mean to say that those who believe on God are not born of blood? That they are not born of the will of the flesh? That they are not born of the will of man? What does it mean to be born of God? In the Old Testament flesh often refers to human weakness, as in Isaiah 40:6<\/a>. Blood in the Old Testament is usually associated with death. Might John have those associations in mind? If so, how does that help us understand this verse? Some have suggested that blood<\/em> means \u201cnatural generation,\u201d that flesh<\/em> means \u201cnatural desires, such as the desire to have children,\u201d and that \u201cthe will of man\u201d means \u201cthe human ability to choose.\u201d Does that help give insight into a possible meaning of this verse?<\/p>\n

Verse 15<\/a>: Just as John began his commentary on this hymn by talking about John the Baptist, he ends by talking about John the Baptist. Why? Why was John the Baptist so important to explaining the mission of Jesus? (Compare Mark 1:7<\/a> and Matthew 3:11<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Verse 17<\/a>: What is the contrast between the law, on the one hand, and grace and truth, on the other? How have we received the fulness and what is the fulness mentioned in verse 16? How does this verse tell us understand \u201cgrace for grace\u201d in verse 16?<\/p>\n

Verse 18<\/a>: How did Joseph Smith clarify the meaning of this verse? How does this verse help us understand the meaning of the hymn? Specifically, how does it help us understand verse 16<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Isaiah 61:1-3<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Can you give specific answers to these questions: What are the good tidings that the Messiah preaches to the meek? How does he bind up the brokenhearted? To what captives does the Messiah proclaim liberty? What kind of liberty does he proclaim? What does \u201cthe acceptable year of our Lord\u201d mean? Why is the day of the Lord a day of vengeance? Against whom? How does the Messiah comfort those who mourn? What does the Lord promise in the first part of Isaiah 61:3<\/a>? What does it mean to be called a tree of righteousness? What does it mean to say that we are \u201cthe planting of the Lord\u201d? How does the coming of the Lord and the things he does when he comes glorify him?<\/p>\n

Luke 3:4-11 (JST)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Compare the JST version of Luke 3:4-11<\/a> (pages 805-806 of appendices in the LDS edition of the Bible\u2014at least in my edition) with Luke 3:4-5<\/a> in the King James translation. Then compare them both to Isaiah 40:3-5<\/a>. What differences do you see? What do you make of those differences? What do you make of the fact that Joseph Smith made no changes to Isaiah in chapter 40, but adds quite a bit here where John is quoting Isaiah 40?<\/p>\n

The JST version gives us considerable insight into Jesus\u2019 mission. It gives a prophetic understanding of how we should understand that mission. How do you think people who heard John\u2019s message would have understood what he was saying? What would they have expected Jesus to be like? Why? Look at each of the things that John says of him and identify how Jesus accomplished each thing. Which things still remain to be accomplished?<\/p>\n

John 20:31<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

In context, the word these<\/em> in the first phrase refers to the seven miracles that John has just told about. How do those miracles testify of Jesus? Does this verse help us understand John\u2019s purpose? What does he mean when he says that he has written these things \u201cthat ye might believe\u201d? How can stories about miracles help our belief? Whose belief will it help? In other words, was John writing for other Christians or to convert those who were not yet Christians?<\/p>\n

How does a book whose purpose is to bring us to believe that Jesus is the Anointed One (the meaning of the word Christ<\/em>,), the Son of God who can give us life, differ from a standard history? In other words, how does testimony differ from history? Does that tell us anything about how we should read the Gospels? Does it say anything about how we should not<\/em> read them?<\/p>\n

Please respond to this post at Feast upon the Word<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before I offer the study questions for this lesson, let me voice my objection to the format of our lesson manuals. They treat the Gospels as if the best way to understand them is to harmonize them, as if they are each histories of the life of Jesus rather than four different testimonies\u2014for different audiences and for different purposes\u2014of who Jesus is, the Messiah. That\u2019s a little bit like taking a particular version of President Monson\u2019s testimony, and one of President Eyring\u2019s, and one of President Uchtdorf\u2019s and pasting them together where they speak of similar things to make one new testimony. The result would be a misrepresentation of what they said. Individually their testimonies are much more likely to get us to the truth of which they speak than they will when shuffled together that way. The same is true of the Gospels. We are interested in the chronological history of Jesus\u2019 life only secondarily. Our primary interest is in what that life reveals about who he is and how he revealed himself and the Father to those who knew him. To learn that, we are better off to read Matthew for his testimony, Mark for his, Luke for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1671],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sunday-school-lesson-new-testament"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/Ms1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14013"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14069,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14013\/revisions\/14069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}