cosmic prologue

Before he even gets to the introduction, John gives us a startling glance at the cosmic origins and implications of the narrative which we are about to read.    

John 1:1-18
He starts with pre-space and non-time; he uses multidimensional images; he moves through the enitire world of being human; and he imagines seeing God.  But in this telescopic whirlwind of transcendence, John places two small ellipses (like this, in brackets, only Greek doesn't have brackets) which prepare us as readers for the sudden entry into tangible history which will happen in the next sentence.

It really is a glance - less than half a page when the rest of his account is 25 pages.  At the end of his account, there is a corresponding epilogue after the conclusion.  It is even more brief, at only one sentence!

It is almost as if John wants us to be ready to assess his narrative in the cosmic context, but he wants Jesus' life to speak for him.  So he primes us, but then never comes back to force the issue.

There are five short sub-paragraphs:
1:1-3      The Word
1:4-9      The Light (ellipsis 1:6-8 John the Witness)
1:10-13  Receiving
1:14-17  Grace and Truth (ellipsis 1:15 The Witness of John)
1:18       Revealing God

So this poetic prologue is gigantic in scope, and quite monstrous in significance.  We'll take a look at it section by section before we allow John to gently place us into less bewildering surroundings, into the world of everyday people.