local introduction

If the first section of John's record could be called "cosmic prologue", this second part can be aptly titiled "local introduction".

This Introduction is John 1:19-51.

It is a contrast to the prologue in almost every way.
Here John's writing is almost entirely narrative.  He introduces us by name to almost as many individuals than in as appear in the following 24 pages.  John is not big on introducing individuals because his focus is all on Jesus, and when he does, he seldom uses names.   It is a collection of vignettes, little stories which each encapsulate something which is important to John.  Everything is not only earth-bound (as opposed to the cosmic and esoteric feel of the prologue) but intensely geographically parochial.  It all happens in the same tiny area, much more confined than the narrative to follow.  In fact, the next time we will see this many names in so few verses will be at the very end of John's record.

Yet it is still definitely introductory, not yet part of the main text, but leading into it and preparing us for what follows.
We start with John the Baptiser, whom we have already met (see previous posts), and though we don't know this, we will not encounter him again in John our Writer's story.  Through him we are introduced to two people who will be important in the stories to come, and through them to yet others who will be encountered later.  These people each give us some metaphor as a way of seeing who Jesus is.   Each of these pictures is revisited more or less explicitly in the last of John's main narrative sections (the seventh) as he tells the story of Jesus' trial and crucifixion.

Next up, a look at each of the events which John uses to introduce us to the story to follow: