JOHN’S PROLOGUE #2:THE REJECTED LOGOS- ADDITIONAL NOTES
READING SCRIPTURE THROUGH THE CRUCIFIED AND FORGIVING CHRIST
Objective
To understand that the Creator enters creation and is rejected by it, yet responds not with condemnation but with grace, revealing the heart of God and foreshadowing the Cross
Text: John 1:10-14
Opening Reflection: Reflective study for group if desired
Have you ever experienced a moment when telling the truth or simply being yourself made others uncomfortable?
T ake a moment to reflect:
Have you ever felt misunderstood, rejected, or excluded because you saw something differently?
Why can truth feel threatening, even when it is offered with good intentions?
John 1:10-14
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John is one of the most profound and carefully crafted books in the New Testament. While traditionally associated with John the son of Zebedee, many scholars believe it was written by a highly sophisticated author or community closely connected to the Johannine tradition.
The author is a master of language, symbolism, and layered meaning. Simple words such as light, life, truth, glory, and word carry remarkable depth and are used throughout the Gospel to reveal who Jesus is.
Near the end of the book, the author tells us why the Gospel was written:
"These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:31)
But what are we being invited to believe?
John's answer unfolds throughout the Gospel: Jesus is the full revelation of God. In him we see that God is not violent, coercive, or retaliatory, but is revealed through self-giving love, forgiveness, and truth.
For John, the Cross is the central event of history. It is not simply something that changes individual lives. It is the moment that exposes the violence, fear, and scapegoating that shape human society while simultaneously revealing the true character of God.
Everything in the Gospel moves toward the Cross and is illuminated by it. The Cross is not merely the end of the story—it is the lens through which the entire story is understood. Through the crucified and risen Jesus, John invites us to see God, ourselves, and the world in a completely new way.
The Prologue
One of the striking claims in the Prologue is not only that the world does not recognise the Logos, but that it actively rejects him. This is more than a misunderstanding. It is resistance to a presence that does not fit the world’s way of ordering itself.
Human communities often maintain coherence through subtle patterns of exclusion—what Girard calls scapegoating. We are used to stabilising life by identifying what is “in the way,” what can be blamed, or who can be pushed out.
Into this world comes the Logos: the Word through whom all things are made, revealing a God who is not shaped by rivalry, fear, or exclusion, but by self-giving love. This is where the difficulty arises.
A God who does not participate in our patterns of exclusion is deeply destabilising. Such a God exposes the hidden violence in how we organise ourselves. Rather than receiving this revelation, the world resists it.
And so, paradoxically, the rejection of the Logos becomes the pattern of the Gospel: the world receives God by turning him into a victim. The Creator enters creation, and creation responds by excluding him.
In this sense, John already anticipates the Cross: not as divine violence, but as the world’s refusal of a nonviolent God who exposes our need for victims—and yet responds not with retaliation, but with forgiveness
Chiastic Structures
A chiastic structure is a mirrored literary pattern that builds toward a central key idea, then reflects back out again, with the centre carrying the main emphasis.
Think of it like a pattern: A – B – C – B′ – A′
The first idea (A) matches the last idea (A′), the second (B) matches the second-to-last (B′), and everything is organised around a centre (C), which is usually the most important point.
Why it matters in John 1
When people talk about a chiastic structure in the Prologue of John, they’re suggesting:
The opening themes (Word, life, light)
Mirror the closing themes (grace, truth, revelation)
And at the centre is something like: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.”
So the structure is not random—it’s designed to draw attention to rejection as the turning point, which then frames everything that follows (especially the Cross).
Chiastic Structure of John 1:1-18
A (1:1-2) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
B (3) All things came to be through him
C (4-5) this life was the light of the human race
D (6-7) John
E (8-9) The true light was coming into the world
F (10-11) his own people did not receive him
F' (12-13) those who did receive him
E' (14) the Word became flesh (σὰρξ)
D' (15) John
C' (16) we have all received, grace in place of grace
B' (17) grace an truth came through Jesus Christ
A' (18) The only Son, God, who is at the Father's side
Resources for Further Study
Books
The Jesus Driven Life - Michael Hardin
Raising Able - James Alison
Theology beyond Metaphysics - Anthony Bartlett
Courting Betrayal - Helen Orchard
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World - Rene Girard