In lieu of the devotional on John for this week, I thought I would share the second part of a paper I wrote for a doctoral seminar, adapted for Substack. If you missed the first part, you can find it here.👇

https://open.substack.com/pub/ploughmanpost/p/the-targumic-word-part-1

Here are sources on the three non-Targumic understanding of the Word in the order discussed in the episode:

1. Franklin W Young, “Study of the Relation of Isaiah to the Fourth Gospel,” Zeitschrift Für Die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft Und Die Kunde Der Älteren Kirche 46, 3–4 (1955): 228; D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), 96.

2. Thomas H Tobin, “The Prologue of John and Hellenistic Jewish Speculation,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 52, 2 (April 1990): 252–69.

3. C. H. Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge, 1953), 276–79.

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Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!

As I near the dissertation phase of my doctoral studies, my field of interest has thrust me into the realm of Targum studies. For the uninitiated, there are at least a few translations of the original texts of the Old Testament (originally written in Hebrew). The most well-known translation is the Greek Septuagint (abbreviated LXX), which was widely adopted by Christians in the early church as their Bible before the addition of the New Testament Gospels and Epistles. To provide an admittedly simplistic definition, the Targums are Aramaic translations of the Old Testament, and some argue that this text may have influenced John in the writing of his Gospel account. In this and the following post, we will explore the potential evidence for targumic influence in the Gospel of John (at least in the prologue).

For full citations and sources, go to 🔗 The Ploughman Post - The Targumic Word (Part 1).

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For further discussion on the origins, nature, and dating of the Targums, see John Ronning, The Jewish Targums and John’s Logos Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010), 9–10; Michael B. Shepherd, “Targums, New Testament, and the Biblical Theology of the Messiah,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 51, 1 (2008): 45–58; Michael B. Shepherd, The Messiah of the Targums: Messianic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2023), xv; Bruce Chilton and Alan J. Avery-Peck, eds., Targums and Rabbinic Literature, Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies, volume 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024), 5–6, 10–12.

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Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!

We all long to belong. We build our identities on our heritage, our family trees, our accomplishments, and the communities that claim us as their own. There is a deep, human ache to be known and received by our people. But what happens when you come home and no one recognizes you? John’s Gospel pivots on this very question, presenting a cosmic drama of homecoming and rejection. The Creator enters His own creation, yet He is met with the cold shoulder of strangers. This stunning rejection, however, opens the door to a radical new way of belonging—not by natural birth, but by a supernatural one.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. —John 1:9-13

Main Idea: The coming of the true Light into the world reveals a great divide—rejection by a world in darkness, and the gracious gift of divine sonship to those who believe, a sonship secured not by human will but by God's regenerative act.

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If you appreciate my work but do not want to commit to a monthly subscription, I would invite you to consider my Buy Me a Coffee page, where you can make one-time donations.

After ascending to the highest heavens, outside of time and space, to behold the eternal, divine Word who is the very Life and Light of all, the Apostle John brings us abruptly back to earth.

A man appears on the scene. This is not the Light Himself, but the first witness sent to announce His arrival. In a world of self-promotion and outward piety, John the Baptist enters the stage with a singular, God-given identity: he is a witness preparing the way of the Lord. His entire purpose is to point away from himself and toward another.

In these few verses, the Apostle John gives us an historical introduction and lays out the divinely ordained model for all true Christian witness—a mission commissioned by God, centered on Christ, and steeped in humility.

Let us turn to our passage:

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. —John 1:6–8

The main idea in this passage is this: God sends people so that others might believe.

Finally, our key verse is John 1:7: “He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

Commission of the Witness

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. —John 1:6 (emphasis mine)

The first thing the Apostle John tells us about this man is found in a subtle hint in his choice of words. In describing the eternal Word (1:1), he used the verb ēn, meaning “was” in a timeless, continuous sense. But for John the Baptist, he uses egeneto—he “came into being” or “appeared” on the stage of history (v. 6). This deliberately marks John the Baptist as a creature, a part of the created order, in stark contrast to the uncreated, eternal Word.

His appearance was not by his own initiative. He was “sent from God.” The Greek term here, apestalmenos, is a perfect passive participle, which suggests a permanent and settled commission. Functionally, John the Baptist was the final prophet of the Old Covenant, preparing the way for Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end of the New Covenant. The Baptizer’s God-sent status was the sole basis of his authority, not a priestly lineage (though his father did serve in the temple) or a rabbinic school. Unlike many of the religious elite of the day, the Baptizer’s legitimacy was unshakable because his mission originated with God Himself (cf. John 1:33, 3:28).

Finally, the apostle grounds this divine mission in the historical reality of a man “whose name was John.” This Gospel is not a myth, but an account of God intervening in human affairs through a specific man. And the Baptizer’s very name—Yochanan in Hebrew—means “Yahweh is gracious,” a fitting title for the one sent to prepare the way for the ultimate embodiment of God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mission of the Witness (1:7-8)

Having established who sent John the Baptist, the apostle now defines the precise nature of his mission. His purpose was singular:

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. —John 1:7 (emphasis mine)

The theme of “witness” (marturia) is central to this Gospel, and the evangelist assigns this role to the Baptizer above all others. He is John the Witness. His task was not to offer his own philosophy or gather his own disciples, but simply to testify to what he knew to be true. And the focus of that testimony was the light—Jesus Christ. The goal was not that people might admire the witness, but that “all might believe through him.” John's proclamation of Jesus’ purpose (1:29) was the conduit, the success of which was measured only by its effectiveness in pointing others to saving faith in Jesus.

The Baptizer’s role required clarification to avoid potential confusion. The apostle makes clear the Baptizer’s role with emphatic force:

He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. —John 1:8 (emphasis mine)

At the time of this Gospel’s writing, it is likely that some followers of John the Baptist had elevated him beyond his proper role, perhaps even claiming he was the promised Light of salvation himself. As Jesus would later say, John was a burning and shining “lamp” (lychnos, John 5:35), but he was not and could never be the Light (phos) itself. A lamp is necessary in the darkness, and its purpose is to reveal things other than itself. It illuminates the path, but it is not the destination. The Baptizer’s entire ministry was a humble, faithful reflection of the true Light who had come into the world.

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For the Ploughman

John the Baptist’s identity provides the timeless model for every Christian. We live in a world that constantly asks, “Who are you?” and encourages us to build our own identity and following, essentially urging us to become our own light without need for the Light. But the Gospel frees us from this exhausting burden. Our identity is not found in who we are, but in Whose we are.

Like John, we are not the Light. Christ alone holds that title. Our God-given role is to be a witness—a mirror that reflects His glory and a voice crying out in the wilderness that testifies to His truth. The success of our lives is not measured in the attention we attract, but in how faithfully we deflect that attention to the one true Light that others might believe in Him.

Having considered this passage, at least in short, I would encourage you to do three things:

* Acknowledge Your Commission

* You who are Christians have been “sent from God” into the specific mission field of your daily life. See your presence in these places as a divine commission. Ask God to show you how you can be a faithful witness in the ordinary moments of your day.

* Practice Humble Deflection

* Taking the glory for ourselves is tempting and even addictive if you give in. When complimented for a skill, thank God for the gift. When a project succeeds, give credit to the Lord’s provision. I do not suggest false humility, but a joyful recognition that every good and perfect gift is from above. Like John, find freedom in decreasing so that He might increase.

* Clarify Your Purpose

* The world is spiritually blind and desperately needs to be told that the Light has come. This is the purpose of our witness. Reorient your intention around the ultimate aim of John the Baptist: that through your life and testimony, others might see their need for the Savior and “believe through you.”

Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!

If you appreciate my work but do not want to commit to a monthly subscription, I would invite you to consider my Buy Me a Coffee page, where you can make one-time donations.

Excursus: The Nature of Prophetic Witness

NOTE: The excursus section will take a brief academic look at an aspect of the passage. Therefore, future articles will eventually implement a paywall for this section.

While modern conceptions often reduce the prophetic role to simple prediction, a biblical analysis reveals the prophet's primary function as that of a covenantal witness. This legal and theological role finds its ultimate expression and reorientation in John the Baptist, whose entire ministry is defined not by what he foretells but by the Person to whom he testifies.

The Prophet as Covenant Witness in the Old Testament

The Old Testament prophet frequently acted as Yahweh’s prosecuting attorney in a covenant lawsuit against Israel. In this legal drama, the prophet would call heaven and earth as witnesses (cf. Isaiah 1:2) and bring a case against the nation for breaching the stipulations of the Mosaic covenant. The prophet’s testimony was based on the existing standard of God’s revealed Law. They testified to Israel’s idolatry, injustice, and unfaithfulness, calling the people to account before their sovereign King (cf. Micah 6:1-2; Jeremiah 2:4-5). Beyond this prosecutorial function, the prophet also bore witness to the character and acts of God. They reminded Israel of Yahweh’s holiness, justice, and steadfast love, recounting His mighty acts in their history—most notably the Exodus—as the basis for their calls to repentance and pronouncements of judgment or hope.

John the Baptist: The Hinge and Culmination of Prophetic Witness

John the Baptist stands as the hinge between the Old and New Covenants, fulfilling and culminating this prophetic model. While many Old Testament prophets pointed to a distant “Day of the Lord,” John’s testimony is marked by its radical immediacy. His witness is not primarily to a future event but to a present reality: a Person standing among them. “Behold,” he declares, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He transitions the prophetic function from primarily foretelling to forth-telling about the arrival of the Messiah.

The Apostle John underscores this by deliberately and repeatedly using the Greek legal term for witness, marturia. John the Baptist’s role is presented as that of giving sworn testimony in a cosmic courtroom. He testifies not to speculation, but to what he has personally seen and heard—the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining on Jesus (John 1:32-34). This is eyewitness testimony, the highest form of evidence, confirming Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.

The Christocentric Reorientation: Humility as the Mark of True Witness

What truly reorients the prophetic office in John the Baptist is the Christocentric nature of his witness. His identity is defined as much by who he is not as by who he is. His emphatic, repeated denial, “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20), is central to his prophetic authenticity. In a world where the religious elite seek to draw followers to themselves and maintain their position and power, John’s mission is one of radical self-negation.

The measure of a true prophet, in this ultimate sense, is not charisma or power, but effectiveness in making himself unnecessary by pointing people directly to Christ. His statement, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), is the thesis statement for this new, Christocentric model of witness.

Conclusion

John the Baptist crystallizes the prophetic office into its essential function: bearing witness. He fulfills the Old Testament model by calling people to account, but he elevates it by testifying not to a covenant written on stone, but to the living Mediator of the New Covenant Himself. In doing so, he establishes the paradigm for all subsequent Christian ministry, which is, at its core, a call to bear witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Around Christmas and Easter, the media often features a story asking, “Who was Jesus?” In the Western world—the world founded upon Christian teachings—somehow, people still do not know who Jesus was, is, and always will be. John, however, leaves no room for questioning his identity. Simply, John tells the world that Jesus—the Word—is God, and everything we have was made by and through Him, including our very lives.

Let’s look first at the passage:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. —John 1:1-5

While we work through this passage, I would suggest that the main idea is simply: the pre-existent Word, who is God, is the source of eternal life and spiritual illumination.

Finally, our key verse is John 1:4: “In him [the Word] was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Unveiling the Eternal Word

John opens his Gospel account with words and phrases that would draw the minds of his readers in the first century—and our minds—back to the beginning of all things, at the dawn of all Creation: “In the beginning was the Word.”

The Word's Eternal Pre-existence and Divine Relationship (vv. 1-2)

John’s phrasing is so striking because one expects to read something entirely different from what is there. With the Creation account in mind, one would expect, “In the beginning…God,” but here the reader is instead greeted by, “In the beginning…the Word.” The phrasing choice points, although implicitly, to the reader to the identity (and divinity) of the Word.

As we proceed further through the verse, John moves from simple implication toward a more explicit revelation about the nature of the relationship between the Word and God. He says that the Word was with God, suggesting a distinction from God, but in the very next phrase, he confirms that the Word is God. How can this be? The answer is not explicitly stated within Scripture but is clearly found when surveying the whole of the Old and New Testaments: John holds to a trinitarian view of God. In short, John declares that the Word possesses the very nature and essence of God. He is not a god, but God Himself, co-eternal and co-equal with the Father.

The Word as the Agent of Creation (v. 3)

From His divine identity, John moves to His divine work in that it was by and through him that everything was made. The Word is the agent of creation. The entire cosmos, from the grandest galaxy to the smallest particle, was brought into existence through His power and design. This includes all things, both animate and inanimate. This establishes His absolute sovereignty over everything that exists. As the Apostle Paul would later affirm in Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created....”

The universe is not a random accident (i.e., the Big Bang Theory). It is the purposeful creation of the Word, Jesus Christ, and it was made for His glory.

The Word as Life and Undefeated Light

In the memories of all those alive today, most have likely heard of scientists attempting to discover the origins of life. What separates a clump of inanimate molecules from a bacterium? Life. But what is life? From where does it come?

The Word as the Inherent Source of Life (v. 4a)

John tells us plainly that the Word is the source of life because He is the Creator of all things. In short, the Greek word used here for life is zoe (ζωή), which signifies more than mere biological existence. It is divine life, spiritual and eternal life, that resides intrinsically within the Word. Life is not something He has; it is something He is.

Later in the Johannine Gospel, Jesus makes a statement that builds on this claim to be the source of life: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

That Life as the Guiding Light for Humanity (v. 4b)

John immediately connects life as the essence of the Word to our condition: "...and that life was the light of men." This divine life is the very source of spiritual illumination. This illuminating light should be understood as a gift from outside the human situation that directly confronts a world lost in spiritual darkness. It reveals the true nature of God and provides the one path out of death, which is eternal separation from Him.

The Unconquerable Light Shining in Darkness (v. 5)

This confrontation between light and darkness reaches its victorious climax in verse 5:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The verb “shines” is in the present tense, indicating a continuous action that “embraces history and the present time.” The light shone in creation, it shone in the fallen world, it shone with blinding brilliance in the Incarnate Christ, and it shines on today.

The final phrase, “the darkness has not overcome it,” is packed with meaning. The Greek verb, katelaben (καταλαμβάνειν), can mean both “to comprehend” and “to conquer.” While the darkness certainly could not understand the light, the primary meaning here is one of conflict. The context of John's Gospel is a story of intense opposition, pointing toward a cosmic battle. The darkness threw its full force against the light, ultimately culminating in the cross. Yet, the past tense of “did not overcome” signifies a completed and failed action on the part of the darkness. Darkness has done its worst, but the resurrection is the final verdict: the light is unconquerable.

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For the Ploughman

John’s opening declaration leaves no room for doubt. Jesus Christ is not a mere prophet or a wise teacher, as some other religions might suggest today. No, He is the eternal Word who was with God and is God. He is the divine agent through whom the entire universe was spoken into existence, and He is the one in whom true, spiritual life is found. This life shines as an unconquerable light into the darkness of our world, a light that was not understood, not received by many, but a light that could never be extinguished by the deepest darkness of sin and death. The cross was not a defeat, but the prelude to the victory of the empty tomb, where the light shone forth, triumphant and forever.

Acknowledge His Deity

We must move past seeing Jesus as merely a good man. To truly worship Him is to fall on our knees before Him as the pre-existent, divine Creator of all things.

How does confessing “the Word was God” transform your prayers, your trust, and your view of His authority over every part of your life?

Seek His Life

We spend our days chasing after things that we believe will bring us fulfillment—careers, relationships, possessions. But these are temporary. John tells us that true, eternal life is found only “in Him.”

Are you seeking life from the created world, or are you drawing it from the Creator Himself?

Walk in His Light

To walk in the light is a daily choice to align our lives with Christ's truth, allowing it to expose the darkness in our hearts and guide our steps.

In what specific area of your life do you need to intentionally let Christ's light shine today? How can you then reflect that light to a world in desperate need of it?

Stand Firm in Hope

The world often feels dark and overwhelming. But our hope is not in our own strength or in changing circumstances. Our hope is anchored in the reality that the light of Christ shines and that the darkness cannot overcome it. The victory is already won.

Until next time, keep your hand on the plow and break up the fallow ground!

If you appreciate my work but do not want to commit to a monthly subscription, I would invite you to consider my Buy Me a Coffee page, where you can make one-time donations.

Excursus: The Logos (λόγος)

NOTE: The excursus section will take a brief academic look at an aspect of the passage. Therefore, future articles will eventually implement a paywall for this section.

In John’s use of the term Logos (“Word”), he selected a word with connotations for both Jews and non-Jews. In this excursus, I would like to help you appreciate the philosophical and theological currents behind the word.

The World of the Word

In the broader Greco-Roman world, thinkers such as Heraclitus and the Stoics employed it to describe an impersonal, divine principle of reason that governed the cosmos and gave it meaning. For many non-Jews, the logos was the rational force that held the universe together, a concept that provided a crucial point of contact for John’s message.

More significant for John’s context, however, was the Hebrew concept of the “word of the Lord” (davar YHWH, יהוה־דָּבָר). In the Old Testament, God’s word is His means of powerful self-expression. By His word:

* He creates the universe (Gen. 1:3)

* He reveals His will to the prophets (Isa. 1:10)

* He accomplishes salvation (Ps. 107:20)

While this word was sometimes personified—most notably as “Wisdom” in texts like Proverbs 8—it was not usually understood to be a distinct, divine person, separate from yet equal to God. John took this foundational concept a revolutionary step further.

John’s Radical Revelation

John takes the familiar concept of the Logos and radically redefines it in two crucial ways. First, the Logos is a Person, not a principle, who existed in an eternal, personal relationship with God.

Second, this personal Word is fully God. John immediately clarifies that the Word was not a lesser emanation or a created angelic being, but was God, “sharing His very essence”. With this, John moved the conventional understanding to confessing the “Word of God” as the divine Revealer Himself—the Messiah.

The Climax: The Word Made Flesh

All of this builds to the high-water mark of John’s prologue and, indeed, of all Logos Christology: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). This is the ultimate mystery of the Incarnation. The eternal, divine Person who created all things entered into His own creation and took on human nature.

This act solves the ultimate dilemma of how a transcendent, invisible God can be truly known by finite humanity. God did not just send another message. His very self-expression, the Logos, is the message. In Jesus Christ, the infinite and finite meet. God Himself becomes the bridge, a tangible reality who, as John would later write, could be seen, heard, and even touched (1 John 1:1).

In Matthew and Luke, we are greeted with the genealogy of Jesus, and Mark shows us the beginning of Christ’s ministry. John, however, takes a very different approach. Rather than starting with Christ’s earthly existence as the Synoptic Gospels do, John introduces us to the preeminent, preexistent Son of God, who became flesh and walked among us (John 1:14). We are immediately taken out of our depth by an introduction to the infinite God taking on a finite form.

John introduces us to the God-man, the Word who became flesh, and emphasizes His working of signs that ultimately point to His glory. As Christians, we ought to seek to cultivate the Living Word of Christ in our hearts, and so I am pleased to announce a weekly devotional through the Gospel of John: Sowing the Living Word.

Before we begin our weekly look at pericopes from John, I wanted to take a bird's-eye view of the Fourth Gospel and how John presents the divine person of Jesus, the themes seen throughout the Gospel, and how we should approach our study.

Throughout the Gospel of John, one can find many truths that pertain to theology, ministry, spiritual disciplines, society, and even church history. Taking the time to understand even some of the foundational themes will help us to truly appreciate the beauty of the Gospel from the perspective of John.

Now, I invite you to join me as we set the plow to break up the fallow ground that we might sow the Living Word.

It is here that we begin the Gospel of John in an effort to sow the Living Word into our hearts and minds. I invite you to set your plow as we all the Living Word—that is, Jesus Christ—to break up that fallow ground.

For the original written form, see the post here.

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For some background on the publication and Levi H. Moore, check out About - The Ploughman Post

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This is the inaugural episode of The Ploughman Post Podcast! Here, Levi gives the rundown of what to expect and look forward to in this and future endeavors.

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Be sure to subscribe to The Ploughman Post publication!

Check out About - The Ploughman Post for background on the publication and Levi H. Moore.

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Find Levi on social media below:

Substack: substack.com/@levihmoore

X: Levi H Moore (@levihmoore)

Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/levihmoore