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LUKE . . .
Luke goes back before the advent of Christ, to the birth of the
forerunner, John the Baptist. He begins with an explanatory prologue,
to Theophilus, and opens his Gospel with the words: "There was in the
days of Herod the King of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of
the course of Abia" (Luke 1: 5).
JOHN . . .
John gives no genealogy, as Matthew does; he goes back to an earlier
beginning than that referred to by Mark; and he speaks of a time and a
sphere in which the Lord could have no forerunner. He begins with the
words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God" (John 1: 1).
The first eighteen verses of this Gospel constitute a marvelous and awe-inspiring
prologue to the rest of the book. The prologue enunciates the theme, and the rest of the
Gospel elaborates it and demonstrates its truth. The central and largest section of the
Gospel is a golden chain of eight links, the eight "signs" selected by John about which
the whole Gospel narrative is woven. On either side of these eight "signs" we have a
reference to specially prepared witnesses. The simplest possible analysis, therefore, of
the Gospel according to John is as follows:
A1 | 1: 1-18. The PROLOGUE. The theme enunciated.
A2 | 1: 19 21: 25. The GOSPEL. The theme elaborated.
Taking the second member A2, we can set it out in its simplest form as follows:
B | 1: 19-51. WITNESSES.
C | 2: 1 - 21: 14. SIGNS.
B | 21: 15-25. WITNESSES.
This simple structure naturally contains a wealth of detail and its gradual unfolding
will, we trust, be a joy and rejoicing of heart, as we go forward in this labour of love.
Each of the members denominated "Witnesses" may be sub-divided as follows:
B | 1: 19-51. WITNESSES.
a | 1: 19-34. The witness of John the Baptist.
"This is the record . . . . . I saw and bare record."
b | 1: 25-51. Andrew, Simon the son of Jona, Philip, Nathaniel.
"Follow Me."
This section dealing with witness is paralleled at the close in inverse order as follows:
B | 21: 15-25. WITNESSES.
b | 21: 15-23. Simon Peter, Son of Jonas, John.
"Follow Me."
a | 21: 24-25. The witness of John.
"We know his testimony is true."
The bulk of the Gospel lies between these two outposts, and, as we have said above, is
interwoven with the eight distinctive "signs". No good purpose will be served by setting