By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. – Psalm 33:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2025): Psalm 33

As John begins to write his Gospel, Christian historians tell us that he had already read the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. While the Synoptic Gospels seem to have freely borrowed and shared elements of the story with each other, or more precisely, Matthew and Luke freely borrowed from Mark, each other, and some other manuscript, often referred to as the "Q document," while adding some content that came from either their memories or other sources to which they had access, John had no desire to rehash what had already been written. The purpose that the youngest of the apostles held for his Gospel was to tell the stories he felt were essential but missed by the Synoptic writers. John also desired to make some theological connections that he felt were absent from the Synoptic Gospels.

The purpose of John's Gospel is apparent from the opening words of his Gospel. While Matthew and Luke both start with the Gospel story with the birth of Jesus, and Mark begins with John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus, John the Apostle begins his Gospel storytelling with a theological statement about the beginning of the world that we read about in Genesis 1. John mirrors the words that are used to open up the Book of Genesis.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5)

The passage is familiar to many of us. It brings to our attention that the world became a reality through the Divine Logos, the very Word of God. But John also places this "Word" into his reality and gives it a name: Jesus. Jesus was the Word. Through him everything was made, and without him nothing would have been made. It gave the reader a new dimension of Jesus; his existence did not begin in the stable outside of Bethlehem. Jesus was present at the beginning of the Universe in which we all live. Not only was he there at the beginning, but it was through him that everything was created.

It is an ancient concept that was written about by several authors in the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, including David. David writes in Psalm 33 that it was "by the word of the Lord the heavens were made," or as John says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2), and the "starry host [was created] by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6). John reminds us that the word and breath of God has a name. Jesus.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 35