The Gospel According to St. John 1-6: Water is Not Only Water

The New Testament seems to go back to the beginning and mention what we were already aware of when talking about the beginning. The following quote states the beginning and is one of the first lines in John,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(John 1.1) I wonder what is meant by the "Word"? Is the word some the way things should be or some kind of written form that should be passed on from generation to generation, like the Bible? I saw "the Word" as the way things are, period. Nothing more to say, God is all their is, the answer to all of our questions, the only way of life there is, "the Word". As you go on reading John, it is evident that the messenger and the one supposed to spread the word is Jesus. Jesus was born to spread "the Word". Jesus is God and the Beginning and the Word, according to John. Even though at the beginning of the reading you get the impression that it is John who is supposed to be the messenger, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe." (John 1.7) But as you can also see, John is actually a witness. A witness of the greatness that Jesus will be and the one who "all men through him might believe."

Something that might seem a bit out of topic and very overanalyzed were my thoughts in the way Jesus answered his questions when he was asked whether he was the prophet or the messenger or whatever he was. "And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." (John 1.21-23) Jesus was very direct to the world about who he was and he expressed it clearly with no shame or modesty. He was the son of God and he knew it and he was going to fulfill his destiny. Jesus wasn't scared that he would get shunned and rejected or even killed. But maybe that is also because he knew he was immortal. He wasn't scared because he had God's protection but it's also nice to think that he would have done it because he didn't care either way. He also had enough methods to prove himself (turning water into wine).



I remember that when I was a child and I read about the various miracles Jesus executed, I didn't think of them as a big deal, and I hardly believed in them. I read that Jesus turned water into wine and I couldn't understand why it was a miracle it wasn't that big a deal. Why wouldn't they just keep the water? But when you think about it, not everything is literal. Jesus is constantly using metaphors that might leave everybody else confused and wondering... "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4.13-15) What if Jesus' water is God. What this quote is saying is that you have to drink the special water that Jesus is giving you because you will never be thirsty. If you drink the normal water, you'll survive, but you'll be thirsty faster. Isn't water faith? If we "drink" the Catholic faith, then we'll live longer and healthier? If we choose not to, we'll live, just not as long and not as healthy. I believe John has subliminal messages hidden behind metaphors, that are somewhat persuasive.