"He [Andrew] First Found His Own Brother Simon And Said To Him, 'We Have Found The Messiah" (Jn 1:41)": Family As The Primary Locus Of Evangelization

摘要

Scholars usually study the Prologue to the Gospel of John as an independent pericope. Its poetic outline and similarity to either the beginning statement of Genesis 1 and gnostic philosophy are always underscored. In recent times, the connection between the Prologue and the rest of the Gospel is gaining attention. My article explores the fact that 1) the Prologue to John is not a perfect poetic composition because it is interspersed with prose; 2) the prosaic part of the Prologue shows a hermeneutic principle embedded into the Prologue, the fact that God needs witnesses to make him known - John the Baptist plays this role and bridges the Prologue and the rest of the gospel. 3) What appears unique to me, in the gospel of John, is the primordiality and priority of family evangelization and witness as epitomized by Andrew’s option to call his own brother first (Jn 1:40-42).