The prologue to the Gospel of John features some of the most profound verses in the whole Christian Bible. In addition to considering the nature of Christ, it offers an overview of human history and describes our relationship with God.

Specifically, John tells us that Christ was the one through whom all things were created (1:3)—as illustrated by the Creation of Adam in the Genesis cycle of the Moutier-Grandval Bible—and that he brings life and light to all humanity (1:4)—which can be taken as a statement about his Incarnation and Resurrection.

Christ brings light to humankind because he himself is ‘the true light that gives light to everyone’ and because he ‘was coming into the world’ (1:9). To convey this message, the artist of the Bargello icon used gold tesserae and inscribed the book held by Christ with verses from the eighth chapter of John: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (8:12). The book itself glimmers with the ‘light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The words on the book are in the first person and in the present tense to engage and reassure the viewer that God is eternally present. At the same time, the codex is open as an anticipation of his Second Coming (Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32; Revelation 20:12). This is because, to use the words of Paul the Apostle, he ‘has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith’ (Romans 16:26).

Verses 10 and 11 of John 1 foreshadow the Passion—that is to say, Christ’s suffering and death on the cross which, for Christians, were necessary to save humanity from subjection to death. Within this scheme of salvation Christ must become ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (1:29). In a similar fashion, the orans posture of the Virgin Mary in the Copto-Arabic manuscript from the Monastery of Saint Anthony foreshadows the outstretched hands of her son who died on the cross to give us ‘the right to become Children of God’ (1:12).

The Gospel of John offers an elevated perspective on Jesus Christ, and, throughout the centuries, Christians of different denominations have turned to it to contemplate the mystery of God’s design and to understand the salvific implications of the Incarnation. The differences between the artworks considered in this exhibition show that its prologue is open to multiple readings. In fact, the three images considered in the individual commentaries were produced by artists working respectively for the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Coptic Orthodox Churches. These are churches that have been divided over theological issues, but they are united by their interest in this Gospel, and the desire to engage visually with its message.

For 'we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father' (John 1:14).