Matthew and Luke begin their gospels with the small — minute details of the birth of the baby Jesus and the gradual, incremental growth of Jesus’ ministry and reputation. John’s gospel, on the other hand, begins big, with a cosmic bang that echoes Genesis 1: “In the beginning . . .”

“In the beginning was the Word.” The very first speakers exclaim and expound Jesus’ divine identity. In John’s first chapter, over the course of four decisive days, first John the Baptist and then the newly called disciples proclaim Jesus to be the “Lamb of God” (v.36), the “Messiah” (v.41), the one about whom Moses wrote (v.45), the “Son of God” (v. 35, 49), and the “King of Israel” (v.49). There is no pussy-footing around about Jesus’ divine distinctiveness in these first encounters, Jesus’ public ministry …