John was most likely writing to a Greco-Roman society with a similar tone that Philo uses in order to maintain the “piety” and “traditional identity” desired by the community (White, 50).  The audience is thought to be composed of Jewish and non-Jewish individuals based on the extensive references to Jewish culture and tradition, as well as reference to non-Jewish traditions (NRSV, 156).  Additionally in John, the logos theology is expounded upon by making Jesus the one who the world is created through (Jn 1:3).  Due to this description, Jesus is portrayed in cosmological terms, which lends him a divine, omnipotent role where Jesus is not born, but rather the Son of God (Jn 1:1-4).  Furthermore, this introduction of Jesus as the Son of God sets the stage for John’s various miracle accounts in future chapters.  It is possible that John intended to give readers of the time a testament to Jesus as the Son of God in order to further faith in Jesus for not only people at that time, but for those in the future as well (NRSV 157).

In regards to how John is portrayed in these opening verses, it is made quite clear that he is not on the same level as Jesus (Jn 1:6-9).  It is possible that this distinction was emphasized because of the popularity and large group of followers that John had at the time.  The author of John wanted to make it very clear that John was a witness, rather than Jesus himself.  By making this distinction, the book of John sets the stage for a Jesus who is going to come into the world in order to bring light to the darkness.

Based on this opening passage, the reader of the time would probably start to think that Jesus was persecuted by his own people, the Jews, and the reader could potentially form a negative view of the Jewish community (Jn 1:11).  Since this viewpoint is present at the beginning of John, readers would likely anticipate this thread of Jesus being rejected by the Jews to continue throughout the book.  Keeping this view in mind, the image of Jesus is one that is persecuted, but also one that seems to have great disappointment in his people.  Because of this disappointment from the persecution and rebuking of Jews, it seems that Jesus turns to a faith-based covenant rather than the biologically-based covenant he has with the Jews in the Hebrew Bible (Jn 1:12-13).

Based on these first 18 verses of John, the author sets the stage for the story about to be revealed by depicting Jesus as “the Word”, who is already in existence.  This contrasts wisdom (or Sophia), which is seen as a creation of God in various text (Prov 1:1-7; 8:1-36).  By giving this broad, poetic overview at the beginning, John is able to cater to a wide audience of readers and introduce them to key concepts, such as the contrast of light and dark, the world rejecting Jesus, and a faith-based covenant.