Open the Hebrew Bible and the very first word you encounter is Bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית) — “In the beginning.” Centuries later, the Gospel of John begins with a deliberate echo: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Two beginnings, separated by time, yet joined by a single thread: the Word. Genesis speaks of creation; John speaks of incarnation. Together, they form a prophetic arc that stretches from the dawn of the universe to the cross on Calvary.
The Hidden Message in Bereshit
Messianic commentators have long noted that Bereshit contains embedded words and images that foreshadow Christ:
Bar (בר) – “Son.” The Son is present from the start.
Rosh (ראש) – “Head.” The one who bears authority, later crowned with thorns.
Shayit (שׁית) – “Thorns” or “appointed.” A shadow of the crown of thorns.
Brosh (ברוש) – “Tree” or “timber.” The cross itself.
Shai (שי) – “Gift.” Salvation as covenant gift.
Tav (ת) – Anciently drawn as a cross or covenant mark.
Thus, the first word of Scripture can be read as:
“The Son of God, crowned with thorns, upon a tree, as a covenant gift.”
John’s Echo: The Word Made Flesh
John’s Gospel deliberately mirrors Genesis. Where Genesis begins with Bereshit, John begins with En archē —“In the beginning.”
But John shifts the focus: not on the act of creation, but on the eternal Word who was with God and was God." John 1:1
This Word, John tells us, became flesh and dwelt among us. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.The hidden prophecy in Bereshit — the Son, the thorns, the tree, the gift — finds its fulfilment in John’s narrative.
What was encoded in letters at the dawn of time is revealed in history through Christ. It shows that God’s plan was not improvised but embedded from the start. The cross was not a reaction to human failure; it was the covenant intention woven into creation’s first syllable.
The Prophetic Arc
Encoded in Genesis – The Son is hidden in Bereshit.
Foreshadowed in Israel’s story – Sacrifices, covenants, and prophets point toward redemption.
Revealed in John – The Word becomes flesh, fulfilling the hidden message.
Completed at the Cross – The thorns, the tree, the gift — all realised in history.
From Bereshit to John, the arc is clear: what was whispered in the beginning is shouted in the Gospel. The Word who created all things is the same Word who redeems all things.The beauty of Scripture lies in its unity across time. The first word of Genesis and the first verse of John are not two beginnings but one continuous revelation.
Bereshit encodes the Son, the thorns, the tree, and the gift. John unveils the mystery: the Word was God, the Word became flesh, and the Word gave Himself on the cross.
The prophetic arc reminds us that redemption was not an afterthought. It was written into the very first word — so that when John declared, “In the beginning was the Word,” he was not starting a new story, but revealing the completion of the oldest one.
