M14b
Purpose
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Unlike in the Synoptic Gospels, which do not contain explicit statements indicating why the evangelists wrote, the author of John gives us a hint. He declares that the Gospel was written so that his audience might develop in the Christian faith. He writes at the end of the Gospel, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). In the Greek text, it is not clear, however, if the author intends to convey (1) an evangelistic purpose, that his audience “may come to believe,” (2) a pastoral purpose, that his audience “may continue to believe,” (3) an intentional ambiguity, or (4) a double entendre, namely two purposes in one.
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A larger problem associated with this purpose statement is its generality. What is the underlying problem that the author is addressing? How does believing in Jesus as the Christ solve the difficulty in which the author is entangled? Whatever the reason for writing may have been, a reconstruction of it must incorporate material from the entire Gospel. It should also be remembered that John, like the Synoptics, conveys a dual perspective. On one level, the evangelist writes his narrative about Jesus in the context of Jewish life set in Palestine during the late 20s of the first century. This is where the plot unfolds and the interactions among the characters takes place. On another level, the narrative is intended to speak to his readers/hearers, who are Christians living in a post-resurrection setting some 70 years after Jesus’ death. This is the level of significance. Thus, the purpose was not to reconstruct the life of Jesus, but to convey his meaning in a new context of conflict. In short, on the one hand the evangelist tells the story of Jesus, yet on the other hand his primary concern is the significance of that story for his own time and place.
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While scholars do not agree on the specificity of the purpose, there is substantial agreement that the Gospel was addressed to members of the Johannine Community in order to strengthen their faith in the midst of Jewish intellectual and social opposition. There are indications throughout the narrative that John’s audience is troubled, particularly in relation to their belief that Jesus is the Christ. For example, Jesus is at times concerned that his followers (which represent the Johannine Community) do not abandon their faith (6:60–69; 15:1-18). In the farewell discourses (chapters 14–17) Jesus encourages his followers to stay the course, saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (14:1). At other times, it is the narrator who emphasizes the perseverance of sound faith (4:43–53; 6:25–27; 20:29).
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Ruins of the Capernaum Synagogue, 4th century CE.
The specific issue(s) underlying John’s admonitions for faith is not clear. One of the most common proposals is that John’s community was facing hostility or even expulsion from the synagogue by fellow Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Thus, the conflict that John attempts to address is an “in house” division between Jews who claim that Jesus is the Christ and those who do not. Proponents of this view appeal to the phrase “to be put out of the synagogue”—the same phrase discussed above to support a late dating—which is captured by a single Greek term (aposunagogos) found in John 9:22, 12:42, and 16:2. It does not appear anywhere else in the New Testament. John uses the term in contexts where belief in Jesus as the Christ threatens membership in the synagogue. Was the anxiety of new Jewish believers in Christ, who still attend synagogue,the foundational purpose for this Gospel?
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Other purposes have also been suggested. Here is a sampling. Some have argued that when the purpose statement in 20:31 is taken in an evangelistic way, John’s aim was to convert Jews and even Samaritans. Proponents often appeal to Jesus’ discussions with “a leading Pharisee” in chapter 3 and the Samaritan woman at the well in chapter 4 in support of this view.
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Others have pointed to the beloved disciple as the clue to the purpose of the Gospel. Since this disciple receives considerable attention and is “the one whom Jesus loved,” he must have been (or represented) a prominent figure in the community. It is speculated that this much attention was a symptom of a problem that required the beloved disciple (and maybe even the entire community) to be legitimized or supported. Perhaps his leadership or his community was under threat by rival Christian groups, which was not unprecedented. Several decades earlier, Paul experienced similar issues.
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More recently, a few scholars have proposed that John was written to counter Gnostic claims about Jesus’ identity. This is an interesting development and is gaining some traction. For some Christian Gnostics (as we find represented in the Gospel of Thomas), Jesus was not the Christ, but took on the divine function of “the Christ” for a limited time. In some Gnostic circles, “the Christ,” which was viewed as the divine energy, power, or spirit, entered Jesus at his baptism and then left him at the cross, since the divine cannot suffer. For Gnostics, the resurrected Jesus could not have been physical, but only a spirit. In response, the author of John argues that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, even after his resurrection. It is also interesting to read John’s story of Thomas in light of this proposal. Only in John, Thomas, who in Gnostic systems took on a leadership position, touches the risen Christ and pronounces him God. Does this confession and short interplay between Jesus and Thomas attempt to undermine Gnostic Christology by using one of its own leaders?
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“The Doubt of Thomas,” Caravaggio, 1601-1602. Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, Germany.
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Info Box 14.5: John and the Gnostics
Early traditions from Asia Minor connect John the Elder with Gnostic opponents, particularly a Christian Gnostic named Cerinthus who echoed the widespread philosophical opposition to Jesus’ incarnation, arguing that the divine could not take on human form and participate in human suffering, weakness, and death. For example, Irenaeus writes harshly (reminiscent of 1 John). “There are also those who heard from him [Polycarp] that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath house without bathing, exclaiming, ‘Let us fly, lest even the bath house fall down because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.’ And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, ‘Do you know me?’ ‘I do know you, the first-born of Satan.’ Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against even holding verbal communication with any corruptors of the truth; as Paul also says, ‘A man that is a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he is subverted, and sins, being condemned of himself’”.
(Against Heresies 3.3.4)
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The final example of why John may have been written is multi-layered. Raymond Brown, who has been one of the most respected Johannine scholars in the last fifty years, has argued that no single purpose can adequately explain all the data in John. As a result, Brown (and others) argues that the author of John is addressing several issues:
First, he is addressing sectarian Jews who are mistakenly following John the Baptist instead of Jesus. No other Gospel contains as many negations of the Baptist’s identity in contrast to Jesus. For example, in John 3:30, the Baptist tells his disciples, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.”
Second, John clearly addresses his unbelieving Jewish counterparts, probably in the synagogue context.
Third, portions of John make sense in light of early Christian heretical movements, such as Gnosticism.
Fourth, John’s Gospel is also concerned with sustaining the faith of the members of his community. In short, John may well have been written as both an apologetic (defense of the faith) and an encouragement Gospel.
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“Preaching of St. John the Baptist,” Bacchiacca, 1520.
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
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Info Box 14.6: John the Baptist as the Christ?
It is possible that some of the earliest followers of Jesus were previously disciples of the Baptist. We know that followers of the Baptist, who may have thought that he was the Messiah, are mentioned in Matt 11:2-16; Luke 7:18-23; Acts 18:24-19:7 and existed well into the third century (e.g. Pseudo-Clementine, Recognitions). More than the other Gospels, John emphasizes who the Baptist is not. For example, the Baptist
• is not the light (1:9)
• does not antedate Jesus. Jesus existed before the Baptist (1:15, 30)
• is not the messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet (1:19-24; 3:28)
• is not the bridegroom (3:29)
• must decrease while Jesus must increase (3:30)
• never works miracles (10:41)
Uniqueness of John
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In the introduction to this chapter, we made brief mention of John’s distinctive character. So, how different is John from the Synoptics? When all four Gospels are read in the canonical order from Matthew to John, a few distinguishing features may emerge for the average reader. However, when the Gospels are read alongside one another, the number of differences escalate. John is unique in writing style, terminology, point of view, sequence of events, and most evidently in content, which is our focus here.
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“The Crucifixion of our Lord Christ,” Giotti di Bondone, 1305. Capella Scrovegni a Padova, Italy. The water and blood from Jesus’ side is collected by the angels for the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist.
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In contrast to the Synoptics, John is fond of symbolism. Characters within the story often misunderstand Jesus’ words because they take them literally. Consequently, Jesus, or the narrator, offers clarifications that lead the audience to the intended meaning. For example, Jesus says in 2:19-22 “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The audience assumes the literal meaning, but the narrator explains that Jesus is speaking of his body. Another example is the description of Jesus’ wound on the cross. After being pierced by the soldier, we are told that “water and blood” flowed from his side. Given John’s frequent connection between water and the Spirit (which was promised to come at his death in 7:37-39), it probably symbolizes the release of the Holy Spirit. Roman Catholic interpretation has tended to view the reference to water as baptism and the reference to blood as the Eucharist, the primary sacraments which Christ gave to the Church.
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John contains many stories about Jesus that are not found in the Synoptics or anywhere else in the New Testament. Many of these stories are significantly longer and contain extensive discourses (e.g. 5:19-47; 6:25-70; 7:14-52; 8:12-59; 10:1-18, 22-39; 12:23-46; 14:1-16:33). John also tells the story of Jesus’ ministry over a three year period (with three Passovers 2:13f; 6:4f; 13:1f), instead of one.
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Info Box 14.7: A Few Stories Unique to John
• hymn of the preexistence and preeminence of the Word (1:1-18)
• calling of Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael as disciples (1:35–51)
• changing of water into wine at Cana (2:1–12)
• conversation with Nicodemus (3:1–21)
• encounter with Samaritan woman at a well (4:1–42)
• healing of a crippled man at Pool of Siloam (5:1–18)
• teaching on the meaning of the manna/bread from heaven (6:22-71)
• Jesus at the Festival of Booths (7:1-24)
• rescue of an adulterous woman from stoning (7:53–8:11)
• healing of a man born blind (9:1–41)
• raising of Lazarus (11:1–44)
• washing of disciples’ feet (13:1–20)
• prayer for believers to be united together (17:1–26)
• resurrection appearance to Thomas (20:24–29)
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“Healing of the Blind Man,” Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11.
National Gallery, London.
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What about the stories that John and the Synoptics have in common? The stories are not only longer in John, they are also told differently. For example, the Synoptics record that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (with some variation). In John, there is a similar interaction between the Baptist and Jesus. The Baptist is described as baptizing in the Jordan River and giving prominence to Jesus. The Baptist even says, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit’” (1:32-33; cf. 3:22-36). However, at no point in John’s version, does he explicitly say that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
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Another example is Jesus’ death. All of the Gospels record this event, but John tells it a little differently. In John, Jesus dies on the day of preparation for Passover, and not on the Passover itself as the Synoptics record. In John 18:28 the crucifixion takes place on the day before Passover, the 14th of Nisan (or Nissan),which was the first month of the Jewish calendar. In the Synoptics (e.g. Mark 14:12) the last supper was the Passover meal and, along with the crucifixion, occurs on the 15th of Nisan. John’s telling of the story spiritualizes the event by having Jesus die at the exact time that the killing of the sacrificial animals began, namely the “day of preparation for Passover, at noon” (19:14). John’s version corresponds to his portrayal of Jesus as the “Passover lamb” at the beginning of the story.
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John’s Gospel is also unique in what it omits. In contrast to the Synoptcs, Jesus does not tell parables, perform exorcisms, dine with sinners and tax collectors, preach about the end times or the kingdom of God, advocate or care for the needy and the poor, undergo temptation, or transfigure on a mountain—to name a few.
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Info Box 14.8: Material Not Found in John’s Gospel
• stories of Jesus’ birth
• mention of Jesus’ baptism
• temptation by Satan
• Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners
• transfiguration
• parables
• exorcisms
• secrecy about Jesus’ messianic identity
• Lord’s Prayer
• condemnations of the rich or words about helping the poor
• Peter as the leading disciple
• command to love one’s neighbour or enemy, (only to love one another 13:31-35)
• call for repentance
• call for disciples to deny themselves or renounce their possessions
• predictions of Jerusalem’s downfall (but the temple is predicted in 2:19–22)
• focus on the kingdom of God (only in 3:3–5 and 18:36)
Themes
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Jesus as God’s Revelation
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“Christ the Saviour” (Pantokrator). Icon from St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai, 6th century. This is one of the famous depictions of Jesus as Lord.
More than in any other Gospel, Jesus is the revealer of God. He is the embodied revelation. His function as revealer is rooted in his identity as the Word (logos), which has been with God since “the beginning” (1.1). Without explanation, or the benefit of a birth narrative, the Word takes on flesh so that he can dwell among his people and reveal God (1:14).
His function as the revealer is similar to that of the Prophets and Moses, but on a more intimate level. Jesus is not just an agent of God, he is the manifestation of God, which has traditionally been called the incarnation. He does not only reveal the will of God, but also his character and function. For example, Jesus reveals that God loves the world (3:16), that God will give the Holy Spirit (4:16), that God is spirit (4:24), that God is active (5:17), and that God answers prayer (16:23). While John’s language has no exact parallel in the New Testament, there are a handful of texts that imply similar ideas (e.g. Matt 1:23; Phil 2:5-8; Col 1:15-20).
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In addition to his teachings, Jesus’ revelation takes place through his supernatural deeds, which are appropriately called “signs.” These not only legitimize Jesus’ authority as God’s son, but they are pointers to God’s presence in the world. The signs reveal that God transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary (2:1-11), that he heals people (4:46-54), that he offers physical and spiritual sustenance (6:2-14), and that he gives abundant and eternal life (11:38-44; 12:17-18). Jesus’ manifestation of the divine is captured concisely in his famous saying, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9; 12:45).
The One Sent from God
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Closely connected to the previous theme is the portrayal of Jesus as the “one sent” from God. Over twenty times, Jesus refers to God as “the one who sent me” (e.g. 5:24, 30; 10:36; 11:42; 12:44–45; 17:8). While there are a few references at the beginning of the story to John the Baptist being sent by God (e.g. 1:6, 19), they are minor in comparison. The Greek verb for sending is apostello, from which we derive the word “apostle.” What is unusual about John’s Gospel is that apart from the resurrection account (20:21), the disciples are never “sent” by Jesus. In light of this emphasis, one could say that Jesus is the primary (or only?) apostle in the Gospel of John.
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In the Greco-Roman context, the sending of an agent implied representation. The agent was granted the same level of authority as his sender. He had the right to act and speak in behalf of his master. We see a similar role among the Hebrew prophets, who were sent by God to be his emissaries and convey his will. In biblical language, they were sent to deliver the “Word of the Lord.” John’s theme of Jesus as the one sent by God is heavily influenced by both his Greco-Roman context and his Jewish heritage. Therefore, an acceptance of Jesus and his message is an acceptance of the one who sent him, namely God. Likewise, the rejection of Jesus and his message is a rejection of God. John’s community sees itself within this trajectory as people who have been sent by the resurrected Christ, who in turn was sent by God. As such they believe themselves to be the emissaries of divine truth (17:21).
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Jesus as God
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The divine nature of Jesus is a fundamental belief of the Christian faith. Traditional Christian dogma shared by the three major traditions—Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism—teaches that Jesus is both human and divine, and as such constitutes the second person of the sacred Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Doctrines, like the Trinity, are complicated and carefully drawn out processes that have taken centuries to develop. In fact, many theologians argue that they are still in the process of development. One of the key components in the formulation of doctrines has been scripture. In the case of the Trinity, the Gospel of John has played a prominent role. Most Christian thinkers throughout the history of the Church have interpreted select references to Jesus’ divinity, like 1:1 (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God”) and 20:28 (“My Lord and my God”) in a literal way. The intimate love that the son shares with the Father in John has shaped the understanding of the Trinity as an eternal love relationship within the one Godhead.
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“The Holy Trinity,” Domenico di Michelino, c. 1460. Galleria dell’Accadamia, Florence. The Father is depicted seated on the throne. Jesus the Son is on the cross. The Holy Spirit is represented by the dove above the cross.
At the same time, John is not shy in presenting Jesus as fully human. Jesus experiences thirst (19:28), irritation (2:4; 6:26; 7:6-8: 8:25), suspicion (2:24-25), fatigue (4:6), grief (11:33-35), anguish (12:27; 13:21), and finally death (19:30). Moreover, Jesus always subjects himself to the will of the Father (5:19, 30). Even in the resurrected state, Jesus seems to distinguish himself from God, saying to Mary Magdalene, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” In the context of Christianity, this tension between the human and divine identity of Jesus has been understood as a mystery.
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Scholars have wondered, however, how the divine portrayal of Jesus would have been understood in the context of John’s Jewish Christian audience. At the end of the first century there was no developed idea of the Trinity or the integration of Jesus’ human and divine natures. The evangelist, along with a large portion of his audience, would have been steeped in a Jewish understanding of monotheism that may have included myths of divine or semi-divine humans. Since these were commonplace in paganism, some have suggested they were influential. The common explanation, however, for the origin of Jesus’ divine portrayal in John is that it is rooted in Jewish wisdom tradition, which personified wisdom as a divine mediator and revealer. The primary writings, to which scholars point, are Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach. The last two are found in the Apocrypha. In these writings, wisdom lives with God in heaven, takes part in the creation, comes to dwell among God’s people, and is the perfect reflection of God (e.g. Prov 8:27, 29-30, 35-36; Sirach 24; and Wisdom 7:25-26; 9:10). While the subject of Jesus’ divine identity is complicated and controversial, it is possible that the Jewish wisdom tradition was influential in the shift from Jewish monotheism to the Christian conception of God, and John’s Gospel may have been an important part in the transition.
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Glory
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One of the most startling features in John’s Gospel is the way in which Jesus refers to his death as glorification. When one thinks of the Roman practice of crucifixion, glory hardly comes to mind. In addition to the beatings that victims often experienced, it was an excruciatingly painful and humiliating ordeal that lasted for days. On the cross, victims often endured ravenous insects and assaults by scavenging birds and wild dogs. When the corpses were removed from the crosses, they were often unceremoniously thrown into mass graves. Where is the glory in this?
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Jesus begins to associate his death with glory well before he goes to the cross. He makes several predictions that point to a particular time, called the “hour,” when a series of events will unfold, beginning with his betrayal, which will lead to his death and the eventual giving of the Holy Spirit. For example, after Jesus says, “He who believes in me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water,’” the narrator explains that he was referring to the Holy Spirit which will be given when he is glorified (7:38-39). In 12:23, Jesus predicts, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23). In 13:13, after the Passover, Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas, saying “Now is the son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Finally, as he awaits his impending death, he prays, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you” (17:1).
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There are at least two ways in which Jesus’ death can be understood as glorious.
First, Jesus’ death as an act of glory is the deepest expression of the son’s love for the Father. Throughout the story, Jesus’ commitment and obedience to the will of God are unwavering. Jesus complies willingly because he loves the Father. When Jesus faces the ultimate act of obedience in the giving of his life, Jesus’ love is taken to the highest level.
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Second, Jesus’ glorification can also be viewed as an enthronement. This is expressed in at least three ways.
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(1) Instead of the passion predictions that are so commonly found in the Synoptics, John uses the term “lifted up” to refer to Jesus’ crucifixion (3:14; 8:28; 12:32, 34). Since the verb “to lift up” is as ambiguous in Greek as it is in English, it allows the evangelist to once again engage in a double meaning. On one level it refers to the exposure of Jesus’ bare body on the cross, which is the ultimate act of humiliation in early Judaism. On another level, when it is read in the context of Jesus’ messianic identity, it refers symbolically to his enthronement. The two extremes are creatively captured in a single expression.
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(2) Jesus’ enthronement is captured in the title on the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (19:19). Although the title is intended to be sarcastic by Jesus’ executioners, it is a stroke of clever irony by the evangelist. Throughout the trial, kingship becomes the dominant theme. Pilate and Jesus engage in a dialogue about the nature of Jesus’ kingship. While Pilate does not see him as a king (certainly not as an earthly king), he does not find him guilty of insurrection. He hands the matter to the Jewish authorities who deny Jesus’ kingship, call for his execution, and proclaim Caesar as king. Pilate reluctantly has Jesus executed. All the while, the reader recognizes that Jesus’ words are true and that the sarcastic title is correct. He is the king of the Jews, who is ironically executed by his subjects and their king. The irony continues into the burial scene. Jesus is buried in an unoccupied tomb, which was common practice for kings (19:41).
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(3) Throughout the passion account, Jesus is never a common victim because he is always in control of the events. He allows himself to be arrested (18:1–11) and claims that he could alter the course of events at his volition. Jesus’ response to Pilate that he would have no authority, were it not given to him by God, is paramount (19:11). Even his death is a voluntary act in which he alone must hand over his spirit in order to die (19:30).
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Eternal Life
In John, Jesus rarely preaches about the kingdom of God or the coming of an apocalyptic age, or even his second coming. Instead, he is fond of speaking about life, sometimes as eternal life and other times as abundant life. Here are a few examples. In his lengthy discussion with a Pharisee named Nicodemus, Jesus focuses on the importance of being born from above (or again), which conveys the need to find new life (3:1-15). In his exchange with the Samaritan woman, he promises, “whomever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (4:14). In the story of the resurrection of Lazarus Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (11:25-26). During his monologue on rewards and punishments, Jesus declares, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes the one who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (5:24). Finally, in his teaching on the bread from heaven, which has often been understood as referring to the Eucharist practice in John’s community, he astonishingly asserts, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves” (6:53).
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“Institution of the Eucharist,” Stefano di Giovanni, c. 1430.
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena.
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John’s notion of life is associated with salvation. While John includes more familiar language about salvation—that people can become children of God (1:12), be saved (3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 12:47), be set free (8:32), and come to the Father (14:6)—Jesus’ main purpose for coming is that all might have life to the full (10:10). But eternal life is not equated only with a blissful post-mortem existence. It is primarily conceptualized as a form of existence in the present. It does not have to do so much with longevity, but with quality of life. The experience of eternal life, through belief that Jesus is the Christ, is promised for the present (3:36; 5:24). New Testament scholars have often referred to the present experience of eternal life as “realized eschatology.” John presents eternal life as an abundant life whereby the believer experiences the truth of God revealed in and through Jesus, which is primarily manifested in God’s love for the world and his desire to save it, not to punish and condemn it (3:16-17). The ancient notion of belief, however, is not strictly a cognitive assent; it includes faithfulness and love, as it is revealed in Christ.
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Info Box 14.9: Life as Restoration
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, John’s theology of life is viewed as an antidote to the sin of Adam, known as original sin. Since the Orthodox understand the consequence of original sin as mortality, Jesus’ promise of eternal life is viewed as a restoration of our fallen nature. This view is different from the traditional Catholic and Protestant view, which teaches that the consequence of original sin was guilt, which is inherited by all humanity. According to this Western view, restoration is realized through an appeasement of the inherited guilt.
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Love
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One of the most beautiful themes running through the entire Gospel is love—mentioned over fifty times. The act of love flows in multiple directions. Primary is the love shared between the Son of the Father. The Son only acts in accordance to the will of the Father, and even gives his life in a final act of loving obedience. The Father and the Son are so close that Jesus can say, “I and the Father are one” (10:30). The highest expression of this relationship is found in the High Priestly Prayer of John 17. Love also flows from Jesus to the disciples (e.g. 13:34), from God to the world (e.g. 3:16), from the Paraclete (see below) to the disciples (John 14-16). Finally, on a number of occasions, the disciples are commanded to love one another as Jesus loves them (e.g. 13:34). However, nowhere in John do we find Jesus’ command to love one’s neighbour or one’s enemies, as it is found in the Synoptics (e.g. Mark 12:31).
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The relationship between Jesus and his disciples (especially the beloved disciple) is often said to be very close. Being a follower of Jesus means loving him (8:42; 14:15, 21, 23; 16:27; 21:15-17) and abiding in him (6:56; 15:4-10). This is the essence of believing in him (20:24-29). When his followers let his words abide in them (15:7), and keep his commandments (15:10), especially the commandment to love one another (15:12), they are in union with him, the Father, and themselves. For John, this is eternal and abundant life. Love, however, is not primarily a feeling, but the act of faithfulness and commitment (13:3-15).
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John’s emphasis on love has caused scholars to wonder why there is so much hostility to Jews and unbelievers. Perhaps it was due to the antagonism that John‘s community experienced, be it within the synagogue or from rival Christian Gnostic groups.
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Paraclete
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“The Holy Spirit,” Corrado Giaquinto of Naples, 1755. Private collection.
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As Jesus plans his departure during the last week of his life, he frequently promises his followers in his “farewell discourses” (ch. 14-16) that they will not be left alone. After his departure, he promises the disciples that they will be accompanied by a person who is called Paracletos in Greek (transliterated as Paraclete). Since there is no exact translation for Paraclete, English Bibles usually refer to him as the “Counselor,” “Advocate,” or “Helper.” In Greco-Roman culture Paracletos was associated with both legal and religious functions. As a judicial term it referred to a person who spoke on behalf of another, or interceded for another, in a legal setting. As a religious term, it referred to a person who conveyed words of eschatological (end of the age) hope to a persecuted party. John’s Paraclete also takes on these functions, but goes well beyond them. Perhaps the best way to understand the totality of the Paraclete’s role is captured in 14:17 where he is described as “another helper,” which implies another person like Jesus.
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Like Jesus, the Paraclete has a divine origin. He is sent by the Father (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:13). He is identified as “the Spirit of Truth” (14:17; 15:26; 16:13) and “the Holy Spirit” (14:26). His role is to sustain and build the community of Jesus’ followers after Easter. For example, the Paraclete comforts the disciples’ anxiety and confusion due to Jesus’ departure. The Paraclete provides assurance, in the face of opposition, that the community’s faith in Jesus is true. Finally, the Paraclete brings to mind Jesus’ words and provides their correct interpretation in times of crisis. Members of John’s community believe themselves to be the recipients of the Paraclete and that his ministry is enacted among them. As a result, they see themselves as believing and living in the truth that Christ revealed.
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The Antagonists: The World and The Jews
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Unlike the antagonists in the Synoptic Gospels, who are Jewish religious leaders in general and Pharisees in particular, John’s antagonists are primarily “the world” and “the Jews.” The first half of the Gospel targets “the Jews,” whereas the second half targets “the world.”
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While the world is intrinsically good, since it came into being through God and his Word (1:3, 14), it is also the environment in which John’s community experiences hostility, hatred, and rejection because of their belief in Jesus as God’s revealer. As such the world represents the unbelievers, who oppose both Jesus and his followers (7:7; 15:18-19; 16:20; 17:14). In spite of the hostility, God still loves the world (3:16) and sends his Son to rescue it (3:16-17; 4:42). Since the world is described as being in darkness (i.e. spiritual darkness) and the domain of the Devil (12:31; 14:30; 16:11), Jesus comes to confront it as the light of the world. When he departs, the disciples are sent into the world to continue Jesus’s mission with the help of the Paraclete, who convicts the world of its need of light and life. Prior to sending them out, however, Jesus warns them about conforming to the world (17:14-18). Whereas Matthew and Acts understand the church to have a transformative and beneficial impact on the world, John seems more concerned about protecting the believers from the temptation and the unbelieving posture of the world (17:11-12, 17-19). John’s warnings have often been understood as a reflection of the community’s struggle to define itself within the hostilities of both the Roman Empire and the synagogue context.
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One of the most controversial features of the New Testament, especially since the Holocaust, is John’s depiction of the “the Jews” as prominent antagonists of Jesus and his followers. On the surface it appears as though John is anti-Semitic, singling out Jews as an ethnic or religious people group. This reading would be a misreading since Jesus and his disciples were Jews themselves. For John, “the Jews” is a reference to fellow Jewish people who did not believe that Jesus is the Christ. They cling to the laws of Moses without seeing that he, along with all the scriptures, point to Christ (5:39-47; 9:28). Here we find a battle between the old revelation and the new. For “the Jews,” faith in Jesus as the Christ becomes the reason for expulsion from the synagogues (9:22; 12:42; 16:2). In light of this conflict, “the Jews” are presented as little more than the world. Jesus even goes so far as to say that the ruler of the world – the devil (12:31) – is their father as well (8:44). Because of their unbelief, the evangelist implies that his fellow Jews have lost their privilege as the people of God (8:39, 42, 47).
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Info Box 14.10: John’s Gospel and Anti-Semitism
Scholars point out that the animosity toward “the Jews” in John’s Gospel was never intended to convey a generic condemnation of an entire race or nation of people. Rather, the Gospel contains a more specific attack on a particular rival religious group within Judaism. Regardless, these polemical passages have been used throughout the history of the Church to promote anti-Semitism. Renewed interest in these passages has taken root after the Jewish Holocaust of World War II. Consequently, several scholars have proposed that the Greek word Ioudaioi should be translated as “Judeans” to indicate that it refers to a group of people living in a specific geographical region in the first century, and not to Jewish people as a whole. It may well be that when John is writing, at the end of the first-century, the reference to “the Jews” is used to distinguish believing Jews (who were being called “Christians”) and non-believing Jews (who were simply called “Jews”). As such, the category could have arisen during heated Jewish-Christian controversies, probably in the synagogue context.
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Bibliography
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