BOOK REVIEW
Gospel According to
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Background
The Gospel
According to John (Greek τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγέλιον), commonly referred to as
the Gospel of John or simply John, is an anonymous account of the public
ministry of Jesus. It begins with the witness and affirmation of John the
Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection, and
post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The Fourth Gospel describes the mystery of the identity of Jesus. The
Gospel According to John develops a Christology—an explanation of Christ’s
nature and origin—while leaving out much of the familiar material that runs
through the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, including Jesus’ short
aphorisms and parables, references to Jesus’ background, and proclamations
about the kingdom of God. Whereas Mark’s Gospel brings us the texture of
first-century Palestine
with a vivid, concrete, and earthy Jesus, John’s Gospel is filled with long
discourses describing Jesus’ divinity. John takes us behind Jesus’ ministry,
where we get a glimpse of what it means to believe in Jesus as flesh of the
eternal and living God, as the source of light and life, and for a believer to
be a “Son of God.”
Though John’s narrative diverges from the synoptic Gospels, it is indeed
a Gospel, or a telling of good news. It includes the basics of Jesus’
ministry—his preaching, miracles, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection. It is
likely that John heard the details about these events from a very early oral
source common to all the Gospels, but the freedom he uses to interpret these
events helps us see clearly that all accounts of Jesus have come to us through
the filter of interpretation. John may have been written a bit later than the synoptic
Gospels, likely around 90 A.D. The actual author of John’s Gospel was probably
an interpreter of John, who was one of Jesus’ original disciples.
John presents a
"higher" Christology than the synoptic gospels, meaning that it
describes Jesus as the incarnation of the divine Logos through whom all things
were made, as the object of veneration. Only in John does Jesus talk at length
about himself and his divine role, often sharing such information with the
disciples only. Against the synoptics, John focuses largely on different
miracles (including the resurrection of Lazarus), given as signs meant to
engender faith. Synoptic elements such as parables and exorcisms are not found
in John. It presents a realized eschatology in which salvation is already present
for the believer.
Authorship
The gospel
identifies its author as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Although
the text does not name this disciple, by the beginning of the 2nd century, a
tradition had begun to form which identified him with John the Apostle, one of
the Twelve (Jesus' innermost circle). The gospel itself shows signs of having
been composed in three "layers", reaching its final form about 90–100
AD.
CONTENTS
John can be divided thematically into halves, preceded by a prologue and
followed by an epilogue. The prologue is a poetic introduction that presents
the outline of the narrative and the essence of John’s theology. The first half
of the Gospel can be characterized as a “Book of Signs.” It tells of Jesus’
ministry, focusing on seven major miracles worked by Jesus and the meaning and
significance of those miracles. The second half of John has been called the
“Book of Glory.” In it, the narrative moves toward Jesus’ glorification through
crucifixion and resurrection. Finally, the book ends with an epilogue, most
likely added to the Gospel by a later redactor, which tells of Jesus’
appearance to the disciples after his resurrection.
JOHN AND JESUS
This prologue of the Book is intended to identify Jesus as the eternal
Word (Logos) of God. Thus John asserts Jesus' innate superiority over all
divine messengers, whether angels or prophets. Here John adapts the doctrine of
the Logos, God's creative principle, from Philo, a 1st-century Hellenized Jew. Philo
had adopted the term Logos from Greek philosophy, using it in place of the
Hebrew concept of Wisdom (sophia) as the intermediary (angel) between the
transcendent Creator and the material world. Some scholars argue that the
prologue was taken over from an existing hymn and added at a later stage in the
gospel's composition.
John portrays Jesus Christ as "a brief manifestation of the eternal
Word, whose immortal spirit remains ever-present with the believing
Christian." The book presents Jesus as the divine Son of God, and yet
subordinates to God the Father. This gospel gives more focus to the
relationship of the Son to the Father than the other gospels. It also focuses
on the relation of the Redeemer to believers, the announcement of the Holy
Spirit as the Comforter (Greek Paraclete), and the prominence of love as an
element in Christian character.
John identifies Jesus as the Logos (Word). A term from Greek philosophy,
it meant the principle of cosmic reason. In this sense, it was similar to the
Hebrew concept of Wisdom, God's companion and intimate helper in creation. The
Jewish philosopher Philo merged these two themes when he described the Logos as
God's creator of and mediator with the material world. The evangelist adapted
Philo's description of the Logos, applying it to Jesus, the incarnation of the
Logos. The opening verse of John is translated as "the Word was with God
and the Word was God" in all "orthodox" English Bibles. There
are alternative views. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures of
Jehovah's Witnesses has, "the Word was with God, and the Word was a
god." The Scholar's Version of the gospel, developed by the Jesus Seminar,
loosely translates the phrase as "The Logos was what God was,"
offered as a better representation of the original meaning of the evangelist.
In the synoptic, Jesus speaks often about the Kingdom of God
• "the bread of
life"[6:35]
• "the light of the
world"[8:12]
• "the gate of the
sheep"[10:7]
• "the good
shepherd"[10:11]
• "the resurrection
and the life"[11:25]
• "the way, the
truth, and the life"[14:6] and
• "the true
vine"[15:1]
Critical scholars think that these represent the Christian community's
faith in Jesus' divine authority but doubt that the historical Jesus actually made
these sweeping claims. John also promises eternal life for those who believe in
Jesus. [3:16 and others]
Date of the Crucifixion
In the Jewish calendar, each day runs from sunset to sunset, and hence
the Last Supper (on the Thursday evening), and Jesus' crucifixion (on Friday
afternoon), both fell on the same day. In John, this day was the 14th of Nisan
in the Jewish calendar; that is the day on the afternoon of which the Passover
victims were sacrificed in the Temple, which was also known as the Day of
Preparation. The Passover meal itself would then have been eaten on the Friday
evening (i.e. the next day in Jewish terms), which would also have been a
Sabbath. In the Synoptic accounts, the Last Supper is a Passover meal, and so
Jesus' trial and crucifixion must have taken place during the night time and
following afternoon of the festival itself, the 15th of Nisan. In favour of the
Synoptic chronology is that in the earliest Christian traditions relating to
the Last Supper in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, there is a
clear link between the Last Supper and the Passover lamb.
However, Paul also calls Christ "our passover",
"sacrificed for us" (I Cor 5:7), and if as according to John Jesus
died on the afternoon of the 14th this was when the passover lambs were
slaughtered. Colin Humphreys and W. Graeme Waddington favor the date of Friday
April 3, 33 from a combination of astronomical and historical reasons, which
would have been the 14th rather than the 15th of Nisan. Also in favor of John's
chronology is the near universal modern scholarly agreement that the Synoptic
accounts of a formal trial before the Sanhedrin on a festival day are
historically impossible. By contrast, an informal investigation by the High
Priest and his cronies (without witnesses being called), as told by John, is
both historically possible in an emergency on the day before a festival, and
accords with the external evidence from Rabbinic sources that Jesus was put to
death on the Day of Preparation for the Passover. Astronomical reconstruction
of the Jewish Lunar calendar tends to favor John's chronology, in that the only
year during the governorship of Pontius Pilate when the 15th Nisan is
calculated as falling on a Wednesday/Thursday was AD 27, which appears too early
as the year of the crucifixion, whereas the 14th of Nisan fell on a
Thursday/Friday in both AD 30 and 33.
John the Baptist
John's account
of the Baptist is different from that of the synoptic gospels. John is not
called "the Baptist." John's ministry overlaps with that of Jesus,
his baptism of Jesus is not explicitly mentioned, but his witness to Jesus is
unambiguous. The evangelist almost certainly knew the story of John's baptism
of Jesus and he makes a vital theological use of it. He subordinates John to
Jesus, perhaps in response to members of the Baptist's sect who denied Jesus'
superiority. In John, Jesus and his disciples go to Judea
early in Jesus' ministry when John has not yet been imprisoned and executed by
Herod. He leads a ministry of baptism larger than John's own.
Summary
The Gospel of John begins with a poetic hymn that tells the story of
Jesus’ origin, mission, and function. John says that Jesus is the incarnated
Word of God, bringing “grace and truth,” replacing the law given by Moses, and
making God known in the world (1:17). The narrative opens with John the Baptist
identifying himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy; he will prepare
the way for the Lord. Indeed, when he meets Jesus, John testifies, “He is the
Son of God” (1:34). The next day, hearing John’s testimony, two disciples,
including Andrew, begin to follow Jesus. Andrew brings his brother Simon to
Jesus, who now accumulates several other followers as well. On the third day
after Jesus’ baptism, Jesus and his disciples attend a wedding at Cana in Galilee , where Jesus works a miracle, transforming water
into wine.
As Passover approaches, Jesus travels to Jerusalem , where he drives the money changers
from the temple, charging them to “stop making my Father’s house a marketplace”
(2:16). A Pharisee named Nicodemus assumes that Jesus has come from God as a
teacher, and Jesus tells him, in solemn, semi poetic lines, that he has been
“born from above” (3:3) and that God has given “his only Son so that everyone
who believes in him may not perish” (3:16). Jesus leaves Jerusalem
and begins to baptize people in Judea . John
the Baptist has continued his baptizing, and someone informs him that Jesus too
has begun to baptize, assuming that John would be angry at the competition. The
Baptist rejoices at the news, knowing that Jesus, as the Son of God, is the
greater of the two, and that Jesus is the fulfillment of John’s prophecy.
Jesus travels to Samaria ,
where he speaks in metaphors and figures of speech with a Samaritan woman and with
his disciples. They do not always understand his metaphors, and take Jesus
literally when he tells the woman that he has “living water” (4:10) and when he
tells his disciples that “I have food to eat that you do not know about”
(4:32). Eventually, the woman understands Jesus. Impressed by his knowledge of
her past and by his message, she tells the other Samaritans that he is the
Christ, meaning that he is the Messiah prophesied in Jewish scriptures. The
Samaritans profess belief in him.
Returning to Cana in Galilee , Jesus
cures a boy who is at death’s door. In Jerusalem
once again for a festival, Jesus cures a sick man at the pool of Bethzatha and
orders him to pick up his sleeping mat and walk around. As it is the Sabbath,
when observant Jews do not carry objects outdoors, the Jews become angry with Jesus
and their anger only increases when Jesus explains that God is his father.
Jesus delivers a long discourse, in which he announces that his words bring
eternal life, and that rejection of Jesus in favor of the traditional laws is
foolish, since Jesus represents the fulfillment of the Old Testament
prophecies.
Returning to Galilee , Jesus is
approached by a crowd of people looking for inspiration. To feed them, he works
a miracle, providing food for 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and
two fish. Later that evening, Jesus’ disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee and are surprised to find Jesus walking
across the water toward them. The next day, crowds of people come in search of
Jesus, and he explains the significance of the miracle of the loaves: “I am the
bread of life / no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father”
(6:35). Using the symbol of bread, Jesus explains that belief in him and in
God, his father, will give eternal life. Many of his listeners disbelieve him,
and Jesus teaches that belief in him is a foreordained gift from God: “Do not
judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (6:65). Peter, however,
remains with Jesus and professes his faith.
At the Feast of Booths, the Jewish holiday Sukkoth, Jesus returns to Jerusalem with the
pilgrims and begins preaching in the temple. He urges the people not to hold
his previous violation of the Sabbath against him, saying, “Do not judge by
appearances, but judge with right judgment” (7:24). Many people wonder whether
Jesus is the Christ, or Son of God, and the authorities want to arrest him but
do not dare. The authorities bring him an adulterous woman and, in an attempt
to entrap him, ask him whether or not she is guilty. Jesus responds, “Let
anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”
(8:7).
A long discourse ensues, in which Jesus responds to questions and
accusations from the assembled people. Jesus predicts his own death and
ascension, and explains that his authority comes from his origin in God and his
fulfillment of the word of God. He accuses his listeners of being slaves to sin
and, as sinners, of being illegitimate sons of God. Claiming to precede Abraham
and to derive his glory from God, Jesus finally infuriates the crowd and barely
escapes being stoned.
Jesus comes upon a man blind from birth and gives the man sight. The
Pharisees are frustrated to realize that Jesus really has cured the man, who
now professes faith in him. For their failure to believe, Jesus pronounces the
Pharisees blind and teaches that he is the good shepherd, and that it is only
through him that the sheep of Israel ’s
flock shall be saved. Months pass, and at the Feast of Dedication, the Jewish
holiday Hanukkah, Jesus is again confronted by the Jews in the temple, who ask
whether or not he is the Christ. He responds by announcing that he is the Son
of God, united with God. The crowd tries to stone him, but Jesus escapes Jerusalem .
Jesus is called to Bethany, the village where two of his devout
followers, Mary and Martha, live with their brother Lazarus, who has fallen
sick. Arriving in Bethany
too late, Jesus finds Lazarus dead. He works a miracle to inspire belief in the
observers, resurrecting Lazarus. Hearing of this spectacle, the Jewish
leadership in Jerusalem ,
including the chief priests, decides to kill both Jesus and Lazarus.
Nevertheless, Jesus travels to Jerusalem
for Passover. He has foreseen his own death, as well as the salvation that he
will bring through his sacrifice. Many of the Jews, despite witnessing signs of
Jesus’ divinity, continue to disbelieve, and Jesus decries their lack of faith.
At the Passover meal, or Seder, Jesus preaches extensively to the
apostles. Through washing their feet, he teaches them that they must serve each
other, saying, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another”
(13:34). Jesus stresses his unity with God: “I am in the Father, and the Father
is in me” (14:10). Jesus foresees his own death and his betrayal by Judas. “I
am going to the Father,” he tells the apostles (14:28). Jesus assures the
apostles that in Jesus’ place, God will send an advocate, the Spirit of God,
who will continue to dwell with the faithful, and who will lead them toward
truth and salvation. He warns them that even after his death, they will
continue to be persecuted, but that their ultimate salvation is imminent.
Hearing this prophesy, the apostles finally express their firm belief in Jesus,
and Jesus responds triumphantly, “I have conquered the world” (16:33). In a
long, private prayer, Jesus addresses God directly, asking him to consecrate,
glorify, and protect the faithful.
The narrative moves quickly toward its conclusion. Jesus is arrested by
the soldiers whom Judas leads to him. He is brought first before the Jewish
high priest, and then before Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect. Pilate
repeatedly interrogates Jesus, who refuses to confirm the allegation against
him—that he has acted treasonably against Caesar by declaring himself King of
the Jews. Pilate is reluctant to condemn Jesus, but the Jews agitate for Jesus’
execution, and eventually Pilate consents. Jesus is crucified, and the soldiers
cast lots to determine who will get his clothing. Pilate affixes a notice to
the cross, reading “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (19:19). Jesus
dies, and to ensure his death, a solider pierces his side with a lance. Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus bury Jesus on a Friday.
On Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene comes to Jesus’ grave and finds it
empty. Jesus appears to her, and she brings the news of his resurrection to the
disciples. Later that day, he appears to the disciples, whom he charges with
the propagation of his message: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”
(20:21). Thomas is absent from the room, and he expresses doubt as to the
resurrection until, a week later, Jesus reappears to him as well. For I have
set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you.
For John, Jesus’ miracles are not simply wonders to astonish onlookers,
but signs pointing to his glory that come from the presence of God within him.
In the early stages of his ministry, John tells of an encounter between Jesus
and a Samaritan woman at the well. At this time, the Samaritans were a group of
people despised by the Jews, and casual conversation between men and women was
taboo. Jesus asks the woman to fetch him water, but she misunderstands his
words to mean literal water. Quickly, she learns that the water to which he
refers is already in her presence, that Jesus is “a spring of water gushing up
to eternal life,” to which she replies, “Sir, give me this water so that I may
never be thirsty” (4:14-15).
This story is not a short parable, but an opportunity for Jesus to
explain elaborately his personhood using life giving symbols characteristic of
John’s writing: water, words, bread, and light. John tells of this Samaritan
woman leaving to then become a successful missionary of the “good news” in Samaria (4:42).
All the Gospel narratives diverge dramatically after the point at which
Mark ends: the discovery of the empty tomb and the astonishment of the women.
In Matthew, the women run to tell the disciples and are met by the risen Jesus
on the way. In Luke, the women tell of their discovery of an empty tomb, but no
one believes them until the resurrected Jesus makes a series of appearances
before the other disciples. Here, in John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene tells Peter
and another disciple of the empty tomb, and, though she first mistakes him for
a gardener, Jesus appears to her and discloses his identity. After his
appearance to Mary, the risen Jesus appears to the disciples as a group, and
John dramatizes the spiritual presence of Christ when Jesus breathes on his
disciples. In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “breath” is the same as that
for “spirit.”
The Gospel of John is perhaps the most difficult of the Gospels to
understand, not because John is more complex than the others—Luke is perhaps
the most technically difficult of the Gospels—but because it is so different
from the other Gospels. Reading John in the context of the other Gospels can be
a jarring experience, because the theological significance of the picture that
John paints of Jesus’ life is in many respects specific to John himself. Even
John’s solemn and poetic presentation is quite different from that of the other
Gospels. The Gospel is also resistant to ecumenicalism, or attempts to
reconcile varying religions; in the Gospel of John, Jesus declares, “I am the
way, and the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through me”
(14:16).
Yet the Gospel of John also contains some of the most beautiful parts of
the New Testament, such as Jesus’ statement, “Let anyone among you who is
without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). Scholars believe that
this story was circulating orally, and that church leaders were reluctant to
add it into any of the synoptic Gospels because in official church doctrine,
forgiveness for adultery was impossible. Instead of focusing on an official
church, John’s Gospel focuses on individual believers and their relationships
to Jesus.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of John is its development of
Christology, a discourse on the nature and origin of Jesus. Unlike Matthew and
Luke, John is not interested in the details of Jesus’ birth. Both Matthew and
Luke stress that Jesus is born of a human mother who has somehow been visited
by the Holy Spirit. John skips entirely the question of Jesus’ conception. John
pictures Jesus as the Son of God in a sense that might be described as
metaphorical. Jesus may well be a real human who possesses flesh and blood, but
he is also the incarnation of the Divine Word. Indeed, just as Jesus himself is
the Son of God, John speaks of Jesus giving his followers “power to become
children of God”—descent from God is an attitude of faith and a gift of grace
(1:12).
Jamshed Gill
Ref: Weikipedia free Encyclopedia.
International
Greek New Testament Project
Robinson The Chronology
of John's Gospel
The Holy Bible,
King James Version and New American Standard Version.
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