Information AboutGospel Of John |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GOSPEL OF JOHN | |
| new testament books | |
| new testament narrative | |
| catharism | |
| jesus | |
|
The Gospel of John, (literally, ''According to John''; Of the four gospels, John presents the highest Christology , describing him as the Logos (Word) who existed from the beginning, teaching at length about his identity as the only savior, and (according to the Trinitarian tradition) declaring him to be God.A detailed technical discussion can be found in Raymond E. Brown 's article: ''Does the New Testament call Jesus God?'' in Theological Studies #26 (1965) p. 545-73 Compared to the Synoptic Gospels , John focuses on Jesus' ''cosmic mission'' to Redeem Humanity . Only in John does Jesus talk at length about himself, and John includes a substantial amount of material that Jesus shared with the disciples only. Certain elements of the synoptics (such as Parables , Exorcisms , and the Second Coming ) are not found in John. Since the ". ''Understanding the Bible: a reader's introduction'', 2nd ed. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. page 302. NARRATIVE SUMMARY (STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF JOHN) After the prologue (1:1-5), the narrative of the gospel begins with verse 6, and consists of two parts. The first part (1:6-ch. 12) relates Jesus' public ministry from the time of his baptism by John the Baptist to its close. In this first part, John emphasizes seven of Jesus' miracles, always calling them "signs." The second part (ch. 13-21) presents Jesus in dialogue with his immediate followers (13-17) and gives an account of his restores Peter after his denial, predicts Peter's death, and discusses the death of the "beloved disciple". The major events covered by the Gospel of John include: ''Hymn to the Word''
''Book of Signs'', ''Seven Signs''
''Book of Glory'', ''Last Teachings and Death''
DATE AND AUTHORSHIP See Also: Authorship of the Johannine works Authorship , by Carlo Crivelli , c. 1475.]] The authorship has been disputed since at least the second century, with mainstream Christianity believing that the author is John The Apostle , son of Zebedee. Modern experts usually consider the author to be an unknown non-eyewitness, though many apologetic Christian scholars still hold to the conservative Johannine view that ascribes authorship to John the Apostle. The text itself is unclear about the issue. contains information that could be construed as autobiographical. Conservative scholars generally assume that first person "I" in verse 25, ''the disciple'' in verse 24 and ''the disciple whom Jesus loved'' (also known as the Beloved Disciple in verse 20 are the same person;http://religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1116&C=1231http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2717 they further identify all three descriptors with the Apostle John through a combination of external and internal evidence.http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=1328 Critics point out that the abrupt shift from third person to first person in vss. 24-25 indicates that the author of the epilogue, who is supposed a third-party editor, claims the preceding narrative is based on the Beloved Disciple's testimony, while he himself is not the Beloved Disciple.http://earlychristianwritings.com/goodspeed/ch19.htmlhttp://earlychristianwritings.com/john.html Ancient testimony is similarly conflicted. Attestation of Johannine authorship can be found as early as in the remainder of the second century that ascribe the text to John The Evangelist .1 Martin Hengel and Jorge Frey similarly argue for John The Presbyter as the author of the text. Hill goes on to propose that Ignatius , Polycarp , Papias ’ elders, and Hierapolis ' ''Exegesis of the Lord’s Oracles'' possibly all quote from the Gospel of John. Epiphanius , however, takes note of an Early Christian sect, the '' Alogi '', who believed the Gospel was actually written by one Cerinthus , a second-century Gnostic.Panarion 51.3.1-6. Corroborating this evidence is a quotation by Eusebius Of Caesarea (History of the Church 7.25.2) in which Dionysius Of Alexandria (mid-third century) claims that the Apocalypse of John (known commonly as the Book Of Revelation ), but not the Gospel of John, was believed by ''some before'' him (7.25.1) to also have been written by Cerinthus. This discussion of the Alogi represents the only instance in which both the Book of Revelation and the Gospel of John were specifically attributed to Cerinthus.Panarion 51.3.1-6 Hill asserts that, at that time, the Gospel of John was never attributed to Cerinthus by the established orthodoxy; that Eusebius was only stating a theory that he had heard; and that Eusebius himself believed the Gospel to have been written by the Apostle John.Charles E. Hill. ''The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church'' Oxford Press p. ISBN 978-0199291441 Starting in the 19th century, critical scholarship has further questioned the apostle John's authorship, arguing that the work was written decades after the events it describes. The critical scholarship argues that there are differences in the composition of the Greek within the Gospel, such as breaks and inconsistencies in sequence, repetitions in the discourse, as well as passages that clearly do not belong to their context, and these suggest Redaction .Ehrman 2004, p. 164-5 Raymond E. Brown , a biblical scholar who specialized in studying the Johannine community, summarizes a prevalent theory regarding the development of this gospel.2 He identifies three layers of text in the Fourth Gospel (a situation that is paralleled by the Synoptic Gospel s): 1) an initial version Brown considers based on personal experience of Jesus; 2) a structured literary creation by the evangelist which draws upon additional sources; and 3) the edited version that readers know today (Brown 1979). Date Most scholars agree on a range of ''c.'' 90-100 for when the gospel was written, though dates as early as the 60s or as late as the 140s have been advanced by a small number of scholars. , 2007 . The traditional view is supported by reference to the statement of Clement Of Alexandria that John wrote to supplement the accounts found in the other gospels ( Eusibius , ''Ecclesiastical History'', 6.14.7). This would place the writing of John's gospel sufficiently after the writing of the synoptics. Conservative scholars consider internal evidences, such as the lack of the mention of the destruction of the temple and a number of passages that they consider characteristic of an eye-witness (John 13:23ff, 18:10, 18:15, 19:26-27, 19:34, 20:8, 20:24-29), sufficient evidence that the gospel was composed before 100 and perhaps as early as 50-70. Barrett suggests an earliest date of 90, based on familiarity with Mark’s gospel, and the late date of a Synagogue Expulsion Of Christians (which is a theme in John).Barrett, C. K. ''The Gospel According to St. John.'', p.127-128 Morris suggests 70, given Qumran parallels and John’s turns of phrase, such as "his disciples" vs. "the disciples".Morris, L. ''The Gospel According to John'' p.59 John A.T. Robinson proposes an initial edition by 50-55 and then a final edition by 65 due to narrative similarities with Paul .Robinson, J. A. T. ''Redating the Gospels'', pp. 284, 307 There are critical scholars who are of the opinion that John was composed in stages (probably two or three), beginning at an unknown time (50-70?) and culminating in a final text around 95-100. This date is assumed in large part because John 21 , the so-called "appendix" to John, is largely concerned with explaining the death of the "beloved disciple", supposedly the leader of the Johannine community that would have produced the text. If this leader had been a follower of Jesus, or a disciple of one of Jesus' followers, then a death around 90-100 is reasonable. Manuscripts is the earliest manuscript fragment found of John's Gospel; dated to about 125.]] The earliest known Manuscript s of the New Testament is a fragment from John, P52. A scrap of papyrus roughly the size of a business card discovered in Egypt in 1920 (now at the John Rylands Library , Manchester , accession number P52) bears parts of on one side and on the other. Most texts list the date of this manuscript to ''c.'' 125.3
SOURCES In 1941 proceedings were instituted against him and his writings. (See more detailed discussions linked below.) The mysterious , et al, places the Egerton fragments in the 2nd century, perhaps as early as 125, which would make it as old as the oldest fragments of John. Funk, Robert W. , Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. ''The five gospels.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. page 543. It is notable that the Gospel's opening prologue in consciously echoes the opening motif of '', traditional Jewish wisdom, or some type of Qumran-like Dead Sea Scrolls metaphysic? By the beginning of the 21st century, the pendulum of scholarly opinion has swung back to a traditional Jewish background. While focuses on God's creation, focuses on the Word (or Logos in the Greek) and the significance of the Word coming into the already created world. One Christian tradition, held by a number of Christians today, is that the Gospel of John was not based on other written sources. Because they consider the author of John to be John The Apostle , they conclude that John actually experienced all the things he described. There are also Christian scholars, such as NT Wright and John Shelby Spong , who reject the conclusions of source criticism. POPULAR PASSAGES IN THE GOSPEL "The truth shall make you free" - Jn 8:32 ( KJV ) "'' Logos ''" can literally mean "word", but also, in a broader sense, "discourse" or "reason", it has been interpreted by prominent theologians (such as Pope Benedict XVI in his famous Regensburg Lecture ) as establishing that reason and ''log''ical thinking are, in essence, also aspects of the divine. is one of the most widely known passages in the New Testament: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Another popular passage from John is John 4:13-14 . "''Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.''" Jesus had said this to a Samaritan woman whom he met at a well, and he told her about the living water that he offered. This saying was based partially on Isaiah 55:1-2 . One of the more popular passages from the Book of John is the story of the blind man: "''Then again called they (the Pharisees) the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise:we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.''" John 24-25 John 10:34: "''Jesus said to them, 'Is it not written in your law, "I say you are gods?''"'" (quoting Psalm 82:6) is very popular. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN The ''Gospel of John'' is easily distinguished from the three Synoptic Gospels , which share a considerable amount of text. John omits about 90% of the material in the synoptics. The synoptics describe much more of Jesus' life, miracles, Parables , and exorcisms. However, the materials unique to John are notable, especially in their effect on modern Christianity. Christology John portrays Jesus Christ as "a brief manifestation of the eternal Word, whose immortal spirit remains ever-present with the believing Christian." while the Synoptic Gospels focused less directly on Jesus as the Son of God. John includes far more direct claims of Jesus being the only Son of God in favour of Jesus as the Son of Man. The gospel 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 the Christian character. Jews The Gospel’s treatment of the role of the Jewish authorities in the ), and not the Jewish people as a whole. It is because of this controversy that some modern English translations, such as Today's New International Version , remove the term "Jews" and replace it with more specific terms to avoid anti-Semitic connotations, citing the above argument. Most critics of these translations, conceding this point, argue that the context (since it is obvious that Jesus, John himself, and the other disciples were all Jews) makes John's true meaning sufficiently clear, and that a literal translation is preferred. Other critics go further, arguing that the text displays a shift in emphasis away from the Roman provincial government, which actually carried out the execution, and to the Jewish authorities as a technique used to render a developing Christianity more palatable in official circles. Nonetheless, these passages have been historically used by some Christian groups to justify the persecution of Jews. Gnostic elements Though not commonly understood as Gnostic, John has elements in common with . Jesus pre-exists birth as the Word ( Logos ). This origin and action resemble a gnostic Aeon (emanation from God) being sent from the Pleroma (region of light) to give humans the knowledge they need to ascend to the pleroma themselves. John's denigration of the flesh, as opposed to the spirit, is a classic Gnostic theme. It has been suggested that similarities between John's Gospel and Gnosticism may spring from common roots in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature .Kovacs, Judith L. (1995). Now Shall the Ruler of This World Be Driven Out: Jesus’ Death as Cosmic Battle in John 12:20-36. Journal of Biblical Literature 114(2), 227-247. No parousia The gospel contains "no explicit reference to the parousia ( Second Coming )", and some scholars have suggested that John portrays Jesus as having already "come again" in spirit. Harris, Stephen L. . ''Understanding the Bible: a reader's introduction'', 2nd ed. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. page 304. Differences from the Synoptic Gospels See Also: Omissions in the Gospel of John John is significantly different from the Synoptic Gospels in many ways. Some of the differences are:
"There are no parables in St. John's Gospel." It does, however, contain Metaphor ic stories, such as The Shepherd and The Vine . Synoptic parables are poetic stories, each of which illustrates a single message or idea. John's metaphoric stories are Allegories , in which each individual element corresponds to a specific group or thing. Medieval Bible exegetes sometimes assigned allegorical meanings to elements in synoptic parables, but modern scholars reject these interpretations. is potentially a stand-alone parable of Jesus, which UBS calls "Parable of the Sheepfold", calls it a "figure of speech", Strong's G3942 , however, states I am the gate, which makes it a metaphor.
Critical scholarship on the differences between John and the synoptics Since the advent of critical scholarship, John's historical importance has been considered less significant than the synoptic traditions. The scholars of the 19th century concluded that the Gospel of John had no historical value. Over the next 2 centuries, scholars such as Bultmann and Dodd, looked closer and began finding historically important parts of John. Many scholars today believe that parts of John represent an independent historical tradition from the synoptics, while other parts represent later traditions.Brown 1997, p. 362-364 The scholars of the Jesus Seminar assert that there is little historical value in John, and consider nearly every Johannine saying of Jesus to be nonhistorical. Jesus Seminar . However, most scholars agree that John is a very important document on Christian theology, oftentimes more so than the synoptics. Other characteristics unique to ''John''
SEE ALSO
REFERENCES FURTHER READING
EXTERNAL LINKS Online translations of the Gospel of John:
Related articles:
|
|
|