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9.
"Passion in the Fourth Gospel"
‘Passion
in the Fourth Gospel' –
Turner J in Religious Studies Review , Volume 1, No.
1, (Philip Allan Updates, 2004) pages 6-9 © A2 Religious Studies
Synoptic Guide, Gordon Reid and Sarah Tyler, 2003, Philip Allan Updates
[This
page shows the anthology in two different learning styles. The first
simply changes the format to use bullet points and add sub-headings;
the second adds emphases by additional formatting techniques to highlight
additional points. In both, Scriptures are blue and comments by scholars
are green]
STYLE
ONE : Format changed & subheadings added
Commentaries
often fail to list ‘the passion'
In
defining Passion we can shed light on the author's purpose in compiling
this Gospel.
The
Passion throughout John
- It
is far too superficial to isolate passion to the farewell discourses
and crucifixion narratives.
- My
contention is that passion in the Fourth Gospel is of central significance
and that John's Gospel is nothing less than a ‘Passion Gospel'.
- Jesus'
passion in this Gospel is an act of selfless love, an act of controlled
martyrdom.
- It
is to serve as a fulfilling, liberating and glorifying climax to the
signs and discourses that the author and editors pointedly select and
adapt so that the Gospel can be just that: a veritable treasure-trove
of kerygmatic theology.
- The
kerygma is the name given to the proclaimed message
of the early Christians.
- Their
mission was to spread the word — the word that Christ was crucified
and resurrected so
that eternal life is on offer for all (John 3:16 -17).
- The
purpose of the author was to write a Gospel. A proper understanding
of its passion is vital to the appreciation of just what that Gospel
was intended to teach and preach.
Passion
motifs in the opening chapters
Passion
Imagery
- Passion
motifs abound throughout the Gospel.
- In
chapter 1, for example, verses 11, 14, 29, 36, 41 and 51 are rich with
passion imagery.
- The
‘Lamb of God' references which are peculiar to the Fourth Gospel are
especially telling given the changed chronology in the crucifixion story
(John 19:14; cf. Mark 15:25ff.)
- For
the best detailed analysis of this differing time frame see pp. 21—24
of Larry Kreitzer's The Gospel According to John (1990).
- The
idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God and is to supersede the Passover
Lamb is typical of the replacement theology of the Gospel.
- Replacement
theology is the name scholars give to the author's technique of introducing
new ideas about Christ.
- These
ideas (phrases, motifs, concepts etc.) take over from the existing ones
which would have been familiar to the original readers.
- For
example, the phrase ‘Jacob's well' means little to us, but it is highly
significant that Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman there.
- Similarly,
all Jews would have known what would happen to lambs at the Passover
festival.
The
Temple
Incident
- Chapter
2 opens with
the beginning of a sequence of signs;
- this
is followed by the Temple
incident
(2:13 —22).
- In
the Synoptic Gospels, we find this Temple
incident
at the end of Jesus' ministry, and yet here the author projects it forward
into chapter 2.
- This
must have been for a purpose: namely to indicate from the outset something
of Christ's passion and his gift of eternal life.
- As
such, it can be described as epiphanic — showing something about Jesus.
- An
integral part of the passion story thus becomes a foretaste of the passion
teaching that runs through this Gospel.
- Clement
of Alexandria
wrote, in
effect, that the author knew of the synoptic accounts and so saw fit
to compose a ‘spiritual Gospel' instead.
- Note
the following features in the Temple
incident and how they are found later in the Gospel:
- Conflict
in the Temple (2:13 —25). Jesus goes on to heal a man in the Temple
who ends up believing (chapter 9).
- Jewish
ambiguity leading to insight (2:19 —22). This is found again in chapter
3 where Nicodemus asks how a man can be born again (3:4).
-
The physical to be replaced by the spiritual (2:18 —22). This
is found also in 4:10 —11 where water becomes living water.
-
Rabbinic Judaism is superseded (2:17). Old Testament rabbinic
Judaism is to be fulfilled. Similarly, the manna in chapter 6 is replaced
by the ‘bread of life'.
- Given
that each of these has much to say about eternal life, it is not without
significance that they are instrumental in our understanding of Jesus'
passion, for it is through Jesus' passion that eternal life is on offer.
The
passion and salvation
Images
from the encounter with the Samaritan Woman
- The
predominant thrust of the Gospel is teaching on salvation and eternal
life .
- It
is therefore no coincidence that Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan
woman (in every sense an outcast), with all its teaching on salvation
and eternal life, is a prelude to Jesus' passion in many ways:
•
In 4:6 Jesus is tired and weary; in 19:1—2 Jesus is to undergo much
greater physical suffering.
•
In 4:7 Jesus is thirsty; in 19:28
his thirst
fulfils scripture.
•
In 4:34
Jesus speaks
of his work which is to be completed; in 19:30
it is completed.
(The same Greek verb is used in both instances.)
•
In 4:6 it is the sixth hour; in 19:14
it is also
the sixth hour. This is an unusual time to specify.
Images
from the Bread of Life
- Another
passage rich in passion motifs is the final section of the bread of
life discourse (ch.6)
- The
editors of the Gospel are thought to have relocated the teaching on
sacrifice and atonement from the story of the Last Supper (chapter 13)
and added it to this discourse so as to deepen its teaching on eternal
life (6:53—58).
- Although
we have moved a long way from the sign, the link between bread and the
broken body is steadfast.
Images
from the Good Shepherd
- The
theme of the sacrificial nature of the passion is seen again in ch.10.
- Unlike
the shepherd in Luke 15, the Johannine good shepherd lays down his life
for his sheep (John 10:11;
cf. Ezekiel 34:4).
- He
is more than a mere guardian.
- He
is to be the agent for salvation — and as such his is a vital part of
the portrait of the passion in the Gospel.
- Jesus
gives his life for his
friends (15:13) and yet he is able to regain it again.
Other
passion motifs
Further
Images
- Other
passion motifs that are found systematically throughout the Gospel include:
•
hour: 2:4, 7:30,
8:26,
12:23,
13:1, 17:1
•
opposition of the Jews: 5:18,
7:1, 8:59,
10:31,
11:53
•
lifted up to be glorified: 3:14,
8:28,
12:32 —34
•
the Father sends the Son, so that the Father is known: 1:18,
3:32,
5:19,
5:37,
6:46,
8:38,
14:6
The
passion narrative
Irony
in the Passion Itself
- Come
the actual events of the passion (arrest, trials, crucifixion and burial)
the image is of Jesus, totally in control, obedient to the will of his
Father.
- Irony
abounds in the reversal of roles:
- Soldiers
come with torches (18:3) to arrest the light of the world (8:12,
9:5).
- It
is Pilate who is on trial, and found wanting.
- Jesus
is mocked as a king and yet is lifted up and glorified.
- Establishment
figures like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus assist in the burial
of Jesus.
Specific
Details from John
- The
author is careful to demonstrate:
-
the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, e.g. 18:9, 19:24,
19:28
- that
Jesus is very much a human being — he thirsts and blood and water
pour from the wound in his side; this is believed to be indicative
of the anti-docetic nature of the Gospel
-
that Jesus' hour has now come — compare 12:23, 12:27, 13:1
and 17:1 with 2:4, 4:21, 4:23, 5:25, 5:28—29, 7:30, 8:20, 16:2, 16:25
and 16:32
The
Timing
- This
comparison bears close scrutiny.
- The
first time Jesus says that his hour has come (12:23
) occurs after
his triumphal entry into Jerusalem
.
- The
Sanhedrin (the ruling Jewish council) has already decided to have him
executed.
- He
has been anointed (an act symbolic of his passion and death), and his
words are spoken to ‘certain Greeks' (12:20).
- The
presence of the gentiles indicates the universality of the divine plan
of salvation. To fulfil this plan, Jesus' death and resurrection are
essential.
The
last hours
The
key features in the passion of Jesus' last hours:
- His
triumphal sacrifice.
- As
the Passover lambs are slaughtered in the Temple in celebration of an
annual festival, Jesus is crucified for eternity.
- In
control ever since the moment of his arrest (and eschewing all violence)
he is a king even to Pilate. In death, he is lifted up and glorified.
- A
criminal is king.
- Jesus
is crucified alongside criminals as a criminal.
- Mocked,
scourged and given purple and a crown of thorns for a would-be king,
his true kingship is revealed for those who have eyes to see.
Irony
once again abounds:
- Those
who claim control are not in control;
- he
who is on trial is a judge;
- those
with power have none;
- and
he who is a captive condemned criminal is a king.
- Peter
fails to defend Jesus, yet Pilate, his chief adversary, writes that
he is ‘King of the Jews'.
Johannine
women and the passion
The
Passion includes Women
- One
other particularly Johannine theme can also shed light on the author's
cumulative understanding of Jesus' passion.
- Much
has rightly been said of the distinctive portrait of women in the Gospel.
- Without
necessarily presenting a case for feminist theology, note how each episode
involving women in the Gospel sheds light on the nature of Jesus' passion:
- Jesus'
mother (never named) features in two linked episodes.
- She
is present both before (2:4) and when (19:25 —27) that hour literally
and symbolically comes.
- She
is then a witness to the passion as it unfolds.
- The
Samaritan woman hears Jesus teach about the forthcoming hour of his
passion (4:19 —26).
- His
passion is to be for her as much as for any good Jew.
- Equally
in receipt of salvation is the woman caught in adultery (8:1—11).
- There
is an irony here: the so-called sinner is not condemned yet the sinless
will be and all this takes place in the Temple , in front of scribes
and Pharisees.
- Martha's
words and actions are also essential signposts for Jesus' passion.
- She
(not Peter as in the Synoptic Gospels) identifies Jesus as ‘the Christ,
the son of God who is coming into the world' (11:27) and anoints Jesus,
an act prophetic of his death (12:7).
- Somewhat
unexpectedly (or maybe deliberately so) the risen Christ, having conquered
death, appears first to Mary Magdalene .
- She
witnessed his death (19:25
) and now
is to witness to the Gospel that his death is achieved (20:14).
- Mary
Magdalene went and said to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.'
What
does passion really mean for John?
Summary
- So
what verse can be said to encapsulate the Johannine passion?
- Surely
that honour must go to John 13:34. ‘I give you a new commandment: love
each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.'
- It
is typically Johannine, distinctive and polemical.
- Love,
specifically selfless love, is the essence of the passion and here it
is both taught and practised.
- As
K. Grayston writes in Gospel of John (1990): ‘ The
love commandment displaces all others, not because other commandments
are unnecessary for promoting justice and happiness in social life,
but because… [the disciples] love knowing that they
- ‘the
love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them' (17:26).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STYLE
TWO : Emphases added
Commentaries
often fail to list ‘the passion'
In
defining Passion we can shed light on the author's purpose in compiling
this Gospel.
The
Passion throughout John
- It
is far too superficial to isolate passion to the farewell discourses
and crucifixion narratives.
- My
contention is that passion in the Fourth Gospel is of central significance
and that John's Gospel is nothing less than a ‘Passion Gospel'.
- Jesus'
passion in this Gospel is an act of selfless love, an act of controlled
martyrdom.
- It
is to serve as a fulfilling, liberating and glorifying climax
to the signs and discourses that the author and editors pointedly select
and adapt so that the Gospel can be just that: a veritable treasure-trove
of kerygmatic theology.
- The
kerygma is the name given to the proclaimed message
of the early Christians.
- Their
mission was to spread the word — the word that Christ was crucified
and resurrected so that eternal life is on offer for all (John 3:16
-17).
- The
purpose of the author was to write a Gospel. A proper understanding
of its passion is vital to the appreciation of just what that Gospel
was intended to teach and preach.
Passion
motifs in the opening chapters
Passion
Imagery
- Passion
motifs abound throughout the Gospel.
- In
chapter 1, for example, verses 11, 14, 29, 36, 41 and
51 are rich with passion imagery.
- The
‘Lamb of God'
references which are peculiar to the Fourth Gospel are especially telling
given the changed chronology in the crucifixion story (John 19:14; cf.
Mark 15:25ff.)
- For
the best detailed analysis of this differing time frame see pp. 21—24
of Larry Kreitzer's The Gospel According to John (1990).
- The
idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God and is to supersede the Passover
Lamb is typical of the replacement theology of
the Gospel.
- Replacement
theology is the name scholars give to the author's technique of introducing
new ideas about Christ.
- These
ideas (phrases, motifs, concepts etc.) take over from the existing ones
which would have been familiar to the original readers.
- For
example, the phrase ‘Jacob's well' means
little to us, but it is highly significant that Jesus speaks to a Samaritan
woman there.
- Similarly,
all Jews would have known what would happen to lambs at
the Passover festival.
The
Temple
Incident
- Chapter
2
opens with the beginning of a sequence of signs;
- this
is followed by the Temple
incident
(2:13 —22).
- In
the Synoptic Gospels, we find this Temple
incident
at the end of Jesus' ministry, and yet here the author projects it forward
into chapter 2.
- This
must have been for a purpose: namely to indicate from the outset something
of Christ's passion and his gift of eternal life.
- As
such, it can be described as epiphanic — showing something about Jesus.
- An
integral part of the passion story thus becomes a foretaste of the passion
teaching that runs through this Gospel.
- Clement
of Alexandria
wrote, in
effect, that the author knew of the synoptic accounts and so saw fit
to compose a ‘spiritual Gospel' instead.
- Note
the following features in the Temple
incident
and how they are found later in
the Gospel:
- Conflict
in the Temple
(2:13 —25).
Jesus goes on to heal a man in the Temple
who ends
up believing (chapter 9).
- Jewish
ambiguity leading to insight
(2:19 —22).
This is found again in chapter 3 where Nicodemus asks how a man can
be born again (3:4).
-
The physical to be replaced by the spiritual
(2:18 —22). This is found also in 4:10 —11 where water becomes living
water.
-
Rabbinic Judaism is superseded (2:17).
Old Testament rabbinic Judaism is to be fulfilled. Similarly, the
manna
in chapter 6 is replaced by the ‘bread of life'.
- Given
that each of these has much to say about eternal life, it is not without
significance that they are instrumental in our understanding of Jesus'
passion, for it is through Jesus' passion that eternal life
is on offer.
The
passion and salvation
Images
from the encounter with the Samaritan Woman
- The
predominant thrust of the Gospel is teaching on salvation and eternal
life .
- It
is therefore no coincidence that Jesus' conversation with the
Samaritan woman (in every sense an outcast), with all
its teaching on salvation and eternal life, is a prelude to Jesus' passion
in many ways:
•
In 4:6 Jesus is tired and weary; in 19:1—2 Jesus is to undergo much
greater physical suffering.
•
In 4:7 Jesus is thirsty; in 19:28
his thirst
fulfils scripture.
•
In 4:34
Jesus speaks
of his work which is to be completed; in 19:30
it is completed.
(The same Greek verb is used in both instances.)
•
In 4:6 it is the sixth hour; in 19:14
it is also
the sixth hour. This is an unusual time to specify.
Images
from the Bread of Life
- Another
passage rich in passion motifs is the final section of the
bread of life discourse (ch.6)
- The
editors of the Gospel are thought to have relocated the teaching on
sacrifice and atonement from the story of the Last Supper (chapter 13)
and added it to this discourse so as to deepen its teaching on eternal
life (6:53—58).
- Although
we have moved a long way from the sign, the link between bread and the
broken body is steadfast.
Images
from the Good Shepherd
- The
theme of the sacrificial nature of the passion is seen again in ch.10.
- Unlike
the shepherd in Luke 15, the Johannine good shepherd lays down his
life for his sheep (John 10:11;
cf. Ezekiel 34:4).
- He
is more than a mere guardian.
- He
is to be the agent for salvation — and as such his is a vital part of
the portrait of the passion in the Gospel.
- Jesus
gives his life for his friends (15:13)
and yet he is able to regain it again.
Other
passion motifs
Further
Images
- Other
passion motifs that are found systematically throughout the Gospel include:
•
hour: 2:4, 7:30,
8:26,
12:23,
13:1, 17:1
•
opposition of the Jews: 5:18,
7:1, 8:59,
10:31,
11:53
•
lifted up to be glorified: 3:14,
8:28,
12:32 —34
•
the Father sends the Son, so that the Father is known: 1:18,
3:32,
5:19,
5:37,
6:46,
8:38,
14:6
The
passion narrative
Irony
in the Passion Itself
- Come
the actual events of the passion (arrest, trials, crucifixion and burial)
the image is of Jesus, totally in control, obedient to the will of his
Father.
- Irony
abounds in the reversal of roles:
- Soldiers
come with torches (18:3) to arrest the light of the world (8:12,
9:5).
- It
is Pilate who is on trial, and found wanting.
- Jesus
is mocked as a king and yet is lifted up and glorified.
- Establishment
figures like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus assist in the burial
of Jesus.
Specific
Details from John
- The
author is careful to demonstrate:
-
the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy, e.g. 18:9, 19:24,
19:28
- that
Jesus is very much a human being — he thirsts and blood and water
pour from the wound in his side; this is believed to be indicative
of the anti-docetic nature of the Gospel
-
that Jesus' hour has now come — compare 12:23, 12:27, 13:1
and 17:1 with 2:4, 4:21, 4:23, 5:25, 5:28—29, 7:30, 8:20, 16:2, 16:25
and 16:32
The
Timing
- This
comparison bears close scrutiny.
- The
first time Jesus says that his hour has come (12:23
) occurs after
his triumphal entry into Jerusalem
.
- The
Sanhedrin (the ruling Jewish council) has already decided to have him
executed.
- He
has been anointed (an act symbolic of his passion and death), and his
words are spoken to ‘certain Greeks' (12:20).
- The
presence of the gentiles indicates the universality of the divine plan
of salvation. To fulfil this plan, Jesus' death and resurrection are
essential.
The
last hours
The
key features in the passion of Jesus' last hours:
- His
triumphal sacrifice.
- As
the Passover lambs are slaughtered in the Temple
in celebration
of an annual festival, Jesus is crucified for eternity.
- In
control ever since the moment of his arrest (and eschewing all violence)
he is a king even to Pilate. In death, he is lifted up and glorified.
- A
criminal is king.
- Jesus
is crucified alongside criminals as a criminal.
- Mocked,
scourged and given purple and a crown of thorns for a would-be king,
his true kingship is revealed for those who have eyes to see.
Irony
once again abounds:
- Those
who claim control are not in control;
- he
who is on trial is a judge;
- those
with power have none;
- and
he who is a captive condemned criminal is a king.
- Peter
fails to defend Jesus, yet Pilate, his chief adversary, writes that
he is ‘King of the Jews'.
Johannine
women and the passion
The
Passion includes Women
- One
other particularly Johannine theme can also shed light on the author's
cumulative understanding of Jesus' passion.
- Much
has rightly been said of the distinctive portrait of women in the Gospel.
- Without
necessarily presenting a case for feminist theology, note how each episode
involving women in the Gospel sheds light on the nature of Jesus' passion:
- Jesus'
mother
(never named) features in two linked episodes.
- She
is present both before (2:4) and when (19:25
—27) that
hour literally and symbolically comes.
- She
is then a witness to the passion as it unfolds.
- The
Samaritan woman
hears Jesus teach about the forthcoming hour of his passion (4:19
—26).
- His
passion is to be for her as much as for any good Jew.
- Equally
in receipt of salvation is the woman caught in adultery
(8:1—11).
- There
is an irony here: the so-called sinner is not condemned yet the sinless
will be and all this takes place in the Temple
, in front
of scribes and Pharisees.
- Martha's
words and actions are also essential signposts for Jesus' passion.
- She
(not Peter as in the Synoptic Gospels) identifies Jesus as ‘the Christ,
the son of God who is coming into the world' (11:27)
and anoints Jesus, an act prophetic of his death (12:7).
- Somewhat
unexpectedly (or maybe deliberately so) the risen Christ, having conquered
death, appears first to Mary Magdalene .
- She
witnessed his death (19:25
) and now
is to witness to the Gospel that his death is achieved (20:14).
- Mary
Magdalene went and said to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.'
What
does passion really mean for John?
Summary
- So
what verse can be said to encapsulate the Johannine passion?
- Surely
that honour must go to John 13:34. ‘I give you a new commandment: love
each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.'
- It
is typically Johannine, distinctive and polemical.
- Love,
specifically selfless love, is the essence of the passion and here it
is both taught and practised.
- As
K. Grayston writes in Gospel of John (1990): ‘ The
love commandment displaces all others, not because other commandments
are unnecessary for promoting justice and happiness in social life,
but because… [the disciples] love knowing that they
- ‘the
love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them'
(17:26).
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