Note 2, 2021
Last year I wrote a number of blogs concentrating on central themes in the letters of Paul.
I want now to write blogs on John’s gospel, touching also on the 1.st letter of John.
PAUL
Paul’s letters are situational documents in the sense that they are written amid the pastoral pressures of his evangelistic work. Except for 1&2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, they are written to specific churches, to answer questions that arose in the various missionary contexts he found himself in. Paul, the learned Pharisee now Christian, was the one to think through the relationship between the Judaism of his upbringing, and his newfound faith in Christ. What was the continuity and the discontinuity between the two? What was the relationship between Law and Gospel, between law-keeping and justification by faith? His arguments are shaped by the controversies he found himself in with his own countrymen, at a time when Christianity was breaking free from it’s roots.
Paul’s letters, and his teaching are foundational for our faith – Paul was the first great interpreter of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the corollary that followed – the Church. However, for the modern reader with modern presuppositions, it can be quite challenging to follow what is going on.
JOHN
John is easier!
One great theologian (Archbishop William Temple) once wrote to this effect: John is so simple that a little child can understand it; so deep that not even the greatest theologians can fathom it.
If the letters of Paul can be dated approximately between A.D 48 say to A.D. 62, the Gospel of John is written much later probably in the 90s of the first century according to most scholars.
According to early church tradition, John the disciple of the Lord migrated to Asia Minor probably before the Jewish Revolt of A.D. 66-74, which led to the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in A.D. 70. Here he lived and taught and ministered, up until the time of the emperor Trajan (98-117). He was exiled to Patmos for a time where he wrote the Revelation. And in Ephesus in his old age he published his gospel, and the letters attributed to him.
Parts, or all of what I have written here, concerning John and his authorship of these texts, is challenged today by many scholars. It is a minority view to hold fast to these traditions. Nevertheless, I do hold fast to them, as also do a number of notable conservative Johannine scholars.
John therefore, lived out his days in the same area which Paul evangelised and founded churches in, some 40 years earlier. However, the Asia Minor which John knew and ministered in was very different from the Asia Minor of Paul’s day for several reasons.
Firstly, the difficult relationship that Paul experienced with the Jewish leaders of his day, as reflected in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters, has come to a head. The Jewish authorities reworded one of the blessings cited daily in the synagogue. The blessing, which included a curse on the enemies of God, now read: “let Nazarenes (i.e. Jewish followers of Jesus) and heretics perish in a moment”. This made it impossible for Jewish Christians to worship in the synagogue, and must have been decisive in causing the ultimate schism between Jews and Christians. This situation might be reflected in John 9,22 and 12,42, and probably is reflected, in Jn. 16,2.
Secondly, whereas Paul had encountered opposition from the Roman authorities (e.g. in Philippi), no all-out persecution of Christians, ordered by imperial decree, had yet happened. If Paul lost his life during the persecution of Christians in Rome in A.D. 64, under Nero, this was a sign that worse was to come. The emperor Domitian (81-96) was the first to really persecute Christians on a large scale, and the Christians of Asia Minor suffered greatly. This is reflected in the Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
I went to Ephesus (and other sites in Asia Minor/Turkey) in 2004 with a group of students and professors from Norway. When I was there, I made a note that they had found a lintel from the temple of Domitian at Ephesus, which read in Latin: Dominus et Deus – Lord and God. Domitian was the first emperor to let himself be called God in his own lifetime, and demanded that the Christians (and all other of his subjects) worship him as such. Not to bow your knee and worship the emperor as God, in Ephesus and in other places in Asia Minor, could cost you your life. This gives new meaning to the words of Thomas when Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection (Jn. 20,28): “My Lord and God!” Domitian was so hated by the Senate and the general populace that after his death they destroyed all his statues (statues of Domitian were in most towns to represent imperial authority and might, and temples were built to his worship). One such statue stood in the cella of the temple in Ephesus, and can be seen in the museum there. The Christians used to engrave a cross on such statues to “disarm” them, to “de-demonise” them. That gives you an idea of the fear that such statues, and the person they represented, instilled in people, Such were the times that John lived in..
Ephesus is such an interesting place that I plan to post a number of photographs in a separate blog, and show you the temple of Artemis, the great theatre, the tomb of St. John, and more, pictures from the museum of Ephesus etc.!
Thirdly, the nascent gnosticism that can be traced in e.g. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was further developing and causing a problem for the churches which were being infiltrated by its doctrines – see 1 John. Gnosticism is the name given to a number of sects basically denying that God and matter can mix; i.e. that God can become man – which the Prologue of John (Jn. 1,1-18, esp. v.14) so elegantly refutes! Salvation is not through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but through acquiring special knowledge (gnōsis in Greek), allowing the believer to pass through the heavenly spheres to God who is light. Thus the little spark of light which lived in all men would be reunited with the Creator. Full blown gnosticism is not seen before the second century A.D.
JOHN AND THE SYNOPTICS
John´s Gospel is different from the other 3 in several respects. Different historical sources have been available, and the perspective is different. John is a very great theologian, who seeks to paint a portrait for us of Jesus, and to draw out the significance of his person, that we might believe (Jn. 20,31).
The finished work which we possess today has obviously gone through several recensions. The final editor presents the author of “these things” as an eyewitness (Jn. 21,24). It is no part of my purpose to discuss these matters further. The literature on this is immense!
However, concerning the difference in perspective between the 3 other gospels and John, let me just note something Professor C.K. Barrett wrote in his great commentary on John:
In the Synoptics, Jesus preaches the Gospel! In John, Jesus is the Gospel!
I love John, as I think many of us do! Rather than Paul’s brilliant arguments and sometimes heated rhetoric – and Paul I think for many of us is the uncompromising Christian leader – I often find that I turn to John, to more easily find the spiritual strength, faith and encouragement I need. I think it is because of John´s emphasis on love, the love of the Father and the Son, and of fellowship with them – and of course the wonderful Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. Of this I shall have much to say!
MY PURPOSE
I propose then to write several reflections on – to me, very personal themes in John; personal, in the sense that reflection on them has meant a very great deal to me! I want to write each blog as short and as concise as I can, at the same time making the point(s) I want to make.
I would love to inspire you to read this gospel for yourself! Do you think that it is possible? If you become intimate with John´s Gospel I firmly believe it will bless your whole life!😊