Engaging scripture: incarnation and the Gospel of John

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-160
Author(s):  
Angus Paddison
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
John's Gospel

This article presents a theological engagement with the Christ of the Gospel of John. Christology has two basic responsibilities. First, all Christology is required to demonstrate that it is rooted in scriptural reading. Second, consistent attentiveness needs to be paid to the dynamic relationship between Christ's person and work. The nature of these two responsibilities is elucidated by exploring some recent christological contributions. The remainder of the essay engages with the encounter at the centre of the Fourth Gospel: that in the Word made flesh the eternal love between the Father and the Son is unfolded into the time of this world. Jesus' life and ministry is the decisive meeting of time and eternity. Counsel is then offered for how John's Gospel may faithfully be read in line with this subject matter. Important objections to ‘Logos’ Christologies, and Johannine Christology in particular, are introduced. This article then proceeds to argue for the realistic meeting of all that is human and all that is divine in the person of Jesus who lives a life of loving obedience to the Father. Throughout, this article maintains a conversation with the Fourth Gospel, the ontological implications of this text, and those voices from within Christian tradition that can help us in the reading of John.

The Use and Abuse of P52: Papyrological Pitfalls in the Dating of the Fourth Gospel

2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Nongbri
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Second Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Justin Martyr ◽  
John's Gospel

The thesis of this paper is simple: we as critical readers of the New Testament often use John Rylands Greek Papyrus 3.457, also known as P52, ininappropriate ways, and we should stop doing so. A recent example will illustrate the problem. In what is on the whole a superb commentary on John's gospel, D. Moody Smith writes the following about the date of John:For a time, particularly in the early part of the twentieth century, the possibility that John was not written, or at least not published, until [the] mid-second century was a viable one. At that time Justin Martyr espoused a logos Christology, without citing the Fourth Gospel explicitly. Such an omission by Justin would seem strange if the Gospel of John had already been written and was in circulation. Then the discovery and publication in the1930s of two papyrus fragments made such a late dating difficult, if not impossible, to sustain. The first and most important is the fragment of John chapter 18 … [P52], dated by paleographers to the second quarter of the second century (125–150); the other is a fragment of a hithertounknown gospel called Egerton Papyrus 2 from the same period, which obviously reflects knowledge of the Gospel of John…. For the Gospel of Johnto have been written and circulated in Egypt, where these fragments were found, a date nolater than the first decade of the second century must be presumed.

Caspar Cruciger Sr.'s 1546 “Enarratio” on John's Gospel: An Experiment in Ecclesiological Exegesis

1992 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Wengert
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
Magnum Opus ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Doctrine Of The Church ◽  
Lutheran Orthodoxy ◽  
The Church ◽  
Important Shift

Only months after Luther's death in 1546, a colleague, Caspar Cruciger, Sr., published his magnum opus, an 879-page commentary on the Gospel of John, In Evangelium Iohannis Apostoli Enarratio. Cruciger's Enarratio provides an excellent angle from which scholars may examine an important shift in Wittenberg's exegesis and theology during the crucial decade of the 1540s. To be sure, this work has few of the characteristics of other treatments of the fourth Gospel produced near the same time. The exposition of the four Gospels by Cologne's Franciscan theologian, von Konigstein, underwent far more printings. The works on John by Calvin and Bullinger have attracted more attention in our own day. However, when set into the context of continued sharp debate over ecclesiology, Cruciger's commentary on John provides a critical reshaping of Philip Melanchthon's exegetical method to meet the continuing challenge of defining the church in line with an emerging Lutheran orthodoxy and against Roman Catholicism. Unlike later Protestant commentaries, which often roll ponderously from one unrelated locus in theology to the next, Cruciger's work, though massive, focuses almost singlemindedly on the doctrine of the church. The commentary represents part of Wittenberg's response to failed discussions over the nature of the church and its authority which began in 1520, nearly halted in 1541 at the Colloquy of Regensburg which Cruciger attended, and collapsed with the outbreak of hostilities during the Smalcald War of 1547. It also demonstrates the farreaching effect of Philip Melanchthon's exegetical method in shaping that response among his own students.

„Gyertek, nézzétek meg!”

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Levente Balázs Martos
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The One ◽  
Fundamental Values

The concept of motivation is related to the encouraging effect on others on the one hand and the reasons for our own actions on the other. Motivation always reflects a specific set of values and tools, as well as behavior. In our short study, some of the fundamental values characteristic of the Bible will be presented, and then we observe the motivating presence of Jesus for his disciples in the narration of the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John.

The Beloved Disciple, the Fourth Evangelist, and the Authorship of the Fourth Gospel

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Thatcher
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Historical Individual ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Beloved Disciple

Discussions of the authorship of the Gospel of John must answer two questions: who is the Beloved Disciple who is portrayed as the book’s primary source of information, and how is this individual related to the author, John the evangelist? On the first question, scholars are divided on whether the Beloved Disciple is a real historical individual or an ideal symbolic figure. Data from the text itself and from social-science perspectives on the reputations of key figures from the past suggest that both are correct: the Beloved Disciple was a legendary associate of Jesus whose presentation reflects his reputation as a source of information that was critical to the Johannine theological outlook. On the second question, data suggests that the evangelist was not the Beloved Disciple but rather a disciple of that individual, perhaps basing his own book on an earlier document produced by the Beloved Disciple.

Johannine Commentaries in the Early Church

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Early Church ◽  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
The Face ◽  
Greek Tradition ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Scholastic Tradition

This chapter sets the making of commentaries on John’s Gospel, particularly within the Greek tradition, in the context of ancient Greek scholarship and the emergence of a scholastic tradition within the early Church. These commentaries drew on established philological conventions in order to clarify ambiguities and complexities within the text. At the same time, they served to amplify the meaning of the text in the face of new questions, controversies and preoccupations. Commentators used John’s Gospel ‘to think with’. With its allusive prose and symbolic discourse, the Fourth Gospel provoked commentators to respond to on-going doctrinal debate and to work out wider questions about Christian doctrine and identity.

Reading Jesus Writing

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Aichele
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
John's Gospel

AbstractThis essay explores the problematic story of the "woman taken in adultery" (John 7:53-8:11) in relation to logocentric structures that define the Gospel of John. Jesus's two acts of writing on the ground, unique to this story, point to texts that we cannot read and which are therefore unable to signify. I suggest that Jesus's earthy texts do eventually appear in John's Gospel, where they reassure the reader that the Gospel has after all succeeded sufficiently in its task of signifying the incarnation of the pre-existent Word, even as they announce the inherent finitude and incompleteness of any text.

The Reception of the Gospel of John in the Long Recension of Ignatius’s Letters

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-520
Author(s):  
Jonathon Lookadoo
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Reception History ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
John's Gospel

The reception of Pauline and Johannine writings in the three centuries after their composition is of interest to NT researchers, and Ignatius of Antioch’s letters have rightly been taken into consideration when studying NT reception history. This article aims to fill a lacuna in reception historical studies of Ignatius’s epistles by exploring the role of John’s gospel in the fourth-century long recension. The long recension employs John when discussing Christology, Trinity, unity, Jewish-Christian identity, resurrection and for polemical purposes. This article thus contributes to ongoing reception historical studies of the NT within Ignatian literature, examines how the Gospel of John was employed by a fourth-century author and explores ways in which John is utilized to expand, update and modify the Ignatian middle recension.

scholarly journals Honour and shame as key concepts in Chrysostom’s exegesis of the Gospel of John

2003 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.F. Stander
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
John's Gospel

Recently, studies have illustrated that honour and shame were core values in the Mediterranean world in general and in the Bible too. These studies usually resort to classical sources to support the claims being made. Modern scholars, who take the historical-critical approach seriously, have come to realize the importance of reading the Bible according to its appropriate cultural context, which of necessity includes an appreciation of honour and shame as social core values. However, the article shows that patristic sources have been neglected by many scholars who study the social values of the ancient world. This article illustrates the importance of these values for patristic authors. John Chrysostom’s homilies on the Gospel of John are used as an example to prove how he employed values such as honour and shame as exegetical keys to unlock the meaning of John’s gospel.

scholarly journals The plenipotentiary idea as Leitmotiv in John’s Gospel

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus Kok
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Gospel ◽  
Dominant Theme ◽  
John's Gospel

In this article the plenipotentiary idea in John’s Gospel is studied in relation to Jewish institution(s) of agency. It is argued that the missionary idea in John’s Gospel is a Leitmotiv (central or dominant theme) that integrates the Christology and Soteriology in the fourth Gospel. Jesus is presented as being God’s empowered plenipotentiary who was sent by God to give life and to judge – qualities that were judged to be the prerogative of the Creator-God. After the resurrection, Jesus empowers his disciples to become plenipotentiaries who are called to continue the mission that God had started in and through Jesus. Unlike some scholars who argues that John is a sectarian writing aimed at an in-group, the author of this article arguesthat John’s idea of mission is one that encourages an openness towards outsiders, motivated by love and other regarded, and expressed in a boundary transcending manner.Opsomming: Gesantskap as leitmotief in die Johannesevangelie. In hierdie artikel word die konsep van gesantskap in Johannes se Evangelie in verhouding tot die Joodse konsepte van gesantskap bestudeer. Daar word aangevoer dat die missionale of gesantskapskonsep ’n leitmotief (sentrale of dominante tema) in Johannes se Evangelie is, en dat dit met die Christologie en die Soteriologie in die vierde Evangelie geïntegreer is. Jesus word as God segevolmagtigde verteenwoordiger (gesant of plenipotensiaris) aangebied wat deur God gestuur is om lewe te gee en te oordeel – kwaliteite wat tradisioneel gesproke die prerogatief van God alleen is. Ná die opstanding bemagtig Jesus sy dissipels as sy gevolmagtigde verteenwoordigers wat geroep en gestuur is om die doel wat God in en deur Jesus begin het, te kontinueer. In teenstelling met sommige geleerdes wat beweer dat Johannes ’n sektariese geskrif is wat op die ‘in-groep’ in teenstelling met die ‘uit-groep’ gemik is, of dat Johannes geen sensitiwiteit vir buitestanders het nie, argumenteer die outeur van hierdie artikel dat Johannes se idee van sending ’n openheid teenoor buitestanders impliseer wat deur liefde gemotiveer is en op so ’n wyse uitgeleef behoort te word dat dit (sosiale en ander) grense transendeer.

0323: A Forgotten 4th or 5th Century Greek Fragment of the Gospel of John in the Syrus Sinaiticus

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-319
Author(s):  
Christophe Guignard
Keyword(s):  
Gospel Of John ◽  
John's Gospel

That the famous Syrus Sinaiticus contains not only the Old Syriac Gospels, but also other palimpsest leaves, among them four leaves of a Greek codex of John’s Gospel, is not a secret. Nevertheless, for 120 years, this Greek fragment, though probably contemporary with the great uncials, was not registered in any list of nt manuscripts and, as a result, completely neglected. The main aim of these pages is to recall its existence and to gather the information that is available at present.

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