What is truth? A Johannine theological epistemology

This essay begins with Pilate's question – ‘What is truth?’ – and notes the way it sets us up to long for a second-person experience of Jesus. I argue that this longing is met in the literary function of the Beloved Disciple, which prepares us for our own second-person encounter with Jesus. This raises some puzzles: can the Spirit convey to us a second-person encounter with Jesus? How do we know we have been so addressed by Jesus? Given John's above/below dualism, what does such an encounter mean for our theological language? I answer these questions in turn.

John’s Gospel as “Apocalyptic” Gospel

This chapter summarizes the conclusions of the previous two chapters and notes that the Gospel of John contains core elements of the Semeia 14 “master-paradigm” of an apocalypse. Even though the Gospel contains similar elements of form, content, and function, it is not an apocalypse. The manner of revelation (i.e., an otherworldly mediator disclosing heavenly revelation to a human recipient) draws attention to John’s similarity to Jewish apocalypses, but ironically, these form elements contain striking differences. For example, John has visual revelation, yet lacks visions, and John’s otherworldly mediator is also a human, is one with God, and is the content of the revelation. The Gospel has multiple human recipients even though the beloved disciple is the privileged recipient of revelation. Although John does not participate in the genre of apocalypse, it is a gospel that is shaped by the genre of apocalypse. It is a gospel with an apocalyptic mode.

The Gospel of John as Model for Literate Authors and their Texts in Epistula Apostolorum and Apocryphon of James (NHC I,2)

The Gospel of John (GJohn) bears a striking resemblance to two later Jesus books, Epistula Apostolorum (EpAp) and Apocryphon of James (ApocrJas) (NHC I,2), in making authority claims that appeal to the socio-cultural significance of the textual medium. In all three, these claims are twofold: (1) internally ascribing authorship to representative figures of the early Jesus tradition portrayed as literate; (2) explicitly emphasizing the written medium of these authors’ compositions. GJohn can provide an instructive model for understanding these features in EpAp and ApocrJas, as both are demonstrably familiar with GJohn. EpAp and ApocrJas consequently can be examined alongside GJohn’s editorial expansion in ch. 21 as examples of early readers and users of GJohn exhibiting comparable claims regarding literate authors and their texts – applied to the Beloved Disciple (GJohn), the ‘Eleven’ apostles (EpAp) and James (ApocrJas).

Jesus als Typos der Mannhaftigkeit

This article examines the way Cyril of Alexandria interprets the Passion narrative in his commentary on the Gospel of John. It argues that besides the doctrinal, christological focus of his exegesis Cyril is concerned with a second issue: the contested masculinity of Jesus and his followers during the events of the Passion. This concern becomes clear when Cyril designates the cross-bearing Jesus as “the type of manly courage” (typos andreías). Following a survey of the current historical masculinity studies, the article examines Cyril’s interpretation of such scenes of the Johannine Passion account where Jesus is depicted as being arrested, beaten and flogged, humiliated and finally crucified – i.e., depicted in a way that might seem to contradict antique ideals of manliness. It finally analyzes Cyril’s explanations as to various “unmanly” or “manly” traits of Jesus’ adversaries, especially of the Jews, and of his followers: Peter, his beloved disciple and his Mother.

Ambiguous Signs, an Anonymous Character, Unanswerable Riddles: The Role of the Unknown in Johannine Epistemology

While the Gospel of John makes some forceful and explicit claims about the identity of Jesus and the character of his mission, it also invites readers into a deepened appreciation of its claims. Part of its strategy for doing so is to exploit ambiguity and to point to what the readers do not know. The article explores three examples of this pedagogical strategy: the deliberately hidden identity of the Beloved Disciple; the initial deeds of Jesus, labelled ‘signs’, which, however, do not in any direct and obvious way ‘signify’ anything, as the later works do; and the question debated by the crowds in Jerusalem, of where Jesus is from. In each case recognition of the unknown can be the first step towards discovering Truth.

Mémoire, histoire et fiction dans la littérature johannique

This article explores the relationships between memory, history and fiction in the Fourth Gospel. The first section is dedicated to the Johannine conception of the memory, taking into consideration recent research in the theory of social memory. The epilogue of the Gospel (John 21) considered as a paratext and the function attributed to the beloved disciple make it possible to specify the characteristics of this memory. The second section deals with the problem of the relationship between history and fiction in the context of ancient historiography. This includes observing how Johannine historiography follows the rules of ancient historiography, how it goes beyond them in its conception of space, time and characters, and how it offers a complete recomposition of the life of Jesus.

‘His Life Rose With Him’—John 21 and the Resurrection of Jesus

The history of Jesus as portrayed in the Fourth Gospel, not least his relationship with Peter and the Beloved Disciple and his role as light and life of the world, rose with him in the final Easter episode (Ch. 21). The questioning style of Jesus and the love exhibited and commanded by him also rose again in that resurrection narrative. Further themes from the history of Jesus, such as meals, the Eucharist, martyrdom, testimony, and truth, also find their place in the account of the risen Jesus.