Interpretation of the Bible. How the critical reading of John assists in the interpretation of the gospel - Essay Example

? Grade Table of content I. Introduction II. Interpretation of the bible III. Language IV. Seven miracles V. The form of Jesus VI. Conclusion Discuss whether a narrative - critical reading of John assists in the interpretation of the gospel. I. Introduction John is one of the latest written narratives among the four gospels in the New Testament. John wrote the book and it reflects the ideas and situations that happened during the last century of Christianity era when Christianity was under attack by the Romans, skeptics and other faithful. The book presents an account of the ministries of Jesus in the public1. The book opens with witnesses and affirmation of John the Baptist and it concludes with the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The book follows the three synoptic including Mathew, Mark and Luke. Reading the gospel of John therefore, aids in the interpretation of the Gospel because of the information or rather the summary it relays and the various factors that the author put into consideration. II. Interpretation of the bible Interpretation of the bible can be done on the major purpose of the gospel. The book on its entirety can be interpreted on what the author wanted to pass to the audience2. Reading the book, it demonstrates that the author wanted people to believe in Jesus Christ to be able to have life, salvation and eternal life. The book recounts many of the miracles that Jesus did and how he overcame death. These accounts demonstrates clearly to the believers and non-believers that indeed, there is God and therefore, by trusting in His name, we are assured of eternal life. John through the book aspires to reach out to the believer and his intention is to strengthen their faith in the gospel3. Going through the book, it is evident that Jesus performed all his miracles in the presence of his disciples. He wanted them to bear witness that indeed he had the power to perform miracles as directed by the Almighty Father in Heaven. John in John 2:11, mentions the effect of first sign.4 Furthermore, there are various omissions that John omits in his book probably because of the fact that some of the issues are covered in the synoptic gospels. Therefore, much information on the background of the narratives is omitted in the book. Omissions include various events and characters that happened in the New Testament and the life of Jesus Christ. The gospel’s last chapters themes from John 13-17, may not have any impact to the nonbelievers5. These chapters talk about Jesus final instructions to his disciplines, his priestly prayers and the last super that he shared with his disciplines. Non-believers may not be encouraged and motivated to change their beliefs based on these chapters. Going through John 20:31, John evangelizes the gospel of Christ through very strong words6. He tells the readers that it is written that Jesus Christ is the son of God and therefore, whoever that believes in him will have eternal life. This is a very strong message that John is passing to the readers. The verse, send a very strong message to the nonbelievers as well as believers to accept salvation to be able to inherit the kingdom of God. Reading John helps us to understand the gospel as well as other three books of the gospel. The book continued to put emphasis on witnessing and this is illustrated through various episodes such as the Samaritan at the well and John the Baptist7. Therefore, the book helps the readers both the unbelievers and believers to have and strengthen their faiths. There is enough evidence that is provided about the deity of Jesus through the claims of Jesus as well as many miracles that Jesus did during his life. The synoptic gospels; Mathew, mark and Luke, have also addressed some of the issues or events that are presented in John but the way they are presented in John is precise and concise hence fostering easy understanding8. John selects specific material, which he uses to fulfill his themes and purpose, and this has made the gospel to be clear and precise. III. Language It is important to understand the genre and how language is used to allow proper interpretation of any book in the bible. The book of John in the bible is amongst the books that use languages appropriately in conveying its message to the readers. Understanding how language is used by reading John is the only way that one is able to understand or rather interpret the other gospels. John uses language that makes his narrative to appear simple and straightforward on the surface but there is a deeper meaning to these simple and straightforward expressions. The author has explained a good number of occurrences but still a good number still requires individual investigation. John literary style that manifests in his writing but which requires inner interpretation is on deeper or dual meaning. One example of such kind of writing is when he says, ‘lifted up’ in John 3:14-159. This quote may be interpreted to mean the death of Jesus Christ. This is the outer surface meaning which is not actually true. The deeper meaning of this is evidenced in John 8:28 where John acknowledges that the statement is an allusion to Numbers 21:9 that refers to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ in heaven and to the right hand of our Heavenly Father10. Furthermore, John uses irony as literary device when Caiaphas tells Jews that it could be wise for an individual to die for the sake of the other people. There is also misunderstanding that is created when Jesus speaks allegorically to his people. The people interpret the message literary and therefore this creates misunderstanding. For example, in John, when Jesus tells Nicodemus to be born again, he takes it literary and asks Jesus if it is possible for him to go back in the womb of his mother and be born again. However, Jesus explains the meaning of the word to him that it implies confessing of sins and being born of the Holy Spirit11. Other example of misunderstanding or rather symbolism is the living water, which means the Holy Spirit that dwells in those that believe in Jesus Christ as their personal savior, bread of life, which was used to imply the flesh of Jesus Christ or believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only means to salvation. There is also use of contrasts that John uses to convey his message of salvation and believing in Jesus Christ. These contrasts are scattered in the whole gospel and include words such as light versus darkness, temporal versus eternal and life versus death among many other words12. These contrasts are used to demonstrate the differences between salvation and remaining or believing in world things. Therefore, through these literary devices, that John employs; one is able to understand the deeper meaning of some of the words that are used in the gospel13. This knowledge of interpretation is key in understanding other gospels14. The language that is used in the other gospels may adopt these literary devices and therefore become a challenge or rather a hindrance for a reader to comprehend the gospel. Going through the gospel of Luke opens the door and is a solution to these interpretations that are found in other gospels. IV. Seven miracles Reading the book of John, John portrays Jesus as the promised messiah through his miraculous signs. Half of the book is preserved for this purpose. John only writes about seven miracles that were performed by Jesus Christ. This number is less compared to those miracles that are written in the synoptic gospels15. There is difference on how John uses these miracles when compared to how other books of the gospels uses their miracles. John lays much emphasis on the spiritual meaning that is implicit in the miracles rather regarding the miraculous elements in the stories. The miracles are used as a sign of the presence of the powers of the Almighty God that brings hope and transformation in the lives of the people16. The seven miracles that John uses to communicate his message to the people include; Jesus miracle of changing water into wine, healing of the son of a leader/official, healing of a paralyzed man, miracle of a man who was born blind but is healed of his blindness. Other miracles include the feeding of 5000 people, Jesus miracle of walking on water, and lastly is the raising of a dead person to life17. Miracles are used for the purpose of demonstrating the mighty and the strength that Jesus has. John uses these miracles because they are important and unimaginable to the conscience of human beings18. Therefore, they are very powerful miracles that show the mighty and the power of God. Hence, his interpretation, as given by John is elaborative and concise enabling a reader to have an easy time understanding the other synoptic. V. The form of Jesus Christ In the entire gospel of John, all the appearance of Jesus Christ is in the form of human being. This is a very important thing because, he shows or leads as an example for others to follow. As typical human beings, Jesus Christ possessed all the features and qualities of the human beings with extraordinary power that is usually given to those that ask and do according to his will19. The will of Jesus is in complete harmony with that of God and therefore the Almighty Father commissioned whatever Jesus did. Therefore, John makes it easier for the non-believers and those that have backslide in their faith to come closer to Jesus. He tells the people that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light and whoever believes in him will have the eternal life. Other gospels seek to show the miracles and the mighty of Jesus Christ, but John demonstrated this in a simple and precise way (The Gospel of John, para. 10). Therefore, John has made it easier for people to understand the other gospels by enhancing their interpretation. VI. Conclusion In conclusion, interpretation of the bible and the gospel is not easy to many people. Many people give wrong interpretation to various verses and this misguides them. The Gospel of John is one of the narratives that have the capability to provide right guidance in understanding the other books and gospels. The language and the literary devices employed by the authors provide a direction on other parts and book of the bible. The book is clear and precise and this enhances understanding. The miracles that Jesus did are well presented and speak about the might of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, John is a very important gospel that provided insights and makes it easier to understand the other books. Reference List Bernard, J, & McNeile, A 1953, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary On The Gospel According To St. John. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Burnett Streeter, 1925, The four gospels of origins; New York: Macmillan. ` Charles, B 1922, The Aramaic origin of the fourth gospel: Oxford, England; Clarendon Carter, W 1990, The Prologue and John's Gospel: Function, Symbol and the Definitive Word., Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Vol. 12 no. 39, pp.35-58. Culpepper, R 1983, Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design. Minneapolis: Fortress. Dart, J 2001, The making of Jesus, Christian Century, Vol. 118 no. 18, pp.26. Gary, B, 1998, Interpreting the gospel of John; ISBN: 978080801010217 Hamid-Khani, S 2000, Revelation and Concealment of Christ: A Theological Inquiry into the Elusive Language of the Fourth Gospel (WUNT 120). Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck Hill, C 2004, The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church. New York: Oxford University Press McKinnish, B 2011,Aphorisms of Jesus in John: An Illustrative Look at John 4.35, Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Vol. 9 no. 2/3, pp. 207-229. Miller, S 2012, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10): An Ecological Reading of John’s Gospel, Expository Times, Vol. 124 no. 2, pp. 64- 71. Reinhartz, A et al. 2009, The Gospel of John, editor; The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology, 2009.; Oxford University Press Reynolds, B 2011,The Johannine Son of Man and the Historical Jesus: Shall Ever the Twain Meet? John 9.35 as a Test Case, Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Vol. 9 no. 2/3, pp. 230-242. Robertson, S 2011, Sonship in John's Gospel, Asia Journal of Theology, Vol. 25 no. 2, pp. 315-333. Stephanie, S 1999, The gospel truth; BU professor digs into contradictory writings; to determine what happened to 'Jesus of Nazareth', Boston Herald (MA), Arts & Lifestyle ALL, p. 39 The Holy Bible. New Testament The Gospel of John. Retrieved from: http://addeigloriam.org/commentary/nt- gospels/gospel-john-interpretation.htm Wiles, M 1960, The Fourth Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels, Spiritual Gospel, pp. 13- 21. Williams, C et la 2011, The Gospel of John, The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible: Oxford University Press Von, W 2010, The Gospel and Letters of John. 2. Commentary on the Gospel of John, Urban C Grand Rapids, Mich. [u.a.] : Eerdmans Read More