Commentaries on the Gospel according to St John - Essay Example

Commentaries on the Gospel according to St John The Gospel of St. John is the fourth Gospel and book in the New Testament. This Gospel contains information about Jesus and statements attributed to Jesus which are not in the Synoptic Gospels. Because of the uniqueness of this Gospel account, the Gospel of St. John plays a role complementary to the Synoptic Gospels. By reading the Gospel of St. John, the reader is left with more clarity concerning the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus Christ. The traditional view on the authorship of this book is that it is St. John, the son of Zebedee who authored this book. Internal clues such as John 21:20-24, 13:22-25, 19:25-27 and 20:1-8 are used to defend the fact that it is the beloved disciple who wrote this Gospel account and the belief that this beloved disciple is John the son of Zebedee. Early Church tradition seems to lend this notion credence, for: Eusebius of Caesarea quoted Irenaeus as stating that John the Apostle who reclined on the Lord’s bosom wrote the Gospel while in Ephesus. The Literary Genre That the Gospel According to St. John Could It Fit Into The Gospel according to St. John as its name suggests, is a Gospel. This is because it recounts the life, Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the same reason, the Gospel according to John can be considered a biographical book. The book can also fit in historical genres since it recounts events that surrounded the life of Jesus the Christ, a historical figure who lived in Judea around 6 BC to 36 AD. The need to consider St. John’s Gospel as a source for historical construction is underscored by the fact that it centres on Jesus, the founder of the largest and most influential non-governmental organisation and movement, the Church and Christianity, respectively. To a limited extent, St. John’s Gospel is debatably narrative nonfiction because it uses different literary styles and techniques to bring about a factually accurate narrative. Credence can be lent to this standpoint since the first chapter of the gospel is a song or a creed that is used to underscore the theme of the message of the entire book. The drawback to this argument is that there are complex structures that indicate that St. John’s Gospel is more than a mere narrative. The key themes In the Gospel according to St. John It is not in doubt that different people, theologians, Bible students and denominations are likely to see different themes in the Gospel of St. John. This is because the author does not make the theme of the book explicit. However, in spite of this, there is common ground among Bible students, theologians and denominations that Apostle John is interested in expressing the divinity of Christ. Similarities and Differences between the Gospel According to St. John and the Synoptic Gospels There are striking similarities between the Gospel According to St. John and the Synoptic Gospels, just as there are differences. The similarity is seen in the fact that the Gospel of John and the Synoptic gospels share a common storyline since they are all dealing with the life of Christ, verbal actions and common themes. For one, the synoptics and the Gospel of John agree on the political context of Jesus’ life ad ministry. For instance, all the gospels are in unison that Jesus’ ministry took place at the time Pontius Pilate served as governor of Judea between AD 26 and AD 36. This can be seen in John 18:29, Matthew 27:2, Mark 15:1 and Luke 3:1. Both Annas and Caiaphas were high priests at the time of Jesus’ ministry and the Passion, as can be seen in John 11:49, 18:13-14, 24 and 28 & 18:13-14, Matthew 26:3, 26, Luke 11:49 and 3:2. According to Smith, the nativity of Jesus is also consistent throughout the four gospels. Joseph is the foster father of Jesus (John 1:45 and 6:42, Matthew 1:18-24 and Luke 1:27, 2:4, 16, 22, 39 and 4:22), Jesus’ mother is Mary (John 2:1-3, 19:26, 27 and Matthew 12:46-47, Mark 3:31-2 and Luke 8:19-20), Jesus distanced Himself from Mary His mother at the time of His ministry (John 2:4, Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:20-21 and Luke 8:19-21), Jesus’ had biological brothers who did not believe in Him until after the resurrection (John 7:3-5 and Matthew 12:46-7, Mark 3:31-32 and Luke 8:19-20) and Jesus is the Son of David (John 7:42 and Matthew 1:1, Mark 12:35-36 and Luke 1:27 & 2:4) (Smith, 626). One of the differences between the Gospel According to St. John and the Synoptic Gospels is the point of view used to present the Gospel. In the synoptic gospels, the narration is done in third person. This makes the reader feel as though the narrators were present in Christ’s life. Again, because of this, the reader is aware that the synoptic accounts of the Gospel are more descriptive. On the contrary, the Gospel according to John seems somewhat more reflective, albeit having been written from a third person perspective too. John seems to write as an eyewitness of Jesus’ life, writing from retrospection [not just how they happened, but how John now appreciates them]. The gravity of this is that readers now get greater meaning of the events which took place in Jesus’ life more than Jesus’ contemporaries who saw the same but did not understand the significance of the events. Verses such as 2:17, 2:22, 12:16 and 20:9 make this standpoint clearer and underscore it. Again, the difference between the Gospel According to St. John and the Synoptic Gospels is that the former omits a large number of information that is conveyed by the latter. Some of the details that St. John’s Gospel omits are very important and range from the temptation of Jesus and His 40-day fast, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, the Transfiguration of Jesus, Jesus’ exorcism of demons and unclean spirits and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. There are also no parables in John’s Gospel, unlike the synoptic gospels. This is especially the case when it is considered that the account of the Vine and the Branches found in 15:1-8 is not necessarily a parable. Conversely, St. John’s Gospel departs from the synoptic gospels when it conveys or features additional information. The Pre-Pauline Creed or Song found in John 1:1-18 does not occur in the synoptic gospels. The entire material that exists between the second and fourth chapter of the Gospel According to St. John is also not extant in Mathew, Mark and Luke. This material provides an account of Jesus’ early Galilean ministry. Again, Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem prior to the Passion Week is not mentioned in the synoptics, unlike the Gospel of John. The Farewell Discourse and the Prayer that Jesus makes for Himself and the Disciples (from chapters 13 to 17) are not in Mathew, Mark and Luke. In a different wavelength, it is important to appreciate the fact that the manner in which John presents His Christology differs from the synoptic gospels in that John is emphatic on the divinity of Christ. In fact, John introduces his gospel by introducing Jesus Christ as Logos and as a fully divine Being who had existed before time through whom all things were made and exist (John 1:1-4). The divinity of Christ is also stressed and brought to climax in Thomas’ confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and God in 20:28. All these are not in the synoptic gospels: Matthew and Luke begin their accounts with the birth and genealogy of Jesus Christ while Mark, with Jesus’ baptism. John unlike them begins his gospel account with eternity-in-past [the Word was]. It is also noteworthy that in John’s account of the Gospel, Jesus uses the “I AM” sayings [also known as ejgw eijmi] to underscore his identity [particularly, divinity] and His message. As a side note, it is important to clarify the fact that the foregoing does not intimate that the synoptic gospels are not emphatic on the divinity of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, Mathew, Mark and Luke’s accounts present Jesus’ divinity but in a different way. Sanders also observes that unlike the synoptic gospels, the Gospel according to John frequently uses literary techniques such as symbolism and double meaning. For instance, in 12:32, the lifting or exaltation of Jesus is used to mean the crucifixion and death of Jesus and in 7:37-38, water is used to symbolise the Holy Spirit. In 2:25, the temple is used to symbolise the body of Jesus. It is intriguing to understand the fact that the symbolisms and double meanings are used to underscore a form of dualistic antithesis. Light and darkness are contrasted and Jesus identifies Himself as the Light of the world. Truth is also compare with falsehood in 8:44 and Jesus presents Himself as truth. Life and death are also contrasted in 5:24 and 11:25 and Jesus presents Himself as the Life. The same also applies to freedom and slavery in 8:33 and 8:36 (Sanders, 327). It is also true that the Gospel according to John also uses extended dialogues, as opposed to the Synoptics which greatly use proverbial sayings. For instance, there is a discourse between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus and the Samaritan woman in John 4 and Jesus and the Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders in John 5 and 6. There is also the farewell Discourse which takes place between Jesus and the 12 disciples, wherein the disciples are given the promise of the Holy Spirit, the assurance of heaven and are prayed for. It is also interesting that in the Gospel according to St. John, there is more emphasis on eternal life, as opposed to the synoptic gospels which refer to the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. The phrase, the Kingdom of God occurs throughout the Johanine account only twice, in 3:3 and 3:5. The noun phrase, kingdom also appears but only three times, and in one verse, 18:36. John places stress on eternal life as can be seen in 5:2. This development may be explained by the possibility of John having written with eschatology in mind. The second coming of Jesus Christ is also not emphasised in St. John’s eschatology as can be seen in 14:3. Works Cited Sanders, J. N. “Commentaries on the Gospel according to St John.” Theology, 61.458 (1958): 327. Print Smith, D. Moody. “The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text.” Journal of Biblical Literature, 99.4 (1980): 626 – 627. Print Read More