The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (72 page)

In terms of external evidence, there are strong doubts regarding the originality of the passage in John's Gospel. (1) The pericope is absent from all pre-fifth-century manuscripts (though there is a certain amount of debate regarding this). (2) It appears in no fewer than six different places in the manuscript tradition: after John 7:36; after 7:44; after 7:52; at the end of John's Gospel; after Luke 21:38; and at the end of Luke's Gospel. (3) There is a lack of citation of this pericope in early patristic writings up to the fourth century (though this is debated).

The obvious conclusion, therefore, from studying both the internal and the external evidence regarding this pericope is that the account was almost certainly not a part of the original Gospel and should therefore not be regarded as divinely inspired, authoritative, or canonical. This does not mean the account is necessarily unhistorical. It is certainly possible (though impossible to verify) that the encounter between Jesus and this woman took place in the way recounted in this story. Nevertheless, like the longer ending of Mark, the story should be treated with caution.

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¹
For a more thorough treatment of these and other textual issues in John's Gospel, see Köstenberger, John, 50, 88, 245–49 (with further bibliographic references).

²
For these and other references, see ibid., 50.

³
See the discussion and further bibliographic references in Köstenberger, John, 195.

In addition to the temple's destruction, the early Christian Gentile mission (Acts 9:16; Rom 1:13) and the emergence of early gnostic thought likely served as part of the matrix that occasioned the writing of John's Gospel. Since John wrote in the Diaspora for both Jews and Gentiles attracted to Judaism and since he wrote 50 years after the formation of the church when the Gentile mission was well underway, it stands to reason that this mission directly affected John's writing. Gnosticism, which began to emerge in the latter half of the first century but did not come to full fruition until the second century, provided part of the backdrop as well. Though John did not embrace or promote gnostic teachings, like many evangelistic writings ever since he used the conceptual categories of his audience to contextualize his message (see John 1:1, 14). These three important factors—the temple's destruction, the Gentile mission, and gnostic thought—combined as possible occasions for John's Gospel.
⁴⁵

Purpose

Toward the end of his Gospel, John stated his purpose as follows: “But these [signs] are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing
you may have life in his name” (20:31).
⁴⁶
On a surface reading, “so that you may believe” suggests an evangelistic purpose, that is, leading John's readers to first-time faith in Jesus as Messiah.
⁴⁷
At the same time, John's Gospel seems to presuppose an audience that is already familiar with Scripture since it contains detailed instructions for believers, especially in the second half of the Gospel. What is more, there are few examples of directly evangelistic first-century documents. For reasons such as these, it seems that John's purpose encompassed both aspects, evangelism of unbelievers and edification of believers, and that John pursued an indirect evangelistic purpose, aiming to reach an unbelieving audience through the Christian readers of his Gospel.
⁴⁸

Thus according to 20:31, John's purpose was to set forth the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that people might believe in him and as a result have life in his name.
⁴⁹
The purpose statement corresponds to the opening chapter of the Gospel where John set forth Jesus' messianic identity (see 1:1–3,14,29,34,41). The body of John's Gospel presents a series of Jesus' messianic “signs” and narrates his death, resurrection, and appearances in order to elicit faith in Jesus as the Messiah from those who read it. “Believing” in John's Gospel goes beyond mere intellectual assent; it involves putting one's trust in Jesus.
⁵⁰
“Life” refers to eternal communion with Jesus entered into already in the here and now (see 5:24; 8:12; 10:10; 17:3).

Finally, it is important not to confuse John's likely
purpose
with possible
effects
of his Gospel. Carson and Moo aptly noted, “Just because John's gospel can be used to offer comfort to the bereaved in the twenty-first century does not mean that is why the evangelist wrote it.”
⁵¹
John explicitly stated his purpose (20:30–31), which, against the backdrop of his provenance and occasion, is best understood as indirect evangelism. All other purposes must be seen as subordinated to this larger purpose or as effects that result from it.

LITERATURE

Literary Plan

There is wide agreement in the literature that John's Gospel breaks down into an introduction (1:1–18), a first major unit frequently called “The Book of Signs” (1:19–12:50; focusing on Jesus' messianic “signs” for the Jews), a second major unit best termed “The Book of Exaltation” (13:1–20:31; anticipating Jesus' exaltation with the Father subsequent to his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection), and an epilogue (chap. 21).
⁵²
There is also considerable support for the notion that chapters 11–12 represent a transition from “The Book of Signs” to “The Book of Exaltation,” featuring Jesus' climactic “sign,” the raising of Lazarus, which, in turn, foreshadows Jesus' own resurrection.
⁵³

With regard to the structure of “The Book of Signs,” many believe, on the basis of literary
inclusios
, that this unit is made up of two major cycles narrating Jesus' ministry, a “Cana cycle” (2:1–4:54; see 2:11; 4:54) and a “festival cycle” (5:1–10:42; see 1:19–34; 10:40–41).
⁵⁴
In addition, some see a division between chapters 5–6 and chapters 7–10 in light of the watershed defection of many of Jesus' followers at the end of chapter 6.
⁵⁵

“The Book of Exaltation” breaks down into the Farewell Discourse (13–17), which can be subdivided into a preamble (13:1–30), the Farewell Discourse proper (13:31–16:33), and Jesus' final prayer (17), and the Passion Narrative (18–20), culminating in a declaration of John's purpose (20:30–31). Thus John's Gospel reveals a deliberate literary plan that reflects the evangelist's theological message.

By way of brief summary, John achieved his purpose of demonstrating that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:30–31; see “Purpose” above) by weaving together several narrative sections that function within an overall structure. The introduction to John's Gospel places the entire narrative in the framework of the eternal, preexistent Word made flesh in Jesus (1:1–18).

The first major section, “The Book of Signs,” sets forth evidence for Jesus' messiahship in the form of seven selected signs, whose narration serves as the framework for the first half of John's Gospel (1:19–12:50; see esp. 12:37–40; cf. 20:30–31).
⁵⁶

John also includes Jesus' seven “I am” sayings (see chart below) and calls numerous (seven?) witnesses in support of Jesus' claims, including Moses and the Scriptures, John the Baptist, the Father, Jesus and his works, the Spirit, the disciples, and the evangelist himself. Representative questions concerning Jesus' messiahship serve to lead the Gospel's
readers to the author's intended conclusion, namely that Jesus is the Messiah (e.g., 1:41; 4:25; 7:27, 31, 52; 10:24; 11:27; 12:34).

Table 7.1: The “I Am” Sayings of Jesus in John's Gospel

The second major section of John's narrative, “The Book of Exaltation,” shows how Jesus ensured the continuation of his mission by preparing his new messianic community for its mission. This portion opens with Jesus' Farewell Discourse (chaps. 13–17), in which the new messianic community is cleansed, prepared, and prayed for. The cleansing is affected by the footwashing and Judas' departure (chap. 13); the disciples' preparation involves instructions regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit (chaps. 14–16); and Jesus' followers are prayed for in his final prayer (chap. 17).

John's Passion Narrative (chaps. 18–19) presents Jesus' death both as an atonement for sin (see 1:29, 36; 6:48–58; 10:15, 17–18), though largely without the Synoptic emphasis on shame and humiliation, and as a preface to Jesus' return to the Father (see 13:1; 16:28). The resurrection appearances and the disciples' commissioning constitute the focal point of John's penultimate chapter (chap. 20), where Jesus is cast as the paradigmatic “Sent One” (see 9:7), who now sends the representatives of his new messianic community (20:21–23).

The purpose statement of 20:30–31 reiterates the major motifs of the Gospel: signs, believing, (eternal) life, and the identity of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. The Epilogue portrays the relationship between Peter and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in terms of differing yet equally legitimate roles of service within the believing community.

The Epilogue (chap. 21), John's final major section, brings closure to the joint characterization of Peter and the “disciple Jesus loved” especially in the second half of John's Gospel, compares and contrasts their respective callings in ministry, and offers a further glimpse into the identity of the Gospel's author.

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION: THE WORD MADE FLESH (1:1-18)
   
2. THE BOOK OF SIGNS: THE SIGNS OF THE MESSIAH (1:19—12:50)
   
   1. The Forerunner and the Coming of the Messiah (1:19-51)
      
      1. The Testimony of John the Baptist (1:19-34)
         
      2. The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry (1:35-51)
         
   2. The Cana Cycle: Jesus' Inaugural Signs and Representative Conversations (2:1-4:54)
      
      1. Sign 1: Changing Water into Wine at the Wedding in Cana (2:1-12)
         
      2. Sign 2: One of Jesus' Jerusalem Signs: The Clearing of the Temple (2:13-22)
         
      3. Representative Conversations: Nicodemus the Jewish Ruler, the Samaritan Woman (2:23-4:42)
         
      4. Sign 3: The Second Sign in Cana: The Healing of the Royal official's Son (4:43-54)
         
   3. The Festival Cycle: Additional Signs amidst Mounting Unbelief (5-10)
      
      1. Sign 4 at an Unnamed Feast in Jerusalem: The Healing of the Lame Man (5:1–47)
         
      2. Sign 5: Galilean Passover: Feeding the Multitude and Bread of Life Discourse (6:1-71)
         
      3. Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-8:59)
         
         1. First Teaching Cycle (7:1-52)
            
         2. Second Teaching Cycle (8:12-59)
            
      4. Sign 6: The Healing of the Blind Man and the Good Shepherd Discourse (9-10)
         
         1. Jesus Heals a Blind Man (9)
            
         2. Jesus the Good Shepherd (10)
            
   4. Final Passover: Climactic Sign, the Raising of Lazarus, and Other Events (11-12)
      
      1. Sign 7: The Raising of Lazarus (11)
         
      2. Final Events of Jesus' Public Ministry (12)
         
         1. The Anointing at Bethany (12:1-11)
            
         2. The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (12:12-19)
            
         3. The Dawning Age of the Gentiles (12:20-36)
            
         4. Final Indictment: Jesus' Rejection by the Jews (12:37-50)
            
3. THE BOOK OF EXALTATION: PREPARING THE NEW MESSIANIC COMMUNITY AND THE PASSION OF JESUS (13-20)
   
   1. The Cleansing and Instruction of the New Covenant Community, including Jesus' Final Prayer (13-17)
      
      1. Cleansing the Community (13:1-30)
         
         1. The Footwashing (13:1-17)
            
         2. The Betrayal (13:18-30)
            
      2. The Farewell Discourse (13:31-16:33)
         
         1. Jesus' Departure and Sending of the Spirit (13:31-14:31)
            
         2. Jesus the True Vine (15:1-17)
            
         3. The Spirit and the Disciples' Witness to the World (15:18-16:33)
            
      3. Jesus' Parting Prayer (17)
         
   2. The Passion Narrative (18-19)
      
      1. The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus (18:1-11)
         
      2. Jesus Questioned by the High Priest and Denied by Peter (18:12-27)
         
      3. Jesus Before Pilate (18:28-19:16a)
         
      4. Jesus' Crucifixion and Burial (19:16b-42)
         
   3. Jesus' Resurrection and Appearances, Commissioning of Disciples (20:1-29)
      
      1. The Empty Tomb (20:1-10)
         
      2. Jesus' Encounter with Mary Magdalene (20:11-18)
         
      3. Jesus' First Appearance, to His Disciples (20:19-23)
         
      4. Jesus' Second Appearance, to Thomas (20:24–29)
         
   4. Concluding Purpose Statement (20:30-31)
      
4. EPILOGUE: THE COMPLEMENTARY ROLES OF PETER AND THE BELOVED DISCIPLE (21)
   
   1. Jesus' Third Appearance, to Seven Disciples in Galilee (21:1-14)
      
   2. Jesus and Peter (21:15-19)
      
   3. Jesus and the Disciple Jesus Loved (21:20-25)