| The same Prophet Hosea, proclaiming the name of God and addressing the chosen people, says: “for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee” (Hosea 11:9). God defines Himself as such, which means that holiness is one of the most important definitions of God (Cf., Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:3, 7, 26; 21:8; 22:2, 32. Jesus of Navi [Joshua] 24:15, 19. 1 Kings Samuel] 2:2, 10; 6:20; 2 Kings Samuel] 22:7; 4 Kings Kings] 19:22. 1 Paralipomena Chronicles] 16:10, 27, 35; 29:16. 2 Paralipomena Chronicles] 6:2; 30. 27. Tobit 3:11; 8:5, 15; 12:12, 15. Judith 9:13; Job 6:10; Psalms 2:6; 3:5; 5:8; 10 14 15 17 19 21 23 26 27 32 42 45 46 47 50 64 67 70 76 77 54; 78 88 97 98 5, 9; 101 102 104 42; 105 110 137 144 21; Proverbs 9:10; Wisdom of Solomon 1:5; 9:8, 10, 17; 10:20. Wisdom of Sirach 4:15; 17:8; 23:9–10; 43:11; 47:9, 12; 48:23. Esaias [Isaiah] 1:4; 5:16, 19, 24; 6:3; 8:13; 10:17, 20; 11:9; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19, 23; 30:11–12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 40:25; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14–15; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 52:19; 54:5; 55:5; 56:7; 57:13, 15; 58:13; 60:9, 14; 63:10–11; 65:11, 25; 66:20. Jeremias [Jeremiah] 23:9; 31:23; 50:29; 51:5. Baruch 2:16; 4:22, 37; 5:5; 20:39–40; 28: 14; 36:20–22; 39:7, 25. Ezekiel 43:7–8; Daniel 3:52–53; 4:5–6, 10, 14–15, 20; 5:11; 9:16, 20, 24. Joel 2:1; 3:17; Amos 2:7. Abidias 1:16. Jonas 2:5, 8; Michaias [Micah] 1:2; Abbacum [Habbakuk] 1:12; 2:20; 3:3; Sophonias [Zephaniah] 3: 11–12; Zacharias [Zechariah] 2:13; 2 Maccabees 8:15; 14:36; 15:32; 3 Maccabees 2:2, 11, 16; 5:8; 6:1–2, 4, 17, 26; 7:8; 2 Esdras 14:22; Matthew 1:18, 20; 3:11; 12:32; 28:19. Mark 1:8, 24, 29; 12:36; 13:11; Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 49, 67, 72; 2:25–26; 3:16, 22; 4: 1, 34; 11:13; 12:10, 12. John 1:33; 7:39; 14:26; 17:11; 20:22; Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16; 2:4, 33, 38; 3:14; 4:8, 25, 27, 30–31; 5:3, 32; 6:3, 5; 7:51, 55; 8:15, 17–19, 39; 9:17, 31; 10:38, 44–45, 47; 11:15–16, 24; 13:2, 4, 9, 35, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6; 19:2, 6; 20:23, 28; 21:11; 28:25. 1 Peter 1:12, 15–16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 2:20; 5:7. Jude 1:20; Romans 5:5; 9:1; 14:17; 15:13, 16; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 3:17; 6:19; 12:3; 2 Corinthians 6:6; 13:13. Ephesians 3:5; 4: 30; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; 4:8; 2 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; 3:7; 6: 4; 9:8, 14; 10: 15; Revelation 3:7; 4:8; 6:10; 15:3–4; 16:5). |
| In the Prophet Hosea, we find this definition of God: “I am God, and not man.” If God, Who has reason and will, as is clearly reflected in the Bible (3 Kings Kings] 3:28; Job 12:13, 16; Proverbs 3:19-20; Sirach 1:1, 5; 15:18, 42:21; Esaias [Isaiah] 11:2; 28:29; Luke 11:49; Romans 11:33; 14:26; 1 Corinthians 1: 21, 24; 2:7. Will of God: Psalm 106 11; Wisdom 6:4; Mark 3:35; Luke 7:30; Acts 20:27; 1 Peter 2:15; 3:17; 4:2, 19; 1 John 2:17; Romans 1:10; 8:27; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 8:5; Ephesians 5:17; 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18; Hebrews 10:36; Revelation 17:17), is not man, this means that He is a being of another order, located by His nature beyond our world. He, as philosophers and theologians say, is transcendent with respect to the world. This transcendence – that is, God’s natural distinction from the physical world – is described in the Bible by the word “Spirit.” “God is a spirit” (John 4:24. Cf., Genesis 1:2; 6:3; 41:38; Exodus 15:10; 31:3. Numbers 11:29; 23:6; 24:2; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kings Samuel] 10:6, 10; 11:6; 16:13; 19:20, 23; 2 Kings Samuel] 23:2; 3 Kings Kings] 18:12; 1 Paralipomena Chronicles] 15:1; 2 Paralipomena Chronicles] 15:1; 20: 14; 24:20; Neemias [Nehemiah] 9:20; Judith 16:14; Job 4:9; 26: 13; 33:4; Psalms 32 50 103 138 142 Wisdom of Solomon 1:7; 9:17; 12:1; Esaias [Isaiah] 11:2; 32:15; 34:16; 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 61:1; 63:10–14. Ezekiel 11:1, 5; Aggeus [Haggai] 2:5; Zacharias 4:6; 7:12; 2 Esdras 6:37; Matthew 1:20; 3:16; 4:1; 10:20; 12:31–32; 28:19. Mark 1:10, 12; 3:29; 13:11; Luke 1:35, 67; 2:26; 3:22; 4:1, 18; 11:13; 12:10, 12; John 1:32–33; 3:5–6, 8, 34; 6:63; 7:39; 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13; 20:22; Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16; 2:4, 17–18, 33, 38; 5:3, 9; 7:51; 8:29; 9:31; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2, 4; 15:28; 16:6–7; 19:6; 20:22–23, 28; 21:11; 28:25. 1 Peter 1:2, 11–12, 22; 5:5; 8:9, 11, 14–16, 23, 26–27; 11:8; 14:17; 15:13, 16, 19, 30; 1 Corinthians 2:10–14; 3:16; 6:11, 19; 12: 3–4, 8–11, 13; 15:45; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 3:3, 17–18; 5:5; Galatians 3:5, 14; 4: 6; Ephesians 1:13, 17; 2:18. 22; 3:5, 16; 4:30; 5:9; Philippians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; 4:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 13; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timomhy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; 3:7; 6:4; 9:8, 14; 10:15, 29; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). |
| 3751 Philo may have claimed that God authored only the Ten Commandments by himself, to allow Moses more involvement in authoring other components of the law (Myre, «Caractéristiques»). Gnostics may have developed Philonic thought in constructing their view that God is not the source of all the law (Fallon, «Law»). 3752 See Whitacre, Polemic, 51. Cf. the contrast between Moses the servant and Christ the king of 1in Augustine Tract. Ev. Jo. 3.16. 3755 Greek views seem to have varied (cf., e.g., Xenophon Mem. 1.4.9; Epictetus Diatr. 1.6.19; Plutarch Isis 9, Mor. 354D; Isis 75, Mor. 381B; Chariton 1.14.1; Maximus of Tyre Oration 8.10 in Grant, Religions, 168; PGM 13.62 in Grant, Religions, 47; cf. Plutarch Isis 78, Mor. 383A; Dio Cassius frg. 1.6.3; Hippolytus Haer. 1.16); for deities» selective revelations, see, e.g., Callimachus Hymns 2.9–10 (cf. Acts 10:41); for the danger of seeing them, e.g., Callimachus Hymns 5.98–102,111–116. Cf. some analogous ideas of God " s transcendence in traditional societies (Mbiti, Religions, 64). 3756 1QS 11.20; 2 En. 48:5; " Abot R. Nat. 2, 39 A; Sipra VDDen. pq. 2.2.3.2–3; Tg. Ps.-J. on Gen 16:13 ; Tg. Neof. on Exod 33:23; Tg. Onq. on Exod 33:20,23; see further under «Vision of God» in our introduction. This could apply even despite partial throne revelations (1 En. 14:19,21). 3757 Rissi, «Word,» 401, thinks John 1 " is directed against» those who claim «another and direct access to God» besides Jesus. See in more detail DeConick, Mystics, though she focuses on the Thomas tradition. 3758 Names 7; Creation 69; Spec. Laws 1.47; 2.165; see further Hagner, «Vision,» 82–84; Isaacs, Spirit, 30; Lee, Thought, 17; citing Cherubim 101; Names 2; Rewards 40 as direct parallels, and close parallels in Dreams 1.67; Unchangeable 56; Alleg. Interp. 2.36; Names 9–10; Rewards 44. 3759 Sib. Or. 3.12 (αρατος), 17 (probably pre-Christian); frg. 1, lines 8–11 (date unclear). 3761 Also, e.g., Rom 1:20 ; 1Tim 1:17 ; Aristobulus frg. 4 (second century B.C.E., in Eusebius Praep. ev. 13.13.5, in OTP 2:840); Orphica long version 11–12 (OTP 2:799); a line attributed to Euripides but possibly from a Jewish work in Clement of Alexandria (OTP 2:828, in «Fragments of Pseudo-Greek Poets,» third to second century B.C.E., intr. and trans. H. Attridge, 2:821–30); T. Ab. 16:4A. Cf. the danger of beholding death in T. Ab. 17:9–18:1A; 13:15–14(cf. the Greek Medusa?). |
| 916 For inscriptional evidence, cf., e.g., Inscriptions, ed. Carmon, 84, §183; 85, §§184–85. The literary evidence is, of course, pervasive. On the Qumran scriptorium and an evaluation of scholarly discussion on the Qumran «school,» see Culpepper, School, 156–68. 921 Meeks, Prophet-King, 144, cites Justin Dial 52.3 and Josephus Ant. 4.218. Cf. Acts 3:24; and the late reference Lev. Rah. 10cited in Bowman, «Prophets,» 208. 922 E.g., CD 8.20–21 (Baruch, Jeremiahs scribe, is promoted by analogy to Elishás Gehazi); Mek. Pisha 1:150–153; Pesiq. Rab Kah. 16:4; cf. Sipre Num. 93.1.3 (Moses sharing the Spirit). 923 Cf. the early Christian prophetic groups suggested in Aune, Prophecy, 195–98, 207; Hill, Prophecy, 88, although the evidence offered for them (especially in Revelation) is tenuous. 924 Culpepper, School, 188. Kugel and Greer, Interpretation, 53, suggest instead a broader similarity of school-like settings for OT prophet- and wisdom-guilds, which is more probable. 926 Pseudepigraphic devices like unreliable narrators were much less common in antiquity than today (Kurz, Reading Luke-Acts, 169–70). 928 Culpepper, Anatomy, 47. Aristotle praised Homer for his restraint in generally narrating or speaking as others without speaking in his own person (Aristotle Poet. 24.13–14, 1460a). Aristotle probably would have objected to some of Johns asides! 933 Manson, Paul and John, 86, finds them mainly in 1:1–34, 3:22–4:42, 5:1–47, 6:22–71, 7:14–10:39, and 12:20–18:40; Bruce, Documents, 54, however, cites Driver as noting that Burney " s most cogent examples for Aramaic in the Fourth Gospel are in Jesus» speeches. 939 Aune, Environment, 34, 47. For a broader literary structure, cf., e.g., Tolmie, Farewell, 183 (much more convincingly than Westermann, John, 7,63–64). 940 See Tenney, John, 40–41 for a structure based on this recognition. Bruce, Message, 106, outlines the Fourth Gospel according to clues in the prologue, but this use of the prologue is questionable. For suspense in ancient rhetoric, see, e.g., Cicero Verr. 2.5.5.10–11. |
| 1164 See Ramsay, «Roads,» 393; Friedländer, Life, 1:293; Casson, Travel, 206–7,216–18; Virgil Copa33. 1165 Tob 5:10–15; 7:8–9; 10:6–10; Acts 16:15; Ps.-Phoc. 24; T. Job 10:1–4; m. " Abot 1(pre-Christian; and probably Shammai in 1:15); 3:12; b. Ber. 63b (reportedly Tannaitic); Gen. Rab. 48:9; 50:4; Num. Rab. 10:5; Song Rab. 1.3, §3. Travelers normally sought out those of their own nation or trade (see Meeks, Christians, 29; cf. Stambaugh and Balch, Environment, 38). 1166 Koenig, Hospitality, 15–20; Safrai, «Education,» 966; Van Unnik, «Works,» 96–97 (synagogues came to be used for lodging; b. Qidd. 29b; p. Meg. 3:3, §5). 1171 Smalley, John, 148–49; Fenton, John, 16; Trudinger, «Milieu»; Witherington, Wisdom, 29; Rodriguez Ruiz, «Composicion.» Borchert, John, 93–94, claims that any other proposal would be mere speculation. 1174 Polycrates Letter to Victor of Rome (Eusebius Hist. ecc1. 5.24.2–3). On traditions concerning the tomb, see Braun, Jean, 365–74. For the much later church of Mary at Ephesus, see Karwiese, «Church of Mary.» 1175 Wiles, Gospel, 8. Ephrem claims that John lived there till the reign of Trajan (98–117), thus agreeing at least with the tradition that he died a very old man. 1176 Koester, «Ephesos,» 135; also Smith, John (1999), 40, though he is more open to an Ephesian provenance (40–41). 1181 See, e.g., Levinskaya, Diaspora Setting, 143–48; Horsley, «Inscriptions of Ephesos,» 122–27. Despite clear literary evidence (Acts 18:26; 19:8; Josephus Ant. 12.125; 14.262–264; Ag. Ap. 2.39), the epigraphic evidence (I. Eph. 4.1251; cf. I. Eph. 5.1676–1677) is quite limited. 1182 For some suggested evidence, especially parallels between later Ephesian Jewish Christianity and both Johannine tradition and Palestinian Jewish motifs, see Bagatti, Church, 26. 1189 Acts John 55 (NT Apocrypha, ed. Hennecke, 2:241), although Acts of John associates him more frequently with Ephesus. 1194 Ibid., 21, though allowing that Johannine tradition affected other communities secondarily, as attested, perhaps, in the Odes of Solomon and Ignatius. Sidebottom, James, 24, regards the Johannine literature as a bridge between the kinds of Christianity represented in James on the one hand,and Paul on the other. |
| 4766 Safrai, «Education,» 964–65. As a ruler (3:1), Nicodemus would not have to work during the day. 4767 E.g., Judg 6:27 ; 1Sam 28:8; 2 Kgs 25:4; Sophocles Ajax 47; Ant. 494; E1. 1493–1494; Euripides E1. 90; Iph. taur. 1025–1026; Livy 27.5.18; Ovid Metam. 7.192; Lucian Phalaris 1; Hermogenes Issues 50.14–16; Maximus of Tyre Or. 19.4; Gen. Rab. 74:7; Pesiq. Rab. 8:2. Even the Scrolls could use «night» and «darkness» literally at times (4Q299 frg. 5, lines 1–4). 4769 So also John Chrysostom Hom. Jo. 24 (on 2:23–3:4), though noting that Nicodemus acts more courageously in 7and 19:39. 4770 As often noted, e.g., Hoskyns, Gospel, 211; Ellis, World, 63; Barrett, John, 204–5; Ellis, Genius, 52–53; Brown, John, 1:130; Morris, John, 211. The symbolic use of «night» appears elsewhere in the Jesus tradition (Luke 22:53), but John " s light/darkness dualism draws from a broader base of imagery. 4772 Schnackenburg, John, 1:366, suggests that Nicodemus " s agenda behind his question is the desire for eternal life «which preoccupied all Jews.» Others did ask the question (e.g., b. Ber. 28b, bar.; cf. Luke 3:10; Acts 2:37; 16:30), but Schnackenburg overstates the case here. 4775 See Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.21.29–4.22.32; Quintilian 8.3.11–12; 9.3.66–67; Rowe, «Style,» 132; Anderson, Glossary, 93, 127; idem, Rhetorical Theory, 283–85; cf. Blass, Debrunner, and Funk, Grammar, §488. For clarifying word meanings normally, see Rhet. Alex. 25, 1435b. 19–22; for deliberate ambiguity and homonymy, see Anderson, Glossary, 81–82; for discussion of homonyms (words sharing the same name but a different «essence»), see, e.g., Porphyry Ar. Cat. 61.10–68.3. Cf. also συζυγα (Anderson, Glossary, 111) and ντανκλασις (ibid., 20). For an example, see τρυφν and τρφειν in Musonius Rufus 9, p. 70.28–31; or κρακας and κλακας in Diogenes Laertius 6.1.4. 4777 E.g., Book of the Dead spells 145–146; Plutarch Isis 78, Mor. 382F-383A; Heraclitus Ep. 5; Frankfurter, Religion in Egypt, 261–62. The soul returns to its place of heavenly origin (e.g., Maximus of Tyre Or. 41.5; Menander Rhetor 2.9,414.21–23); this can be portrayed as divinization (2.9, 414.25–27). Some philosophers, including later Platonists, prepared for such ascents by «ascending» out of bodily attention into contemplation of the divine (e.g., Porphyry Marc. 6.103–108; 7.131–134; 10.180–183; 16.267–268; 26.415–416; cf. Col 3:1–2). |
| John apparently declares that Jesus lays down his life 7443 «in order that» he might take it again (10:17); on this reading the resurrection «is not a circumstance that follows the death of Jesus but the essential completion of the death of Jesus.» 7444 The term tva could connote result rather than purpose here, 7445 and appears in some unusual senses in John (e.g., 17:3); but given John " s usual practice, it most likely connotes purpose here. 7446 The cross is necessary in part as a precursor to the resurrection. It is also part of Jesus» obedient relationship with his Father (10:17–18; cf. 14:31; 15:10). Even more explicitly than in the Synoptics, in this Gospel Jesus» cross is his choice and not that of his enemies (10:15,17–18; 15:13; 19:30);he acts on behalf of his sheep (10:15),to save them (11:50; cf. 1:29). Divided Response to Jesus (10:19–21) On the division (10:19), see comment on 7:43; 9:16. The unity of the new flock (10:16) would come at the expense of division in the first-century synagogues (cf. Acts 13:42–50; 18:6–8; 19:8–9). Even to listen to Jesus was offensive to some (10:20), just as some of John " s contemporaries probably felt that it was wrong to listen to the Jewish Christians. 7447 Certainly some early second-century rabbis considered even listening to schismatics a dangerous exercise. 7448 (On the charge of demonization, see comment on 7:20; 8:48.) Others, however, were impressed by the miracle (10:21) which had started the current debate (9:1–38). John closes this section by pointedly referring his audience back to the sign on which the following debate commented. 7010 On the relation between vision and epistemology in the chapter, see also Marconi, «Struttura di Gv 9,1–41»; for the language in general, see introduction, ch. 6. 7013 Witherington, Christology, 170–71, cites, e.g., Tob 11:10–14; SIG 2 807.15–18; 1173.15–18; SIG 3 1168. 7016 Witherington, Christology, 170, citing Mark, John, and Q (the Matthean summary and uniquely Markan examples he cites do not add to these). |
| 8179 Cf., e.g., Xenophon Cyr. 3.1.36,41, who repeats a statement using a synonym for servitude. Orators sometimes repeated themselves as a rhetorical technique, but Demetrius considered this unsuitable for written works (226, as cited in Anderson, Glossary, 77, s.v. μιμητι.κν). 8180 E.g., Rhet. ad Herenn. 4.28.38; Aulus Gellius 1.4; 2.5.1; cf. Robbins, «Plutarch and Gospels,» 146–55. 8183 The «articular nominative» (not an accusative) here functions as a vocative (Barrett, John, 443). 8184 With Barrett, John, 443. «Teacher» could also be an exalted title, depending on who was taught («heaven and earth» in T.Ab. 11:3B). «Call» (13:13) could bear an exalted function (e.g., Acts 2:21; Gen. Rab. 39:16) but is not required by the term itself. 8185 Cf.Fenton,/o/m, 143,citing 13:20; 14:12; 20:21,23. Culpepper, John, 206, regarding the language of 13:14–15, points to parallels for «exemplary» deaths (2Macc 6:27–28,31; 4 Macc 17:22–23; Sir 44:16 ); see our comment on 13:34. 8187 Pesce and Destro, «Lavanda,» compare the inversion at the Saturnalia festival where masters temporarily served slaves. 8189 Cf. Epictetus Diatr. 1.2.36, who seeks not to be better than, but at least not worse than, Socrates. 8190 Pesiq. Rab. 36:2, concerning God and the Messiah; Alexander " s exhortations in Arrian Alex. 5.26.7; 7.10.1–2. 8191 See, e.g., Dalman, Jesus-Jeshua, 229. Certainly the servant " s role to obey the master was a commonplace (e.g., Aelius Aristides Defense of Oratory 128, §40D). 8192 Sanders, John, 309, following Billerbeck, Kommentar, 2:557, claims that a disciple would even wash the master " s feet. 8193 Goodman, State, 78; t. B. Qam. 9(comparing rabbis to fathers and implicitly to slaveholders). Later texts also assume that rabbis held higher status than disciples and should never take a lesser position (e.g., Lev. Rab. 22:6). 8194 R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus in " Abot R. Nat. 25A. Serving a teacher might prove more important than studying with him (Tannaitic tradition in b. Ber. 7b). |
| When Jesus connects obedience with love, biblically literate Jewish hearers would immediately think of the associations between obeying God " s commandments and loving God (Exod 20:6; Deut 5:10; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 19:9; 30:16 ; Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4 ; Sir 2:15 ; 4Q176 frg. 16, line 4). Some might also recall wisdom tradition: love (αγπη) is the keeping (τρησις) of Wisdom " s laws (νμων; Wis 6:18). 8736 Jesus speaks of «having» and «keeping» the commandments. Jewish teachers debated whether knowing or doing Torah took precedence, but all agreed that both were necessary (see comment on 7:17). Given the abundance of ancient literature, it is not difficult to find other examples of selective revelation (14:21; cf. Acts 10:41). Thus, for example, Odysseus and the dogs witnessed Athene, but Telemachus could not (Homer Od. 16.159–163); perhaps more relevant, Apollo appears only to the good (who must also be great, not lowly; Callimachus Hymns 2 [to Apollo], 9–10); likewise, on his peoplés behalf, God reveals his glory to all except his people (3Macc 6:18). Some teachers also warned that their most special teachings were only for a select group, like initiates in the Mysteries. 8737 Nevertheless, Jesus» selective revelation (14:21) has roots in the historical Jesus tradition (e.g., Acts 10:41; cf. Mark 8:11–12 ; Matt 16:1, 21). The world is skeptical because Jesus does not manifest himself or his Father to the world (7:4) but only to his own (17:6); this takes the idea of a messianic or kingdom secret to a new (and more chronologically extended) leve1. But on the theological level, Jesus» selective revelation especially conforms to his identity in this Gospel; Wisdom was not manifest (φανερ) to the masses (Wis 6:22); likewise, in wisdom tradition, God becomes manifest (εμφανζεται) to those who do not disbelieve in her (Wis 1:2). 8738 Another allusion might have impressed itself more quickly on John " s first audience, however; as 14echoed Moses» request to be shown the Father, so might Judas " s desire to understand how only the disciples would receive the revelation in 14:22. 8739 |
| The healed man responds with a heightened Christology as soon as the word makes a more adequate interpretation possible (9:38). Gentiles sometimes prostrated themselves before rulers, 7174 and Jewish people apparently often followed suit; 7175 even looking at another " s feet instead of another " s face showed respect for the other " s higher status. 7176 It could connote intense respect (e.g., Rev 3:9) or that one was begging or seeking mercy. 7177 Thus the term by itself need not indicate worship of a deity; but in its broader Johannine context (4:20–24; 12:20–21), including John " s Christology (1:1, 18; 20:28), it fits the Johannine portrait of Jesus» deity and invites John " s own audience to worship Jesus. 7178 2. Jesus Convicts the Pharisees (9:39–41) In 9:39–41 John epitomizes and makes more explicit the guiding irony that dominates the whole of ch. 9. 7179 John earlier affirms that Jesus did not come to judge the world (3:17; also 12:47); here (9:39) he claims that he came to bring about judgment (a characteristic messianic mission); the judgment here is to divide people into two groups, those who heed the light and those who reject it (also 3:19; cf. 1 John 2:11 ). One who presses far enough, however, will have the paradox resolved (12:44–49). John " s words about spiritual blindness develop his dualism of light and darkness (see comment on 1:4–5). Greek and Roman tradition could play on the irony of the spiritual sight of a blind seer like Tiresias; 7180 one Greek philosopher allegedly blinded himself physically to make his mental contemplations more accurate. 7181 But pagan sources more frequently viewed figurative blindness as a primarily intellectual than as a primarily moral fault, 7182 and the Jewish tradition provides much more abundant source material for John " s irony. 7183 Isaiah the prophet offered the standard text about spiritual blindness adopted by John (Isa 6:9–10 in John 12:40 ), but the image was common in the biblical prophets (Isa 29:9; 42:18–19; 56:10; Jer 5:21 ; Ezek 12:2 ), the Jesus tradition (cf. Matt 13:14–15; 15:14; 23:16; Mark 4:12; 8:17–18 ; Luke 8:10; perhaps Luke 4:18; cf. Acts 28:26–27), and appears in other early Jewish sources. 7184 John " s irony sometimes turns on convicting the leaders from their mouths, but sometimes on paradox from Jesus» own. 7185 |
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