scholarly journals hoti Recitativum in John's Gospel: A Stylistic or a Pragmatic Device

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen H. Levinsohn
Keyword(s):  
John's Gospel

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Austin
Keyword(s):  
Social Roles ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Moral Virtue ◽  
Foot Washing ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Do So

This brief concluding chapter includes a summary of the book’s main points, chapter by chapter. It also includes a brief meditation on the portion of John’s gospel, John 13:1–17, in which Jesus serves his disciples by washing their feet. The act itself expresses humility, a fact that is underscored by the reversal of social roles that it exemplifies. It is especially striking that Jesus washes the feet of Judas, who would soon betray him. This reversal of social roles not only exemplifies the moral virtue of humility, it also provides a model for followers of Christ to imitate in daily life. The foot washing can also serve as a reminder to those who seek to exemplify the Christian virtue of humility, namely, that there are opportunities to do so in small, everyday situations.

“Beholding the Man”: Viewing (or is it Marking?) John’s Trial Scene alongside Kitsch Art

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-264
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Devotional Art ◽  
The People ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
Ecce Homo ◽  
Small Stories ◽  
John's Gospel ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Departure

One of the grand scenes of the Passion narratives can be found in John’s Gospel where Pilate, presenting Jesus to the people, proclaims “Behold the man”: “Ecce Homo.” But what exactly does Pilate mean when he asks the reader to “Behold”? This paper takes as its point of departure a roughly drawn picture of Jesus in the “Ecce Homo” tradition and explores the relationship of this picture to its referent in John’s Gospel, via its capacity as kitsch devotional art. Contemporary scholarship on kitsch focuses on what kitsch does, or how it functions, rather than assessing what it is. From this perspective, when “beholding” is understood not for what it reveals but for what it does, John’s scene takes on a very different significance. It becomes a scene that breaks down traditional divisions between big and small stories, subject and object as well as text and context. A kitsch perspective opens up possibilities for locating John’s narrative in unexpected places and experiences. Rather than being a two-dimensional departure from the grandeur of John’s trial scene, kitsch “art” actually provides a lens through which the themes and dynamics of the narrative can be re-viewed with an expansiveness somewhat lacking from more traditional commentary.


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