‘Humanhood’ in the Gospel of John

This article is an attempt to explore the theme of ‘humanhood’ in the Fourth Gospel. The most important questions to be posed at the outset are the following: who is the model human presented in the gospel as per the Johannine community standards? How can a person acquire humanhood status according to the Johannine community? The divine and human interaction in the life and ministry of Jesus dynamically introduces the life ethics and mission aspects of the Johannine community. According to the Johannine community standards, people can achieve ‘humanhood’ status exclusively in relation to Jesus. As the community of John emphasises humanhood in relation to Jesus, a person can overcome all sorts of human-made boundaries, including the sexual, racial and class-oriented boundaries through the mediation of Jesus. This further means that the all-inclusive mission of Jesus foregrounds a new criterion for ‘humanhood’ in the Johannine community context. The article concludes by stating that the Johannine understanding of humanhood can be considered as a paradigm in the contemporary global scenario.Contribution: This article contributes to the reader a wider hermeneutical framework and a new way forward in interpreting the gospel according to John by taking into consideration the humanhood aspects. As a theological and contextual interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, the article fits well within the scope of HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies.

Reading 3 John Within a Jewish Framework: An Overdue Reconsideration of the Text

<div> <div> <div> <p>This article challenges the interpretive decision made by many scholars to group 3 John with the rest of the Johannine Epistles (and sometimes John’s Gospel). This interpretative method fails to treat 3 John, as well as the rest of the Epistles, on their own terms. It also often places these texts within a hypothetical ‘Johannine Community’ and its various phases of development. However, if 3 John is read on its own, the text itself points us to interpret it within a Jewish framework. The seemingly lack of interest in Jews and Judaism, rather than being a sign of a later date when this group was no longer rooted in any Jewish community and no longer cared about such issues, is a sign that the epistle dates from a period before this community of Christ-believers began to markedly differentiate themselves from other Jews. These points, as well as the author’s use of τὸν ἐθνικός when describing the missionary work by some of those within the community, may also suggest that the conflict between the Elder and Diotrephes was related to disagreements over the nature of missionary work within the early Jesus movement. </p> </div> </div> </div>

Reading 3 John Within a Jewish Framework: An Overdue Reconsideration of the Text

<div> <div> <div> <p>This article challenges the interpretive decision made by many scholars to group 3 John with the rest of the Johannine Epistles (and sometimes John’s Gospel). This interpretative method fails to treat 3 John, as well as the rest of the Epistles, on their own terms. It also often places these texts within a hypothetical ‘Johannine Community’ and its various phases of development. However, if 3 John is read on its own, the text itself points us to interpret it within a Jewish framework. The seemingly lack of interest in Jews and Judaism, rather than being a sign of a later date when this group was no longer rooted in any Jewish community and no longer cared about such issues, is a sign that the epistle dates from a period before this community of Christ-believers began to markedly differentiate themselves from other Jews. These points, as well as the author’s use of τὸν ἐθνικός when describing the missionary work by some of those within the community, may also suggest that the conflict between the Elder and Diotrephes was related to disagreements over the nature of missionary work within the early Jesus movement. </p> </div> </div> </div>

The Use of Zeteo in the Fourth Gospel: A Debate with John Painter's The Quest for the Messiah

Użycie zeteo w czwartej ewangelii: debata z The Quest for the Messiah Johna Paintera Artykuł jest formą debaty z monografią Johna Paintera The Quest for the Messiah: The History, Literature and Theology of the Johannine Community obszernie podejmującą temat zeteo (poszukiwania) w Ewangelii Jana. W publikacji tej Painter doszedł do wielu cennych rezultatów w próbach ustalenia znaczenia zeteo w Ewangelii Janowej, analizując przedstawione historie poszukiwań i odrzucenia. Artykuł przedstawia, w jakim stopniu Painter zrozumiał historyczne pochodzenie zeteo w stosunku do Sitz im Leben Wspólnoty Janowej. Opisuje także niektóre z możliwych kierunków rozwoju myśli Paintera i zwraca uwagę na niektóre nurty ostatnich badań nad Ewangelią św. Jana.

Reading 3 John Within a Jewish Framework: An Overdue Reconsideration of the Text

This article challenges the interpretive decision made by many scholars to group 3 John with the rest of the Johannine Epistles (and sometimes John’s Gospel). This interpretative method fails to treat 3 John, as well as the rest of the Epistles, on their own terms. It also often places these texts within a hypothetical ‘Johannine Community’ and its various phases of development. However, if 3 John is read on its own, the text itself points us to interpret it within a Jewish framework. The seemingly lack of interest in Jews and Judaism, rather than being a sign of a later date when this group was no longer rooted in any Jewish community and no longer cared about such issues, is a sign that the epistle dates from a period before this community of Christ-believers began to markedly differentiate themselves from other Jews. These points, as well as the author’s use of τὸν ἐθνικός when describing the missionary work by some of those within the community, may also suggest that the conflict between the Elder and Diotrephes was related to disagreements over the nature of missionary work within the early Jesus movement.

Yesus Sang Mediator yang Merengkuh Umat Termarginalisasi: Sebuah Analisis Sosio-Historis Terhadap Yohanes 9

This article focuses on the portrait of Jesus as depicted by the Johannine community according to John 9. Exploring the perspectives of Johannine scholars, the historical context of the Gospel of John, and the image of Johannine faith community, this study suggests that a born-blind man is a symbolic figure of the marginalized Johannine community. The marginalization is caused by the conflict between the blind man and the Pharisees, starting with Jesus’ violation of the Sabbath’s rule, and followed by identity conflict concerning Jesus and Moses. The epilogue of John 9 implies a portrait of Jesus as the Mediator through his actions to embrace the blind man following his expulsion. This article concludes with a theological implication concerning the presence of Jesus in the struggle of contemporary marginalized people such as GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia. Abstrak Artikel ini menyoroti gambaran Yesus yang dikonsepkan oleh komunitas iman Yohanian menurut Yohanes 9. Melalui penelusuran terhadap pandangan para ahli Yohanian, konteks historis Injil Yohanes, dan gambaran komunitas iman Yohanian, kajian ini menemukan bahwa orang buta sejak lahir dalam Yohanes 9 ini adalah tokoh simbolis dari komunitas iman Yohanian yang termarginalisasi. Marginalisasi tersebut disebabkan oleh konflik antara orang buta dan orang-orang Farisi yang dipicu oleh pelanggaran Yesus atas hari Sabat, lalu berkembang menjadi konflik identitas mengenai Yesus dan Musa; karenanya, mengakibatkan orang buta yang Yesus sembuhkan tersebut termarginalisasi dari sinagoge. Epilog Yohanes 9 menyiratkan potret Yesus sebagai mediator melalui tindakannya merengkuh orang buta tersebut setelah pengusirannya. Sebagai simpulan, artikel ini menyodorkan implikasi teologis tentang kehadiran Yesus dalam pergumulan umat masa kini yang termarginalisasi, seperti GKI Yasmin dan HKBP Filadelfia.

Essays Introducing a Jewish Perspective on the Gospel of John

This article’s aim is to highlight the impact that plain sense readings of the Gospel of John have on educated Jewish and Christian lay persons but who typically do not aspire to learn or appropriate current scholarly theories seeking to explain sacred texts in a technical and often inordinately complex fashion. Essay topics include: 1) the anonymous author (“John”), the relationship of his gospel to the Synoptic Gospels, his interpretation of Jewish actions and customs, and his influence on a distinct group of early Christians, the “Johannine” community; 2) John’s portrayal of Jesus’ self-identification in using the divine name YHWH; 3) John’s description and interpretation of various Jewish responses to Jesus, as well as the author’s understanding of the reasons for Jews rejecting the message and person of Jesus; and 4) John’s portrayal of the early break between Judaism and Christianity, laid entirely at the feet of “the Jews.”

Did the Johannine Community Exist?

This article challenges the historical existence of the ‘Johannine community’ – a hypothesized group of ancient churches sharing a distinctive theological outlook. Scholars posit such a community to explain the similarities of John to 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the epistles’ witness to a network of churches. Against this view, this article calls attention to evidence of literary contact between the four texts and the presence of dubious authorial claims in each. Taken together, these features cast John, 1 John, 2 John and 3 John as unreliable bases for historical reconstruction, whose implied audiences and situations are probably fabrications. The article proceeds to develop a new history of the Johannine texts. Those texts represent a chain of literary forgeries, in which authors of different extractions cast and recast a single invented character – an eyewitness to Jesus’ life – as the mouthpiece of different theological viewpoints.