Lesson#20

FinalThoughts

1FinalThoughts

John’sgospelendedwithchapter20,butoneissuelingered,unresolved:

Peter’sdenial.Thesynop>cgospelsdonotaddressit,butJohn’sdoes.

Peterwasleaderamongthetwelve,andwithJesus’resurrec>onand

ascensionheplaysakeyroleinthebirthandgrowthoftheChurch,

preachinghisfirstsermonwiththecomingoftheHolySpiritontheJewish

feastofPentecost,A.D.32(Acts2:14-41),atwhich3,000peopleare

“saved.”

WhenweleQPeter,however,hewasuRerlydevastatedbyhisdenialofChrist.JudashadbetrayedJesus,andhehangedhimselfasaresult,but

whatofPeter?Howdowegethimback?Johnofferedabrilliantnarra>ve

onPeter’s“reinstatement,”anarra>vesosubtleandpsychologically

insighUulthatitwasdazzlingtoread.

2FinalThoughts

FinishingourstudyofMaRhew,Mark,Luke/ActsandJohnbringsustoa

majormilestoneinourverse-by-versebiblestudy.Inourfinallessonon

John’sgospelwereviewwhatwe’vecovered,emphasizingthatagospelis

notanhistoricalaccountofaperson,althoughitisrootedinhistorical>me;

itisnotafic>onalaccountofaperson,althoughitdoesincludemiracles,

wondersandthelargedoseofthesupernatural;rather,a“gospel”isan

accountofthe“goodnews”ofthecomingKingdomofGodandofthe

redemp>onofhumanitythroughthelife,death,burialandresurrec>onof

JesusChrist,asseenthroughtheeyesofalivingfaithtradi8on,guidedbytheHolySpirit,30-60yearsaAertheeventsitportrays.

InLesson20werevisittheauthorship,audienceandpurposeofeachgospelaccount,recallinghoweachgospeliswriRen,howeachdiffersstylis>cally,

andhoweachgospeldevelopsitsownpointofviewandperspec>veonthe

gospelmessage.Weclosebylayingafounda>onforourstudyof1,2and3

JohnandRevela>on.

3FinalThoughts

Havingstudiedallfourgospels(andActs),wehaveadetailed,3-dimensional

portraitofChrist,butit’snotacompleteone.Asthefourgospelsportraythe

personandworkofChrist—asunderstoodbyfourdifferentfaith

communi>esinthesecondhalfofthefirstcentury—sodoestheHolySpirit

con>nuetoguideusanddeepenourunderstandingofChristthroughthe

teachingofhisChurch,un>lthisveryday.

4FinalThoughts

AQerJesus’death,burialand

resurrec>onhesaidtohis

Apostles:

“Allpowerinheavenandonearthhasbeengiventome.Go,therefore,andmakedisciplesofallna8ons,bap8zingtheminthenameoftheFather,andoftheSon,andoftheholySpirit,teachingthemtoobserveallthatIhavecommandedyou.”

MaRhew28:18-20

Andthatispreciselywhattheydid.

FinalThoughts 5

1.   Forthreeyears(A.D.29-32)Jesus

“wentaroundallofGalilee,teachingintheirsynagogues,proclaimingthegospelofthekingdomandcuringeverydiseaseandillnessamongthepeople”(Luke4:23).

2.   Duringhis3-yearpublicministry

Jesusgatheredmanyfollowers,

twelveofwhombecamehis“inner

circle,”hisApostles.Theylivedwithhim,traveledwithhim,studiedwith

him:theywereeyewitnessestohis

publicministryandtohisdeath,

burialandresurrec>on.

6FinalThoughts

3.   AQerhisresurrec>on,Jesus

commissionedhisinnercircletogo

and“makedisciplesofallna8ons,bap8zingtheminthenameoftheFather,andoftheSon,andoftheholySpirit,teachingthemtoobserveallthatIhavecommandedyou”(MaRhew28:19-20).

4.   HisApostlesdidexactlythat,

becominghis“witnessesinJerusalem,throughoutJudeaandSamaria,andtotheendsoftheearth[i.e.,throughouttheRoman

Empire]”(Acts1:8).

7FinalThoughts

5. Jesus’Apostles—andhisother

followers—traveledthroughoutthe

RomanEmpiretellingstoriesabout

him:theyrepeatedhisteaching;

theytoldabouthisencounterswith

thereligiousauthori>es;andthey

toldaboutthemiraclesGod

performedthroughhim.

6. Over>me,thisoralteachingandpreachingtookonafixedformand

shapethroughrepe>>on:expository

teaching(e.g.,Sermononthe

Mount),parables(e.g.,theProdigal

Son);dialec>c(argumenta>on);

healingstories;etc.

8FinalThoughts

BetweenA.D.32andthe

mid60s,teachingand

preachingaboutJesus

wasprimarilyoral,withoccasionalleRers,suchas

thosewriRenbyPaul.

Faithcommuni>es

formedthroughoutthe

RomanEmpirebasedon

suchteachingand

preaching.

FinalThoughts 9

FinalThoughts 10

Bythemid-60s,however,

theeyewitnessgenera>on

wasdrawingtoaclose—

eitherthroughnaturaldeath

orpersecu>on.Jesushad

notyetreturned—ashesaid

hewould—soitbecame

impera>vethattheoral

teachingandpreaching

aboutJesusbewriRen

down,lestitbedistortedor

lost.

FinalThoughts 11

Thereweremany“gospels”

wriRenduringthe1stand2nd

centuriesA.D.,butthegospelsweaddressarethecanonicalgospels:MaRhew,Mark,Luke

andJohn.

Thesearethegospelstheearly

churchbelievedwerewriRen

bytheApostles(MaRhewand

John)orsomeoneclosely

associatedwiththeApostles(MarkandLuke)—duringthefirstgenera8onoftheChurch.

FinalThoughts 12

MaRhew,ataxcollector,

leQhisworktofollowJesus

(MaRhew9:9-13).Oneofthetwelveapostles,hewas

aJew—probablyaLevite—

andhewroteforaJewish

audience.

HiswriRengospelemerges

some>meinthelate60s.

FinalThoughts 13

Rembrandt.TheEvangelistMaRhewandtheAngel(oiloncanvas),1661.

Louvre-LensGallery,Pas-de-Calais,France.

JohnMark,ayoungman,wasnot

anApostle,buthewasonthe

fringesofthegroupthatfollowed

Jesus.Heisfirstmen>onedinActs

12:12—“Whenthisdawnedonhim[Peter],hewenttothehouseofMarythemotherofJohn,alsocalledMark,wheremanypeoplehadgatheredandwerepraying.”MarkwasanephewofBarnabas

(Colossians4:10)andthespiritual

sonofPeter(1Peter5:13).

Markprobablywritesthe1stgospel

some>meintheearlytomid60s,

addressingittothepersecuted

churchinRome,apredominantly

Gen>lechurch.

FinalThoughts 14

Anonymous.TheEvangelistMarkwithaLion(illumina>ononparchment),1524.

LibraryofCongress,Washington,D.C..

LukewasnotanApostle—

norwasheafollowerof

JesusduringJesus’three-yearpublicministry.

Rather,Luke,the“beloved

physician”wasaGen>le,a

closefriendandtraveling

companionofPaulduringA.D.50-68.Lukewrote

boththeGospelaccording

toLukeandtheActsoftheApostles.Headdresses

bothworkstoaGen>lenamedTheophilus.

FinalThoughts 15

AndreaMantegna.LuketheEvangelist[detailfrom

theSt.Lukealtarpiece](temperaonwood),1454.

BreraArtGallery,Milan

MaRhew,MarkandLukeare

calledthesynop8cGospels:Syn=“together”(asin“synonym”)

Op8c=“seen”

Theyalldrawfromthesame

oral(andperhaps)wriRen

sources.

FinalThoughts 16

TheSynop>cGospelsMaRhew,Mark&Luke

FinalThoughts 17

Johnisverydifferentfrom

thesynop>cgospels,drawing

onanen8relydifferentsetoftradi>ons.

FinalThoughts 18

JohnwasanApostle,thesonof

ZebedeeandSalome,thebrotherof

JamesandoneofJesus’cousins.Of

alltheApostles,Johnwasthemost

in>matewithJesus.Heisthe

“beloveddisciple”whorestshis

headonJesus’shoulderatthelast

supperandtheonetowhomJesus

entruststhecareofhismother,

Mary,asheisdyingonthecross.

Tradi>onally,Johnistheauthorof

theGospelaccordingtoJohn;1,2&

3JohnandRevela>on.

The“Johanninecanon”iswriRen

some>meinthemid-80sthrough

themid-to-late90s.

FinalThoughts 19

PieterPaulRubens.St.John(oilonpanel),c,1611.PradoMuseum,Madrid.

TheNewTestamentwaswriRenen>rely

inkoineGreek,thatis,the“common”

Greekunderstoodbyordinarypeople

livinginPales>neatthe>meofJesus.

TheyunderstoodGreekbecause

AlexandertheGreathadconqueredthe

regionin331B.C.,establishingalong

periodofGreekrulethatlastedun>lthe

Romangeneral,Pompey,conqueredthe

areain63B.C.AJewlivinginPales>neat

the>meofJesuswouldhaveunderstood

Greek,spokenAramaicashisna>ve

language,andbeenabletoreadHebrew.

Mostwouldalsohavehadaworking

knowledgeofLa>n,sincetheywereliving

underRomanrule.

FinalThoughts 20

AlthoughtheeventsintheNew

Testamenthappeninthefirst

centuryA.D.,themanuscriptsthatrecordthoseeventsdatefrom

muchlater.Manuscriptsofthe

NewTestamentaredividedinto

fourtypes:papyri,uncials,

minuscules,andlec>onaries.

FinalThoughts 21

ExampleofaPapyrusManuscript

Thisistheoldestexis>ngmanuscriptoftheNewTestament,

afragmentoftheGospelaccordingtoJohn,A.D.125(John18:31-34;37-38).JohnRylandsLibrary,Manchester,England.

FinalThoughts 22

ExampleofanUncialManuscript

CodexSinai>cus,perhapsthemostimportantoftheNewTestament

manuscripts.Da>ngfromthe4thcentury,itcontainspartoftheOldTestamentandalloftheNewTestament.Bri>shLibrary,London.

FinalThoughts 23

ExampleofaMinisculeManuscript

Thisisaparchmentmanuscriptfromthe10thcenturycontainingtheActsofthe

Apostles,andthegeneralandPaulineleRers(Philemon10-25isshownabove).Mt.Athos,Greece.

FinalThoughts 24

ExampleofaLec>onary

Thisisaparchmentcodexcontainingagospellec>onarydatedA.D.991.Itis

carefullywriRenwithelaboratedecora>veleRersinyellow,blue,greenandscarlet.ThetextisJohn19:10-16andMaRhew27:3-5.Va>canLibrary.

FinalThoughts 25

AstheearlyChurchspread

throughouttheRomanEmpirein

thesecondhalfofthefirstcentury,theteachingandpreachingofthe

Apostlesandothersbroughtthe

gospelmessagetoanenormously

diverseaudienceofbothJewand

Gen>le,spreadgeographicallyfromJerusalem,DamascusandAn>och

intheeast;Alexandria,Cyreneand

Carthageinthesouth;Mauretania,

SpainandGaulinthewest;andSt.

Paul’smissionfieldofAsiaMinor,Macedonia,AchaiaandRomeinthe

north.

26FinalThoughts

27FinalThoughts

Importantly,aswehavestudiedthe

gospelswehavelearnedthata“gospel”

isnotabiographyofaperson,althoughitdoescontainbiographicalinforma>on;it

isnotanhistoricalaccountofaperson,althoughitisrootedinhistorical>me;it

isnotafic>onalaccountofaperson,althoughitdoesincludemiracles,

wondersandthelargedoseofthe

supernatural;rather,a“gospel”isan

accountofthe“goodnews”ofthe

comingKingdomofGodandofthe

redemp>onofhumanitythroughthelife,

death,burialandresurrec>onofJesus

Christ,asseenthroughtheeyesofalivingfaithtradi8on,guidedbytheHolySpirit,30-60yearsaAertheeventsitportrays.

28FinalThoughts

Hundredsof“church”communi>estook

rootthroughouttheRomanEmpireinthe

fer>lesoilofthegospelmessage,but

eachofthosecommuni>esexperienced

andlivedthatmessagewithinitsown

historical,poli>calandculturalcontext.

Althoughthecoregospelmessagewas

thesame,eachcommunityexperiencedandunderstoodthatmessagedifferently:

ahighlyeducated,urbancommunityin

CarthageorEphesus,forexample,might

viewthegospelverydifferentlyfromone

inanpre-literate,remoteagricultural

areaofeasternCappodocia.

29FinalThoughts

FinalThoughts

Ialwaysthoughtthe

earlychurchwasthe

“pure”church.

Sillyme!

So,therewasreallyno

“orthodox”beliefintheearly

church;rather,therewasextremediversity,witheach

community,developingits

owntradi>onsand

understanding.

30

It’simportanttounderstand,aswell,thatthere

werehundredsof“Chris>an”workswriRenduringthefirstthreecenturiesoftheChurch,sowhichones

shouldbeconsidered“scripture,”bywhatcriteria,

andbywhatcommuni>eswasanopenques>on.

St.Athanasius,BishopofAlexandria,inhisEaster

leRerofA.D.367,offeredalistofthe27booksthat

wouldlaterbecomethe“NewTestament,”andhe

usedtheterm“canonized”[kanonizovmena]inreferencetothem.

Then,whenPopeSt.DamasuscommissionedSt.

Jerometotranslatethe27Greek“scriptures”into

La>ninA.D.383,thataddedtotheirstanding.

Finally,inA.D.393theCouncilofHippo,calledbySt.

Augus>ne,officiallyrecognizedthe27booksoffered

bySt.AthanasiusandtranslatedbyJeromeas

“canonicalScripture”—whichtheyaretothisday.

31FinalThoughts

Notme.

FinalThoughts

Wow!Wedidn’teven

havea“bible”(aswe

knowit)forthefirst

300yearsofthechurch!

So,ittookalong>me

forthe27booksofthe

NewTestamenttobe

recognizedas

“canonical.”

32

Andwhatchurchesdid

havewaspiecemeal—a

bookhere,abookthere.

Notme.

FinalThoughts

Especiallytheissue

ofwhoJesusisand

whathedid!

Andittookanevenlonger

>mefortheChurchto

agreeuponan

understandingofthekey

issuesinthosebooks.

33

Consequently,eachChris>ancommunity

experiencedandlivedthegospelmessage

throughitsowninterpreta>velens.It

wouldn’tbeun>lthe4thcenturythataseries

ofsevenEcumenicalCouncils(A.D.325-787)

begandefiningpreciselywhoChristisand

whathedid,inamannerthatmostchurch

communi>escouldagreeupon.

1.   1stCouncilofNicaea(A.D.325)

2.   1stCouncilofConstan>nople(A.D.381)

3.   CouncilofEphesus(A.D.431)

4.   CouncilofChalcedon(A.D.451)

5.   2ndCouncilofConstan>nople(A.D.553)

6.   3rdCouncilofConstan>nople(A.D.680)

7.   2ndCouncilofNicaea(A.D.787)

34FinalThoughts

Whenwemovefromthesynop>cgospels

toJohn’sgospel,weenteradifferent

universe,acommunityofpeoplewho

thoughtverydifferentlyfromthosewho

craQedthesynop>cgospels!

InJohn’sgospelJesusdoesnotspeakin

neataphorismsorcleverparablesashe

doesinthesynop>cgospels,nordoeshe

engagethePhariseesandSadduceesin

cleverbanter;rather,JesusseRlesintolong

discourses,heavywiththeologicalcontent

andweightywithabstractmetaphorslike

“life,”“light,”and“truth,”allcombinedin

complexpaRernswith“seeing,”“believing”

and“knowing.”

35FinalThoughts

Whereas,inthesynop>cgospelsJesusspeaksof

thecomingKingdomofGod,inJohn’sgospeltheKingdomofGodhasalreadycomeintheperson

ofthedivineWord,ofJesushimself.

InJohn,Jesusself-referen>alspeechilluminates

afundamental,metaphysicaldualism:humanityfacesachoicebetweenwhatisfromaboveand

whatisfrombelow;whatislightandwhatisdark;whatistrueandwhatisfalse;whatislife

andwhatisdeath.

Jesushimselfintersectsthisdualis>cuniverse

like“Jacob’sladder”intersectsheavenandearthinGenesis28.Jesusistheonewhocomesdown

fromheaventorevealhimselfandtorevealthe

Father,andwhenhefinisheshiswork,hereturnstoheavenandtotheFather.

36FinalThoughts

Notme.At’s

FinalThoughts

That’scertainlynot

thecaseinMaRhew,MarkandLuke.

InJohn’sgospel

JesusisGod.

37

Inthepast,manyscholarsthoughtthat

sucha“high”Christologymusthavebeen

greatlyinfluencedbylaterPlatonicthought

anddevelopedoveralongperiodof>me,

sugges>ngthatJohn’sgospelwaswriRen

perhapsduringthe2ndoreventhe3rd

centuryA.D.

ButwiththediscoveryoftheDeadSea

Scrollsin1946-1956,weknowthatthis

dualis>cworldviewsoprominentinJohn’s

gospelwasevenmoresharplypresentin

thewri>ngsfromQumran,whichwere

contemporarywithJesushimself.

38FinalThoughts

39FinalThoughts

“TheWaroftheSonsofLightagainsttheSonsofDarkness,”(1QM),c.middle1stcenturyB.C–A.D.10.

ShrineoftheBook,IsraelMuseum,Jerusalem.

TheQumran“WarScroll”presentsan

apocalyp>cvisionofanend->me,

cataclysmicwarbetweentheSonsofLight

andtheSonsofDarkness.Intheend,the

SonsofDarknessaredestroyedandthe

SonsofLightliveinpeaceforalleternity.

Addtothat,thefragmentthatwe’ve

alreadyseenofJohn’sgospeldiscoveredin

Egyptinthe1920s,whichisdatedc.A.D.

125,demonstra>ngthatJohn’sgospelwas

completedsome>mearoundtheendofthe

1stcenturyorbeginningofthe2nd.

40FinalThoughts

Notme.

FinalThoughts

Wow!That

demonstratesjusthowdiversethinkingwas

amongtheearlyChris>ans!

So,thatsuggeststhatthe“high”

ChristologyweseeintheJohannine

canonco-existedwiththeunderstandingofChristthatwesee

inthesynop>cgospels!

41

Andthat,ofcourse,created

considerabletensionintheearly

church,withindividualcommuni>esdevelopingtheir

own“orthodoxy,”whilecri>cizing

andexcludingothercommuni>es

as“here>cal.”

Andthistensionemergesasearly

asthe2ndhalfofthe1stcentury!

42FinalThoughts

ProfessorLukeTimothyJohnson

observes:

“Whatevertheprecisenatureofthedisputes,anysortofdivisionwouldbeaseverecrisisforachurchthatlivedwithinthesymbolicframeworkwehaveseenin[John’sgospel].ThefarewelldiscourseofJesus(John15:1–17:26)portraysacommunityoffriends.TheyshareinoneSpirit,beingjoinedtoJesusasJesusistotheFather,inafellowshipofunityandlove.Foracommunitywithsuchaself-understanding,anydissensionanddeviancewouldbedifficulttounderstandandassimilate.ButaclashovertherightunderstandingofJesus,andadivisionleadingtomutualexcommunica8on,wouldchallengethiscommunity’sveryiden8tyandexistence.”

TheWri8ngsoftheNewTestament,p.497.

43FinalThoughts

Andthat’spreciselywhatwe

observeaswemovefromJohn’s

gospeltohisepistleandtwoleRers:1,2and3John—and

thenonwardtoRevela>on.

44FinalThoughts

1.   IfthegospelmessagemovedthroughouttheRomanEmpireprimarilythroughoralteachingandpreaching,wouldn’tyouexpectthestoriestoevolveover>me,ul>matelybearingliRleresemblancetotheoriginal?

2.   WhydidthegospelstoriesmovefromoralteachingandpreachingtowriRenform?

3. WhatistheearliestwriRenexampleofagospeltext?

4. Howdidthechurcheventuallydefinethe“corebeliefs”ofChris>anity?

5. Whenwerethe27booksoftheNewTestamentcanonofficiallyrecognizedas“scripture”?

45FinalThoughts

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46FinalThoughts