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25 2 The Theological Riddles of the Fourth Gospel I n simply considering the thematic center of the Prologue, the theological riddles of the Fourth Gospel become apparent. Is the central emphasis of John 1:14 the Word becoming flesh (featuring the humanity of Jesus), or is it that we have beheld his glory (featuring the divinity of Christ)? Is Jesus one with the Father, or subordinate to the Father? After all, he claims, “The Father and I are one,” but then he declares, “The Father is greater than I.” So, even if one hopes to embrace the plain and direct meaning of the text, how does one decide what John’s text is saying? It is no exaggeration to say that the history of Christian theology would have been entirely different had it not been for the Gospel of John. Many a debate in the first four Ecumenical Councils (325, 381, 431, 451 c.e.), convened to find theological unity within a divided Christian empire, featured both sides of an argument citing the Fourth Gospel. Most notably, both Arius and Athanasius, leading theologians in the four century c.e., based their opposing convictions largely on material from the Gospel of John. Arius argued for a view of Jesus as the Christ who was not fully divine, privileging the primacy of the Father, based on John; Athanasius (whose position finally won the day) argued that Jesus and the Father were of the same “essence” (homoousios), also based on John (though the Greek term homoousios does not appear in John). This brings us directly to the theological riddles of the Fourth Gospel. Of course, John’s theological tensions extend beyond its Christology. We also find in John striking differences on virtually every important theme. How about 26 The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel salvation? On one hand, John is the most exclusive of biblical texts, claiming that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus as the Christ; on the other hand, John is the most inclusive and universalistic of biblical texts, claiming Christ as the Light who enlightens all humanity, inviting a response of faith. Can one embrace the saving-revealing work of Christ without knowing the history of Jesus of Nazareth? If so, why tell the story at all? Further, was John anti-Semitic? On one hand, “the Jews” reject Jesus and seek to put him to death with assistance from the Romans; on the other hand, Jesus declares, “salvation is of the Jews,” and he is presented as the epitome of Jewish ideals. These and other theological riddles deserve consideration as we delve more deeply into the Johannine text. But where did John’s tensions originate, and what is their character? Was the Evangelist senile, repeating himself and reversing himself without noting issues of consistency? Does the text originate from several disparate literary sources or a singular tradition? Was John’s narrative written by one person or several? Did a later, final editor modify a few things here and there, or did the same narrator adapt his story as the situation changed? Perhaps we simply have someone who just thought this way—dialectically, looking at things from one angle and then from another. Whatever the case, we must consider first the facts of the text before we can think about what John’s theological riddles might imply. Jesus Christ: Human or Divine? ■ Was Jesus human or divine? Or, was he both? A common flaw of interpreters is that they tend to take one set of John’s polarities without including the other side. The debate between Rudolf Bultmann and Ernst Käsemann on the pivotal fulcrum of the Prologue (and thus the central thrust of the rest of the Gospel) is a prime example (see chap. 1). More on that later; for now, consider these theological tensions regarding John’s Christology. In this case and the others, feel free to take the time to look up verses on your own, and note any observations that come to mind. Box 2.1: the Humanity and Divinity of Jesus On one hand, Jesus’ divinity is pronounced in John: The glory of Jesus is testified to from the beginning of the Gospel (1:14c; 2:11; 11:4; 14:13; 17:1) ■ and his “glorification” is emphasized extensively (1:51; 3:14; 6:62; 8:28; 12:23, 34; 13:1). Jesus is equated with God in John 1:1-2 and 18 (in the earliest manuscripts) and is called...

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