Mark Jennings, «The Fourth Gospel’s Reversal of Mark in John 13,31‒14,3», Vol. 94 (2013) 210-236
I argue that the author/s of the Fourth Gospel knew Mark, based on the reversal of certain Markan themes found in John. No attempt is made here to suggest the kind of literary dependence which is the basis of the Synoptic problem. Rather, my thesis is that the author/s of John may have used Mark from memory, writing deliberately to reverse the apocalyptic tendencies found in the Second Gospel. Isolated incidents of this possible reversal demonstrate little, but this paper proposes that the cumulative force of many such reversals supports the thesis of John's possible knowledge of Mark.
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THE FOURTH GOSPEL’S REVERSAL OF MARK IN JOHN 13,31‒14,3
I. John 13,31-32: “Now the Son of Man has been glorifiedâ€
Of critical importance here are the themes of “glorification†and
the focus on “now†(νῦν), both of which are essential Johannine
themes and emphases. Îῦν is critical here, signalling that the hour
of darkness has come — through Judas’ action the end has begun.
In terms of the narrative, the crucifixion is still to come, but the in-
evitable result of Judas’ action will be Jesus’ death. The use of the
phrase “Son of Man†here links “glory†with the imminent passion
and crucifixion 4. The aorist á¼Î´Î¿Î¾á½±ÏƒÎ¸Î· and the future δοξάσει are
used to show this tension — it is as if, with Judas’ departure, the
event has already taken place 5.
Further, νῦν here points to Jesus’ “hourâ€, mentioned in 13,1,
wherein he is to leave this world and return to his Father 6. Similarly,
in 12,27 and 12,31 νῦν is linked with the “hour†when Jesus will be
glorified, the time of his lifting up (or death) 7. In his imminent
death, resurrection and return to the Father, the mission of Jesus is
being accomplished “nowâ€, rather than at the end time. In the com-
pletion of Jesus’ mission, the glory of God is revealed in Jesus 8. In
the obedience of the Son the Father is glorified, and God’s love for
humankind is revealed in his offering of the Son (3,16) 9. The focus
in this saying is that the place where God will be revealed is in the
cross, at the death of the Son 10.
So Moloney, who makes a distinction between the glorification of the
4
Son of Man, which is the lifting up on the cross, and the glory of the Son,
who returns to the Father through the cross. In making this distinction,
Moloney qualifies it by stating “passion, death, resurrection and glorification
all seems to be one in the Fourth Gospel†(F.J. MOLONEY, The Johannine Son
of Man [Rome 1978] 200).
W.R.G LOADER, The Christology of the Fourth Gospel. Structure and
5
Issues (Frankfurt 1992) 54.
C.S. KEENER, The Gospel of John. A Commentary (Peabody, MA 2003) 921.
6
R. SCHNACKENBURG, The Gospel According to St John (New York 1982)
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III, 49. Further, Moloney indicates that the expression “Son of Man†points the
reader forward to the crucifixion throughout the gospel (1,51; 3,14; 6,27.53;
8,28; 12,23); F.J. MOLONEY, Glory not Dishonor. Reading John 13‒21 (Min-
neapolis, MN 1998) 24.
R.E. BROWN, The Gospel According to John (London 1966) 606.
8
G.R. BEASLEY-MURRAY, John (WBC 36; Nashville, TN 1999) 246.
9
Moloney states that “glory†has been used throughout the Johannine
10
narrative to refer to “revelation†(MOLONEY, Glory not Dishonor, 24).
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