Luis Sánchez Navarro, «Estructura testimonial del Evangelio de Juan», Vol. 86 (2005) 511-528
Following the Prologue (John 1,1-18), the Gospel of John is demarcated by an
inclusio which extends from 1,19 ("And this is the witness of John") to 21,24
("This is the disciple who bears witness"). This Gospel contains a multiple
witness to Jesus as Messiah and as Son of God (cf. 20,31), organized around two
main characters: John (1,19 -> 10,42) and the beloved disciple (13,1 -> 21,25). In
the central unit (11, -> 12,50), which serves as a link between the two sections,
the Father intervenes by rising up Lazarus (11,41-44) and makes His own voice
heard from heaven (12,28); through these events the Father bears the supreme
witness to Jesus. In this way, the Gospel appears as a testimonial triptych with a
christological purpose.
The Sword of the Messiah 57
Our findings have implications for how we understand the Fourth
Gospel. We have not read the Fourth Gospel as a two-level drama, i.e.,
John’s retelling of the Jesus-story to match the story of his own
community. Scholars who have gone down this route, paved by
Martyn and Brown, have often depicted a so-called “Johannine
community†that is oppressed or persecuted by post-70 C.E.
synagogue Judaism and (hence) inward-looking or “sectarian†(66).
Instead, we contended that John’s intended audience was much
wider (but it could nevertheless have included a “Johannine
communityâ€)(67). Moreover, the schism in the Fourth Gospel is not
between an inward-looking Johannine community and synagogue
Judaism (as Martyn and his supporters would have it) but between
those who accept Jesus’ word and those who reject it, between the new
“Israel†and the world at large. Hence, our reading discourages a
treatment of the Fourth Gospel as a document from a sectarian
community alienated or withdrawn from the world, which might lead
to a view that the Fourth Gospel has no interest in reaching out to
outsiders and the marginalized (68). Instead, we argued that the Fourth
Gospel challenges believers to reach out to the world at large, cross
social barriers, witness to the truth, and alleviate oppression (69).
South Asia Institute Cornelis BENNEMA
of Advanced Christian Studies
Bangalore, India
(66) J.L. MARTYN, History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel (Louisville
2003); R.E. BROWN, The Community of the Beloved Disciple (London 1979);
3
RENSBERGER, Faith, 25-29; M.W.G. STIBBE, John as Storyteller. Narrative
Criticsm and the Fourth Gospel (SNTSMS 73; Cambridge 1992) 56-58, 150;
HOWARD-BROOK, Children, 20-24, 49-50. Cf. the extensive list of scholars
mentioned by MOTYER, “Jesusâ€, 72 n. 9; ID., Father, 13 n. 21.
(67) Cf. MOTYER, “Jesusâ€, 87-88; ID., Father, 212-215; R. BAUCKHAM, “The
Audience of the Fourth Gospelâ€, Jesus in Johannine Tradition (eds. R.T. FORTNA
– T. THATCHER) (Louisville 2001) 101-111. See also T.S. DOKKA, “Irony and
Sectarianism in the Gospel of Johnâ€, Readings (eds. J. NISSEN – S. PEDERSEN) 83-
107; T. HÄGERLAND, “John’s Gospel: A Two-Level Drama?â€, JSNT 25 (2003)
309-322.
(68) So, e.g., RENSBERGER, Faith, 124-130 (but see Motyer’s criticism
[“Jesusâ€, 73-74]); MALINA – ROHRBAUGH, Commentary, 59-61, 237-245.
(69) Cf. Motyer’s essay “Jesusâ€.