The Most Jewish Gospel?

Author: Dwight A. Pryor

THOUGH LAST in New Testament sequence, the Fourth Gospel surely holds irst place
in the hearts and minds o most !hristians" O all the #ospels, $ohn%s is the most read,
cherished and ot&cited" ' a sin#le (oo) o the *i(le is to (e distri(uted in pamphlet or
tract orm, in+aria(ly it will (e the Gospel o $ohn" ' any +erse o the *i(le is more
memori,ed than $ohn -:./ 0 1For God so lo+ed the world 23 0 it is hard to ima#ine what
it would (e"
The Fourth Gospel is a literary masterpiece and a theolo#ical tour de force" 'ts proound
and unam(i#uous identiication o $esus o Na,areth with the eternal 4ord o God
incarnate in space and time has inormed !hristian theolo#y rom the earliest centuries"
At a more down&to&earth le+el, $ohn%s storytellin# has inspired readers in e+ery
#eneration" His stories ha+e (ris) pace matched with a clarity that is always compellin#"
4e don%t easily or#et or e5ample $esus% encounter at ni#ht with a de+out spiritual
leader in 'srael named Nicodemus6 or his mysterious action o writin# in the dust when
conronted (y men intent on punishin# a woman cau#ht in adultery6 or the risen Lord%s
encounter with a distrau#ht 7ary 7a#dalene in a #arden, ne5t to an empty tom(, and his
pu,,lin# retort to her, 18on%t touch me"
3The Fourth Gospel holds )een interest or scholars as well" 'ndeed a +erita(le re+olution
in $ohannine studies has occurred in recent decades 0 a sweepin# reassessment supported
in no small measure (y the historic disco+ery o the 8ead Sea Scrolls and the ertile
$ewish and !hristian scholarship that spran# thererom"
!lassic !hristian scholarship has +iewed $ohn%s #ospel as (ein# a late wor) 9second&third
centuries: that relects a thorou#hly Helleni,ed 9Gree) philosophical: world+iew" 'n
mar)ed contrast, the Fourth Gospel today is widely held to (e a irst&century composition
that is indeli(ly He(raic in character and composition"
$ohn%s theolo#y, archeolo#y and spirituality are quite at home within the di+erse (ut
+i(rant mi5 o Second Temple $udaisms" One need not loo) to the 4est and the 1sons o
Greece3 or interpretati+e )eys to the Fourth Gospel6 they (etter are to (e ound in the
hands o the 1sons o ;ion3 and $ewish hermeneutics"
One distin#uished scholar, noted or his wor) on the 8ead Sea Scrolls, #oes so ar as to
claim that the Gospel o $ohn is the 1most $ewish o all the #ospels"3 That conclusion
pro(a(ly o+erstates the e+idence, (ut what is a(undantly clear now is that the Fourth
Gospel is in act a $ewish document written to a $ewish audience usin# He(raic
cate#ories o thou#ht and su(tle He(raic literary techniques"
ON< NOTA*L< <=A7>L< o $ohn%s $ewish world+iew is ound in the preeminence he
#i+es to God as Father and his persistent su(ordination o the Son to the Father" This
pattern is not always reco#ni,ed (y !hristian readers, who tend to ocus on $ohn%s
cele(rated hi#h !hristolo#y" 'ndeed his ma#isterial e+ocations o Genesis in his openin#
+erses identiy $esus o Na,areth as the creati+e 4ord that 1(ecame lesh and dwelt
amon# us3 and whose #lory is that o the 1(elo+ed, only Son rom the Father3 9.:.?:"
Howe+er, $ohn%s recurrin# theme o the Son (ein# sent o the Father inherently
su(ordinates the Son" The Father has ultimate authority and He sends the Son" The Son is
the Sent One in a relationship o complete dependence upon the Father, characteri,ed (y
trust, o(edience and lo+e" There is complete unity and yet complete dependence o the
Son upon the Father"
The Son depends upon the Father or his power 9@:.A6 .B:C:6 his mission 9B:CD&CA:6 his
instructions 9.?:-.:6 his teachin# 9B:./:6 his disciples 9/:-B:6 his Eud#ments 9D:./:6 his
authority 9.B:C:6 his #lory 9.B:C?:6 the #it o the Spirit 9-:-?: and other #its 9.B:B:6 and
or his +ery lie 9@:C/:" $esus identiies his Father as the 1only, true God3 9.B:-:, to whom
he prays 9.B:.@:, and or whom he always does that which is pleasin# 9?:-A:" God has
(estowed upon the Son His name 0 the 1name which is a(o+e e+ery name3 9>hil C:A: 0
(ut $esus is Lord 1to the #lory o God the Father3 9C:..:"
The Fourth Gospel re+eals the Son to show us the Father" $esus is our 7entor o what it
means to li+e the ullness o a lie to the #lory o the li+in# and true God"
F CG.? The !enter or $udaic&!hristian Studies"
All ri#hts reser+ed"