So when it comes to
paying attention to the wider narrative on offer by the Gospel of John, what
assistance does the author provide? He provides assistance with his
record of the people saying “everything John said about this man was
true!” This forces the listener and the reader to recall what it was that
was said by John the Baptist. Just as the statements by the Baptizer form
the foundation for the introduction of Jesus into the Gospel narrative (and
into the long-running story of Israel itself), this recapitulation of
statements forms the bedrock for the transition to the second half of this
narrative.
Therefore, it is
important to know what Jesus’ cousin said about Jesus, so that these things are
in mind while proceeding. He offered: “This one was the one about whom I
said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, because He existed before
me.’” (1:15) He also said, “Among you stands one whom you do not
recognize, who is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the strap of
His sandal!” (1:26b-27). He said “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes
a man who is greater than I am, because He existed before me.’ I did not
recognize Him, but I came baptizing with water so that He could be revealed to
Israel” (1:29b-31). This speaks quite strongly to Jesus’ first identifying
Himself with John’s movement, as He underwent the exodus-themed baptism (symbolically
crossing the Jordan River into a new land that reflected the Creator’s promise
to His people) so that He might fit into a recognizable pattern for the
covenant people of Israel.
John also said of
Jesus: “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on
Him. And I did not recognize Him, but the one who sent me to baptize with
water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and
remaining---this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have
both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God”
(1:32-34). Finally, John saw Jesus and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
(1:36b)
Amazingly, this
recollection of statements by John, accompanied by another mention of
“miraculous signs,” is immediately followed up by the author’s presentation of
that which he presents as the most significant of Jesus’ miraculous signs
(outside of the Resurrection), which is the raising of Lazarus from the
dead. The raising of Lazarus, in this Gospel, is presented as the
catalyst that causes Jesus’ ultimate fate to come cascading down upon
Him.
This is yet another
reflection of the Moses motif that the author has seemingly gone to great
lengths to create, though it is not one that is immediately obvious.
Because this study is concerned with defining love, and because Moses and the
exodus appears to be a prominent feature of the background construct (as the
exodus was always a crucial component of the way Israel understood themselves
as a nation and of the way that they understood their relationship with their
God), one must make note of the way that the story of the Creator God’s
deliverance of Israel from out of Egypt effectively begins.
In the second chapter
of Exodus it is reported that “During that long period of time the king of
Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They
cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to
God. God heard their groaning, God remembered His covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac, and with Jacob, God saw the Israelites, and God understood…”
(2:23-25). The words immediately following are “Now Moses” (3:1).
This is a very tight grouping of highly important people and concepts.
The author of John, naturally and as would be expected, has a firm grasp on the
fact that the Creator God’s covenant underlies all of His activity throughout
history, and as has been seen, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses (but not Isaac) are
mentioned in the narrative.
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