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John 20 :30-31 and the Purpose of the Fourth Gospel John 20 :30-31

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John 20 :30-31 and the Purpose of the Fourth Gospel John 20 :30-31 JOHN 20 :30-31 AND THE PURPOSE OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL JOHN 20 :30-31 AND THE PURPOSE OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL by ADELE REINHARTZ, M.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University March, 1983 DOCTOR OF PffiLOSOPHY (1983) McMASTER UNIVERSITY {Religious Studies) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: John 20 :30-31 and the Purpose of the Fourth Gospel AUTHOR: Adele Reinhartz, B. A. (University of Toronto) M. A. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor E. P. Sanders NUMBER OF PAGES: v, 242 ii ABSTRACT _The thesis examines the relationship between John 20:30-31 and the purpose of the Fourth Gospel. It argues that the passage expresses a purpose which is reflected in both the structure and the content of the Gospel as a whole. This purpose is to convince the reader that faith in Jesus as the Christ, Son of God, can and indeed should be based on the signs as recorded in the Gospel. In order to achieve this purpose, the Gospel uses the following arguments: the reader is seeking salvation; salvation is attained through faith in Jesus; faith in Jesus can be based on his signs; even the reader who has not seen Jesus I signs himself can ''witness'' them through the agency of the Gospel. The thesis demonstrates where and how the Gospel develops these arguments. The thesis is intended to contribute to the discussion of several issues which are central to Johannine studies. It examines an aspect of the issue of the purpose of the Gospel which has not been the subject of extensive scholarly attention, namely the way in which the author(s) of the Gospel meant their document to function in the lives of its readers. In doing so, it discusses in detail three of the christological titles, "Christ", "Son of God". and "Prophet", and sheds light on the ways in which the Gospel demonstrates the appropriateness of these titles to Jesus. In addition, it argues against the interpretations of the term semeion as used in 20 :30-31 and of the Gospel's view of a faith based on signs. Finally, the thesis offers some suggestions concerning the identity of the intended reader of the Gospel. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the many people who have helped to bring this study to completion. Drs. A.!. Baumgarten, B. F. Meyer and M. Hillmer were most helpful with their suggestions and comments. A special debt is owed to Dr. E. P. Sanders whose prompt and careful reading of all material and incisive comments aided immeasur­ ably in the formulation and development of the thesis. The final draft of the thesis was typed by Mrs. Eileen Alderton, whose professional skill and careful work are evident on every page. McMaster University and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada freed my time and energy for this work by their generous financial support. My parents, Henia and Norbert Reinhartz, gave freely of themselves, especially by providing loving care for my daughter when I needed extra hours of working time. Most of all, I wish to thank my husband, Barry Walfish, for the hours spent hearing about the Gospel of John, for his editorial skills, and for the countless other ways in which he made the process easier for me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DESCRIPTIVE NOTE ii ABSTRAC T iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: The Meaning of Semeia in 20 :30 20 CHAPTER TWO: The Johannine View of Signs-Faith 54 r CHAPTER THREE: "Life in his Name" as a Desirable Goal 72 CHAPTER FOUR: Believing and Salvation 88 CHAPTER FIVE: "Signsl1 and Jesus' Eschatological Identity 106 L CHAPTER SIX: Hearing is Believing 197 CHAPTER SEVEN: Conclusion 208 APPENDIX 216 BIBLIOGRAPHY 235 v lNTRODU CTlON Chapter twenty of the Gospel of John concludes with the following words: Now Jesus did many signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. (20 :30-31) 1 One of the few points of agreement in Johannine studies is that these words constitute an explicit statement of purpose for the Gospel as a whole. The general consensus on this point can be observed by turning to the many commentaries on the Gospel of John, in which the note on 20:30-31 will typically begin with a comment to this effect. 2 It is therefore not 1English quotations from the Fourth Gospel will be taken from the Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted. See bibliography for full references to items cited in the footnotes. 2 For example, Barrett, Gospel According to St. John, p. 575, begins his comment to 20 :31 by saying "Both the purpose of the gospel and the author's theology are summed up in this verse." Bultmann, Gospel of John, p. 697, describes 20 :30-31 as "a clear conclusion to the Gospel, in which the selective character of the narrative is stressed and its purpose declared." That 20 :30-31 is the Gospel's statement of purpose and con­ clusion is accepted even by some of those scholars who do not view chapter 21 as a later addition, such as Lagrange, Evangile selon Saint ll Jean, pp. 519ff., and Vaganay, "Le Finale du Quatrieme Evangile , pp.512-28. One of the few dissenting voices appears to be that of E. C. Hoskyns, Fourth Gospel, p. 656, who argues that the term IImany other signs II in 20 :30 refers to the resurrection appearances alone. In his view, the Gospel ends properly at 21 :25, because lithe Christian gospel ends 1 2 surprising that 20 :30-31 should play an important role in the scholarly discussion of the purpose of the Gospel. What is perhaps surprising, however, is the fact that, despite this consensus, there are nearly as many theories concerning the purpose of the Fourth Gospel as there are theorists. W. C. Van Unnik and J. A. T. Robinson, for example, argue that the Gospel was intended as a missionary document directed towards Diaspora Jews. 3 Rudolf Schnackenburg and C. K. Barrett, on the other hand, suggest that the Gospel was aimed at a primarily Christian audience, with the goal of educating them and deepening their faith. 4 C. H. Dodd views the Gospel as addressing 3Van Unnik, "Purpose"; Robinson, "Destination". 4Schnackenburg, "Die Messiasfrage"; Barrett, Gospel of John and Judaism, pp.1-19. Both of these works contain an explicit refutation of the views of Van Unnik and Robinson. The conclusion that the Gospel is directed towards Christians is reached by many other scholars, such as H. B. Kossen and G. L. Allen, who suggest that the Gospel addresses Diaspora Jews who had already become Christians. Allen suggests that such Jewish Christians were still observing the Jewish law, and that the Gospel aimed to dissuade them from doing so. See Allen, "Jewish Christian Church", pp.88-92, and Kossen, "Greeks", pp.97-110. Harald Riesenfeld's study of the hina clause in the Johannine writings, "Zu den johanneischen hina-Satzen", supports the theory that the Gospel has Christian readers in mind. He concludes that the form of the hina clause seems related to the strengthening of the Christian community and not to any missionary purpose. properly, not with the appearance of the risen Lord to His disciples, and their belief in Him LHoskyns' interpretation of 20 :30-31]. but with a confident statement that this mission to the world, undertaken at His command and under His authority, will be the means by which many are saved." This function, he argues, is served by chapter 21. 3 non-Christians who are concerned about eternal life and the way to it, and may be ready to follow the Christian way if this is presented to them in terms that are intel­ ligibly related to their previous religious interests and experience. 5 The source critic R. T. Fortna suggests that one of the main motives of the evangelist was to correct and deepen the christology of the signs \ source which formed the basis of his narrative. 6 J. L. Martyn, who accepts the main outline of Fortna's source theory, 7 would see the motive of the Gospel's redaction of the source not in the desire to correct an inade- quate christology but in the need to adapt to historical circumstances, and especially' to the deteriorating relationship between the church and syna- gogue in the evangelist's city. 8 5nodd, Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, p. 9. A similar theory is argued by C. F. n. Moule, ''Intention of the Evangelists". 6Fortna, "Source and Redaction". See also Becker, "Wunder und Christologie". Fortna, Gospel of Signs, argues that the Fourth Gospel constitutes the redaction of a written signs-source ("Signs-Gospel") which comprised the seven signs-narratives as well as a passion narra­ tive. The presence of a signs-source underlying the present gospel is argued by many other scholars, including Bultmann, Gospel of John, Nicol, Semeia in the Fourth Gospel, and Teeple, Literary Origin. For discussion and further bibliography, see Kysar, Fourth Evangelist, pp. 9-37, and ::\tlartyn, History and Theology, pp. 164-68. 7See Martyn, "Source Criticism", p.248. 8 Martyn, History and Theology, passim. His theory is based to some degree on the conclusion that 9 :22 and 16:2 reflect Birkat Ha-1\1inim, (Jewish benediction against heretics recited in the synagogue).
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