Cross as the Revelation of Glory

Johannine Reading of the Passion, cross, and Resurrection, Cross as the Revelation of Glory

Introduction

The Johannine literature, primarily the Gospel of John, presents a distinctive perspective on the Passion, Cross, and Resurrection of Jesus. This paper aims to explore the unique features of the Johannine reading of these pivotal events in Christianity. By analysing key passages from the Gospel of John, we will uncover the theological implications and the significance of the Johannine portrayal of Jesus passion, crucifixion, and resurrection and Cross as the revelation of glory.

1. The Passion of Jesus

1.1. Preparation for the Passion (John 12)

Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem marks the end of his public ministry and introduces the passion narrative. First, is the universal significance of Jesus’ death. When Jesus approaches Jerusalem he is greeted by Jewish crowds who acclaim him “King of Israel” (12:12-13).
Second, despite the horror of the crucifixion, Jesus’ death takes place according to the will of God. The gracious completion of life, but the tragic interruption of life. Similarly, Jesus had healed the sick (4:46-5:9), fed the hungry (6:1-14), and raised the dead (11:1-44); and his crucifixion could readily be perceived as a senseless termination to his ministry.
Third, the hour of Jesus’ death is the hour of his glorification. When the Greeks arrive, Jesus declares, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified,” by dying like a grain of wheat (12:23-24). This grim prospect troubles Jesus, but in a scene reminiscent of Gethsemane, Jesus prays that his death will glorify God (12:27-28). To “glorify” can simply mean to honour a person or God.
Fourth, the death of Jesus marks the defeat of “the ruler of this world” (12:31). According to John’s gospel, the “world” was created by God, but had rebelled against God. The world is a realm of darkness and sin (3:19, 8:23-24) which wages war against God and Christ by the power of hatred (7:7; 15:18-19,23-24).¹

1.2. Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet (John 13)

The passion narrative itself begins as Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and gives them the ‘new commandment’, the foot washing portrays the scandal of the cross. When Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, he assumes the posture of a slave. The action is parabolic: on a primary level it introduces the death of Jesus as an act of complete, self-giving love (13:1). Jesus “lays down” his clothing, and all the dignity that garments represent, just as he had promised to lay down his life (10:17, 13:4). When Peter protests, Jesus says, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me” (13:8).
On a secondary level, the foot washing becomes a model for discipleship (13:12-17), an idea reiterated in the new commandment (13:34). As Jesus has given himself completely in an act of loving service for his disciples, his disciples are to give themselves to each other in acts of love, even laying down their lives for each other as Jesus has done for them.²

2. The Cross of Jesus (John 19:17-42)

The Fourth Gospel, however, portrays the crucifixion as the glorious completion of Jesus’ ministry and the fulfilment of God’s will. In contrast to the other gospels, John says that Jesus went out “bearing his own cross” (19:17): there is no suggestion that Simon of Cyrene had to help Jesus reach Golgotha. Unlike the other gospels, there is no reference to darkness or mocking at the cross. Instead, the text stresses that the cross brings Jesus’ ministry to its telos or “goal.” Jesus knows that all is now “accomplished” (19:28a) and asks for a drink “to accomplish” the scriptures (19:28b). His final words are “It is accomplished” (19:30). The cross is the completion, not the interruption of Jesus’ ministry.
The Old Testament scriptures provide further clues to this Johannine perspective. An ordinary observer would assume that the soldiers divide Jesus’ clothing and cast lots for his tunic for the sake of their own personal gain. But John explicitly states that these actions fulfil Ps 22:18, indicating that the scene is governed by divine purposes (John 19:23-24). Again, Jesus’ words “I thirst” (19:28) could be a simple statement of human need. But John points out that this too accomplishes God’s will, since the vinegar fulfils Ps 69:21.
The Old Testament also helps explicate the piercing of Jesus’ side and the failure to break his legs. Death by crucifixion came slowly, as the victim, nailed in a twisted position on the cross, gasped for breath while struggling against the shock, blood loss, and searing pain. A soldier could hasten death by shattering the victim’s lower leg bones, thereby adding to the shock and removing much of the support necessary for breathing. The Jewish leaders ask that the legs of Jesus and the others be broken to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross. Since the Law stated that “a hanged man is accursed by God,” they should not defile the land by leaving them on the cross overnight (Deut 21:22-23; John 19:31-32). Because Jesus is already dead, however, they do not break his legs, but pierce his side to ensure that he is dead.
The scene with Jesus’ mother and Beloved Disciple brings Jesus’ ministry to a fitting conclusion. Jesus’ mother appears only twice in John’s gospel—at Cana and at the cross. In both places Jesus calls her (2:4, 19:26). Cana was the beginning (arche, 2:11) of his ministry, the cross its conclusion. Cana anticipated the “hour” of Jesus’ death and manifested his glory in a preliminary way (2:4,11); at the cross the final “hour” of glorification has arrived. At Cana Jesus’ mother showed confident though uncomprehending trust in Jesus (2:5); at the cross he entrusts her to the Beloved Disciple, who is a special witness to Jesus (13:23-26, 21:20-24). By giving these two people to each other Jesus forms the nucleus of a new community of faith at the foot of the cross.³

3. The Resurrection (John 20:1-31)

The story of Jesus’ resurrection in John begins with two scenes that offer searching commentary on the genesis of resurrection faith (20:1-8). Each year this passage is one of the lectionary’s Easter lessons. Opponents of Christianity charged that Jesus had not risen, but that his body had been stolen (Matt 28:13-15). John counters such claims by declaring that even Mary Magdalene, who discovers the tomb, first assumes Jesus’ body has been stolen (20:1-2). Faith in the resurrection does not emerge easily or naively; from the beginning it arose despite claims to the contrary.
Peter and the Beloved Disciple respond to Mary’s report by racing to the tomb. Tension builds progressively as the Beloved Disciple reaches the tomb and sees the cloths, Peter enters the tomb and sees the neatly folded headcloth, and finally, the Beloved Disciple enters, sees, and believes (20:3-8). The Beloved Disciple does not reach this conclusion because he expects Jesus to rise; neither he nor Peter connects the empty tomb with Old Testament promises at this point. Instead, the resurrection itself creates a new perspective from which to understand the old text (2:22; 12:15-16). Peter sees the empty tomb, but there is no sign yet that he believes in the resurrection. The Beloved Disciple does believe when he sees the grave cloths, but seeing does not give him a full understanding of the event or prompt him to tell anyone of his faith (20:10).

The next two scenes (20:19-31) deal with the significance of the resurrection for Christian discipleship and mission. The first scene roots discipleship in the faithfulness of Christ by showing how Jesus gives his disciples the gifts of peace (20:19,21), joy (16:20-22; 20:20), and the Spirit (20:22) as he has promised. Jesus then sends his disciples into the world, as God has sent him into the world (17:18; 20:21), to forgive and retain sins. In John’s gospel, retaining sins means to identify and hold people accountable for sins, as Jesus had done (8:24; 9:40). Thomas confesses his faith by declaring that Jesus is both Lord and God (20:28). Jesus himself transforms Thomas’s unbelief into faith, a faith informed and expressed by the testimony Thomas has heard before. In the same way, Jesus will continue to evoke faith in people of subsequent generations through the witness of the Fourth Evangelist and others, in order that they too may have life in Christ’s name (20:29-31).⁴

4. Cross as the Revelation of Glory

Understanding the cross as the revelation of glory is prevalent in the Johannine idea. To make his folks understand this, there are critical ways of implementing the word of Cross Glory and revelation in (John 1:1-18; 18:33-19:16; 20:1-18, 24-29). These passages give us additional understanding of this topic, possibly in detailed study. (John 1:1-18) brings about the word becoming flesh, (John 18:33) the witness and the word, (John 19:16) the crucifixion of Jesus, (John 20:1-18) the empty tomb, (John 20:24-29) Jesus appears to Thomas. Johannine demonstrates that Jesus’ death reveals both God’s love and God’s justice: consequently, the Cross’s Glory is to be presented with the implication of the biblical way of understanding. Also, in a practical way of amplifying the revelation to the world there are suffering and sacrifice of Jesus for our sin, redeeming the world from transgression.

4.1. The John understanding of Cross

John’s perceptive mind is deeply spiritual, and he has given much thought to the significance of Christ. In the spirit, he thought to himself about Christ and about the way of God. He does this in his own unique way, for he was not one for walking along the accustomed paths or repeating stereotyped formulas. He wrote as he saw, and he saw clearly but deeply. He is not rich in riches and variety of thought on the subject, for example, as Paul draws in Romans 3:21 on justification, redemption, propitiation, and the righteousness of God and the blood of Christ. This message is not the way John wants to speak in order to understand and write. It is written in the light of Christ’s work for humanity. Whenever he speaks of love, it is love illuminated by the cross that he has in mind. Whenever he speaks of life, it is that which has been won by Christ. The themes are emphasized only in the light of the cross, its tremendous importance, and the deep things of God and of God’s Salvation.⁵

4.2. Jesus’ Death Approaches in Light of Cross

On “the hour” (John 2:4) on Glory and also the scripture say that (John 1:4) Glorified like lifted up, thronging back to the Old Testament (Isaiah 52:13), shows about the suffering Servant in the understanding of bringing glory to the world by the Son of God Jesus Christ. Understanding the suffering servant in the light of Glorifying father through Son Jesus Christ, the death of Jesus was gone through the most shameful and pathos in history. With this ideological or holistic way of understanding the passion is more Glory for the human existence, by seeing John’s way of interpreting the scenario has a Jesus deed’s as Glory.⁶

4.3. Pathos and Praxis of Cross

Pain and action towards the cross is important for theological understanding. Jesus and John’s audiences seen in the (John 12:25), and also people recognized losing one’s life on this earth is the greater reward of “eternal life” but when we assume the cross, it is more of a humanist idea of death. God wants to show the greater glory in time of eternal life after death. Perhaps death is not glory; rather, recreation—resurrection—is more powerful than death.

4.4. General Understanding of Cross

The cross served as a symbol for many different religions in all of its variations. It was a pagan sacred symbol in all of pre-Christian Europe and western Asia. To safeguard the crops in the past, an effigy of a man hanging on a cross was placed in the fields.⁷

5. Jesus Revealing the Glory

The Glory was revealed in the sense that both the character and power of God were displayed in these acts, but these were to be manifested supremely and most profoundly in Christ’s passion and his suffering on the cross. Presenting the Glory occurred on the day of the wedding in Cana, where Jesus waited to reveal the Glory by turning the water into wine in order to revel in the Glory. Christ’s passion and his suffering on the cross are the ultimate and most deep manifestations of the Glory seen in the signs.⁸

5.1. Johannine Understanding of Glory

In (John 13:1-20:31), this is called the book of Glory, because this book describes the Glorification of Jesus and his return to the father. Jesus found the union with father—the main love is the path to God, but John’s depiction of love is very specific: laying down one’s life for others.⁹

In order to comprehend the reality of the centuplication in John’s perspective on the cross as the Glory of God’s Displayed in the cross more than anywhere else, Johannine is focusing the Glory is connected to the cross, to the passion and crucifixion of Jesus, and the Glory of God is Most Manifest in the death of Jesus Christ.¹⁰

5.2. Glory of His Son

Glory of his Son in the light of the Jesus prayer to the father we see that in the Gospel according to John brings this idea to project the glory eighteen times. Also, there is an important concept of John: the title “Son” since it appears in (John 1:14) “The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” As a result, the Word is God’s Son.¹¹

5.3. Glory Past and Future

Jesus glorified his father on the earth; this has been a focal point in John’s understanding on the past and future of glory of Jesus, strangely mentioning on the cross it’s not about the ecclesiastical way but the future will be the revelation of judgment of the people to pay the attribute to the glory of Jesus restoration.¹²

6. John Understanding of Revelation

Two things become clear in revelation in relation to this team of suffering and glory. First, obedient suffering is the key to victory, the coming victory of the kingdom of God. Second, those who have exhibited such faithful obedience to the point of suffering and martyrdom, from the lamp downwards, are glorified in heaven. We have already seen this in the context of the lamp and witness or martyrs described in the vision of Heaven in Revelation and this is surely one of the chief features of the vision.¹³

In Revelation, the lamp is the one who conquers and his role is to be establishing the kingdom. This purpose is to turn the kingdom of the world (currently ruled by Evil) into the kingdom of our Lord and his messiah. In fact, the ultimate goal is to bring this new kingdom to the earth itself, for the final vision must be the kingdom of God on the earth brought about by the lamp and his followers. The chief means of doing this is through that sacrifice on the Earth—on the cross which redeems his people and lays down a pattern of witness that brings victory through the faithful and obedient suffering.¹⁴

6.1. Symbols in Revelation

John brings three symbols in Revelation to describe his understanding of Jesus’ work. The first is the messianic war which Christ wages against evil and which John also explicitly describes in a letter: the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8). The second symbol is the eschatological and final exodus or liberation of all those held captives, through the redemptive power of the cross or the blood of the lamp. Just as The Exodus—the sign of the Passover lamp (blood smeared on the lintels of their houses)—saved the Israelites from the judgment of God on Egypt, the third symbol used in Revelation to describe Christ’s work is that of the faithful, victorious and glorified lamb. The qualities of the Glory, namely the immediate mingling of love and mercy in sacrifice, were expressed in the actual crucifixion but made fully manifest in the vision of Revelation.¹⁵

7. Indian Way of Understanding the Cross Glory and Revelation

Indian Christian theology is more significant for each theological argument. A.J. Appasamy states that Christ’s Cross is an important event in the history of Christianity; the Cross brings the reality of human suffering and the pathos of liberation from sin. Identifying ourselves with the sufferings of Christ on the cross. This is the way of love. Appasamy also uses the analogy of the spirit-body relationship in the human to understand God’s relationship with the world.¹⁶

A famous protestant theologian named Vengal Chakkarai is the author of the first work, The Cross and Indian Thought, who sees the death of Jesus as a Yajna (a ritual sacrifice with a specific objective) in the context of classical Hindu tradition, Karma Nishkama (self-less).¹⁷ M.M. Thomas was a teenager, be published The Realization of the Cross.¹⁸

A way of life is indicated by the Sermon on the Mount and the crucifixion: “Living Christ” means a “living cross”, without its life is a living death. Joy comes from suffering oneself freely rather than inflicting suffering on others. Gandhi uses Jesus as a role model and guru who light up a path for us based on his own life. He develops into a timeless educator who is applicable anytime and everywhere.¹⁹

A new order in creation has begun as a result of the fact of Christ. It is the beginning of existence that is unconstrained by Karma, untarnished by sin or debilitated by death, triumphant and glorious, sharing in God’s immortal nature, and the rise of a new race in creation known as sons of God. Jesus is not a celestial figurehead who descended from the sky. He is the first person, or Adi-Purusha, of a fresh creation. Chenchiah produces.²⁰

8. Theological Implication

The Johannine reading of the Passion, Cross, and Resurrection holds significant theological implications for the early Christian community that received this Gospel. The portrayal of Jesus as the Lamb of God who willingly sacrifices himself reinforces the idea of his divinity and his role as the Savior of the world. This theological perspective would have encouraged the community to place their faith in Jesus’ redemptive work and embrace the idea of God’s love and grace manifested through Christ’s self-sacrifice.

The Johannine understanding of the Resurrection underscores the central tenet of Christian faith. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of hope for believers, assuring them of eternal life and reconciliation with God. It reinforces the significance of Christ’s victory over death and sin, providing encouragement and assurance to the Johannine community amidst the challenges they faced.

The God of Glory is present in the individual’s life to reflect the way Christ wants and acts on the theology behind this unchangeable. The pure Glory on the cross brings us the Good News and fundamental faith concerning Jesus. In this way, we can understand that Jesus is speaking of the relationship between himself and the Father, as the authority which very important for our understanding of the meaning of Glory and Cross. This great sacrifice made it possible to bring the human world into his Glory to demonstrate the revelation of the nature of God. This revelation, Jesus has made to the human. John has a good deal to bring to this challenging God’s Purpose to change the world from being to becoming.

Conclusion

The Johannine reading of the Passion, Cross, and Resurrection of Jesus presents a unique theological perspective, emphasizing Jesus as the transformative power of encountering the risen Christ. Through this Gospel, the Johannine community was encouraged to place their faith in Jesus as the divine Word made flesh, embracing his redemptive work and the hope of eternal life through his resurrection. The theological implications of these narratives continue to be relevant for Christians today, as they offer profound insights into the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The impact of this topic gives us emerging ideas about the great sacrifice of transferring Jesus’ Cross Glory revelation, and brings us understanding of glorified concepts that have deal in the Johannine way of exploring, in a remarkable way, God’s Glory in the person of Jesus Christ (John 17), Glorification in the cross (vv 1, 4), and Glorification in Heaven (v. 5), Glorification in the Church (vv. 2, 3, 10). This gives us the understanding that the Son of God becomes Jesus at his human birth. Now Jesus is eternal, giving Christ as a growing knowledge and intimacy within the context of the church and community life.

Bibliography

Brown, Raymond. The Death of the Messiah: USA Anchor Bible 1998.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Biblical Background Commentary New Testament Second Edition IVP. Illinois: An imprint of intervarsity press Downers Grove, 2014.
Just, Felix. The Passion and Death of the Jesus: Cambridge, 2015
Lewis, Scott M. The Gospel According to John and the Johannine Letters volume 4 new testament New Collegeville Bible commentary. Minnesota: Liturgical press Collegeville, 2005.
Morris, Leon. The Cross in the New Testament. The Paternoster Press ltd, 1979.
Mahoney, Jack. The Glory of God in St John Gospel, 23.
Mace, Emden C. the Lord of Glory. Salem Ohio: Schmul Publishing Co., Inc, 1986.
Morris, Leon. Reflections on the Gospel of John Volume 4 crucified and Risen John 17-21. Michigan: Baker Book House Grand Rapids, 1978.
Prabhakar, Dayam, Joseph. Re-imagining on Indian Theology of the Cross using Dalit Cultural Resources, Graduate theological union proquest dissertations publishing, 2009.
Whitworth, Patrick. The word from the throne themes from St John writings for today’s church’s Marnham England: The Word from the Throne ISBN, 2011.

Webliography

Michael Amaladoss, The Indian Understanding of Jesus, accessed 1 Aug 2023 timing 8 pm. http://michaelamaladoss.com/the-indian-understanding-of-jesus/
Joanne m. Pierce. The history of the cross and its many meanings over the centuries. https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-the-cross-and-its-many-meanings-over-thecenturies-123316, accessed on 2 Aug 2023 timing 8 pm.

Footnotes

Raymond, Brown: The Death of the Messiah: (USA Anchor Bible, 1998), p 114
Raymond, Collins: Studies in the Fourth Gospel: (Louvain, 1990,) p 55.
Senior, Don: The Passion Of Jesus in the Gospel of John: (Collegeville, 1991), p 330-320.
Just, Felix: The Passion and Death of Jesus: (Cambridge, 2015), p 114-120.
Leon Morris, The Cross in the New Testament (The Paternoster Press ltd, 1979), 144, 145
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Biblical Background Commentary New Testament Second Edition (Mincis: An imprint of intervarsity press downers Grove, 2014), 286.
https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-the-cross-and-its-many-meanings-over-the-centuries-123316.
Jack Mahoney, The Glory of God in St John Gospel, 23.
Scott M. Lewis, The Gospel According to John and the Johannine Letters volume 4 New testament New Collegeville Bible commentary (Minnesota: Liturgical press Collegeville, 2005), 67, 68.
Emden C. Mace the Lord of Glory (Salem Ohio Schmul Publishing Co., Inc, 1986), 101.
Leon Marris, Reflections on the Gospel of John Volume 4 crucified and Risen John 17-21…
Leon Marris, Reflections on the Gospel of John Volume 4 crucified and Risen John 17-21 (Michigan: Baker Book House Grand Rapids, 1978), 571.
Patrick Whitworth, The word from the throne themes from St John writings for today’s church’s Marnham (England: The Word from the Throne ISBN, 2011), 157.
Whitworth, The word from the throne themes from St John writings for today’s church’s Marnham, 158.
Whitworth, The word from the throne themes from St John writings for today’s church’s Marnham,159,160.
Dayam, Joseph Prabhakar, Re-imagining on Indian Theology of the Cross using Dalit Cultural Resources (Graduate theological union proquest dissertations publishing, 2009), 54.
Michael Amaladoss, The Indian Understanding of Jesus, accessed 1 Aug 2023 timing 8pm (http://michaelamaladoss.com/the-indian-understanding-of-jesus)
Amaladoss, The Indian Understanding of Jesus, accessed 1 Aug 2023 timing 8pm…
Amaladoss, The Indian Understanding of Jesus, accessed 1 Aug 2023 timing 8pm…
Amaladoss, The Indian Understanding of Jesus, accessed 1 Aug 2023 timing 8pm…

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