Titles and Images of Christ in the Johannine Literature

Introduction

The entire Gospel of John has Christology as its central theological concern. It is regarded as having high Christology. The author of the Gospel according to John is known for his use of duality to rhetorically drive home his theological message.

Dualism characterizes Christology which is generally concerned with the two natures of Christ. Christology is the major theme in the Gospel according to John. All other themes like soteriology, eschatology and the titles of Jesus namely; Logos, the Good Shepherd, Son of God, Lamb of God, point to Christology.

What is expressed by all titles of Jesus in John’s Gospel is that Jesus is the eschatological salvation bringer, that his coming is the eschatological event.^[1] Thus, the objective of this work is to critique the view that “The controlling theological concern for John is without a doubt Christology; all other theological concerns are aspects of this one great theme, and all are viewed in the light of the dualism that characterizes the Christology.”

Definition of terms

Before venturing into the main thrust of this piece of writing, it is imperative to define such key terms as Christology and dualism. Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus as recorded in the canonical Gospels and the epistles of the New Testament.^[2] Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus’ nature and person with the nature and person of God. As such, Christology is concerned with the details of Jesus’ ministry, his acts and teachings, to arrive at a clearer understanding of who he is in his person, and his role in salvation.

Ekstrom defines Christology as “the study of Jesus Christ: who he was, who he is, his divine and human natures, his mission and ministry to mankind, and his own consciousness of who he was in relation to God the Father.”^[3] Dualism is the division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects, such as good and evil or mind and matter. McInerny defines dualism as the “name given to any theory, whether general or limited, that invokes two opposed and heterogeneous principles of explanation.”^[4] John adopted this as literary style of proclaiming his message.

Themes in John’s Gospel

Jesus as the Light of the world

In Johannine literature, Jesus is seen as the Light of the world. The aspect of light is recurring as opposed to darkness. According to the Revised Standard version, the word ‘light’ appears twenty-three times in the Gospel of John. From the very first chapter light contrasts darkness; it is supposed to dispel it. John 1:5 says “the light shines in the darkness and has not overcome it.” Jesus refers to himself as the light in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In John, the crowning evil is hatred of the light, that is, the unbelief in Jesus. This dualistic tendency proves that Jesus has a peculiar relationship with his Father; hence, Christology.

Soteriology

John’s Gospel has a soteriological theme which is undeniably a mere aspect of the great theme of Christology. When it comes to this theme of salvation, Brown identifies the vertical axis and the horizontal axis that lead consequently to the faith of Nicaean Christology “and Nicaea’s confession of true God of true God.”^[6] It is of great importance that Brown, by following faithfully the Christian intellectual tradition, takes into account Christology in its relationship to salvation. His understanding that the Johannine view of salvation is both vertical and horizontal leads him to the Johannine Christology that Christ is fully God (vertical axis) and fully man (horizontal axis). Salvation is the reliability of theology.

Eschatological

Furthermore, eschatology is another theme in John’s Gospel which directly connected to Christology. Brown argues that “the whole Christian period can be called eschatological, since God’s kingdom has already been partially established in this world through Jesus, who by His death and resurrection has won a victory over Satan.”^[7] He also develops his eschatology by introducing in his perspective a new dimension: Christology. The sequence of the sections in his book from eschatology to Christology is presented by arguing that “one cannot appreciate John’s eschatology without factoring in John’s Christology.”^[8] Eschatology attributes to Christology.

The sending of the disciples to the world and their conflict with the world (16:8; 17:14), refer to the coming crisis, the second coming, to an opening to an expected eschatology (21:22). According to Brown, the reading of Johannine eschatology becomes the background of the Johannine Christology since it leads to salvation.

The resurrection is the answer of Johannine eschatology to the Jewish apocalyptic which wants to identify the εσχατον with the end. In Johannine eschatology however, the εσχατον is not the end, but the encounter with the Risen Christ where, in this meeting with Him, “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is” (1 Jn 3:1-3). In his Gospel, John deals with such eschatological terminologies as death, heaven, judgment, resurrection, eternal life, and Christ’s return. It is to be realised that these eschatological terms are recurring in John’s Gospel. It is this Johannine εσχατον which entails resurrection that points to Christology.

Incarnation

Moreover, the incarnation is another theme that embraces high Christology in the Gospel of John. The incarnation of Jesus Christ has been a subject of attention from the earliest decades of the formation of the Christian Church. It has not been without its subsequent controversies. Several early councils were convened to address the various issues regarding the Godhead and in particular, the person and nature of Christ.

The Council of Chalcedon represented a culmination in the history of the dogma of the Incarnation. It defined the Catholic doctrine by preserving indissolubly “the two facets of the mystery, namely, the unity of person in the Incarnate Word and the perfect integrity of his two natures.”^[9] It issued a formulation of the being of Christ; that of two natures, one human and one divine. This contributed considerably to the interest in the incarnation principles of Christology.

John records Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine at a wedding in Cana (cf. Jn 2:1-11) as a symbolic act that reveals His divine nature and the purpose of His incarnate life (cf. Jn 2:11).

Jesus as the Lord

More so, Jesus as the Lord is another theme in John’s Gospel which directly points to the Christology of the Gospel. The disciples referred to Jesus as Lord several times in various circumstances. They did this in recognition of his power and authority. The word Lord derives from the Greek word Κυριος which is associated with the Godhead. The perfect example is in John 20:28 when Thomas exclaimed in expression of faith in Jesus having been shown the sides after the resurrection, “My Lord and my God!” The duality on this incident comes out explicitly for there is faith contrasts doubt which Thomas had. In this regard, the theme Jesus as Lord entails the Christology of John.

Jesus as Son of God and as Son of Man

All of the Gospels demonstrate Jesus’ identity as Son of God by showing His power and wisdom. Yet such an identification can be difficult to reconcile with the concept of monotheism: How can God the Father and God the Son be one?

John identifies Jesus as God by explaining that not only did the Word exist in the beginning, but the Word was God, through whom all things were created (cf Jn 1:1). John 20:31 points to faith in Jesus as the Son of God as the source of eternal life. Jesus is the object of faith.

In the first prediction of Jesus’ lifting up as ‘Son of Man’ in John 3:15, the same link to the source of life is made. Such Messianic affirmations are then relativized by the promise of greater things in a logion promising a vision of the Son of Man on whom the angels of God ascend and descend (cf Jn 1:51). The ‘Son’ is sent as the saving revelation of the Father.^[10] This is Christology par excellence.

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

In addition, the Christology of John is mirrored in the aspect of the Good Shepherd. The word ‘good’ here derives from the Greek word καλος which means good in the sense of ‘noble’ or ‘ideal’, and not simply good at something. The author of the fourth Gospel records that “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me… and I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn 10:14-15).

The Good Shepherd is contrasted with the bad shepherd who let the sheep be eaten by wolves. Jesus dies for his sheep. Perkins supports this when he observes that the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is analogous to the close relationship between Jesus and his Father.^[11] This relationship is the basis for the sacrifice that Jesus makes on behalf of his sheep. Hence, this shows the Christology of John.

Pre-existence of Jesus

The very first verse of the Gospel according to John shows explicitly that Christ pre-existed all things and dwelt with God from all eternity (cf. Jn 1:1-2). John further demonstrates Jesus’ identity by showing His involvement in the covenants that God made with the Israelites. This identity of Jesus points to his pre-existence.

While he was in Jerusalem speaking with Abraham’s biological descendants, Jesus exclaimed, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn 8:58). This reasserts Jesus’ pre-existence by alluding to the two Old Testament covenants, namely Abrahamic and Mosaic; the latter is pointed to by the use of ‘I Am’, the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush and set into motion the redemptive plan that led to the exodus and Sinai covenant (cf. Exod 3:14). Jesus refers to himself as the ‘I Am’ who appeared to Moses at the burning bush.

Conclusion

Consequently, the above work analyses the view that “The controlling theological concern for John is without a doubt Christology and that all other theological concerns are aspects of this one great theme, and all are viewed in the light of the dualism that characterizes the Christology.” It is easily deduced that themes like soteriology, eschatology, pre-existence of Christ, Jesus as Good Shepherd, as Son of Man and of God are mere aspects of the Christological theme in John’s Gospel.

John uses the doctrine of dualism (the division of something conceptually into two opposed aspects) to rhetorically drive home his theological message. This dualism characterizes Christology, which has to do with the nature and person of Jesus. It should be noted that dualism is a literary technique that John uses in his proclamation, contrasting, humanity and divinity, good and bad shepherd, and so on.

Bibliography

• The New Jerusalem Bible, Darton Longman + Todd, New York 1985.
• Brown R. E., An Introduction to the Gospel of John, Doubleday, New York 2003.
• Brown R. E., “Christology” in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Geoffrey Chapman, London 1990.
• Brown R. E., “The Pater Noster as an Eschatological Prayer” in Theological Studies, Vol. 22, Geoffrey Chapman, New York 1961.
• Bultmann R., Theology of the New Testament, Vol. 2, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York 1951.
• Camelot P. T., “Council of Ephesus” in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, Thomas Gale, Washington DC 2003.
• Clark J. C. & Johnson M. P., The Incarnation of God. The Mystery of the Gospel as the Foundation of Evangelical, Crossway, Wheaton 2015.
• Dodd C. H., The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel, Cambridge University, New York 1953.
• Ekstrom R. R., The New Concise Catholic Dictionary, St Pauls, Bangalore 1995.
• Mcinerny R. M., “Dualism” in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, Thomas Gale, Washington DC 2003.
• Perkins P., “The Gospel According to John” in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Geoffrey Chapman, London 1990.
• Walsh J. J., “Christology” in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, Thomas Gale, Washington DC 2003.

Foot Notes