Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The Gospel of John
"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth," (John 1:14). When I was looking at the chart you gave us that compared and contrasted the four gospels, I noticed that the idea of Jesus as the eternal Word and the Word made "flesh" was only depicted in the gospel of John. This is made me wonder why John found it necessary to include something like that. Rather than beginning with a genealogy, he begin with tracing Jesus back to God as the "word" becoming "flesh," or Jesus coming as God's only son coming down to earth in the flesh. So why might John have included this striking passage? Maybe he is trying to relate Jesus back to the beginning of creation, when, according to the bible, God used his "word" to create everything. Saying that Jesus is the "word made flesh" could mean that God used the same rationality and power in creating his son that he did in creating the world. It could also help identify Jesus as being a part of God because if God is the word, and Jesus is the word made flesh, then that would make Jesus a part of God. By saying that Jesus was the "word made flesh" John might also be emphasizing Jesus's human qualities. Although Jesus is God, he is also a human and he is portrayed to be imperfect, possibly as a way for people to relate with him. Jesus suffers from temptation, anger, and eventual death, which are all very humanistic characteristics. We saw an example of this in Aeneas, describing him as a very 'human' hero. Attributing these characteristics to Jesus shows that even though he was one with God, he was also very human in his struggles, giving the people hope that they could be forgiven for their human sins. What do you think the significance of this passage is? Why do you think that John was the only Gospel writer to introduce this idea?
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After today's lecture when we talked about certain things in the gospel of John that humanize Jesus I noticed a correlation between this verse and a verse in John 19. "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out" (NSRV John 19:34). This is not mentioned in the other gospel's recount of the crucifixion which leads me to believe that it is part of John trying to humanize Jesus and emphasize the things that made him man. I also think this may have significance when looked at in context of "the word became flesh" because of the humanizing quality of Jesus spilling blood when wounded.
ReplyDeleteWhile there are some places in the Gospel of John where Jesus is being portrayed as a humanly figure, I felt that the majority of this gospel was portraying Jesus as more of a divine figure or higher authority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Swathi on this...I think it's important to note that in the gospel of John, no temptation or Baptism took place. This succeeded in hoisting him to a higher level than John the Baptist, or humans in general. I think that the "Word became flesh" marks something greater than human being stuffed into a human-shaped container, so that he can bleed and die like the rest of us, but he can also perform miracles and does not shy away from speaking about himself as the son of God.
ReplyDeleteI like Ashten's comment, and think that John felt the need to portray Jesus as more of godly and less human than the other authors did. This is probably due in part to its later composition, because John no longer needs people to see Jesus as human and relatable, with a birth story and temptation, but rather as a godly authority worthy of believers and followers.
ReplyDeleteI like Ashten's comment, and think that John felt the need to portray Jesus as more of godly and less human than the other authors did. This is probably due in part to its later composition, because John no longer needs people to see Jesus as human and relatable, with a birth story and temptation, but rather as a godly authority worthy of believers and followers.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this device is used as a reminder that although he has a line of ancestry, he ultimately came from God as one with God. This, along with the absence of a baptism or temptation period as Ashten pointed out, removes him from a human context and places him in one that is divine. In being made flesh, the divine can live among the humans.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the author of John could have been trying to depict Jesus in two different lights. First we see Jesus and all of his miracles. He seems so much higher than a normal human, but then we see lines in the gospel, like the one Christian quoted, bringing him back down to our level. Though he is divine and can make all of these miracles happen, he still is human and flesh like the rest of us.
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