{"id":3132,"date":"2012-06-20T00:35:35","date_gmt":"2012-06-20T04:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=3132"},"modified":"2012-06-18T02:39:11","modified_gmt":"2012-06-18T06:39:11","slug":"the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"St John\" src=\"https:\/\/teamorthodoxy.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/saint_john_climacus.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"266\">At Passover Rabbi\u2019s ask, \u201cWhy is this night different?\u201d At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \u201cWhy is this Gospel different?\u201d It\u2019s a complex question and I am admittedly not a Johannine specialist. But here are my preliminary thoughts:<\/p>\n<p>D.A. Carson observes: \u201cThe thesis that John is <em>literarily <\/em>dependent on one or more of the Synoptics has not been demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt, but neither has the thesis that John is litearily <em>in<\/em>dependent of the Synoptics.\u201d<a href=\"file:\/\/\/F:\/Gospels%20of%20the%20Lord\/Chap.%204%20-%20Genetics%20of%20the%20Gospels.docx#_ftn1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">[1]<\/a> We simply have to develop new categories and frameworks for understanding the development of the Johannine tradition vis-\u00e0-vis the Synoptic tradition beyond dependent <em>or <\/em>independent because the relationship is more complex than this dichotomy allows. I suggest that we envisage the fluid movement and spasmodic inter-penetration of Synoptic and Johannine tradition across each other, recognize the independent nature of many of John\u2019s sources, and envisage also John\u2019s exposure to the Synoptic tradition through either a cursory reading or from observing an oral performance of a Synoptic-text. This accounts for the Fourth Gospel\u2019s overall differentiation from the Synoptics in conjunction with his conscious adoption of the Marcan framework, the apparent interlocking traditions, and deliberate transposition of Synoptic themes. When that complex relationship is combined with the fourth Evangelist\u2019s somewhat maverick approach in telling the Jesus-story encoded with symbolic meanings, amplifying a christology of sonship and messiahship, engaging in a midrashic interpretation of the sayings tradition, and richly interwoven with Jewish sapiential motifs, then I submit that we have a plausible explanation as to why the Gospel of John is what it is.<\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\">\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"file:\/\/\/F:\/Gospels%20of%20the%20Lord\/Chap.%204%20-%20Genetics%20of%20the%20Gospels.docx#_ftnref1\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">[1]<\/a> Carson, <em>Gospel according to John<\/em>, 51 (italics original).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Passover Rabbi\u2019s ask, \u201cWhy is this night different?\u201d At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \u201cWhy is this Gospel different?\u201d It\u2019s a complex question and I am admittedly not a Johannine specialist. But here are my preliminary thoughts: D.A. Carson observes: \u201cThe thesis that John is literarily dependent on one or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At Passover Rabbi&#039;s ask, &quot;Why is this night different?&quot; At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, &quot;Why is this Gospel different?&quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At Passover Rabbi&#039;s ask, &quot;Why is this night different?&quot; At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, &quot;Why is this Gospel different?&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euangelion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-20T04:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-06-18T06:39:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/teamorthodoxy.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/saint_john_climacus.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mbird12\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/\",\"name\":\"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-06-20T04:35:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-06-18T06:39:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\"},\"description\":\"At Passover Rabbi's ask, \\\"Why is this night different?\\\" At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \\\"Why is this Gospel different?\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\",\"name\":\"Euangelion\",\"description\":\"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\",\"name\":\"Michael F. Bird\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael F. Bird\"},\"description\":\"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA\",\"brandygrenier\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts","description":"At Passover Rabbi's ask, \"Why is this night different?\" At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \"Why is this Gospel different?\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts","og_description":"At Passover Rabbi's ask, \"Why is this night different?\" At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \"Why is this Gospel different?\"","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/","og_site_name":"Euangelion","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","article_published_time":"2012-06-20T04:35:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-06-18T06:39:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/teamorthodoxy.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/saint_john_climacus.jpg"}],"author":"Michael F. Bird","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mbird12","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael F. Bird","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/","name":"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-06-20T04:35:35+00:00","dateModified":"2012-06-18T06:39:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3"},"description":"At Passover Rabbi's ask, \"Why is this night different?\" At Easter, Gospel scholars read the fourth Evangelist and ask, \"Why is this Gospel different?\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/06\/the-johannine-question-preliminary-thoughts\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Johannine Question: Preliminary Thoughts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/","name":"Euangelion","description":"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3","name":"Michael F. Bird","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael F. Bird"},"description":"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA","brandygrenier"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}