neyrey j. h.- worship in the fourth gospel. a cultural interpretation of john 14-17 (btb 2006)

7/28/2019 Neyrey J. H.- Worship in the Fourth Gospel. a Cultural Interpretation of John 14-17 (BTB 2006)

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DOI: 10.1177/014610790603600303012006 36: 107Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology

Jerome H. Neyrey17Worship in the Fourth Gospel: A Cultural Interpretation of John 14

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A s the title indicates, this paper examines first the cul-tural phenomenon of worship and then with it in mind, thesection of the Fourth Gospel where this is richly found andformally treated, John 1417. Critical interpretation of theshape of human relationships with God, it is hoped, willadvance our understanding of the Deity.

State of the Question, and Hypothesis

Our initial task is to define worship, not at all an easy job. Henton Davies offers this definition of Old Testament worship:

Worship is homage . . . the attitude and activity designed torecognize and describe the worth of the person or thing to whichhomage is addressed. Worship is thus synonymous with the

whole of a reverent life, embracing piety as well as liturgy. The

range of meaning therefore is very great [879].

Three elements are worth our notice: (1) object of wor-ship = a worthy figure; (2) purpose of worship = to honor the deity (to recognize and describe the worth of); (3)

Worship in the Fourth Gospel:

A Cultural Interpretation of John 1417

Jerome H. Neyrey

Abstract

Typical readers interpret John 1417 as a Farewell Address, and for good reason. But that hardly exhausts itscontents, for the form of a farewell address simply misses all that Jesus has to say about worship in the group. Fromthe gospels beginning we find a steady focus on temple, mountains for worship, feasts and their objects of prayer andcelebration, and the like. But in John 1417 we are told about prayer: Jesus own prayer to God and his instructionsto the disciples to petition in my name. If prayer is communication to God, God also communicates to his devotees,primarily in words. Hence we find exhortations to remain and to love; oracles of many sorts, such as warning, judg-ment, assurance, salvation and the like. We find a particular focus on the words of Jesus, things he said but were notunderstood, special revelations to a special group, all of which is facilitated by the Advocate/Spirit. Most importantly,the personnel of worship are clearly defined: the Patron Father who bestows benefaction on his clients by means of

Jesus, the Broker. Jesus, in turn, brokers the concerns of the clients to the Patron. Finally, the household with manyrooms is not space out of the world, but relationships brokered by Jesus. These remain miscellaneous pieces until seenin the light of a cultural model of worship.

Part I: Speaking and Listening to God

Jerome H. Neyrey, Ph. D. (Yale University) is professor of New

Testament Studies at the University of Notre Dame ([email protected]). His most recent book is R endeR to G od : n ew t es -tament U ndeRstandinGs of the d ivine . He is the author of sixteen articles on the Fourth Gospel and one book; and hehas authored a socio-rhetorical commentary on John for the Cam-bridge University Press which will appear shortly. He is currentlyfinishing a manuscript on prayer and worship for Eerdmans. Heis also a member of The Context Group, which studies the Scrip-ture in its social and cultural context.

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forms of worship = reverent life, piety, as well as liturgy. If this definition emphasizes the value of honor and its manifes-tations, it also excludes any notion of worship as communica-tion of the Worthy One to the worshipers. It is a top-down

model. Nor does it take up issues such as where and how worship is offered. There is, then, much more to be done inunderstanding worship. Interpretation of texts is impossible

without it.Discussions of worship in the Fourth Gospel are rare

(Cullmann, Martin) and in most commentaries worshipdoes not even rate a place in the topical index. Yet the author of the Fourth Gospel is formally concerned with worship,given the topics he himself raises: (1) where to worship? (2)

how to worship? (3) of what does worship consist? (4) whento worship? and (5) who participates?

Where? At Jesus inaugural visit to Jerusalems temple, heupsets its sacrificial worship system (he drove . . . the sheepand oxen out of the temple) and its revenue collection. Indefense, he declares: Destroy this temple, and in three daysI will raise it up (2:19), which his hearers misunderstand,for they think that he refers to a physical building, another fixed sacred space. The truth is, He spoke of the temple of his body (2:21). But where is his body? The Samaritan

woman asks Jesus-the-prophet to settle a dispute about where to worship, this mountain . . . or in Jerusalem? (4:20).

Jesus sweeps away the question with his answer: neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . . (4:21). Thus Jesus

broadly negates all fixed places of worship. Finally, Jesus de-clares that in my Fathers house there are many rooms . . . Igo to prepare a place for you (14:2). On the one hand,these places (house, rooms, place) suggest a wherefor worship, but they do not refer to any fixed sacred space.

James McCaffrey argues that we not consider these as geo-graphical spaces: The text describes the redemptive work of Christ in terms which pertain to the family and its inti-mate personal relationships (McCaffery: 21). Thus where one worships remains throughout the Gospel a major ques-tion, for which we need a model of fixed and sacred spacefrom cultural anthropology.

How? True worshipers will perform actions that do notconsist of sacrifice or require temple clergy, tithes and rev-enues; nor will they worship in fixed sacred space. At leastthis seems to be the substance of Jesus remark: true wor-shipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (4:23).This remark, however, is mute on specific forms of worship.Inasmuch as so much attention is given to prayer(s) in John1417, the prayer of Jesus would seem to be a most promis-ing place to start.

When? Although Jesus attended certain feast days in Jerusalem, scholars argue that he replaced both feasts andthe benefits sought from them with himself. Jesus is now thebenefit sought at festive worship: the bread come down from

heaven (6:3351), the Passover lamb (19:3334), the rains/ water (7:3738) and the sun/light (8:12) sought at Tab-ernacles. But it seems improbable that Johannine discipleskept a calendar of this sort. Balancing these replacements,

we learn that special significance was given to the first dayof the week (20:1) and the eighth day (20:26).

Who? Worship, of course, is directed to God. God, whois spirit, seeks worshipers who worship in spirit and truth.Clearly, then, both God and a worshiping group are envi-sioned. But other figures function in this worship: Jesus, in

whose name the disciples petition God, and the Paraclete, who mediates Jesus words to the group. But those who re-fused to or are afraid to acknowledge Jesus as sent fromGod are not true worshipers (17:3). But is there any formalpattern to relationship of those who worship?

What, then, do we know? Oddly, we know where notto worship, how not to worship, and perhaps when not to

worship. The Gospel does not tell us of what worship con-sists, nor does it define the role and status of members of the

worshiping group. Much more needs to be learned about worship so as to interpret the Fourth Gospel. Our first task begins with worship itself. While descriptive catalogues of early Christian worship are helpful, we search for a formal

definition of it and a social science model which will help usinterpret its forms. From this perspective, we will interpretfour forms of worship: prayer, prophecy, homily, judgment.Second, since the author puts so much emphasis on wherethe group worships, we need a model that compares andcontrasts fixed and fluid sacred space. This will aid us ininterpreting Jesus remarks about my Fathers house andmany rooms (14:2). And in this light we will examine oth-er aspects of where worship occurs: being in and dwell-ing in, physical closeness to Jesus, etc. Finally, in attempt-ing to understand the structural relationships between God,

Jesus, Spirit, and group in worship, we turn to the model of patron-broker-client. The roles of God and group are clear,but modern scholarship often misunderstands the structuralplace of Jesus and the Paraclete in Johannine worship.

Worship in the Early Church

The Shape of Early Christian Worship. Scholarly surveys (Delling, Martin, Richardson) of early Christian wor-ship agree that: (1) the early church borrowed heavily from

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synagogue worship both in form and in content, especiallyprayer and the study of the Scripture; (2) its activities werenot tied to particular places, but could be practiced virtuallyanywhere; and 3) the central forms of worship were verbal.

David Aunes description best represents this consensus:

Christian worship had a primarily verbal character, and in thisrespect it was similar to synagogue Judaism. . . .Yet Christiansdid have religious gatherings where various types of rituals

were practiced. Christians gathered to eat together, to baptizenew members, to read Scripture, to listen to God speaking through other Christians, to experience healing, to pray andsing hymns and thanksgivings to God. These activities werenot tied to particular places, but could be practiced virtuallyanywhere [Aune 1992: 973].

As regards the content of early Christian worship, thefollowing synopsis contains the typical verbal forms of wor-ship described by scholars: prayers, creeds, doxologies,hymns, songs, psalms, prophecy, homilies, teaching, andpublic reading of the Scriptures. This basic description isgrounded on worship in New Testament documents, such as

Acts 2:42 (they devoted themselves to the apostles teach-ing and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread, and theprayers), the letters of Paul (e. g., 1 Cor 11:20ff; 14:136),Plinys letter to Trajan ( Ep 10.96), and reconstructions of early synagogue worship (Martin: 1827). We must, how-

ever, include one more element which is not always clear inthese surveys, namely, the transmission of the Jesus tradition.Cullmanns comment suffices:

The proclamation of the message of salvation had a fixed placenot only in the early missionary preaching, but also in the wor-ship services of the community. Intimately associated with it par-ticularly in the assemblies of the community is the transmissionof Jesus words andnarratives concern-ing him [4849].

The importanceof this material for our project lies inhaving the most com-plete index of typical verbal forms of worship as we beginour reading of John 1417. Thus, we know several impor-tant things: (1) worship is primarily verbal ; (2) memberspray and sing hymns and thanksgivings; (3) they not onlyspeak to God in prayer, but also listen to God through the

Scriptures, the words of Jesus, or Spirit-inspired utterances;and (4) these activities are detached from any particular place. But what is meant by worship?

Worship: Definition and Anthropological Model. What is

worship? why include this or that action? Definitions, how-ever, are rare; most social science dictionaries and encyclo-pedia exclude it (although they attempt to define religion).

We suggest a social science definition of prayer by BruceMalina, which we judge can be be readily adapted to de-scribe all forms of worship.

[Worship is] a socially meaningful symbolic act of communica-tion, bearing directly upon persons perceived as somehow sup-porting, maintaining, and controlling the order of existence of theone praying, and performed with the purpose of getting resultsfrom or in the interaction of communication [Malina: 214].

This definition/model derives from the communicationtheory articulated by Berlo (4760) and then by Rogers &Shoemaker (11, 1819, 25152). It contains five elements:(1) a sender, who sends a (2) message, (3) by means of somechannel, (4) to a receiver, (5) for the purpose of having someeffect. Malinas model explains how in the worshiping actionof prayer (1) worshipers (senders), (2) send a communica-tion (message), (3) in language and gesture (channel), (4)to God, the object of worship (receiver), (5) in order to havesome effect on the deity (purpose). Yet in worship, com-

munication also comes from God, such that there shouldbe a second direction of the communication model whichaccounts for a flow from God to mortals, who now listeninstead of speaking: (1) God (sender), (2) sends a com-munication (message), (3) using certain mediating figures(channels), (4) to worshipers (receivers), (5) for the purposeof having an effect (bless, inform, exhort, etc.). The twodirectional flows of worship, then, look like this:

Since our definition of worship controls what we labelas worship, let us be clear about the object of worship, itspurpose, and its forms of communication. Christians com-municate with the living and true God and in turn lis-ten to Gods word(s). Worships manifold purpose includes

Worship as speak-ing to God

sender: mortals message: petitions,confessions, etc.

channel: voicedprayer; incenseburned; sacrificeoffered

receiver : God effect : see manytypes of prayer below= effect

Worship as l is ten-ing to God

sender: God message: informa-tion, exhortation,rebuke, etc.

channel: Jesus orHoly Spirit or groupprophet

receiver : Chris-tian group

effect : reform of behavior; inform;confirm; exhort



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speech to God, which might be thanksgiving, praise, peti-tion, confession, and the like. And as speech from God,

worship consists of listening to various forms of speech fromGod: prophecy, hearing the Jesus tradition, listening to the

Scripture, homilies, and the like, whose effect might be ex-hortation, enlightenment, judgment, and the like. Let us now take this definition of worship and examine the materials in

John 1417.

Worship in John 1417

Although readers generally know John 1417 in terms of its form-critical classification as a Farewell Address (Sego-

via), the various prayers of Jesus and especially the so-calledhigh priestly prayer in John 17 suggest that worshipis not a misleading category. We propose to examine John1417 in terms of the two directions of worship describedabove: (1) speaking to God (i. e., prayer) and (2) listening to God (i. e., prophecy, homily and judgment).

Speaking to God: Prayer . Although the Gospels containmaterial on prayer spoken by Jesus and even his modeling of prayer (e. g., Luke 11:113; Matt 26:3644), most com-mentators recognize only one type of prayer, namely, peti-tionary prayer. Yet petitionary is but one of many types of prayer classified by Bruce Malina, who has examined bibli-cal prayer in terms of social-science communication theory.Malinas original use of the communications model was to

define and describe prayer, with particular emphasis on the various purposes of communication. Petitionary prayer isbut one form; pray-ers may seek to have an effect on Godby expressing other thoughts and desires, such as Alleluia,or You have searched me, Lord, and you know me or Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Malinaprovides a taxonomy of seven purposes for which prayers aresaid (Malina: 21516; Malina & Rohrbaugh: 24647; seethe table at top of the next column).

Petitionary Prayer in John 1416 . Scholars regularly note Jesus repetitive instructions in John 1416 about askingthe Father for some benefit, which in the typology we are us-ing means petitionary or instrumental prayer. The petition-ary verbs used here differ from the more common ones suchas beseech and pray. Except for Marthas remark that Jesuscould petition God for Lazarus (11:22), the other eleven in-stances of petition occur only in the Farewell Address, and soconstitute a distinct body of materials on prayer.

14:1214: Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.. . . If you ask anything in my name, I will do it14:1516: I will pray the Father and he will send

another Counselor15:7: If you abide in me and my words abide in you,

ask whatever you will15:16b: Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he

will give it to you16:2324: In that day you will ask nothing of me . . . if you ask anything of the Father, he will giveit to you in my name16:26: In that day you will ask in my name; and I donot say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father himself loves you, because you have lovedme and have believed that I came from the Father

We note several things: (1) the object of the petitions is

both vastly expansive (whatever and anything and spe-cific (the Counselor); and (2) while the Patron being pe-titioned is always God, Jesus maintains his role as broker byindicating that the petitions will be made in my name. Pe-titionary prayer, moreover, is the only type of prayer foundin John 1416. But when we turn to John 17, we observe aprayer composed of a variety of types.

Jesus Multi-Purposed Prayer in John 17 . Malinas tax-onomy of prayer provides the means to distinguish differ-ent types of prayer occurring in John 17. In general, weconsider the whole of John 17 as an heuristic prayer: itexplores the world of God and Gods workings within theSon and his disciples, individually and collectively (Malina& Rohrbaugh: 24448). It is not a search for meaning somuch as a revelation of the state of the relationship of thepray-er and God. Thus it is heuristic in that it discovers anduncovers interpersonal perspectives implicit in all the actionsculminating in Jesus hour. Yet this is by no means the onlykind of prayer in John 17. We can classify the statements of

Jesus as instrumental/petitionary, self-focused, and informa-tive, as the following chart indicates:

Inst rumental pe ti tionary prayer to ob ta in goods and services forindividual needs

In te ract io ina l prayer to main ta in emotiona l ti es with God; prayer of sim-ple presence. Lament, such as Ps 22, praise; Magnificat

Se lf -focused prayers tha t iden t ify the se lf ( ind iv idua l and social ) toGod; self-revelation of the person pr aying (contr ition,humility, boasting, and superiority

H eu r is tic p ra ye r t h at e xp lo re s t h e w or ld o f Go d a n d Go ds wo rk in gswithin u s individually and collectively; meditative prayers,perceptions of the spirit in prayer

I ma gin a ti ve p ra ye r to cr e at e a n en vir on m en t of o ne s ow n wi thGod; prayers in tongues (1 Cor 14) and those recited inlanguages unknown to the pray-er

Acknowledgment prayers that communicate information: prayers of ac-knowledgment and thanksgiving; confessions (Rom 10:9,1213); doxologies (1 Tim 1:17 & 6:1516



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We observe that Jesus petitions God frequently (vv 2, 5,11, 1516, 17, 2021, 24), the form of which is easily dis-cerned: (1) a verb, such as ask, in the imperative mood,and (2) a request for a specific benefaction from God (glory,unity, special relationship, etc.). We see, moreover, another type of prayer, which Malina calls self-focused (68, 9,10, 12, 1314, 16, 1819, 20, 2223, 2526), whose formis also clearly expressed in f irst-person speech: I made man-ifest; I kept them in your name; I have given them your

word (vs. second-person speech used in petitionary prayer), which celebrates the record of Jesus past good deeds (vs. future benefactions in petitionary prayer (see Downing). In John 17 Jesus reveals to God that he has fulfilled his apostle-ship and done what God sent him to do:

I have glorified you on earth (4)

I have manifested your name (6, 26)

I have given them the words which you have given me

(8, 14)I have kept them in your name (12a)

I have guarded them (12b)

I have sent them into the world (18)

I have consecrated myself (19)

I have given them the glory which you have given me

(22)I have known you (25).

Unlike petitionary prayer, Jesus declares to God beforehis disciples his perfect fulfilment of the mission he was sentto accomplish: (1) he has glorified God on earth, (2) he hasmanifested to the disciples the divine Name and kept themin it, (3) he has given the divine words to them, and (4) hehas extended his workby sending them into the world (Cull-mann: 5; see the excursus at the top of page 6).

Labeling John 17 a high priestly prayer is clearlyanachronistic, although the label does convey the sense that

Jesus enjoys the role of mediator or broker of Gods benefac-tion. Similarly, the self-focused prayer celebrates that Jesusprime accomplishment has been to channel Gods benefac-tion through himself to the disciples. Benefits came through

Jesus and will continue to come through him. This self-fo-cused prayer by Jesus may also be seen as a claim to the vir-tue of piety or justice. Throughout the Greco-Roman world,

justice was thought of as the noble fulfilment of ones basic


J n 17 Pr ayer Text Classification

v 2 glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee. . . . instrumental

v 3 th is is ete rn al life , th at th ey ( ack )kn ow( le dge ) You th e on ly tr ue God, an d J es us Ch ris t wh om You h ave se nt. a ckn owle dge

v 5 glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. instrumental

v 6 I have manifested YourNAME to the men whom You gave me out of the world self--focused

vv 68 Yours they were, and You gave them to me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that everything you havegiven me is from You; for I have given them the words which You gave me, and they have received them and know intruth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent me.

self-focused

v 9 I am praying for them; I am not p raying for those in the wor ld , bu t for those whom You have given me, for they a reYours.

self-focused & instrumental

v 10 All mine are th ine; and th ine are mine; and I am glorified in them self-focused

v11 Keep them in Your NAME , which You have given to me, that they may be one, even as we are one. instrumental

v 12 Wh ile I wa s w ith th em , I ke pt th em in You rNAME , which you have given me; I have guarded them and none of them islost but the son of perdition.

self-focused

vv 1314 But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.V 14: I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

self-focused

v 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but keep them from the Evil One. instrumental

v 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. self-focused

v 17 Sanctify them in Your tru th . instrumental

vv 1819 As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also maybe consecrated in truth.

self-focused

vv 2022 I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word that they may all be one; even asYou, Father, are in me and I in You, that they may be in us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me.

self-focused & instrumental

vv 2223 The glory which you have given me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them and You inme, that they may be perfectly one, that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as youhave loved m e.

self-focused

v 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which Youhave given me in Your love for me before the foundation of the world.

instrumental

vv 2526 O just Father, the world has not known You; but I have known You; and these know that you have sent me. I madeknown to them YourNAME , and I will make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I inthem.

self-focused



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duties. As the Pseudo-Aristotle puts it:

First among the claims of righteousness are our duties to the gods,then our duties to the spirits, then those to country and parents,then those to the departed; among these claims is piety, which iseither a part of righteousness or a concomitant of it. Righteous-ness is also accompanied by holiness and truth and loyalty andhatred of wickedness [ v iRtUes and v ices , V.23].

The distinction of the triple focus of justice is found regu-larly in the philosophical and rhetorical literature of anti-quity, and also in John 17. Here Jesus acknowledges that hehas fulfilled his duties to God (I have glorified you, mani-fested your name, given them your words) and his duties tokin (I have kept them, guarded them, etc. Thus Jesus

celebrates his virtuous completion of the duties he owes toGod, who is Father and Patron and kin. Yet in 17:3 we find still a third type of prayer, namely,

acknowledgment: This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You havesent. Instead of a petition, we find here a confessional for-mula whose aim is to honor God and Jesus. This prayer consists of two elements: (1) we read to know in the senseof to ac knowledge, that is, to honor and confess the worth,sovereignty, and excellence of God. The first part of 17:3closely resembles the confession known as the Shema, theleading prayer in the synagogue (see Mark 12:29, 32). Thusacknowledgment of the only true God is a appropriateconfessional honoring of God. But 17:3 also includes confes-sion of Jesus Christ whom you have sent. So the completehonoring of God must also acknowledge both praise of theunique God of Israel and respect for Gods unique agent, Je-sus (see John 5:2324). While confession and creed areno strangers to New Testament scholarship, rarely if ever have they been examined as prayer (Martin: 5265; Del-ling: 7791). John 17:3 is situated in a continuous address to

God which petitions God for the disciples. But these sameclients should make the prayer-confession in v 3 to their heavenly Patron while acknowledging that Jesus is the trueagent sent from heaven. The disciples knowing of Israels

only, true God is not simply knowledge, but confession of the Deitys existential plans; for an essential part of that con-fession is also to (ac)know(ledge) Jesus as the one whomGod has sent. This confession is not possible in Templeand synagogue (see, e. g., 9:22; 12:42).

Listening to God: Prophecy . According to our model of communication, a sender sends a messagevia some channel to a receiverto have an effect. In the case of prayer, the send-ers are the Johannine members through Jesus-as-channel toGod; but in the case of prophecy, the process is reversed asGod speaks to mortals, not listens to them. In prophecy, (1)God, the sender, (2) sends a verbal message, (3) throughthe channel of Jesus, the Spirit of Truth, or a prophet,(4) to the receivers, the members of the Johannine group,(5) for the purpose of enriching them with esoteric informa-tion. This description of prophecy from the social sciences is

worth comparing with the functional definition developed bythe SBL Seminar on Prophecy (197377). Borings defini-tion, which reflects the judgment of the Seminar, definedprophecy as follows:

The early Christian prophet was an immediately inspiredspokesperson for the risen Jesus, who received intelligible mes-

sages that he or she felt impelled to deliver to the Christiancommunity or, as a representative of the community, to thepublic [Boring: 38].

In this case, sender = Jesus; message = information;medium = prophet (& Spirit); receiver= Christian group.

And God? Nothing is said about the purpose of the proph-ecy. We do well to note the differences between the twodefinitions of prophecy. First, we maintain that God is thesender of prophetic messages through the channel of theRisen Jesus and/or the Spirit of Truth. The local prophetshould be considered a sub-broker or auxiliary channel to

Jesus and/or the Spirit. Second, Boring is not clear that thesituation is one of worship, nor does his definition indicatethe various purposes of speech beyond enlightenment, suchas rebuke, exhortation and the like.

We need, then, a catalogue of the varieties of propheticspeech which can clarify both the situation of prophecyand especially its diverse purposes. At the end of his com-prehensive study of prophecy in early Christianity and theHellenistic world, David Aune offers the following list of

Excursus: A Self-Focused Egyptian Prayer: The deceased stands before hisgod, communicating his innocence in a self-focused prayer.

Behold, Sati-merfiti, Lord of Justice, is your name.I have brought you justice.I have expelled deceit for y ou.

I have not mistreated cattle.I have not done violence to a poor man.I have not done that which the gods abominate.I have not defamed a slave to his superior.I have not made anyone sick.I have not had sexual relations with a boy.I have not de filed myself.I have neither increased nor decreased the grain measu re.I am pure! I am pu re! I am pure! I am pure!

(Prochard 1969:34)



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basic forms of Christian prophetic speech: (1) oracles of assurance; (2) prescriptive oracles; (3) announcements of salvation; (4) announcements of judgment; (5) legitimationoracles; and (6) eschatological theophany oracles (1983:

32025).Prophet in the Fourth Gospel. The Fourth Gospel oc-

casionally records people favorable to Jesus acclaiming himas a prophet (4:19; 6:14; 7:40 (52); 9:17), generally refer-ring to his wisdom or powers, that is, a prophet mightyin word and deed. But prophet/prophecy in John 1417,

while it focuses on the words of Jesus, also makes specificnote of predictions of future events. Among the many re-marks about going away and coming back (14:3, 1819;16:16), we find three statements that serve a special purposethat surpasses the mere communication of esoteric informa-tion. Some predictions by Jesus serve a prophylactic purposeof confirming loyalty in times of conflict. For example, after repeating the remark I go away and I will come to you,

Jesus states the reason for telling this to the disciples: Now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does takeplace, you may believe (14:2829). Similarly, after Jesusdiscloses the bleak future awaiting the disciples (16:12),he explains once again the prophylactic reason for his re-marks: I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them (16:4).The Fourth Gospel would have us read these statements ascommunication from Jesus in the course of his career, which,

when remembered, ameliorates a future crisis by indicating a providential knowledge of, if not control of, future, painfulevents. Thus, the purpose of this prophetic communicationis exhortation to faithfulness, courage, and the like.

In a similar vein, when Jesus declares that the disciples will be hated (15:1825), he adds, Remember the wordthat I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master(15:20). An earlier word in 13:16 reads: A servant is notgreater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater thanhe who sent him. But this remark occurs in the context of the mandate of Jesus that the disciples wash one anothersfeet: if Jesus (master) did so, then disciples (servants) mustdo likewise. While in 15:1825 the words are the same, thecontext has changed. Now hate is the fate of both master and servants. Thus past words can be prophetic of futureevents, especially trials awaiting the disciples. And in bothcases, the purpose of the communication is to exhort andencourage. But where is God in this communication? Jesuslabors to convince people that My teaching is not mine buthis who sent me (7:16); I do nothing on my own authoritybut speak thus as the Father taught me (8:28); and The

words which you hear are not mine but the Fathers whosent me (14:24). Thus Jesus prophecies about the groupsfuture are part of his role as the broker who mediates Gods

words to Gods clients.

Statement, Misunderstanding, Clarification. Prophecymay also be understood as the communication of esotericinformation needed to understand Jesus cryptic words.Throughout the Fourth Gospel the author regularly casts

Jesus discourse with friend and foe in terms of a patternknown as statement, misunderstanding, and clarification(Neyrey: 98101, 10708). Jesus makes a statement (Youknow the way where I am going, 14:4), which is misunder-stood (Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way, 14:5), to which Jesus offers a clarifi-cation (I am the way, the truth, and the life, 14:6).

statement 14:1 4 14:7 14:18 21 16:16 16:2527

misunderstanding 14:5 14:8 14:22 16:1718 16:2930

clarification 14:6 14:9 11 14:23 24 16:1924 16:31 33

Although instances of this pattern occur regularlythroughout the Gospel, we find a concentration of it inchapters 14 and 16. Previously this pattern served either ascatechetical enlightenment of enlighten-able disciples, suchas the Samaritan Woman, or the raising of a wall whichshuts out un-enlighten-able disciples, such as Nicodemusand the Jerusalem crowds. In John 1417, insiders and core

disciples require special information about the cryptic worldof Jesus, which is provided for them, we suggest, by prophetsspeaking in the name of Jesus. Although we will take up thetopic of the Spirit of truth enlightening or reminding thedisciples, we presume in this discussion that the Spirit is op-erative. Thus, this pattern functions to make and maintainboundaries; it informs, but by doing so marks and confirmscertain persons as elite insiders.

The quest for esoteric information may be observedalso in the patterns of questions and answers found in John1416. In addition to the question of Thomas noted above(14:5), Judas, not the Iscariot, asked How is it that you willmanifest yourself to us, and not to the world? (14:22). Inseveral places Jesus himself asks the question which sets uphis subsequent answer. Although Jesus question to Philiphas much of the reproach in it (14:9), it issues in a remark-able revelation of Jesus union with God (14:1011). Simi-larly, Jesus questions the failure of the disciples to ask abouthis cryptic remark (16:5). At the very least, this pattern in-dicates that Jesus speech was filled with esoteric meaningsand double-meaning words, which the receivers do not fully



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perceive at first. Here at least, Jesus can lead the disciplesinto fuller insight by his subsequent clarifying statements.But in terms of group worship, a prophet would access thequestions and provide an enlightened answer. As regards

function, the providing of special, esoteric knowledge marksand confirms elite membership.

Furthermore, this Gospel records Jesus declaring that Ihave said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I

will no longer speak to you in figures (16:25). Does thiscover only the metaphor of hard times resembling childbirth(16:2024) or also the cryptic statements about going away and coming back? Minimally, a communication isgiven to the disciples which is admittedly in figures, liableto misunderstanding or containing double meanings. Butthe veil is lifted when a prophet remembers, studies, exam-ines and interprets Jesus words.

Homily. It matters whether a homily was delivered ina synagogue or in a Greco-Roman assembly. Homilies/ser-mons in Israelite contexts tend to be concerned with exegesisof Scripture or legal precision over what is proscribed or al-lowed. Two types have been identified, namely the proemand the yelammedenu (Browker; Heineman). The pro-em form takes its name from proemium or introduction.It introduced the synagogue Scripture readings, which con-sisted of a passage from the Torah and then the Prophets.The proem was a verse chosen by the speaker, which wasnot found in either reading; as such it was not an exegesis or

explanation of either reading. Rather, the preacher chose theproem to be remote from the readings, but by his pursuit of some inner connection between this verse and the Scripturalreadings he might suggest explanations and clarifications of them so that when the homily concluded, hearers would havea taste for it, a hint of its hidden meanings, and a intellectualsatisfaction. The second form, the yelammedenu, takes itsname from the introductory formula of many sermons foundin a collection of them named the Tanchuma . Each sermonbegins with Let our rabbis teach us [about]. . ., (yelam-medenu), which is followed by an answer introduced byThus our rabbis taught us. . . . In general it might be saidthese synagogue homilies tend to be instructions, teachings,and interpretations. They have more of school teaching thanexhortation to virtue.

We turn now to consider homilies written for a Greco-Roman audience. We build on the works of Lawrence Willsand C. Clifton Black, who have provided a fresh measure of clarity about the form and content of ancient sermons/homi-lies. Wills surveyed many NT and early Christian speechesand concluded that the shape of a homily typically contained

three elements:

1. An indicative or exemplary section (exempla) in the formof scriptural quotations, authoritative examples from past and

present, or reasoned exposition of theological points; 2. a con-clusion, based on the exempla and indicating their significanceto those addressed (often expressed with a participle and whatthen, therefore, by this, or some such particle or conjunc-tion); and 3. an exhortation (usually in the imperative or horta-tory subjective, often accompanied by then [27880].

His parade piece is Acts 13:1441 in which the speak-er begins with a reprise of salvation history from Exodusto Conquest to the good news about Jesus (13:1633)and concludes with a citation of Scripture which is inter-preted to refer to Jesus (13:3337). After this, the speaker draws a conclusion as though he were finishing a syllogism:Therefore . . . through this man forgiveness of sins is pro-claimed . . . and by him everyone is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses(13:3839). This conclusion about Jesus mediation impliesthat the hearers should ally themselves with Jesus to share inhis mediation. After urging acceptance, the author exhortsthe audience not to fail to act, lest the dire prophecy of Hab-bakuk 1:5 be fulfilled (13:4041).

C. Clifton Black basically endorses Willss study, butconsiders it in terms of the types of classical rhetoric, espe-

cially deliberative (Black: 5, 810). Willss notion of delib-erative rhetoric is narrowly focused on arguments of policyusually before a governing body, which Black expands toembrace speeches that entail consideration of future action,a choice between two or more forms of conduct, based onself-interest or future benefit (Black: 5). He is on the cuspof describing many exhortations to choose good or avoid evilas deliberative, for example: Repent, and be baptizedevery one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgive-ness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the HolySpirit (2:3839).

Black then examines Acts 13:1441, not only as delib-erative rhetoric, but also in terms of the traditional parts of a speech. There is no captatio benevolentiae here; but onedoes find narratio in the detailed recitation of Gods saving acts to Israel (13:1626), a propositio (13:26), followed bythe probatio or demonstration (13:2737). In this the au-thor demonstrates that the significance of Jesus, formerlyignored by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, has been vindicatedby the resurrection and corroborated by the Scriptures(Black: 89). The speech ends with a classic conclusio or



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epilogue (13:3841), which traditionally recapitulates themajor points of the speech and excites the emotions: (1)recapitulation of the basic argument (13:3839) and (2)arousal of emotions (13:4041).

Although one might argue that the Bread of Life dis-course in John is a word-by-word exegesis of He gave thembread from heaven to eat, there seem to be few other homi-letic materials of either the Israelite or the Greco-Romantype. Yet we have parallel exhortations in John 15 to re-main and love, which are both clearly in an exhortatoryor deliberative mode.

In the allegory of the vine and branches in 15:18, thespeaker exhorts the disciples to remain, an exhortation

which occurs seven times (vv 4, 4b, 4c, 5, 6, 7a, and 7b),sometimes in the imperative form and sometimes in a con-ditional clause. This exhortation builds on current relation-ships and urges the disciples to maintain them in the future,the value of which relationships provides the argument.The relationships are these: Jesus = vine, the disciples =the branches, while the Father = the vine dresser (vv 12,5). We find telltale signs of an argument from advantage,

which suggests that we consider this material an exampleof deliberative rhetoric which appeals for future action onthe basis of future benefits. Remaining brings great ad-

vantage, just as not remaining leads to severe sanctions. A branch that remains and is cleansed by the vine dresser bears much fruit (v 2), a phrase repeated three times (vv

4, 5, 8) to underscore the advantage that comes from re-maining. Similarly, branches that remain may petitionGod for whatever you will and expect Gods positive re-sponse (v 7)advantage indeed! In contrast, we are told of the sanctions imposed on those who do not remain. Theyare taken away (v 1), and worse, cast forth . . . wither . . .thrown into the fire and burned (v 6). We observe, then,an argument being made, not merely information imparted.Thus, we consider 15:18 to be a crisp example of delibera-tive rhetoric, which places before the disciples the decision of remaining, a deliberation richly rewarded or severely sanc-tioned. The argument from advantage is a regular feature of homilies and/or sermons.

A second exhortation follows immediately, which begins with a command, remain in my love (v 9), and concludes with love one another (v 17). Evidently the focus is onlove, for Jesus and because of him for one another. John15: 917, moreover, is linked with vv 18 by means of four more references to remain (vv 910, 16). Thus 15:18and 917 should be seen as parallel and linked exhortations.

As was the case with vv 18, the exhortation in vv 917 is

argued by (1) imperatival urging: Love one another!; (2)conditional sentences explaining this love, such as if youkeep my commandments, you will abide in my love (v 10);and (3) analogies that clarify the topic: as the Father has

loved me, so have I loved you (v 9). In language that clearlyuses the argument from advantage, the author first tells thedisciples that remaining and loving elevate their statusfrom that of servants to that of friends. The benefit of remaining and loving, then, is part of a status elevationof the disciple. Jesus final argument here is to remind thedisciples of their debt in justice to him, which he is calling inthrough this exhortation: You did not chose me, but I chose

you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit andthat your fruit should remain (v 16). The verbs indicate theextent of Jesus benefaction, which creates the debt of justice:chose, appointed, bear fruit and your fruit remain.To this he appends one more benefaction, effective petition-ary prayer: whatever you ask the Father in my name, he willgive it to you (v 16b).

This is exhortatory material, and it resumes the most im-portant behaviors that the Fourth Gospel urges, remain-ing and loving. Because of its exhortatory character, itstands apart from all other parts of the Farewell Address.But is homily or sermon the appropriate classification?

And do such things belong in worship? The type of rheto-ric in 15:117 is deliberative; that is, it urges the hearers tomake a choice that will affect their future, and its argument

primarily rests on pointing out the advantage to those choos-ing to remain and love. Such rhetoric is not exclusiveto homily or sermon and may occur in many types of publicspeaking. Yet it is most compatible with sermon and homily(see Heb 3:14:13; 6:112), which are admittedly parts of Christian worship. The three types of rhetoric are not con-fined to three genres only.

Who speaks this? Is it a word from God? Jesus identifiesthe basic patron-broker-client relationship at the start (vinedresser, vine, branches). Sent by God to the world, Jesus la-bors to confirm to the clients that the relationship with thepatron is to be had only by remaining in Gods broker. Theexhortation argues that the past be continued in the present:

Jesus as broker will continue to provide life to the branches,but only if the relationship with Jesus the broker remains.

Jesus is indeed speaking, as he has throughout the Gospel;but he says all and only what the Patron has authorized himto say. It is, then, a word from God through Jesus.

Judgment. Few scholars who list the various elements of Christian worship include mention of judgment as part of it. All the more, then, are David Aunes reflections worth



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our attention. In t he c Ultic s ettinG of R ealized e s -chatoloGy in e aRly c hRistianity , he argued that twoelements of eschatology, the declarations of salvation and

judgment, have their proper place in the worship, preach-

ing and teaching of that community (1972: 45135).This cultic coming of the Son of man to save and to

judge, to bless and to curse, was a corporate worship ex-perience which the Johannine community conceptualized interms of the traditional Christological expectation of the Sonof man (Aune 1972: 126).

He cites with approval Ksemanns Sentences of HolyLaw (6681) as illustrative of cultic judgment speech.Later, in his study of early Christian prophecy, Aune liststhe following forms of prophetic speech: (1) oracles of assur-ance (e. g., fear not); (2) prescriptive oracles (e. g., oraclesenjoining a particular type of action); (3) announcements of salvation; (4) announcements of judgment (e. g., Ksemannssentences of holy law); (5) oracles of legitimation; and (6)oracles concerning an eschatological theophany. Announce-ments of judgment and salvation, then, are not foreign toChristian worship, for they were types of sanctioned speech.

For example, we recall Pauls judgment, in 1 Corinthians5, of the man in an incestuous marriage. Paul locates thesentencing of the sinner within a group meeting (when youare assembled), at which he speaks with pneumatic author-ity and declares that he enjoys the power of the Lord,

which means that he has the authority to censure the man.

Found guilty of corruption, the man is publicly expelled fromthe group (5:35; see anathema in 1 Cor 16:22; Gal 1:89;Rom 9:3). Similarly, Matthew 18:1517 records a groupritual in which an errant member progressively receives cor-rection. Should the person prove incorrigibly wicked, a finalritual occurs, whereby the church declares him an outsid-er. Both of these examples envision a community assembly,at which there take place oracles of judgment.

This material, we suggest, pertains to John 16:711, which we consider to be a judgment oracle. In terms of Jo-hannine logic, the Paraclete will serve in a judgmental rolesimilar to the presentation of Jesus in his various trials in theGospel. Unlike what takes place in 1 Corinthians 5 andMatthew 18:1517, no one is cast out of the group, althoughon the contrary the group has experienced expulsion fromthe synagogue (9:22, 34; 12:42; 16:12). The judgmentoracle serves to make and maintain boundaries with the

world by emphasizing in dualistic terms how and why the Johannine group is right and therefore does not belong in the world. The above list, drawn from the Farewell Address,illustrates the studied emphasis on group boundaries.

The discourse in the Farewell Address, then, makes andmaintains boundaries with the world to emphasize thechasm that separates the disciples from the synagogue andto make any crossing back impossible. Thus in this context

we read 16:711 as an oracle of judgment.The task of the Paraclete in 16:8 consists in some form of

judgment, whether we translate the verb here as convict or convince (Brown: 18184). On the one hand, the Johan-nine group will surely have much to criticize the synagogue

for, at least to confirm the synagogues utter depravity. Thusthey are equipped with ready arguments to judge the syna-gogue and so prove it hopelessly wrong. On the other hand,this criticism serves also to firm up the groups own beliefs of superiority and its necessary separation from the world. Thusthe Paraclete will prove to the disciples that the synagogue/

world is wrong and so guilty of sin, (false) righteousness, and(false) judgment (Carson: 54766). Of sin, because the

world did not believe in Jesus; of [false] righteousness, be-cause the synagogue judged Jesus a sinner and deceiver, yet

Jesus will shortly be in the presence of the all holy God; andof [false] judgment, because it persecutes and judges Jesus,but by doing so it brings judgment upon itself. Thus, we ar-gue that John 16:78 is a judgment oracle; God is the sender,

who communicates through the channel of the Paraclete tothe disciples for the purpose of shoring up the disciples evenas it condemns their adversaries.

We thus conclude the first part of the present study, in which we have investagated communication upwards, fromthe disciples to God, as the disciples were taught how to pray.In the second part, we shall reverse the emphasis and exam-

J esu s and His Discip les Th e Wor ld

the Spirit of Truthyou know him for he dwells in youand will be in you ( 14:17)

whom the world cannot receivebecause it neither sees him norknows him

. . . bu t yo u w ill s ee m e ( 14 :19 ) t h e w or ld will s e e m e no m or e. . . .

how is it you will manifest yourse lf to us

. . . and not to the world (14:22)

Peace I leave with you, my peace Igive to you

. . . not as the world gives peace do Igive to you (14:27)

. . . he has no power over me (14:30) the ruler of this world is coming . . .

But because you are not of theworlds, but I chose you out of theworld, therefore the world hates you,know that it has hated me before . . .

If the world hates you, know thatit has hated me before it hated you(15:18). If you were of the world, theworld would love its own (15:19)

Yo u w ill w ee p a n d la m en t . . . . . . bu t t h e w or ld will r e jo ic e ( 16 :2 0)

I came from the Father . . . I amleaving the world and going to theFather (16:28)

. . . and have come into the world

. . . fear not, I have overcome theworld ( 16:33)

In the world you have tribulation



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ine how Jesus taught the disciples to listen.

Works Cited

Aune, David E. 1992. Worship, Early Christian , ABD 6.97389.1983. P RoPhecy in e aRly c hRistianity and the a ncient

m editeRRanean w oRld . Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.1972. t he c Ultic s ettinG of R ealized e schatoloGy in

e aRly c hRistianity . Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.Berlo, David K. 1960. t he P Rocess of c ommUnication .

New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Black, C. Clifton. 1988. The Rhetorical Form of the Hellenistic

Jewish and Early Christian Sermon: A Response to LawrenceWills, h aRvaRd t heoloGical R eview 81:118.

Boring, M. Eugene. 1991. t he c ontinUinG v oice of JesUs .Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox.

Browker, J. K. 1967. Speeches in Acts: A Study in Proem and Yelammedenu Form. n ew t estament s tUdies 14: 96111.

Brown, Tricia Gates. 2003. s PiRit in the w RitinGs of John .New York, NY: T & T Clark International.

Carson, D. A. 1979. The Function of the Paraclete in John 16:711 . JoURnal of BiBlical l iteRatURe 98: 54766.

Cullmann, Oscar. 1953. e aRly c hRistian w oRshiP . London:SCM Press.

Davies, G. Henton. 1962. Worship in the Old Testament . inteR -PReteRs d ictionaRy of the BiBle 4.879.

Delling, Gerhard. 1962. w oRshiP in the nt . London: Dar-

ton, Longman & Todd.Downing, Gerald. 1992. The Ambiguity of The Pharisee and the

Toll-Collector (Luke 18:914) in the Greco-Roman World of Late Antiquity. c atholic BiBlical Q UaRteRly 54: 8099.

Ksemann, Ernst. 1979. Sentences of Holy Law in the New Tes-tament. Pp. 6681 in his n ew t estament Q Uestions of t oday . Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.

Malina, Bruce J. 1980. What Is Prayer? t he BiBle t oday . 18: 21420.

Malina Bruce J., & Richard L. Rohrbaugh. 1998. s ocial -s ci -entific c ommentaRy on the G osPel of John . Minne-apolis, MN: Fortress.

Martin, Ralph P. 1964. w oRshiP in the e aRly c hURch .London, UK: Marshall, Morgan & Scott.

McCaffery, James. 1988. t he h oUse with m any R ooms .t he t emPle t heme of Jn . 14, 23 . Rome, Italy: PontificalBiblical Institute.

Neyrey, Jerome H. 1998. The Sociology of Secrecy and the FourthGospel . Pp. 79110 in w hat is John ? v olUme ii. l iteR -

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Richardson, C. C. 1962. Worship in New Testament Times, Chris-tian. inteRPReteR s d ictionaRy of the BiBle 4.88394.

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