Lesson 2: Chapter 1 (Draft)

Gospel of John:  Lesson 2:  Chapter 1

Bible Study, 17 February, 2013

Faith Mennonite Church, Twin Cities, MN

Lesson 2:  Two Creations

Sacred Scripture far excels all other knowledge and teaching. It sets forth what is true; it calls readers to the heavenly country; it changes the hearts of readers from earthly desires to embrace things above; by its obscurer statements it exercises the strong and by its humble strain speaks gently to the little ones; it is neither so shut up that it should be dreaded nor so open to view as to be contemptible; use of it does not weary: the more it is meditated on the more it is loved; by its lowly words it assists a reader’s mind and uplifts it with lofty meanings; in a way it grows with the persons reading it; uninstructed readers find it familiar and yet the learned find in it something always new. 

~(Gregory, Morals on Job, Bk. 20, 1:1) from Never the Same Bible Twice, Joseph Komonchak, Commonweal Magazine, 15 Feb, 2013, http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=23295.

  The contemplation of Christ's face cannot fail to be inspired by all that we are told about him in Sacred Scripture, which from beginning to end is permeated by his mystery, prefigured in a veiled way in the Old Testament and revealed fully in the New, so that Saint Jerome can vigorously affirm: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ".⁸ Remaining firmly anchored in Scripture, we open ourselves to the action of the Spirit (cf. Jn 15:26) from whom the sacred texts derive their origin, as well as to the witness of the Apostles (cf. Jn 15:27), who had a first-hand experience of Christ, the Word of life: they saw him with their eyes, heard him with their ears, touched him with their hands (cf. 1 Jn 1:1).

APOSTOLIC LETTER NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II TO THE BISHOPS CLERGY AND LAY FAITHFUL AT THE CLOSE OF THE GREAT JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2000

Two Creations:  The Dordrecht Confession of 1632:

I. Of God and the Creation of all Things

Since we find it testified that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that he that would come to God must believe that there is a God, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek Him; therefore, we confess with the mouth, and believe with the heart, with all the pious, according to the holy Scriptures, in one eternal, almighty, and incomprehensible God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and in none more, nor in any other; before whom no God was made or existed, nor shall there be any after Him: for of Him, and through Him, and in Him, are all things; to Him be praise and honor forever and ever, Amen. Hebrews 11:6; Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 17:1; Isaiah 46:8; 1 John 5:7; Romans 11:36.

Of this same one God, who worketh all in all, we believe and confess that He is the Creator of all things visible and invisible; that He, in six days, created, made, and prepared, heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; and that He still governs and upholds the same and all His works through His wisdom, might, and the word of His power. 1 Corinthians 12:6; Genesis 1; Acts 14:15.

And when He had finished His works, and had ordained and prepared them, each in its nature and properties, good and upright, according to His pleasure, He created the first man, the father of us all, Adam; whom He formed of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living soul, created by God in His own image and likeness, in righteousness and holiness, unto eternal life. He regarded him above all other creatures, endowed him with many high and glorious gifts, placed him in the pleasure garden or Paradise, and gave him a command and prohibition; afterwards He took a rib from Adam, made a woman therefrom, and brought her to him, joining and giving her to him for a helpmate, companion, and wife; and in consequence of this He also caused, that from this one man Adam, all men that dwell upon the whole earth have descended. Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7, 17, 18, 22.

IV. The Advent of Christ into This World, and the Reason of His Coming

We believe and confess further, that when the time of the promise, for which all the pious forefathers had so much longed and waited, had come and was fulfilled, this previously promised Messiah, Redeemer, and Savior, proceeded from God, was sent, and, according to the prediction of the prophets, and the testimony of the evangelists, came into the world, yea, into the flesh, was made manifest, and the Word, Himself became flesh and man; that He was conceived in the virgin Mary, who was espoused to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and that she brought Him forth as her first-born son, at Bethlehem, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger. John 4:25; 16:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 2:7.

We confess and believe also, that this is the same whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, without beginning of days, or end of life; of whom it is testified that He Himself is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last; that He is the same, and no other, who was foreordained, promised, sent, and came into the world; who is God's only, first and own Son; who was before John the Baptist, before Abraham, before the world; yea, who was David's Lord, and the God of the whole world, the first-born of every creature; who was brought into the world, and for whom a body was prepared, which He yielded up as a sacrifice and offering, for a sweet savor unto God, yea, for the consolation, redemption, and salvation of all mankind. John 3:16; Hebrews 1:6; Romans 8:32; John 1:30; Matthew 22:43; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 10:5.

But as to how and in what manner this precious body was prepared, and how the Word became flesh, and He Himself man, in regard to this we content ourselves with the statement pertaining to this matter which the worthy evangelists have left us in their accounts, according to which we confess with all the saints, that He is the Son of the living God, in whom alone consist all our hope, consolation, redemption, and salvation, which we neither may nor must seek in any other. Luke 1:31, 32; John 20:31; Matthew 16:16.

    We are going to switch gears a bit in order to make things a bit more approachable and interactive.

    Our schedule will be amended to more closely resemble the following:

a.      Week 1:  Introduction

b.      Week 2:  Two Creation Stories – Genesis and John

c.      Week 3:  Two Weddings – Cana and Ecclesia

d.      Week 4:  Other Narratives:  The Feminine and the Queer (Samaritan and the Blind Man)

    Dealing with the creation stories, we have the obvious unity of phrases… Genesis 1:1 begins with “In the Beginning…”, likewise, John 1:1 opens with “In the Beginning…”.  Yet, these two creation stories could not be more different.  The Genesis narrative relates the beginning of the material creation, the material universe.  John takes us up into the realm of the spiritual (remember the sign of the Eagle?).  Importantly, my background readings indicate that the Jewish mystics combine the two, but for our purposes, we are going to stay within the Christian tradition while noting a few potential Jewish influences through the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti, namely the Sistine Chapel.

    Take a moment and look at the poster of the Sistine Chapel.  Important for our understanding of the role of this building is the current resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.  The Sistine Chapel is the location of the enclave wherein or whereby the new pope will be elected sometime next month (March).  This chapel, more than any other location, is the center, the power, the symbol of the Papacy.  

    As Mennonites, we do not recognize the authority of the Bishops of Rome, and yet, we are currently in dialogue with the Lutherans, Roman Catholics and ourselves to foster greater understanding between our churches over the doctrine of Baptism – another theme we will encounter in this chapter.

    Michelangelo, a gay man, was commissioned by possibly a gay pope to paint frescoes on the ceiling of this great chapel.  He was chosen.

    Interestingly, the chapel, formerly known as the Palatine Chapel, was refurbished in 1481.  Writers claim that the Sistine Chapel was built to the dimensions of the Holy Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, conveying a sense of successionism – a concept that would later become a central concept to the Reformation – though debate would center around the extent to which the Mennonites admitted of cultural and religious ties to the Roman Church.

     Successionism was seen first in the succession of frescoes created on the walls of the chapel – one paralleling the establishment of the Law of the Old Testament and the second paralleling the establishment of Grace in the New Testament – one the life of Moses, the second, the life of Christ.  In corresponding order, Blech and Doliner indicate them as:

        The Discovery of Baby Moses in the Nile                         The Birth of Jesus in the Manger

        The Circumcision of Moses’s Son                                      The Baptism of Jesus

        Moses’s Anger and His Flight from Egypt                        The Temptations of Jesus

        Parting of the Red Sea                                                         Miracle of Jesus on the Water                    

        Moses on Mount Sinai                                                         Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount

        Revolt of Korach                                                                   Jesus Passing the Keys to Peter

        Last Discourse and Death of Moses                                  Last Supper of Jesus

        Angels Defending the Grave of Moses                             Jesus Resurrected from the Tomb

    We also see three lines of legacy heritage dealing with the personhood of Jesus – the genealogies (omitted by John), the Hebrew prophecies – attested to by John the Baptist, and the Pagan (non-Hebrew/ non-Christian) prophets or sibyls – possibly intimated by John the use of the term logos.  Though as we noted, the term logos had powerful connotations in both Greco-Roman philosophy and in traditional Hebrew mysticism.  The Greeks understood the Logos to entail truth and the telos or end of all things.  The Hebrews had two pertinent concepts of the Logos or Word – being the creative power or God and being the powerful name of God, not spoken or written, being sacred and conveying the holiness and power of God. 

    Down the central plane of the ceiling, we see depicted the creation of the world.  Again, writers indicate that Michelangelo went beyond the intentions and desires of the Pope in this design and we will be eternally speculating as to why.

    At present, there is a huge push to see Jewish references and mysticism conveyed within symbols and images of the ceiling.  As to why would be idle speculation, but the best recommendation is that the Renaissance Humanists were attempting to reconcile the best of thought from the Greeks, the Romans, the Jews, and possibly even the Muslims.  Michelangelo may have been merely placing the Jews and Christ’s heritage back into perspective, though this is again, not unlike John’s program in the Gospel – he introduces Christ, names him by many names.  Michelangelo bears witness to Christ’s membership in the House of David, his prophetic appearance in the prophets, and even in the pagan mysticisms.  

    John takes similar pains to trace Jesus’s identity and authority back through the first chapter of John.  Warren Wiersbe tracks John’s themes as follows:

I.                 Jesus is the Word

II.               Jesus is the Light

III.              Jesus is the Son of God

IV.              Jesus is the Lamb of God

V.               Jesus is the Messiah

VI.              Jesus is the King of Israel

VII.            Jesus is the Son of Man

    Where Michelangelo conveys the witness of the Old Testament Prophets and the pagan sibyls, John relates the spiritual testimony of individuals that Christ is God, the Messiah:

1.      John the Baptist (John 1)

2.      The Holy Spirit (John 1)

3.      Nathanael (1:49)

4.      Peter (6:69)

5.      Blind Man (9:33-38)

6.      Martha (11:27)

7.      Thomas (20:28)

8.      Christ Himself (5:25; 10:36)

    Being consecrated in the Sistine Chapel is to be empowered with the authority and spiritual quickening of the Papacy, to receive the Keys of Heaven, the Petrine Authority and responsibility for the Great Commission (both direct and as fishers of men). 

    I do not feel it stretching the text to read the baptism of Christ by John in much the same way.  We have in the first chapter, the commissioning, the empowering and the spiritual “quickening” or indwelling of that authority (I am not claiming that it was absent, only that the dove bore public witness of it at this time through the voice of God.)

    Many skeptics question the extent to which Michelangelo hid encoded spiritual messages in his ceiling.  Of course he did.  It was common practice to do so at the time.  The frescoes sponsored by the Medici family along the walls were full of politicized messages painted by Botticelli and others against the church and against the de Rovere family of Popes.  Dan Brown correctly identifies such practices in his books, only he probably arranges them conveniently for his books.

    Christ/ John’s Gospel does the same thing.  Jesus was both Son of God and Son of Man.  Yet, the Jews and his disciples (minus the aforementioned few) often interpreted his life and teachings in the most simple, physical manner.  Wiersbe points out times where Christ deliberately confronts their lack of understanding and tendency to see things only literally:  Temple of His Body (2:19-21), Nicodemus and the New Birth (3:4); Samaritan Woman and Living Water (4:11); Eating His Flesh (6:51); Spiritual Freedom (8:30-36); Death as Sleep (11:11-13). 

    From an art perspective, one could say that Michelangelo and John were showing the literal fulfillment and embodiment of the signs while indicating the true meaning behind those signs.  Interestingly, much of the Jewish commentary on Michelangelo’s ceiling discuss how inappropriate it was write of such mysteries from the Jewish perspective, let alone to paint a figure of God. 

    In this sense, John the Baptist and Jesus were taking on a lot of risk in their respective ministries.  The Baptist was severely questioned by the authorities.  Christ’s trials and witness would occur later in the book, beginning with the Marriage of Cana, which we will see next week, introduces an important trope into Christ’s teaching – the Spiritual marriage.

    Regardless, back to John 1 and Michelangelo’s ceiling:

    The central panels show the creation story.  Michelangelo was not commissioned to paint the ceiling beyond the basic “facts” of the building’s sponsorship – simple geometric patterns and coats of arms.  Like the Evangelist, Michelangelo needed to reach beyond and to convey the greater truths.  He did this by painting within the center, the mystical “Middle Path” of knowledge, the first two divisions of the Hebrew Scripture – the B’resheet of “the Beginning” and that of “Noah”.

    Just as John would employ the Titles of Christ as images, Michelangelo employed figures that demonstrated his belief in the knowledge or wisdom of Judeo-Christian rational religion. 

  (Discuss notes from articles)

Wiersbe and the South African literary critic, T.C. Voortman, both echo the theme of Creation as found in John. 

Day 1:  John 1: 19-24

        The interrogation of John the Baptist by the Jews

                         Who was John the Baptist?

                         What was he up to?

                         Why did he Baptize Jews?

                         One could prompt for their replies.

Day 2:  Lamb of God (1:29-34)

        John the Baptist is still identifying Christ – As the Lamb

        3 Aspects:

        Old Testament is the Question, “Where is the Lamb?”

        The Four Gospels state “Here is the Lamb!”

        The glorified Church will sing “Worthy is the Lamb!” in Revelations

Day 3:  The Sabbath (1:35-42)

        Neither John the Baptist nor Jesus Christ rested on this Sabbath. 

                         John Preached

                         Christ Gathered followers

        Christ asked “What are you seeking?”  Forcing them to define their goals and to refine their understanding.

Day 4:  Son of Man (1:50-51)

        Jesus reveals himself to his six disciples – is is the living link – Jacob’s ladder of Gen 28 (John 14:6) and the Messiah (John 12:34)

       

Wiersbe fails to flesh out his teaching on the Creation week of John, merely ending it with the Wedding Day at Cana – a disappointing gap in Evangelical exegesis.

Voortman is content with a simpler structure.  Rather than following the days of the week specifically, he follows the creative actions:

        1:1 – Jesus Christ the Creator-Agent is introduced (Just as God would be the I AM, Christ is the Eternal Word) “In the beginning…”

        1.3 – The Creator made all Things (Throught Him all things were made…”)

        1.4 – The Creator is the Source of Life
                         In hHims was life…”

        1.5 – The Creator has Come to Give Light to the World

                         “The Light Shone in the Darkness”

        1.10 – The Creator Made the World (Cosmos)

                         “The World was made through Him…”

        1.10b – The Creator is Rejected by his own Creation

                         “Yet the world did not recognize Him…”

        1.13 – The Creator gives New Life

                         “Children born of God.”

        1.14 – The Creator becomes Man and Lives amongst his Own Creation (Sabbath)

Interestingly, I find that Voortman’s Creation Themes seem to align more completely with the themes of both Bres-heet portrayed by Michelangelo.

I think that the biggest question is the extent to which John is indicating the Creation-story in light of Spiritual knowledge and Michelangelo is dealing with humanist knowledge to the exclusion of spirituality.

A question that I posed to Jim, based on the art history record is the division between the disciples according to their calling – some were seekers after Christ, some were called out by Christ and others would follow but desert.  Jim recommended that we see this reflected in the Parable of the Sower.

My question is the extent to which this also refers to the ministries of the churches.  As a persecuted minority church, the Mennonites have spent much more intellectual energy merely proving that they were orthodox – a harmless one of many, rather than aspirants to spiritual dominion or holders of the specific truth of Christ.  We hold an ethnic Christian calling – but it is an ethnicity based on blood, mind and heart – just as Christ is the ethnic heir of the kingdom of Israel, but his bloodline is mixed between physical descendants of Abraham, Spiritual descendants and intellectual heirs.  But each person and each church has its own calling, its own gifts, its own path and its own historical struggles.

The Disciples:

        “Each man’s experience id different, because God uses various means to bring sinners to the Savior.  The important thing is that we trust Christ and then seek to bring others to Him.” P 288

A final theme that could be developed more is that of Baptism.  Interestingly, as we speak, theologians and doctors from the Mennonite Church – USA, the Lutherans and the Vatican are meeting to discuss the differences in how we understand, approach and practice baptism.  I find these seminars to be more informative rather than effective.

An historical theme to note is that John the Baptist teaches that he baptizes with water, but Christ baptizes with the spirit.  I wonder after the extent to which Mennonites need to first meet and reflect on our own concepts of Baptism before we “present” the same old dogmas to our fellow Christians.”

In the Russian Mennonite world, you have two groups of people – those who are baptized by immersion into the experience of Christ’s Life, Death and Resurrection, those who are baptized by sprinkling into the Spiritual baptism and identity with Christ, and those who are immersed into the spiritual baptism.

Some interesting resources for those desiring to follow the latest inter-faith dialogues on the topic should read:

Isaac Peters – On Baptism (1878)

Menno Simons – Reply to Gellius Faber (1554)