John Reading Guide 

FIRST: Read Barr, Chapter 12: "Irony and the Spirit."  Be sure to spend a bit of time reviewing Barr’s outline of John to familiarize yourself with the overall contents of the gospel. An excellent additional resource is Robert Kysar’s John the Maverick Gospel. Rev. ed. (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993). Both Barr and Kysar have greatly influenced this reading guide.

Chapter One: The Prologue (Barr, 388-395))

What meanings does the term Logos carry in the world of which John is a part according to Barr? How do these meanings shed light on the prologue? What is unique about the prologue’s use of the term Logos? What does the prologue affirm about the nature and work of the Word? Read and compare to Colossians 1:15-20.

Which of the following types of Christology does John 1 most resemble (for further discussion see Kysar, 33-35)?

Adoptionist - "Jesus was a man who because of his obedience to God was adopted as God’s Messiah (Kysar, 33)." No pre-existence. No divine initiative in his birth. (Possibly this position lies behind Acts 2:36 and 3:13 and Romans 1:3-4).

Agency - God sent a "personal agent" or representative to reveal and to save (John 3:34, Mt 10:40, Rom 8:3; Kysar, 33) Agent may be a man or more than just a man as in the birth narratives of Lk and Mt.

Incarnational - Some form of pre-existence. A divine being has become or entered into a human being. The ascending-descending redeemer figure can be a variation of this Christology. (See Colossians 1:15-20, perhaps Philippians 2:6-11)

A gnostic variation asserts pre-existence, but no real incarnation. The divine Spirit light, or redeemer wears a body like a garment or only seems to have a body.

List all the Christological titles in 1:19-51. What other claims are also made? Who uses the first title (see vv. 29 and 36)? What is the function of a Passover lamb, of a sacrificial lamb? A lamb appears in Jewish apocalyptic literature as a central figure in the final destruction of evil. This image appears in Rev 5. The suffering servant of Isaiah appears as a lamb in 53:7.

What messianic titles do you find (see vv. 34, 41, 45, 49)? If John is facing opposition from Jewish leaders, how might these titles function? Does John’s use of Son of God refer simply to Jesus as the messiah or anointed king of Israel (see 2 Sam 7:14 or Hosea 1:10) or does it carry the Hellenistic overtones of a divine man who can perform works of great power?

What is Jesus’ relation to John the Baptist (see also 1:8 and 8:58)?

What overtones do you find in Son of Man in vs. 51? Is its use in John similar to its use in the Synoptics? As you go through the gospel ask yourself whether John’s use of "Son" might be an abbreviation for Son of Man or Son of God.

Chapters Two - Four: From Cana to Cana (Barr, 382- 85, 394)

Trace through these chapters elements of the two levels of the apparent, ordinary reality and the true, deeper reality that Barr talks about on p.384. Also point out places where the evangelist uses words with double meanings and irony.

What foreshadowing of later events do you find in these chapters? (For example, 2:4: My hour has not come yet and Jesus being "lifted up" in 3:14.) Finally, trace the use of symbols such as light, dark, water, etc.

Chapters Five - Ten: Father and Son, Sabbath Healing to Sabbath Healing (Barr, 394-95))

a. Trace the relationship between the Father and the Son that is developed in these chapters. Why do "the Jews" persecute and complain about Jesus in these chapters? According to 9:22 what will the Jews do to those who confess Jesus to be the Messiah?

How does the Feeding episode both resemble and differ from the feeding stories in the Synoptics?

How are the symbols of bread, water, light employed?

Trace through these chapters elements of the two levels of the apparent reality of the visible world and the true reality of the unseen world that Barr talks about on p. 346-347. Also point out places where the evangelist uses words with double meanings and irony. What foreshadowing of later events do you find in these chapters? For example, 7:30; 8:20,28.

b. There are a number of "I am" statements in these chapters. Examine the "I am" statements in the following passage including some passages from other chapters:

8:24, 28, 58; 13:19,

6:20 and 18:5;

6:35; 6:51; 8:12, 18, 23; 9:5; 10:7, 9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1-5.

In Mark 14:62 the "I am (ego eimi)" that Jesus utters in the passion narrative is an emphatic formula of self-identification. In John we find some "I am" statements without a predicate, some with one implied, some explicit. Not all the translations of the above verses will reveal the ego eimi. The phrases can often appear stark and startling when translated literally. Compare 8:24 in several modern translations to its literal translation: "If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins."

Hellenistic religious literature offers us parallels to the ego eimi. So does the Hebrew Bible in Exodus 3:14 where YHWH is given as I am that I am (or I will be what I will be). The Septuagint (LXX) translates the Hebrew which reads in places "YHWH" as ego eimi (Is 41:4; 45:18; Hosea 13:4; Joel 2:27) (see Raymond Brown’s commentary on John, Volume I—appendix on "I am" sayings). How do you interpret John’s use of the "I am" sayings?

Chapters 11-12: The Plot Thickens: Death and Resurrection (Barr, p. 395-96; 399-400)What function does the story of Lazarus play in the immediate context of these two chapters? In the context of the gospel as a whole? What similarities and difference do you find between these chapters and corresponding episodes in the Synoptics? How is Martha portrayed? Trace references to light, resurrection, glory, and glorification in these chapters. What levels of double meanings and irony can you find in these chapters?  What foreshadowings of the death and resurrection do you find here?  Why is 12:23-36 so pivotal?

Chapters 13-17: Jesus prepares his Disciples (Barr, pp. 396-400)

What relationships are outlined between Jesus, the Father, and the disciples in these chapters?

Why are terms such as "glory", "glorification", and "glorify" so important in these chapters?

In Chapters 14-16 Jesus often refers to the "Spirit"/ "Advocate (Paraclete)."  Paraclete in Greek has at least four shades of meaning: "one called to the side of another to help" in a court case (Advocate), "one who intercedes, entreats, or makes appeals for another" in the context of a legal trial (Intercessor), "one who comforts or consoles" (Comforter), "one who proclaims or exhorts" (Proclaimer) (Kysar, 108-09).

a.. List the major affirmations about the Advocate or "Paraclete" in the following passages: 14:15-17, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15.

b. How is the Paraclete related to Christ? To the Father? To the disciples (14:16-17, 26; 16:13-14; 15:26)?

c. What is the Paraclete’s relationship to the world? (14:17; 15:26; 16:8-11)?

d. What does the Paraclete do?

Chapters 18-20: Jesus is Lifted Up (Barr, pp. 400-402) - Compare and contrast Mk 15-16 to John 18-20.   What are some of the key similarities and differences.  What similarities and differences between the corresponding chapters in Matthew and Luke stand out?   What is unique about John’s portrayal of Jesus’ passion and resurrection?   How are the events and themes of John 18-20 foreshadowed earlier in the gospel?  (For example,  in 2:4; 3:14; Chapter 11; and in passages that discuss glory and glorification.)   How and why does this section form a fitting ending to the gospel?

Chapter 21: Epilogue (Barr, pp. 406-408). Why do scholars argue that this chapter is an epilogue tacked on to an earlier edition of John which ended with 20:30? What do you make of references to "the beloved disciple" in 13:23ff, 19:26, 20:2-9 as well as in Chapter 21?

John and the other Gospels.  (Barr, pp. 403-406) - Compare John 1 with Matthew 1-2. Compare a parable from the Synoptics (e.g., Lk 10:29-37) with one of the allegorical speeches in John such as 10:1-18. Compare Mt 6 with John 8. Compare Mt 9:18-26 with John 11. Also compare Mark 15-16 to John 18-20. Now list and describe some of the similarities and differences you find between John and the other gospels.

Historical Background of John (Barr entire chapter and especially 409-414)The following passages are especially relevant to the questions of the purpose, historical background and date of John 20:30-31, Chapter 9; 6:22-58; and Chapter 3. What is the purpose according to 20:30-31? Does this seem to be the purpose of the whole gospel, both signs and discourses? Some have suggested it comes from the "signs source." What about the other sections? After reading these passages and Barr, summarize the historical situation which may lie behind the Gospel of John.