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The Category of Space and the Formation of Images

Reading John’s Gospel is like looking at a Chinese print.30 In the foreground we see an everyday scene drawn very realistically—a water-carrier crossing a bridge or a sage meditating under a tree. Similarly, John paints only a few scenes from Jesus’ life, drawing them out with many realistic details so that they often fill a whole chapter: for instance, the night conversation with Nicodemus or the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well. Behind this foreground Chinese prints usually show a landscape with trees, mountains, a lake or other natural scenery, but through a haze as it were. Often a third dimension can be discerned, a horizon vaguely visible where heaven and earth meet. It is just so with John’s Gospel. There are deeper levels of meaning within and behind the scenes and sayings from Jesus’ life which he reports.

John’s Gospel invites prayer and meditation rather than intellectual analysis. It is a vision of Jesus rather than a story or explanation of him. When the Greeks approached a disciple they did not ask, “Sir, tell us about Jesus and explain him to us.” According to John’s testimony they said: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” (12:21). As with a Chinese print, John’s Gospel invites us to “see” Jesus.

Traditional research in the Gospel of John has placed a strong emphasis on the category of time. This is especially characteristic of the existential analysis by Rudolf Bultmann. The focus is on realized eschatology. It is argued that elements concerned with the future have been added by a later redactor of the Gospel. However, recent research points to a combination of both the realized and the final eschatology. Present and future elements are united in the figure of Christ.31

This emphasis on the category of time seems too strong. Inspired by social anthropology a number of scholars claim that the categories of place and space are actually of greater significance. Thus, Halvor Moxnes underlines how changes in identity are connected with removal from one place to another—and to a new experience of space. Meaning and identity are connected to place rather than time.32 According to traditional theories it is the locality that creates the person and their character: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). The concept behind this kind of statement is that those who know the place also know the character of the person coming from it.33

These observations have relevance for the Fourth Gospel. The incarnation means that Jesus is connected to a specific place. In addition, it is interesting to note that the Gospel in fact contains several characteristics that reveal the importance of locality. The first half of the Gospel depicts Jesus moving from place to place, and there is various topographical information that presumably reflects primitive tradition. As an example we can cite the well at Sykar in John 4.

The religious significance of space is underlined by Mircea Eliade in The Sacred and the Profane, in which he analyses how “sacred space” is established in the profane world. Crucial to his thinking is the concept of hierophany. In all traditions there are examples of sacred places, centers where a primeval hierophany sanctifies undifferentiated, profane space, and ensures that sacredness will continue there: “For it is the break effected in space that allows the world to be constituted, because it reveals the fixed point, the central axis for all future orientation. The manifestation of the sacred ontologically founds the world.”34 If the world is to be lived in, it must be founded: “The discovery or projection of a fixed point—the center—is equivalent to the creation of the world.”35 The threshold is the boundary or frontier that differentiates between two opposing worlds—and at the same time the paradoxical place where those worlds communicate, where passage from the profane to the sacred world becomes possible. Sacred spaces, such as temples, constitute an opening in the upward direction.36

A threshold and a door are symbols of the transition between the profane and the divine world. In the Fourth Gospel Jesus himself is considered to be the new temple (John 2: 21), the meeting-point of eternity and time (1:51). In him divine reality is revealed to humankind, and as its center he bestows the meaning from which all other meanings derive.37

The Language of Symbols and Metaphors

While the first three gospels write and think in metaphors drawn from social and political life (kingdom, justice, servants, masters, etc.), the Gospel of John uses a “biological” language, speaking much of birth and life and growth. Thus Jesus came that we should have life, and that abundantly (10:10). In John it is all about life and the process of life.38 Various metaphors link this experience and process of life fundamentally to the story of Jesus. These metaphors are often universal, since they address all human conditions of life. We are born into the world, and one day we must leave it. We encounter forces that promote life, and forces that destroy it. At the same time the way in which these metaphors are stamped depends on a number of historical and sociological factors. By connecting these metaphors and symbols with the story of Jesus John shows that eternity may be experienced in historical time, that Jesus gives us life in its authentic meaning, and that fellowship with him gives us a share in eternal life.39

Most importantly in our context these symbols and metaphors are accessible to readers from a variety of cultural settings. They can be heard and understood by both Jews and Greeks. The Gospel is not written for insiders alone; rather it aims at a wide spectrum of readers.40 In other words, the symbols are polyvalent—although there are limits to their potential of meaning.41

The Fourth Gospel has a great variety of symbols, such as life, light, water, bread, vine, and way. However, these symbols do not carry the same weight in the Gospel. Following R. Alan Culpepper we may distinguish between core symbols and peripheral symbols. Core symbols are those whose centrality is demonstrated by their higher frequency and their appearance in more important contexts. The three core symbols of the Gospel are light, water, and bread. Each of these points to Jesus’ revelatory role and carries a heavy thematic load. To these are related several coordinate symbols, metaphors, and concepts in different passages, such as darkness, life, wine, flesh. Subordinate symbols can also be gathered around a core symbol. For example, among the subordinate symbols for light are lamps, fires, torches, lanterns, day (and night), morning, seeing, and healing the blind.42 As mentioned, these symbols convey general and universal experiences about the meaning of life, in particular the three core symbols.

The fundamental meaning of the symbol of light is demonstrated in the Prologue that “links logos, life, and light so powerfully that the cluster dominates the symbolic system of the entire narrative.”43 The Word incarnate in Jesus is the exclusive source of life to humankind (1:4). The symbolism of light is applied a number of times in the Gospel, e.g., 3:19–21. Of special importance is 8:12, where Jesus is called “the light of the world.” For a more detailed analysis of the symbol of light see chapter 7 of this book.

The symbol of water appears frequently and with the most varied associations of any of John’s symbols. We meet stories about being baptized with water, about water changed into wine, about being born by water and Spirit (rebirth), about the living water (the Samaritan woman), about the healing pool (Bethesda), about thirst, about streams of living water, about foot washing, and about water and blood coming from the side of the crucified Jesus. The use of the water symbol is so broad and varied that it may be difficult to find an overall pattern. In general, while water is a dominant motif and expanding core symbol in John, it is less unified than either light or bread. For a more detailed analysis of the symbol of water see chapter 5 of this book.

In contrast to the scattered and varied use of water, the symbol of bread is used in a more uniform way. The reason may be that in the Christian tradition bread is linked directly to the Eucharist. Attention is drawn in particular to John 6. In the “economy” of the Fourth Gospel true bread cannot be bought, it can only be given and received, cf. Philip’s remark in 6:5. Furthermore, in the terminology of the Gospel, the one who provides the bread is himself the bread (6:35). Bread has a greater interpretive role than water in defining Jesus’ identity.44 More reflections on the importance of the image of bread may be found in chapter 6 of this study.

The uniqueness of the Fourth Gospel is that Jesus is introduced as the principal symbol in the Prologue. Jesus is the Word that became flesh and lived among us. He is the divine power of creation that is made concrete in the form of a man. The incarnation may be characterized as the most sublime form of symbolization. Indeed, in a sense we may speak of a twofold symbolization: “God’s creative power is symbolized by a Word that again is symbolized by a human person in flesh and blood. In this symbol the spiritual and invisible is united with the bodily and visible to such a degree that the believing community can confess that it has seen his glory (John 1:14).”45

The “I am”—sayings

John’s symbolism is often combined with the so-called “I am” sayings. Here we can distinguish between two categories: (1) The absolute use with no predicate, for instance 8:58: “Before Abraham even was, I AM”; other examples are 8:24; 8:28 and 13:19. And (2) The more common use with a predicate nominative. In seven instances Jesus speaks of himself figuratively:

• I am the bread of life (6:35, 48)

• I am the light of the world (8:12)

• I am the gate (10:7, 9)

• I am the good shepherd (10:11, 14)

• I am the resurrection and the life (11:25)

• I am the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)

• I am the (true) vine (15:1, 5)

It is disputed whether these statements should be seen in the light of the Old Testament or of gnostic traditions. My response is that it is probably not an “either—or,” but rather a “both—and.” And yet, the main emphasis must be placed on the Old Testament statements of revelation, in particular Exod 3:14: “I am who I am.” In this passage God declares that he will be present among his people as the one who protects, liberates, and holds faith with them. It is noteworthy that the “I am” words point to God’s faithfulness as well as his exclusivism.

The “I am”—sayings are structured in the following way: (1) A self-presentation consisting of two elements: (a) “I am,” and (b) a metaphor or a concept of salvation. Then follows (2) a call for decision consisting of: (a) an invitation and (b) a promise of salvation. In a few cases the promise is accompanied by, or replaced by, a warning or a threat (see 14:6 and 15:6).

The Human Quest

“What are you searching for?” (1:38; NRSV: “looking for”). These are the first words of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. The question is addressed to the first two disciples who are together with John the Baptist near the Jordan river. As Jesus is coming towards him, John declares: “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The disciples hear him say this and follow Jesus.

The question “What are you searching for?” is crucial in John’s Gospel. In fact, the Gospel seems to be written with the purpose of showing that Jesus brings what people are looking for. The problem is that people do not always know what this is, as can be illustrated by the exchange of words between Jesus and his first disciples. Their response to Jesus’ question in 1:38 is “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He answers with an invitation, “Come and see!” In consequence they go along to see where he is staying, and they remain with him that day (1:39). Something similar occurs in the calling of the other disciples. The words of Jesus are concise but full of overtones, and the disciples do not fully understand him. Yet in their encounter with Jesus they become aware of what they are lacking and they understand where they can find it.

Throughout the Fourth Gospel there are people searching for something—for fellowship with God and with other people, for the meaning of life, for a place to belong.46 In 1:35–51 this search is undertaken by the first disciples, but elsewhere in the Gospel there are others coming from various religious and cultural traditions. Three passages are of particular importance. In chapter 3 Jesus is approached by Nicodemus, a representative of the Jewish leaders. In chapter 4 he meets a representative of the Samaritans. And in chapter 12 some Greeks wish to see him (12:20ff.)

Seeing Two Realities Simultaneously

In the chapters to follow a number of texts from the Fourth Gospel will be analyzed for two reasons: their special relevance in the religious quest and the religious encounter of today and their great importance for the theology of John’s Gospel. For my purpose I am excluding certain central Johannine texts, such as most of the healing stories and the passion narrative.

The heading to Part One of the present book is “Images of a greater reality,” since I am primarily concerned with images of life such as water, bread, light, the way, and the true vine. Yet in three cases the focus is on concepts rather than images, namely Word, Truth, and Love.

John takes as his starting-point material reality, while pointing simultaneously to a greater reality beyond. In the last verses of chapter 1 Jesus says to Nathanael: “You will see greater things than these” (v. 50). And immediately after this he uses an image: “Very truly: I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (v. 51). The remainder of the gospel is the story of how Jesus opens heaven for his disciples so that they see who he truly is.47

To speak of a “greater reality” does not necessitate a flight from our material reality. On the contrary, the Gospel witnesses to eternity becoming reality here and now. Indeed, we can only discover the meaning of life, and this encounter occurs precisely where we are. The point is that we see the invisible in the visible, the eternal in the ephemeral. The challenge is to see two realities at the same time (cf. my reflections on “bread” in chapter 6).48 John is telling his audience that heaven meets earth in Christ.

30. Weber, Experiments with Bible Study, 213–14.

31. Nissen, “Sted og rum i Johannesevangeliet,” 24.

32. Moxnes, “Jesu galilæiske kontekst,” 106.

33. See also Moxnes’s book, Putting Jesus in his Place, which is a study of Jesus in his environment. The goal of the book is to study the spatial dimensions of the historical Jesus and uncover identities that were “located, developed and sustained in place” (ibid., 2). Place, according to Moxnes, is not only geographical but also social, cultural, and ideological (ibid., 4).

34. Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, 21.

35. Ibid., 22.

36. Ibid., 26.

37. Cahill, “The Johannine Logos as Center.”

38. Stendahl, Energy for Life, 28.

39. Mogensen, Således elskede Gud verden, 51–52; cf. Stendahl, Energy for Life, 28: “The life of faith is the eternal life, it is a life called eternal since it is in communion and continuity with the eternal One. To John ‘eternal’ does not refer to the quantity of time, but to the quality of life (cf. 5:24).”

40. Cf. Koester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel; and MacRae, “The Fourth Gospel and Religionsgeschichte.” Other scholars think that the Gospel has a sectarian character. According to Meeks (“The Man from Heaven in Johannine Sectarianism”) the Gospel reflects a docetic tendency in Christology and ecclesiology.

41. See also Vellanickal, “The Gospel of John in the Indian Context,” 149: “John’s language has a distinctive and strongly universalistic character. This is particularly evident in his practice of employing words which have a double—Jewish and Hellenist—background. John’s ideas and terminology may have developed within the Palestine heterodox Judaism under the influence of pressing Hellenism. But the very choice of such heterodox Judaistic language shows that John is deliberatively moving towards a wider world which seems approachable to him only through the kind of ‘open-ended’ language we find in John.”

42. Culpepper, Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel, 189.

43. Ibid., 190.

44. Ibid., 196.

45. Mogensen, “Symboler og symboldidaktik,” 247.*

46. To be noticed is the parallel of the Areopagus speech in Acts 17:17–34. The Athenians are described as being very religious people (17:22) and it is said that “they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him” (17:27); see also Nissen, New Testament and Mission, 61–65.

47. Mogensen, Således elskede Gud verden, 120.

48. Bjerg, Øjnenes faste, 124.