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The variety of the christological titles used in the Gospel of John is an eminent indicator of the hybridity of the multiculture of the first century. The various backgrounds of these titles show that their separate use can generate various different responses by different groups of readers. However, in the Fourth Gospel, because these titles are brought together, they work with and against each other to reveal the identity of Jesus as king to first century readers. In order to argue this point, in this chapter I will, first of all, point out two important factors for the understanding of the Johannine christological titles: the relationship of their various backgrounds, and the use of the titles to create a unique and distinctive identity of Jesus. Secondly, I will explore the Johannine christological titles, which are used to designate Jesus as king, through demonstration of their distinctive use in this Gospel.

Two Important Factors for the Understanding of Johannine Christological Titles

Christological Titles as Hybridized Products of a Hybridized Society

As I argued in the previous chapter, the Gospel of John was written in a hybridized society for hybridized readers.217 This specific but multifaceted condition of the hybridized societies of the first century is one of the major points for consideration in the interpretation of the kingship of the Johannine Jesus.218 Accordingly, this opens up the possibility that the trajectory of the unique life of the Johannine Jesus could be exposed more clearly in the light of various backgrounds of the titles.219 In particular, the Gospel designates Jesus using hybridized products engendered mainly from the combination of the Jewish and the Graeco-Roman backgrounds.220 That is, the Gospel of John in describing Jesus living and working in Jewish society is the reason for the importance of the knowledge of the Jewish background.221 For the same reason, the fact that Jewish society in first century Palestine had been under foreign influences, particularly Roman rule, is the reason for the importance of knowledge of the Graeco-Roman background.222 Moreover, it is quite clear that the Roman Empire did not simply rule the Jews politically, but resulted in other cultural, religious and economic influences merging into Jewish society so that Jewish society was not pure and monolithic, but a complex and hybridized one. For that reason, John never freed himself from the concept of the christological titles, which were linked to that of the Graeco-Roman. Rather, it is likely that the author used them to designate Jesus for hybridized readers. Therefore, John as well as his readers living together in a hybridized society could have a common context for understanding the various christological titles which were employed to designate the Johannine Jesus. In short, it is necessary to know these backgrounds in order to understand better the kingship of Jesus in the Gospel of John.223