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Fourth Gospel Reflection

Decent Essays

My position is that the Fourth Gospel was produced by the Johannine School and was finalized in the last decade of the first century CE, most likely in Ephesus. I will keep this assumption in mind as I analyze the text and discuss the relevant social materials. I do not intend to examine the background of the Fourth Gospel in great detail but rather to follow a synchronic approach that examines the text as it presently stands, analyzes topics within the Fourth Gospel, and discusses how such topics interrelate to prayer and help one understand my research topic. Notwithstanding, before analyzing the topic of prayer in the Fourth Gospel a brief summary concerning the background of this document is in order. As such, the section below offers a brief discussion that prepares the reader for the exegetical discussions that follow in chapters 3-6 of the present work.
It is has been postulated that the Fourth Gospel has Hellenistic features. The most convincing evidence for this assertion is seen in the Evangelist’s inclusion of Greek themes and concepts in his writing. As noted by Brown (1997:371), “Its usage of abstract ideas like light and truth; its dualistic division of humanity into light and darkness, truth and falsehood; its concept of the Word—all these were once widely held to be the product of Greek philosophical thought, or of combinations of philosophy and religion . . . or of the pagan mystery religions.” He remarks further that others have seen John as being influenced by Philo and/or incipient Gnosticism. However, while there does exist certain overlap between Hellenistic and Johannine thought, a more likely explanation is viewing the Fourth Gospel in light of the Jewish diversity of the ancient Palestinian world (Brown 1997:372). This view does not preclude Hellenistic influence, but it places it secondary to the Evangelist’s “reflection on the heritage of Israel” (Brown 1997:372).
Thus scholars have detected a high degree of Jewishness in the Fourth Gospel, evidenced by the presence of numerous OT themes that appear throughout the literature. Keener (2003:172-73) observes that John’s use of the OT is not dependent on the Synoptics, but is likely the outcome of a “thorough knowledge of the Jewish

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