The Lost Meaning(s) of the Seventh Day A-level amphitheater January 14, 2012 sktonstad@llu.edu

7. Sabbath and the Revealer – 2

Eyewitness Testimony This is the disciple who is testifying to [ho marturōn] these things and has written them. (John 21:24a) And we know that his testimony [marturia] is true. (John 21:24b)

Written So That _________? John 20:31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe/come to believe [hina pisteu(s)ēte] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. For insiders or outsiders?

Gospels for All [Christians] Richard Bauckham, ed. The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1998). Distance required writing Mobility and communication Commitment to outreach

Believers in Jesus and the Synagogue Moreover, birkath hamminim is not mentioned in that document [Mishna] at all; our very first attestation of this institution, in a rhetorical form indicating that it is a novum in fact, is to be found in the Tosefta, generally regarded as having been edited some time around the middle of the third century. The rabbinic account of the introduction of the birkath hamminim is thus not only a punctiliar summary of a lengthy process, …, but also one for which the earliest evidence is from the mid-third century and not before. (Daniel Boyarin, “Justin Martyr Invents Judaism,” Church History 70 (2001),

Gospel of the Beloved Disciple Lifetime of Jesus Beloved Disciple Believers in Jesus [BD] Gospel of John [BD]

Genesis and John - 1 Genesis “In the beginning” “God created the heavens and the earth” “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness” John “In the beginning” “All things came into being through him (1:3) “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him” (1:11)

Genesis and John – 2 Cosmic Dualism When he lies [lit. speaks the lie], he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. GNT John 8:44 ὅταν λαλῇ τὸ ψεῦδος, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λαλεῖ, ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ. Genesis Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?” (Gen 3:1)

Isaiah and John And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory…full of grace and truth (1:14). "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (12:23) “Father, glorify your name." (12:28) This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (12:38) “Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him.” (12:41)

Jesus the Revealer “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (1:18, NASB; cf. 6:26; 17:6, 26). “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”(14:9)

Trends in Johannine Studies Movement from Gnostic or Hellenistic influences to Jewish character, e. g. ‘logos’ as embodied Torah. Shift from late or a-historical origin to greater respect for John as a reliable source Role and status of the ‘Johannine community’ more doubtful

Sabbath in John Occurrence: Of merely 7 miracles (signs) in John, two are performed on the Sabbath (John 5:1-20; 9:1-41). Importance: After the first Sabbath healing – for the first time in John – “the Jews were…seeking to kill him” (5:18).

First Sabbath Healing: Setting After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids-- blind, lame, and paralyzed. (Joh 5:1-3)

First Sabbath Healing: Subject One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. (5:1) Is his illness acute or chronic? Does chronicity mean more or less urgency? The healing is an elective intervention.

Options When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me." (5:6-7)

First Sabbath Healing: Details Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." (5:8) At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk. (5:9) Which is the important detail?

First Sabbath Healing: Action and Reaction Now that day was a sabbath. (5:9c) So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." (5:10) Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.(9:14).

First Sabbath Healing: Defense Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, and I also am working." (5:17) For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God. (5:18)

First Sabbath Healing: Meaning Jesus’ identity and revealing mission are anchored in the Sabbath. The point of contention is not Sabbath practice but theology: ’my Father is working.’ Jesus explains his work as a result of intimacy with God, imitation of God, and of belonging to the divine identity (‘equal to God’).

The Sabbath and the Mat "Stand up, take your mat and walk." (5:8) He took up his mat and began to walk (5:9) "It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." (5:10) "The man who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" (5:11)

The Sabbath and the Mud When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, (9:6) "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' (9:11) Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. (9:14) He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see." (9:15)

Works and Words Jesus answered them, "I performed one work, and all of you are astonished.” (7:21) Many of them were saying, "He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?" Others were saying, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (10:20-21) Jesus replied, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God." (10:32-33)

The Sabbath and the Revealer in John But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I also am working" (John 5:17). “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

The Sabbath and the Revealer Genesis “God rested on the seventh day” REST John “My Father is working until now and I am also working” WORK REVELATION

The Sabbath and Its Meaning Why insist on healing on the Sabbath – except to harness the revelatory intent of the seventh day? God’s rest at creation and God’s work ‘until now’ meet in the motif of revelation.

It Is Finished And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done (Gen 2:2) καὶ συνετέλεσεν ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἃ ἐποίησεν "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (19:30) ὅτε οὖν ἔλαβεν τὸ ὄξος [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν, Τετέλεσται,

The Defining Image for Sabbath I do not mean to denigrate the resurrection or ‘the eighth day’ theology that goes with it.  The cross and the resurrection are a seamless garment, but as focal images go the focal image of the cross will in my reading take precedence over the resurrection.  To the extent that the Sabbath and Sunday are rivals of sort, a theology and a symbol that are anchored in the cross will not be at a disadvantage to a theology and a symbol that are anchored in the resurrection.   I say this even as I am looking for the best place to anchor hope.