1. The Eucharist in the Gospel of John
Scripture Summer School
Holy Cross College
June 2017

2. The Plan
Session 1 Reading John Session 2 John 6 in context Session 3 Discourse on Bread of Life Session 4 Discourse on Bread of Life Session 5 John 13 Session 6 The Eucharist in John. (General Background Notes and slides available on )

3. Who wrote it? The Gospel derives from the writings and witness of
“The Beloved Disciple”. (19:35?, 21:24)
Nowhere named in the gospel, appearing first in 13:23
Apostle John not mentioned – only sons of Zebedee (21:2)
“Elder” John named by Papias in 130
This elder is identified as the Apostle John by Ireneaus (ca 190 AD)
Consensus now is that Beloved Disciple is NOT the apostle John but a disciple of Jesus who formed and led his own community of disciples.

4. A Spiritual Gospel?
Clement of Alexandria (150 – 215) Writing about the order in which the Gospels were written: But, last of all, JOHN, perceiving that the external facts had been made plain in the Gospel, being urged by his friends, and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel." This is the account of Clement. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History )

5. The Structure
Ch 1 Prologue: The overture and summary statement about who Jesus is and what he achieves.
2-12 The Book of Signs- The revelation Jesus brings and the call to faith
13-20:The Book of Glory – Special teaching for those who have come to believe.
Ch 21 – The Epilogue: Missioned!

6. A Different Gospel
Sets aside the narrative framework of the synoptics.
No attention to “Kingdom”, demons or exorcisms, parables, miracles, forgiveness
Focus on Jesus as Revealer “I am” x7 (6:35, 8:12, 10:7,11; 11:25, 14:6, 15:1)
Focus on Signs
x7 : Cana, Official’s servant, Paralytic, Loaves,
Walk on water, Man born blind, Lazarus.

7. A Different Gospel Focus on Jerusalem and Temple
Visits x 4 (2, 5, 9, 13)
Jewish Feasts: Passover (2, 6 13) Sabbath (5), Tabernacles (7-9) Hanukkah (10)
Focus on Discourses Nicodemus, Samaritan Woman, Jews, Man born blind,

8. Reading John
Our Reflection is based on a presupposition that the locus of revelation is not the historical events that the text describes but the text itself.
The search for “what really happened” assumes that if we get back to the ‘authentic’ deeds or sayings of Jesus then we have the core of what is revealed. The Gospel of John suggests something different.
“The revelatory character of Scripture is a property of Scripture as text not of the text as factual record” (S. Schneiders)

9. A Symbolic Narrative
From Greek; (sym – ballo) meaning “to put together”
In John a symbol is “a connecting link between two different spheres”
“A symbol is a sort of excluded middle between what we know and what we do not know or better, a meeting point between the finite and the infinite.”

10. Symbolic Presentation
Light (1, 8-9, 11)
Life (1, 4, 5, 11)
Glory (1, 11, 13-17)
Water (4, 7, 9)
Bread (6)
Vine (15)
Lamb of God (1, 18-19)

11. Why did he write?
…These are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that through believing you may have life in his name.