imaginea pascala la evioan pacifica 2012 (1)

8/13/2019 Imaginea Pascala La EvIOAN PAcifica 2012 (1)

1/16

PACIFICA 24 FEBRUARY 2011

Paschal magery in the Gospel of John:A Narrative and Symbolic Reading

orothy LeeAbstract: Passover imagery is central to the narrative structure andtheological content of the Fourth Gospel. The imagery begins in thetestimony of John the Baptist, declaring Jesus to be the Lamb of God .The narrator expands the paschal overtones of this title to incorporateother Old Testament insights associated particularly with temple andcult. The feast of Passover develops into its own metaphorical field,pushing the narrative towards the cross as the climatic moment ofrevelation. On the way, paschal imagery incorporates not only the lambbut also the shepherd who lays down and takes up his life on behalf ofthe sheep. Passover becomes a major symbol in the Fourth Gospel,capturing vital, christological aspects of John s understanding of thecross.

13

CULTIC AND FESTAL SYMBOLISM plays a major role in the narrative ofthe Fourth Gospel. In different ways, the text plays with imageryassociated with festival and temple to convey a theological understanding of the significance of the crucifixion in the Gospel of John.This imagery revolves particularly around Passover and the paschallamb. Throughout the Gospel, the Johannine Jesus gathers up thesymbols and rites associated with the old, transforming them into hisown person and the new community of God s people. This articleexplores paschal and pastoral imagery as it develops in the Gospel ofJohn, arguing that it expands in significance through the narrative toincorporate other elements, thus becoming a key [ohannine symbol. Inthe Fourth Gospel, the imagery is re-interpreted christologically, thesymbolism functioning to validate the new while locating it firmlywithin the structures of the old.We need to prefix this discussion with a brief observation on theway religious symbolism works. In theological terms, symbolism is not This article was originally given as a paper at the SNTS Conference in Vienna,

August 2009.


2/16

14 PACIFICA (FEBRUARY 2011)decoration to beautify the message or a sweetener to sweeten itscontent. On the contrary, core symbols possess cognitive content. andhave a rel igious rationale that can in one sense be translated, albeitinadequately.2 Symbol and metaphor (the latter as the linguisticmanifestation of the formers) create meaning in bringing together twodisparate elements to create something theologically new: sometimesin tension, sometimes in opposition, sometimes with a previouslyunperceived consonance. Symbolism is not easily located in singularmeaning but opens itself, by defini tion, to a surplus of meaning thatexceeds intentionality or design.s In a religious context, it bringsmeaning into being, becoming the bridge between divine and human.In this sense, we might say that, while symbolism cannot easi ly begrasped, it can be approached.s

Many of the symbols of the Fourth Gospel, along with Jesus'metaphorical utterances - particularly the predicative I-am sayingse- are self-evident in images such as water, wine, marriage, birth, wind,bread, shepherds, vines, paths. Yet there are other elements of the[ohannine narrative that also function symbolically, and these includethe feasts that dominate the Cospel.s The Old Testament festivals Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, Dedication - provide the symbolicframework from which meaning emerges, the new f rom the old, alongwith their concomitant imagery, creating sometimes a metaphoricalnetwork or thread of relations. In this regard, John s perspective is not

1. D. Lee, lesh and Glory Symbol Genderand Theology in theGospel of John (New York:Crossroad, 2002), 16-20.2. J. Zumstein argues that there is no division between pictorial language andargumentation in the Fourth Gospel ( Bildersprache und Relecture am Beispiel von [oh15,1-17 , in J. Frey. J. G. van der Watt, and R Zimmermann [eds.], Imagery in theGospel ofJohn [Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006]139-56).3. See P. Jones, The Symbol of Water in the Gospel of John (JSNTSS 145; Sheffield:JSOT, 1997), 14-19; Lee, lesh and Glory 19-20; also S. Petersen, Ich-bin-Worte alsMetaphern am Beispiel der Lichtrnetaphorik , in Frey, van der Watt and Zimmermann(eds.), Imagery 121-38, see pp. 124-25.4. P. Ricoeur, Interpretation Theory Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (Fort Worth:Texas Christian University, 1976). On the multipl icity of meanings used in the Gospel,see J. Zumstein, Intratextuality and Intertextuali ty in the Gospel of John in T. Thatcherand S. D. Moore (eds.), Anatomies of NarrativeCriticism The Past Present and Futures of theFourthGospel as Literature(Atlanta GA: SBL, 2008), 121-135, see pp. 127-28.5. R Hirsch-Luipold, Klartext in Bildern: d T e l V O ~ KT rrcporui, rrappTJUla.

U T ~ l O V als Signalworter fur eine bildhafte Darstellungsform im Iohannesevangeliumin Frey, van der Watt and Zimmermann (eds.), Imagery 61-102, see P: 66.6. See the tabular ordering of Petersen, Ich-bin-Worte 122-23, in which thepredicates are generally soteriological statements.

7. Further on [ohannine symbols, see, e.g., R A. Culpepper, Anatomy of the FourthGospel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 180-202;CR. Koester, Symbolism in the FourthGospelMeaning Mystery Community (2nd ed.; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), 1-32; Lee, lesh andGlory 9-28; and R. Zimmermann, Imagery in John: Opening up Paths into the TangledThicket of John s Figurative World in Frey, van der Watt and Zimmermann (eds.),Imagery 1-43.8. See D. Lee, The Symbolic Narratives of the Fourth Gospel The Interplay of Form andMeaning (JSNTSS 95; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 137-60, 227-28.


3/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 15dismissive of Judaism, with its wealth of rite and ritual, as if the oldwere discarded with the advent of Iesus.? In literary terms, such atheological reading would be the equivalent of mining rhetorical formfor meaning, tossing aside the former once the latter is grasped. Butsymbol and metaphor do not work that way. Having cognitivecharacter, and being involved in the making of meaning, their form isprecisely the way in which thei r substance displays itself, the oneimpossible to comprehend without the other. lO In terms of John stheology, the invisible substance of God is made visible and manifestsymbolically; indeed, only in symbol can the Johannine God beapprehended.it This methodological asseveration is as pertinent forthe feasts as it is for the more everyday imagery of the Fourth Gospel.

JOHN THEBAPTIST SDE L R TIONThe shape of the overall [ohannine narrative is characterised by itschronological division of the Gospel into three Passovers. The first is

the context for the Cleansing of the Temple 2:13-22), Jesus firstjourney to Jerusalem. The second Passover provides the setting as wellas core symbolism for the Feeding narrative 6:1-71) which, though setin Galilee, is encompassed on either s ide by incidents in JerusalemSabbath controversy, 5:1-47; Tabernacles Discourse, 7:1-8:59). Thethird Passover is introduced after the plot to kill Jesus 11:55), isreiterated through the next eight chapters of the Gospel, and reaches aclimax in the trial and crucifixion narratives 12:1; 13:1; 18:28, 39; 19:14,31, 42). These three paschal contexts provide annual intervals withinwhich the rest of the narrative is structured .12

The Passover allusions are preceded in the opening chapter of theGospel by the momentous declaration of John the Baptist: Behold theLamb of God 1:29,35).13 Lamb of God is widely recognised as one9. W. Carter argues along these lines, suggesting that, in the case of the feasts, whilethere is disagreement over Jesus, the practices themselves are no t attacked John andEmpire; Initial Explorations [New York/London: T T Clark, 2008], 37); see M. M. Pazdan,Jesus, Disciples, and Jewish Feasts in John , BToday 2 1998), 79-85.10. Lee, Symbolic Narratives 23-35.11. See Hirsch-Luipold, Klartext in Bildern , 66, who relates this model to therel igious mil ieu of Middle Platonism, with its relationship between the ontic and theperceptible. Thus the signs of the Old Testament make visible the I am of the Gospel99).12. Culpepper, natomy 72. Culpepper has calculated the uneven way time moves inthe three intervals of John s Gospel: 116 verses for the first year (about two weeks), 295

for the second (around a month), and chapters 12 to the end for the thi rd year a twoweek period, with chapters 13-19 covering only twenty-four hours). See also A.J.Saldarini, Passover in the Gospel of John , BToday 36 1998), 86-91.13. According to K.B. Larsen, John 1.29-34 funct ions chiasticalIy as a recognitionscene in which John the Baptist explains how he has come to recognise Jesus as bothLamb of God and Son of God on the basis of the Spirit s revelation: John is thus theideal observer / recognizer and ideal informant /witness Recognizing the Stranger:Recognition Scenes in the Gospel ofJohn [BIS93; Leiden: Brill, 2008]96-112).


4/16

16 PACIFICA (FEBRUARY 2011)of the most ambiguous titles in the Gospel of Iohn.i- In the OldTestament, the use of lamb mostly occurs in relation to Passover,which is generally regarded as the primary referent of the Johanninemetaphor.t> The meaning is made more complicated by the addition ofthe participial clause, who takes away the sin of the world (1:29), adescription not repeated in the Baptist s second attestation of Jesus asLamb of God (1:35). Its absence, if anything, underlines the paschalsignificance.In the Old Testament, Passover and the feast of Unleavened Breadare distinctive in ritual and meaning (Lev 23:4-8; Exod 12:1-50; 23:1418; 34:18-26),16but the Fourth Gospel will transform their significance.Allusion to Passover begins with the utterance of John the Baptist atthe same time as the metaphorical field expands.I? The reference totaking away sin, which seems otherwise bewildering, suggests notPassover but temple, both manifestations of Torah.ie The majorconcern of the cult is with the forgiveness of sins (which mayor maynot include the sacrif ice of a lamb). The parallel is particularly notablein the case of the sin offering (for sins of ignorance) and the guiltoffering (involving restitution, Lev 4:1-6:7). One striking aspect of thecult is the scapegoat azazel on the Day of Atonement, which literally takes away the sins of the people into the wilderness (Lev 16) - arather different conception of sacrifice from the slaughter of animalsin the temple, and carrying its own metaphorical import. In each case,the ritual regulations convey a sense of sin taken seriously, along withthe means for dealing with it. Both associations - the cult system14. For the range of possible meanings, see, e.g., R E. Brown, The Gospelof John (NewYork: Doubleday, 1966), 1.58-63 and C. W. Skinner, Another Look at th e Lamb of

God , Bibliotheca Sacra 161 (2004), 89-104; also J. T. Nielsen, The Lamb of God: TheCognitive Structure of a [ohannine Metaphor , in Frey, van der Watt and Zimmermann(eds.), Imagery, 217-56, see pp. 225-226.

15. See, e.g., R Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to St John (ET: Tunbridge Wells:Bums Oates, 1968), 1.299-300; C. K Barrett, The Gospel According to St John: AnIntroduction with Commentary and Notes on the Greek Text (2nd ed.; London: SPCK, 1978),176-177; G. R. Beasley-Murray, John (WBC 36; Waco TX: Word Books, 1987), 24-25; F. J.Moloney, The Gospel of John (SP 4; Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 1998), 58-59; U.Schnelle, Das Evangelium nach Johannes (THNT 4; Leipzig: Evangelische Verlasanstalt .1999), 49-50;C. S. Keener, The Gospelof John:A Commentary (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2003),1.454; and A T. Lincoln, The Gospel According to St John (BNTC; London: Continuum,2005),113.16. On Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread as a single feast in origin andpractice, see the summary in L Maluf, The Passover Festival in the Book of Leviticus ,BToday 36 (1998), 19-21. On the keeping of Passover in the Old Testament, see also Num9:1-14; Deut 16:1-8; 2 Kgs 23:21-23; 2 Chron 30:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22,1 Esdr 1:1-22,7:10-14.17. On the image-fields of the Fourth Gospel Bildfelder , see U. Busse, Metaphorikund Rhetorik im JohannesevangeIium: Das Bildfeld vom Konig , in Frey, van der Wattand Zimmermann (eds.), Imagery, 279-317, which particularly discusses the image of theking.18. Note that the paschal interpretation refers to the evangelist s editorial work. Even ifJohn the Baptist s words are historical, they need not have carried Iohannine meaning;see Skinner, Lamb of God , 97, 102-104.


5/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 17concerned with sin, and the scapegoat - make sense of the Johanninedescription of the lamb, enlarging the meaning beyond that ofPassover.t?

Alongside paschal imagery, the image of the Suffering Servant ofIsaiah 53:7 is a likely dimension of the symbolism, with its overtones ofsuffering on behalf of Israel, an association shared with the paschallamb.20 The simile of the slaughtered animal who absorbs imperialviolence and delivers God s people ,21 suggests not only deliverancefrom oppression, as does the paschal lamb, but also vicarious sufferingand sacrifice for the sheep who have gone astray and whose sins areatoned for by the Servant (Isa 53:6, 10 22 this consonance is correct,we find the [ohannine text augmenting the primary symbolic meaningof Passover with ideas of sacrifice and atonement.23A further possibility along these lines is the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen22:1-14), where Abraham s obedient intent to give up his son is an actof sacrifice on his part, especially in light of the divine promise (Gen15:1-6; 22:15-18). As the two trudge up the mountain together, the son sinnocent question and his father s ambiguous reply point to God as thegiver of the lamb for the sacrifice (Gen 22:7-8). Here again, as part ofthe metaphorical field, the Johannine text augments the symbolism ofthe paschal lamb with sacrificial overtones from another quarter . Theapocalyptic lamb represents another possible trajectory in thismetaphorical range Test/os 19:8; 1 Enoch90:38; Rev 5-6; 17:14), injectingthe paschal and sacrificial symbolism with possible images of triumphover death. None of these associations is particularly new; aselsewhere in this Gospel, the symbolism is not easily delimited.

such elements fall within the orbit of the Baptist s confession,according to John, they need to be justified on the basis of their19. A further point of connection is that ritual cleansing is associated with both the cult

and the keeping of Passover (e.g. Lev 12, 14-15; 2 Chron 30:17, 35:6).20. Nielsen, Lamb of God , 227-256, concludes that this title holds within it potentialfor meaning but that, for John, the blending of Passover associations with t he lamb ofIsaiah 53 encapsulates the metaphor. Nielsen denies any atoning significance to the title,

though he concedes that such a trajectory arises in later exegetical history.21. Carter, john and Empire 172.22. J. M. Soskice distinguishes between similes that are illustrative and thosepossessing the character of metaphor, which are thus incremental Metaphor andReligious Language [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987] 58-60); the image of the lambbelongs in the latter category.23. The tradition of interpretation which sees the l amb as linked, not jus t to Passoverand the Suffering Servant, but also to the atonement of sins, goes back to the Patristicperiod (see, e.g., the catena in J. Elowsky [ed.] john 1-10 [ACCS IVa; Downers GroveIL: InterVarsity, 2006] 66-79). According to Keener, the paschal lamb is alreadyunderstood within Judaism to have a sacrificial function Gospelof john 1.452-54), thoughthe evidence for this view is minimal. Schnackenburg St john 1.297-301), who sees thetitle bringing together the paschal lamb with the Suffering Servant, regards the latter asatoning: i t cannot be doubted that the vicarious expiation of Jesus death is meant (298;cf 1 John 2:1-2; 3:5, 16; 4:10). On the significance of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament,see A. Eberhart, Characteristics of Sacrificial Metaphors in Hebrews , in G. Gelardini(ed.), ebrews ContemporaryMethods - New Insights (BIS;Leiden: Brill, 2005), 39-50.


6/16

18 P IFI 24 FEBRU RY2011)consonance with wider Johannine themes and symbols.s- For example,there are cultic parallels in the portrai t of Jesus as the one who dealsauthoritatively and definitively with sin, an authority bequeathed tothe apostolic community 20:22-23). The Suffering Servant coheres withthe Son who drinks the cup of suffering 18:11), and allows himself tobe seized by his enemies, precisely in fulfilment of the Scriptures. Itmay be that the story of the sacrifice of Isaac influences not just theBaptist s designation of Jesus but also the Gospel s dominant Father-Son imagery. Note that the two titles by which John the Baptistacclaims Jesus, set within close proximity, are Son of God andLamb of GOd ,25 the former encased within the latter 1:29, 34, 35),giving a striking parallel with the Aqedah. Perhaps the apocalypticlamb seems least likely because of John s particular eschatologicalfocus. Yet John interprets the cross as the place of eschatologicaltriumph, the defeat of sin and death 12:31; 16:11; 19:30), and the imageof the lamb arrayed in triumph is hardly alien to John s soteriology.26These secondary associations, moreover, need not be represented intheir fullness. Some of the objections to possible Old Testamentreferents are based on the assertion of difference - for example, that thecult uses animals other than lambs, that the azazel is an adult goat, thatthe animal of the Aqedah turns out to be a ram, or that Abraham isprevented from sacrificing his son. But if paschal imagery has primacy,then other associations or connotations need not be ruled out, norshould we expect every detail to conform, especial ly the further wemove from the centre of the symbolismP Metaphors by definit iondiminish some elements in order to accentuate others: Only certainaspects of the total potential of the imageries are utilised and it isimportant to identify those ... . The author of John does not intend hisimageries to be open, but rather restricts them to certain aspects hewants to utilise in the communication of his message. 28 I f the coreimagery is paschal, then aspects of other meanings may well take theirplace within the same network, even if they are not central, thoughwhere the network ends is a moot point. The important issue here is24. P. N. Anderson warns of the danger of assuming a symbolic meaning in everyaspect of the Fourth Gospel ( Gradations of Symbolization in the Johannine PassionNarrative , in Frey, van der Watt and Zimmermann [eds.], Imagery 157-194); he himselfperceives political rather than theological import in the references to Passover 163-164).See also Zimmermann s discussion of what makes symbolism in the Fourth Gospelcompelling, using the example of the garden motif Symbolic Communication in

Thatcher and Moore [eds.], Anatomies of Narrative Criticism esp. 226-34).25. Larsen, Recognizing the Stranger 98.26. B. Witherington, John s Wisdom: A Commentary on the Fourth Gospel Louisville:

Westminster John Knox, 1995),66; see Skinner, Another Look , 100-104.27. This is the problem with the assessments of each option given, e.g., by Skinner,The Lamb of God , 90-102, who seems to assume that unless there is perfect fit, noassociation exists.28. J. G. van der Watt, Ethics Alive in Imagery , in Frey, van der Watt andZimmermann eds.), Imagery 446.


7/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 19that John is capable of re-working and augmenting images that havecome down to him in the tradition. In this case, it is perfectly possiblethat he has enlarged Passover to include aspects other than the paschallamb, giving the symbolism a richer and more comprehensivemeaning. It is precisely the clause who takes away the sin of theworld that opens the door to sacrificial referents within the OldTestament. This rhetorical process parallels the similar way in whichLogos opens i tself to other christological images in the Gospel - inparticular that of Son (1:1-2, 14, 18 29 but also other titles: Messiah,King of Israel, Son of Man (to name only those in the openingnarrat ive, 1:29-51).30

THE L MB IN T JOH NNIN N RR TIVEThe image of the lamb is not repeated in the narrative of Jesus

ministry but becomes visible in the Johannine depiction of the cross,which is replete with paschal symbolism, creating a narrative frame forthe Gospel, an indusia. From this perspective, the Baptist s confessionis proleptic of the crucifixion where the elimination of sin occurs:[p]recisely at the place where the [ohannine Jesus first comes intoview, he appears as the Crucified .31 Yet its early position in theGospel, pointing forward to the crucifixion at the end, gives the titlepalpable status also within the ministry as a whole. Not only is Lambof God the first title outside the Prologue, it also leads directly to thegathering of the first disciples (1:35-51), the declaratory utterance soinfluencing two of the Baptist s disciples that they leave behind oneteacher for another.32 If so, we may well ask whether the title,though not explicit in the ministry narrative, is not actually implied ina number of subsequent contexts before the crucifixion.

There are literary reasons for arguing that, within the shape of the[ohannine narrative, it is temple, as well as Passover, imagery thatcarries the iconography of the lamb. The Fourth Gospel has alreadyindicated its temple Christology at 1:14 in the tabernacle language thatdescribes the incarnation. The Cleansing of the Temple furthers theseindications, as well as forming a link with the cultic overtones ofLamb of God . John s perspective on Jesus as the locus of divine glorydaxa , symbolised in the temple and its rites, is made explicit in theCleansing, where John moves beyond any parallelism with the29. See D. Lee, The Gospel of John: Symbol and Prologue , Conversations 2 (2, 2008),

http://ctm.uca.edu.au / conversations.30. Schnelle, Das Euangelium nach Johannes, 50.31. Udo Schnelle, Cross and Resurrect ion in the Gospel of John , in C R Koester andR Bieringer (eds.), The Resurrection Jesus in the Gospel of John (WUNT 222; Tiibingen:Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 135. Schnelle connects the theme of taking away s in to the fact that,in this Gospel, Jesus carries his own cross (19:17).32. As Moloney notes, the noun theou ( of God , whether objective or subjectivegenitive) is striking - not just any lamb, but God s Gospel of John, 58-59).


8/16

20 PACIFICA 24 (FEBRUARY 2011)Synoptic accounts in the earlier verses (2:14-17; Mark 12:15-18/parr.),to an explicit identification of Jesus with the temple in the latter part ofthe scene (2:18-22). There is a certain irony in the fact that it is Jesus, theLamb of God, who drives out the animals for sacrifice: within thispericope dealing with the expulsion of the sacrificial animals from theTemple .. .is an intimation that Jesus himself will become a sacrifice. 33Later in the Gospel, the passion narrative will disclose Jesus as the rebuilt temple of God whose death and resurrection are incandescentwith divine glory. In the meantime, cultic overtones are implied in thesign which the Jerusalem authorities demand after Jesus hascleansed the temple (2:18 - and which they will ironically effect). Aswell as divine indwelling, all that the cult embodies in its prayerfuland sacrificial rites comes to fruition in the [ohannine Jesus. His unitywith the one he refers to magisterially as yFather (tou patros mou,2:16), as well as his sacrificial death on the cross, fulfils Israel s culticvocation in the forgiveness of sins and the maintaining of covenantunity with God.34 The theme carries over from the Wedding at Canaand the way in which the wine fulfils the purificatory rituals ofJudaism in water and stone jars (2:1-11), now embodied in the flesh ofthe Logos. John begins to unfold in these opening scenes the theme ofJesus as the Lamb of God whose death and resurrection fulfil all that isprefigured in the sacrificial cult, the animals no longer needed withinthe precincts of the sanctuary.35

Temple imagery once more comes to the fore in the central sectionof the Samaritan dialogue (4:15-26), in which Jesus reveals himself tothe woman as the locale of true worship36 - the fulfilment not ofSamaritan worship but of what is embedded in Judaism. The Jerusalemtemple, with its rites and festivals, and its manifestation of divineabiding, is archetypal in John s Christology. But this encounter alsounfolds the universalism inherent in the Baptist s central testimony:Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Theclimactic acclamation, Saviour of the world (4:42), recalls that earlierdeclaration, although the ti tle itself is absent. Nonetheless, the saving33. A.R. Kerr, The Temple of Jesus ody The Temple Theme in theGospel of John (JSNTSS220; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 85. Also on temple imagery in John, seeM. L Coloe, God Dwells With Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (Collegeville:Liturgical Press, 2001), esp. 65-84.34. On the importance of covenant imagery in John, see R. M. Chennattu, TheCovenant Motif: A Key to the Interpretation of John 15-16 , in R. M. Chennattu and M. LColoe (eds.), Transcending oundaries ContemporaryReadingsof the New Testament. Essays

in Honorof Moloney (Roma: LAS, 2005). 141-159.35. Clearly some level of replacement is envisaged here, the Lamb of God replacingthe Iambs (and other animals) of the cult. Yet - even apart from the historical reali ty ofthe destruction of the Temple by the time of the Fourth Gospel - the Old Testamentsymbolic framework remains, so that the cultic practice, while no longer extant, drivesJohn s meaning; without its Jewish grounding, [ohannine Christology is inconceivable.36. Further on the theme of worship, see D. Lee, In the Spirit of Truth : Worship andPrayer in the Gospel of John and the Early Fathers , VigiliaeChristianae 58 (2004), 277-97.


9/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 21function of the paschal lamb coheres with the theme of the passage,underscoring its universalism.V The lamb, like the serpent in thewilderness (3:14-15), is a type of the salvation represented in the[ohannine Saviour; not only for Israel, but for the world d 6:33 38The second Passover is located in the following section, fromchapters 5 to 10, usually entitled the feasts of the Jews - althoughthere is hardly a scene in the Gospel that does not envisage a feastsomewhere in the background. This t ime Passover is located, not inJerusalem, unlike its surrounding narratives (Sabbath, John 5;Tabernacles, John 7-9; Dedication, John 10), but in Galilee. Quite apartfrom the narrative awkwardness associated with his journeying, Jesuspresence is puzzling, given his attendance in Jerusalem at the othertwo Passovers - not to mention his intention, whatever he tells hisbrothers, of visiting Jerusalem for Tabernacles (7:3-10). Yet the feedingsaga works well for John s purposes. Passover and exodus symbolismabounds in this narrative, from the following of the crowds, to thebread and its associations with the manna, the figure of the Moses, thecrossing of the sea and overcoming of its violence and dangers, thewilderness setting, Torah, and covenant - all these are consonant withthe exodus, and work well in a context outside Jerusalem.The dialogue progresses, the crowd at first moving towards faithand then - after the central revelation of Jesus as the Bread of Life(6:35) - increasingly in the opposite direction; at the same time, theJews become alienated, divided among themselves, and finallyscandalised at Jesus self-revelation (6:41, 62, 60). But the last straw,from their point of view, is the third and last re-statement of the 1 amsaying, to which everything thus far has been leading, and whichexplicitly picks up the feeding story from the beginning: the breadwhich I give for the life of the world is my flesh (6:51)... unless youeat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood (6:53). Severalthings happen in these verses. In the first place, the giving of thebread is seen to occur in and through the death of Jesus, symbolicallyportrayed in eucharistic terms. Secondly, in the context of Passoverand the feast of Unleavened Bread, both the flesh and the blood arerepresented as salvific ( the one who eats my flesh and drinks myblood has eternal life , 6:54; d. 1 Cor 5:7). The language is covenantaland sacrificial, as well as pointing centrally to faith. Just as the flesh of37. Carte r a rgues that the l iberat ion theme is current for Johannine believers, thePassover representing the call to exodus from the Artemis cult in Ephesus; thus the

Cleansing of the Temple has, for him, political overtones (John and Empire, 159-61; also300-2).38. The point is s tressed by Schnelle, Johannes, 50. The same transformation of OldTestament imagery is present in the reference to sin in the singular (hamartia); see X.Leon-Dufour, Lecture de l Evangile selon Jean, Tome 1 (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1987), 169.Further, on sin in John, see Lee, Flesh and Glory, 166-96.39. Dom G. Murray, Jesus and the Feasts of the Jews , Downside Review 109 (1991),217-25.


10/16

22 PACIFICA FEBRUARY 2011the slaughtered lamb is eaten and its blood sprinkled on the lintels ofthe door, giving protection from death and sustenance for the journey,so the flesh of Jesus the paschal lamb is to be eaten and his blood, notsprinkled this time but, in line with the eucharistic associations,drunk to bring about eternal life.40 The feeding story, so redolentwith Passover and exodus imagery, f inds i ts true meaning in the deathand resurrection of Jesus, the Lamb of God whose own self is themeans of salvation.41 At this stage of the dialogue, the eating movesbeyond the bread to flesh , the shift indicating the Passover lambwhose flesh and blood have such symbolic and theological import.42Explicitly paschal imagery will not emerge again unt il after theraising of Lazarus 11:1-12:11). Yet sacrificial elements are presentthroughout the final three chapters that bring to a climax the first halfof the Gospel. In the intermingling of images, John presents Jesus alsoas shepherd of the sheep 10:1-18)/43 although the festal context is thatof Dedication rather than Passover 10:22).44 The imagery is evident inthe shepherd s knowledge of and care for the sheep; but it is moststartlingly apparent at the point where the imagery begins to breakdown - where the shepherd will lay down my life in order that I maytake it again 10:17).45 The Good Shepherd exercises kinglyauthority, not only over the flock in i ts diversi ty but over life itself,including his own (vno-one takes it from me, but I lay it down ofmyself , 10:18).46 Paradoxically, Jesus is depicted as sovereign and asinnocent victim. The [ohannine Jesus is, in other words, Shepherd and40. J. Ashton argues that a Passover, rather than eucharistic, context makes sense hereUnderstanding the Fourth Gospel [2nd ed.; Oxford/New York: Oxford University, 2007), 96;also G. W. Ashby, Body and Blood in John 6.41-65 , Neotestamentica 36 2002), 57-61.

However, given the breadth of Johannine symbolism, Passover and Eucharist need not beregarded as alternatives.41. B. W. Longenecker connects the unbroken body to the absence of reference to Jesusbreaking the bread in the Feeding story, unlike the Synoptics Iohn 6:11;Mark 6:41/parr.;8:6/par.); he connects the theme of unbrokenness to that of unity in the Fourth Gospel The Unbroken Messiah: A Johannine Feature and its Social Functions , TS 41 [2005]428-41).42. On the maternal overtones of the symbolism, see Lee, Flesh and Glory, 148-49.43. For a discussion of this passage as metaphor, see R Kysar, Voyages with John.Charting the Fourth Gospel Waco TX: Baylor University, 2005), 161-82.44. On the Fourth Gospel s dialectic Christology, see P. N. Anderson, nGuessingPoints and Naming Stars: Epistemological Origins of John s Christological Tensions , inR Bauckham and C Mosser eds.), The Gospel of John and Christian Theology GrandRapids MN: Eerdmans, 2008), 311-45.45. J. Briend sees the heart of Passover in the Old Testament as the passage fromdeath to life , which in the New Testament is inextricably linked to the death andresurrection of Jesus La Paque: passage de la mort a la vie , La Maison-Dieu 240 [2004]21-32).46. J. H. Neyrey The Gospel of John [NCBC; Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2007]296-297), sees parallels between John 10:1-18 and John 18:1-27, with Jesus as the nobleshepherd ; he discusses the meaning of the passion in light of the shepherd-sheep theme312). nshepherd imagery used of God in the Old Testament, see, e.g., Gen 49:24, Num27:17, 1 Kgs 22:17, 2 Chron 18:16, Ps 23:1, 28:9, 80:1, Isa 40:11, [e r 31:10, Ezek 34:8, 12, 15,Mic 7:14.


11/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERYIN JOHN 23sacrificial Lamb, and it is only in both roles that his identity isunfurled: the blameless quarry who suffers death, and the wielder ofdominion over life and death. In the end, though the Lamb isslaughtered by an unholy alliance of his enemies, that death isdivinely-ordained and divinely-authorised - Jesus surrenders his ownspirit on the cross/ rather than having it taken from him ( and bowinghis head he handedoverhis spirit, 19:30 .47 Not high priest and victim, in[ohn s symbolic reckoning, but shepherd and lamb, giver of life for thesheep and helpless sufferer amid the flock. The shepherd imagery isthus drawn into the same metaphorical field, helping to construct arich and paradoxical Christology.s

Three times in the next two pivotal chapters, John again makesreference to Passover. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, the last sign inhis public ministry, which will lead directly to the passion, is tosacrifice his own life for that of Lazarus. The narrative emphasises thedanger of Jesus/ presence so close to the lair of his enemies: in Thomaslugubrious but insightful exhortation that the disciples go and diewith him (11:16)/ and in the sisters caution in meeting Jesus (11:20/28 29 .49 The aftermath makes this explicit. The large numbers drawnto Jesus by his self-revelation in restoring Lazarus to life give rise to theplot to kill Jesus, at its centre being the ironical testimony of the highpriest to Jesus/ act of self-sacrifice: he must die on behalfof the people(11:50). The anointing at Bethany likewise continues the stress on Jesus/life-giving self-sacrifice: Mary s costly and sacrificial gesture, its sweetsavour counteracting the stench of death, mirrors that of Jesus50 thecost of his life, the inevitability of his death, the love which motivates it(12:1-8). Immediately following the plot, John emphasises, first, theneed of people for purification in order to eat the Passover (11:55) and,secondly, the danger in Jesus/ attending the festival, given themurderous intention of his enemies (11:56-57). The anointing is set sixdays before the Passover (12:1)/ giving the reader the sense of timenow galloping forward towards the passion.The third reference to Passover in this section is the scene in whichthe Greeks indirectly approach Jesus (12:20). is significant that thedesire of the Greeks, who have corne to Jerusalem to celebratePassover, to see Jesus (12:21)/ is not fulfilled at this juncture. But verysoon Jesus will be seen on the cross as the embodiment of Passover,47. This point does not invalidate the possibili ty that John refers ellipt ically to the

donation of the Spirit-Paraclete; see Schnelle Johannes 290-91.48. Note the parallel with Rev 7:17: for the lamb which is in the midst of the thronewill shepherd them and guide them to springs of the waters of life .49. On the interweaving of this story with the death and resurrection of Jesus, see BByrne, Lazarus. A Contemporary Reading John 11.1-46 (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press,1991),57-60, and Lee, Symbolic Narratives 188-226.50. On the contrast between the two savours, see Lee, Symbolic Narratives 222, andFlesh and Glory 205-206;G. R O Day, John , in C. A Newsom and S. H. Ringe (eds.), TheWomen s Bible Commentary (2nd ed.; London: SCM, 1998), 299.


12/16

24 PACIFICA 24 (FEBRUARY 2011for both judgement and salvation (19:37). These Gentiles represent theworld going after Jesus (12:19b), an indication of the universalismwhich the title Lamb of God (and Saviour ) carries in the Johanninenarrative. Jesus language in these verses, in response to those outsideIsrael who seek him, indicates his omniscience, his preparedness forhis sacrificial death in the advent of the hour , his mutualglorification of the Father, and the giving of his flesh for the salvationof the world (12:23-33).

Everything in the following five chapters of the Gospel, the finalmeal and farewell discourse, is set within an explicitly paschal context(13:1-17:26). Cultic imagery is also present, especially in thefootwashing which, in it s primary symbolism, is about cleansing inJesus death and thus union with him ( unless I wash you, you have nopart/ share, meros with me , 13:8 51 While the significance of thefootwashing reaches to the life of the community and its love-relations(13:12-17), the primary import is that of sharing in Jesus sacrificial andcleansing death. Here again, by implication, Jesus is depicted as theone who takes away the sin of the world , the paschal-sacrificial lambin whom salvation (liberation and forgiveness, the radical erasure ofsin) is attained. The image of the vine also includes a reference tocleansing in the pruning of the unfruit ful branches ( every branchbearing frui t he cle nses [prunes] so that it may bear more fruit , 15:2).Though not always explicit, John winds paschal and cultic imageryinto a number of core symbols, creating overlapping metaphoricalfields, so that the reader never loses sight of what the impendingpassion (and departure of Jesus) signifies.

Paschal imagery, as is generally noted, is explicit throughout thepassion narrative. The piety of the Jerusalem authorities - their needfor ritual purification in order to celebrate Passover - creates thedynamics of the central trial narrative, in which Pilate shuttles betweenthe ritually clean authorities outside the preetorium, who will slaughterthe Lamb of God (in alliance with Rome), and Jesus within, the Lambof God in whom all that Passover and cult signify reach fulfilment(18:28-19:16a). is of some consequence that here, as elsewhere, muchof the lamb representation is associated with John s characteristicirony. Behold the Man (19:5), which parallels behold the Lamb ,points to the one who will die on behalf of the people (11:50); it is theauthorities who will destroy this sanctuary , who will maintain ritualpurity while engaging in an act of moral turpitude, who will be blindto the one standing before them while engaging in paschal ritual thatfinds its true (Johannine) meaning only, and ult imately, in him.52The51. See J. C Thomas, Footwashing in John 13 and the [ohannine ommun ty aSNTSS 61;Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1991), 89-95, 186-189.52. Carter questions the widespread view that Pilate is weak and manipulable in theface of crafty Jewish authorities, seeing the scene as political, with the oppressivecharacter of Pilate representing the Roman Empire John and Empire, 289-314 .


13/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 25same irony extends to the Romans. Pilate represents justice, yet isresponsible for a knowing act of injustice - whether malicious or inself-defence. One of his s ol di er s re leas es the fl ood of blood and waterfrom the crucified Jesus which displays the divine, incarnate glory,seals the covenant, and offers to the faithful eternal life. In both cases,whether Jewish or Roman, the world ironically exposes its truenature and spel ls its own condemnation in its attempt to quell theLight.The prolepsis of the Baptist s initial christological declaration is herefulfilled, since what we see on the cross is none other than the Lamb ofGod. For this, as have seen, the narrator has prepared us throughoutthe Iohannine narrative. John makes the identification of Jesus with theLamb patent in the events surrounding the crucifixion. First andforemost, the authorities obsessive concern for their own ritualpurification is profoundly ironical, with the evangelist setting theirseeming piety over against their failure to perceive that the meaning ofPassover is fulfilled and brought to completion in the johannine Jesus.The irony is intensified in that the paschal lamb whom they, ineffect, slaughter on the cross is none other than God s own Lamb. Theirsimultaneous slaughter of the paschal lambs for their own celebrationof the feast now wears the signs of an intolerable distortion. Moreover,their stringent observance of ritual purity in their refusal to enter thepraetorium contrasts with the cleansing effected by Jesus death, fromwhich they exclude themselves.Secondly, as is immediately apparent, John s dating of thecrucifixion differs significantly from that of the Synoptics. Whereas inMark s Gospel the Passover is celebrated at the Last Supper (Mark14:12-26/pars), in conjunction with the insti tution of the Christianeucharist, in John s Gospel Passover takes place on the following day,the day of crucifixion, and Jesus is crucified at the hour of slaughter ofthe paschal lambs. The sacramental event enacted at the Last Supperis, instead, the Footwashing 13:1-30), which is concerned with ritualpurity and symbolic of Jesus act of self-sacrifice and humble service onthe cross. Both John and S ynop tic s tie the Passion narrative toPassover, but they do so in very different ways. Both imply Jesus as thepaschal Lamb, but that implication is more intense and dramatic in theFourth Gospel.Thirdly, John draws out paschal symbolism in describing the use ofhyssop for the sponge of vinegar 19:29; Exod 12:22), and in Jesusunbroken bones and the fulfilment of Scripture 19:31-36; Exod 12:10;Num 9:12 53 The hyssop makes little sense at the literal sense, the plantbeing soft and pliant, unable to support the weight of heavy flow. Its

53. is also possible that the citation at 19:36 refers, no t to the paschal lamb, but to thesuffering psalmist, whom God will protect Ps 34:21). Most likely, both meanings arepresent. See E. Brown, The eath of the Messiah From Gethsemane to Grave 2 vols.;NewYork: Doubleday, 1994),2.1185-86.


14/16

26 PACIFICA FEBRUARY 2011significance is clearly other, and most likely metaphorical for Passover.The unbroken bones again emphasis that the icon on the cross is theLamb of God, his body whole and complete, as appropriate not onlyfor the paschal lamb but also for the animals used for sacrifice in thecult. Similarly, the flow of blood and water - arguably the climax of theJohannine Passion narrative - indicates that in the [ohannine Jesus thetypological role of the paschal and cultic lamb has been effected, whoseshed / sprinkled blood affords protection and salvation, bringing thecovenant to birth. Only the gaze of faith permits such an insight d1:14); for the [ohannine implied reader, this is truly the Lamb of God.

The taking away of sin is thereby achieved in the glorification ofGod and the eschatological casting out of the ruler of this world12:32), since that eschatological now nun simultaneously spells theend of sin and death. Here, as the Baptist has foretold, the sin of theworld is definitively dealt with: removed, defeated, overcome. Forthis reason, on Easter Sunday the risen Christ in the Johannine Easternarrative can give the gathered disciples authority to release and retainsins 20:23), because the root cause has been destroyed in an atoningsacrifice that makes full forgiveness possible. The barrier inhibiting allpeople or possibly al l things ) has been dismantled, giving access tothe divine embrace, figuratively represented in the Gospel by theraised arms of Jesus on the cross 12:32), and by the life-giving streamthat i ssues from his side.w

PASCHAL IMAGERY AS SYMBOLICGiven this brief overview of the narrative significance of the feast,

how then does the paschal and sacrificial language operatesymbolically with in the text? In the Gospel of John, Passover - thegreatest of all the feasts in its iteration throughout the narrative - isessential for understanding the Johannine Jesus.55 Substance emergesat the point where Passover and its accompanying images meet thefigure of Jesus, since metaphor is the merging of two distinct entities toform a new reality. Through this example, we perceive that the conceptof the [ohannine Jesus emerges precisely in the fusing of a significantnumber of Old Testament images, figures Moses, Jacob, Abraham,Isaiah), Torah and Wisdom, cultic rites and practice, all bringing into

54. When Jesus appears to the disciples, and later to Tho mas, his wounds are stillvisible. The expression th rust your finger here 20:27) suggests that the wound issymbolically still open.55. Embodied in the incarnate Son of God the reader finds the perfection of what wasdone in the Jewish Temple in s igns and shadows ... There is no attempt to denigrate theestablished and cherished ways of remembering and rendering present God s savingaction among his p eo ple. The account of J es us presence at the great feasts of Israel...affirms that the former order has been perfected, not destroyed F. J. Moloney, Signs andShadows Reading ohn 5-12 [Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996]152).


15/16

LEE: PASCHAL IMAGERY IN JOHN 27being something fresh and unprecedented - not even to be confusedwith the Jesus of the Synoptics, despite the significant points ofoverlap. The rhetorical issue in this Gospel is that to see the one is tosee reflected, as in a mirror, the image of the other: to perceive theseOld Testament figures is to perceive the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel,and vice versa. By the end of the Gospel, within its imaginativeframework, the Jewish Passover and Jesus merge into one. That is whysalvation is of the ews 4:22). Judaism, and Judaism alone, in thecontext particularly of Torah, provides the symbolic framework out ofwhich the [ohannine Jesus is formed - of which there is no betterexample than Passover. The implied reader sees the face of Jesus in therituals of Passover, and sees Passover in the face of Jesus, especially asthat blending displays itself on the cross.Yet it is not just the face, as it were, of the Johannine Jesus whichcomes into focus through the metaphorical association. The rites ofPassover are rich and complex in meaning, especially when extendedto include other Old Testament features of cult, sacrifice and suffering.The lamb implies a death and a consuming, a protection and aredemption. Imagery of flesh and blood, as we have already seen inthe Fourth Gospel, lends itself to paschal imagery: cleansing, eating,drinking, believing. The cross becomes the place where Passover in itsextended sense) and the character of Jesus most fully and radicallycohere: in the crucifixion at the hour of slaughter, in the ironically)purificatory intentions of the authorities, in the wholeness of the bones,in the aqueous flow - in the whole act of self-immolation.56 There is agiving, in this event, an offering, a sacrifice, in which paschal and culticsymbolism are indispensable for the unveiling of Jesus in this Gospel.

CONCLUSIONJohn s paschal Christology has important implications for thebelieving community. The same giving in death - the self-giving ofGod s Lamb - implies also a sacramental giving. The one who giveshis flesh for the life of the world does so not only in his atoning death,but also in the sacramental apprehension of that death. For the impliedreader to part icipate in this death, the fulfilment of Passover, there is

involved an eating and drinking , just as there is in the originalPassover. The new comes into being in and through the structures ofthe old. In the symbolic merging which takes place, in the widening ofthe metaphorical field, the flesh of the [ohannine Jesus, assimilated byfaith in eucharistic participation, is the true, inner meaning ofPassover, to which - in John s theology - the old has pointed56. On Passover imagery in the crucifixion, in relat ion to the scriptural quotations, seeM. Cornwell, Behold the Lamb of God , mmanuel112 2006), 139-143, 152-156.57. For a brief history of debate on [ohannine sacramentality, see Koester, Symbolism257-262 on John 6, see 94-100).


16/16

28 PACIFICA 24 FEBRUARY 2 11symbolically. Incarnation crucifixion sacrifice eucharist: these unfoldas the true significance of Passover and cult the symbolic frameworkin which the new e me rg es f ro m t he chrysalis of th e old.

Th e Fourth Gospel ha s its own way of employing overlappingimagery associated with temple and cult. Here there is expansion alooping together of images not usually associated in order to createsomething symbolically and theologically new. Wor king as symboland metaphor the imagery opens the w orld of th e text to the informedreader creating an intricate metaphorical field that intersects withother metaphorical fields in th e Gospel. In its enlargement of Passovert he F ou rt h Gospel dra ws o n several Ol d Testament motifs to shape itschristological understanding of th e death of Jesus. Paschal symbolismin its extended meaning represents Jesus as th e realisation of Passoverand cult th e Suffering Servant and victor over death. He is Shepherdas well as sacrificial Lamb hence injecting not just expansion but alsoparadox within the metaphorical field. The distinctive nature of John ssymbolism has the capacity to carry this complex of referent andmeaning supplying figurative form to t he me ss ag e of the [ohanninecross.

imaginea pascala la evioan pacifica 2012 (1)

Documents