Saturday, November 5, 2022

Johan Ferreira on John 12:41

John 12:41 reads:

 

Isaiah said this because he was his glory and spoke about him (Greek: αῦτα εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ὅτι εἶδεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐλάλησεν περὶ αὐτοῦ) (NRSV)

 

Commenting on this verse, Johan Ferreira noted that:

 

The pronoun ταυτα refers not only to the immediate quotation from Isaiah but to the chapter as a whole, specially to the house of Jesus’ glorification, for he says Isaiah ειδεν την δοξαν αυτου. The reference is to Isaiah 6 where the prophet had the vision of Yahweh sitting on the throne in the temple. It is interesting to note here that the author may be reflecting on the Targum Onqelos which reads in Isa. 6.5, ‘My eyes have seen יקר שכינת מלך עלמא’ (Kittel and von Rad 1964: 245). Isaiah saw the Lord in the temple, the place where his כבוד was manifested, and the temple was ‘filled with smoke’, which evidently came from the burning altar. IT may be that the author saw that burning altar as anticipating the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, for herein, he says the prophet saw his δοξα. Also in 2 Chron. 7.1-3 it appears that the glory cloud which filled the temple came from the smoke of the sacrifices which were ignited by the fire from heaven. The imagery may have provided the background of John’s association of Jesus’ cross with his δοξα. Therefore, the suffering that the Johannine Jesus endured is an important element of his mission (being sent) into the world. Since his elected ones will obtain salvation through his suffering, it constitutes a crucial element of his glory. Therefore, in Riga’s words:

 

When the Jews seemed about to extinguish and destroy the work of Christ, at that moment, St. John tells us, comes the very moment of his glorification (death, resurrection, and ascension as one whole, one ‘entity’ of salvation) as the Son of God (1963: 424).

 

This aspect of suffering in the glory of Jesus is significant for Johannine ecclesiology. The community’s struggle is the moment of glorification. As such the community’s struggle is crucial for being Christus prolongatus. The Sitz im Leben of the Johannine community may well have shaped this understanding of glory. (Johan Ferreira, Johannine Ecclesiology [Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 160; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998], 156-57)