WEBVTT

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Prof: We're going to
continue with the lecture on the

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Gospel of John that I talked
about last time.

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I want to finish up with some
of the material on John that I

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didn't get to as much as I'd
like to,

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and then we're going to switch
to the letters of John--

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1,2, and 3 John,
so we're going to do both of

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those things.

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Now, remember,
the rubric under which today's

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lecture happens is not just the
Gospel of John and not just the

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letters of John.

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As I've brought up several
times, the method that I'm

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teaching you right now in this
class is the historical critical

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method as it was developed in
the twentieth century in Europe

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and North America.

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This means that we're not
reading these texts for just

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what the texts say about
theology or even the early

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church or doctrine,
or ethics or something like

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that.

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We're trying to read the text
in a way against the very

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intention of the text.

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We're taking the text as being
something like a window that we

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can look through to try to
construct,

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as best as we can guess at it,
what kind of social context,

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what kind of political context,
what kind of church,

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what kind of social groups
produced these texts and found

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them to be compelling,
found them to be believable.

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There are lots of other ways to
read this.

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Obviously the Gospel of John is
very important for Christian

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doctrine.

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It's the most Christological of
the Gospels,

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it has the highest form of
Christology,

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that is the Christology--it's
the most divine rather than

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simply being human and so it's
very important for doctrine,

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and for theology, and for faith.

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What I'm doing right now is
just one particular way of

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reading,
which is reading this text as a

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clue,
as a series of clues and traces

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that we might use to reconstruct
what we think was going on in

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the first century with the
growth of Christianity.

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I'm trying to show you by this
that there are different kinds

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of Christianity that grew up in
different places,

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different geographical
settings, and different times.

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So what we call Johannine
Christianity is what we're going

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to talk about today.

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And we're also--one of the
wonderful things about the John

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literature is that by having the
Gospel,

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which is written at one time,
and then having 1 John which is

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the letter written after that
time we can tell,

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that shows us a development of
this form of Christianity and

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than by having 2 and 3 John,
which we believe were written

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still later than 1 John,
that gives us a third stage.

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In fact, what I'm going to be
talking about is three or four

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stages in the development of
Johannine Christianity as one

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branch of early Christian
literature.

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In order to do this--I talked
last time about how one of the

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things going on in the Gospel of
John is Jesus and the Gospel of

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John seems to start off lots of
conversations and they lead to

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division,
so the causation of division is

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one of the themes of the Gospel
of John and to show that we're

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going to walk through a couple
of chapters.

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First look at chapter 3,
this is the story of Nicodemus,

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so get your Bibles out and
follow along with me,

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because we're going to look at
this in depth and then we're

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going to look at chapter 8 a
bit,

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and then we're going to move
off.

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I said division is the issue,
so what we're going to talk

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about is what the division is.

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One of the ways that this
author does this is he sets up

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Jesus in these dialogues that
don't actually work very well.

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Jesus is not good on
interpersonal communication in

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the Gospel of John.

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I'm sorry to have to tell you
that.

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We'll talk about why that's the
case.

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Jesus talks in riddles,
so the question we're going to

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have is why does Jesus talk in
riddles in the Gospel of John?

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What do we get out of that?

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Chapter 3, "There was a
Pharisee named Nicodemus,

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a leader of the Jews,
he came to Jesus by night and

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said to him"--
now by night,

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darkness is kind of a thematic
issue in the Gospel of John,

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right?

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Notice I'm not going to bring
up all these themes this time,

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but keep noticing these themes
that I talked about last time as

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they occur even in this little
passage.

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"Rabbi,
we know that you are a teacher

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who has come from God,
and no one else can do these

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signs that you do apart from the
presence of God."

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Jesus answered him,
"Very truly I tell you,

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no one can see the kingdom of
God without being born from

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above."

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How the hell does that follow
from what Nicodemus just said?

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He's gives Jesus a compliment,
"you're a teacher from

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God, no one else can do these
signs, ...

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apart from the presence of
God…,"

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Jesus says,
"No one can see the

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kingdom of"--
what is there,

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is there a thank you?

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Can Jesus say,
"You're smart"?

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"You just got something
there"?

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No, Jesus starts off changing
the subject.

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Jesus changes the subject in
the Gospel of John quite a lot.

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"No one can see the
Kingdom of God without being

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born from above."

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Now you're reading it in
English translation.

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My text just said "from
above," does anybody's

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translation have something
different there besides

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"from above"?

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Student:
>

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Prof: "Without
being born anew,"

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"again."

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The problem is the Greek
actually can be translated

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either "being born
again" or "being born

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all over again,"
or "being born from

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above."

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The same Greek word means both
things.

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Now this is the one place,
basically,

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in the Bible which born-again
kind of language comes out,

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so it's kind of ironic that
there's whole branches of

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American Christianity which base
their entire theology and

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ideology on the idea,
have you been born again?

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Because really it's just from
this passage,

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the other Gospels don't talk
about being born again.

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It's a rather rare metaphor in
early Christianity.

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It comes from this chapter
right here,

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and it comes from a Greek word
that could be just as easily

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translated "be born from
above" as "be born

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again."

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My English
translation--translators have

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decided to translated,
"from above,"

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but notice it's confusing for
the hearer because Nicodemus

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then answers as if he heard it
to be,

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"being born again,"
so Nicodemus said to him,

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"How can anyone be born
after having grown old?

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Can one enter a second time
into the mother's womb and be

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born?"

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Jesus said, "Nicodemus I'm
speaking metaphorically and

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spiritually here,
you need to understand that I

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don't mean particularly that
someone has to be actually born

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physically from their mother
again."

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No, Jesus doesn't say any of
that, right?

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That's what Jesus should have
said,

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probably, if Jesus really
wanted to communicate with

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Nicodemus,
but apparently,

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in John, Jesus is not that
interested in communicating very

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directly with Nicodemus because
Jesus says,

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"Truly I tell you,
no one can enter the Kingdom of

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God without being born of water
and spirit."

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What the hell does that mean?

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"What is born of the flesh
is flesh, and what is born of

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the spirit is spirit.

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Do not be astonished that I
said to you, 'You must be born

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from above.'

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The wind blows where it
chooses, and you hear the sound

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of it but you do not know where
it comes from or where it

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goes."

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What does that mean?

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Does it help you to know the
Greek word translated here

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"spirit"
is also the Greek word which

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can be translated as
"wind."

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Notice that the Gospel of John
is playing with you with puns,

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there's already two puns in
this passage.

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One, does the Greek word--is
the Greek word "being born

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again" or is it "born
from above"?

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Well you're not told in the
text, in fact it sounds like it

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may mean a little bit of both.

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Is this Greek word,
pneuma,

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is it supposed to represent the
spirit as a theological term or

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is it supposed to represent
breath or wind?

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It seems to be doing double
duty.

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Anyway, with all that stuff
about wind blowing where it

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will,
so it is with everyone who is

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born of the spirit Nicodemus
tries one more time said to him,

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"How can these things
be?"

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In other words,
Jesus can you give me an

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explanation of what you're
talking about?

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It's not an unreasonable
request.

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Jesus answered,
"Are you a teacher of

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Israel and you do not understand
these things?

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[Well that's helpful.]
Truly I tell you.

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we speak of what we know and
testify to what we've seen,

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yet you do not receive our
testimony.

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If I had told you about earthly
things and you do not believe,

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how will you believe if I tell
you about heavenly things?

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No one has ascended into heaven
except the one who descended

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from heaven, the Son of Man.

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And just as Moses lifted up the
servant in the wilderness,

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so the Son of Man must be
lifted up,

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that whoever believes in him
may have eternal life."

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Well at this point Nicodemus
just gives up.

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We don't hear about Nicodemus
anymore in the story so

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apparently he's decided,
I can't get a straight answer

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out of this guy.

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Notice also how Jesus starts
off in a dialogical stance with

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Nicodemus but never answers his
questions,

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and then Jesus almost gets kind
of,

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well nasty, toward the end.

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He kind of just almost insults
Nicodemus rather than just

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explaining what he means.

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This is kind of the way Jesus
sometimes talks in the Gospel of

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John, and my question is going
to be, why?

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Is Jesus just lacking in social
skills?

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Look in 8:31,
another little interesting

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dialogue.

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Jesus has been teaching and now
"Jesus said to the Jews who

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had believed in him."

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Now notice the scene starts
out--often in the Gospel of John

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the Jews are talked about as if
they're something other than

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Jesus is.

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Of course Jesus is a Jew,
his disciples are Jews,

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they're all Jews in this story
but the term "the

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Jews" gets packed in the
Gospel of John with this

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otherness and this is a
reflection of the sectarianism I

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talked about last time.

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Now notice Jesus is now
starting to talk to the Jews

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who believe in him.

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These are not the Jews who have
rejected him,

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that's very important to see at
this point in the chapter.

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These are the Jews who now
believe in him.

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"If you continue in my
word you are truly my disciples

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and you will know the truth and
the truth will make you

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free."

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They answered him,
"We are the descendants of

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Abraham and have never been
slaves to anyone.

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What do you mean by saying you
will be made free?"

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Jesus answered them,
"Well I was speaking

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metaphorically.

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I meant that,
let's say you're slaves to sin

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and, if you follow me,
then I will make you truly free

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in a spiritual sense,
I mean."

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That's not what Jesus does,
right?

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All right 34:
Jesus answered them,

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"Very truly I tell you,
everyone who commits sin is a

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slave to sin.

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The slave does not have a
permanent place in the

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household.

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The son has a place there
forever, so if the son makes you

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free, you will be free indeed.

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I know that you are descendants
of Abraham,

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yet you look for an opportunity
to kill me [Wait a minute,

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Jesus, these are the people who
believe in you.]

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because there's no place in you
for my word.

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I declare what I have seen in
the Father's presence.

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As for you, you should do what
you have heard from the

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Father."

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They answered him,
Well Abraham's our father,

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we're Jews.

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Jesus said to them,
"If you are Abraham's

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children you would be doing what
Abraham did.

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But now you are trying to kill
me and a man who has told you

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the truth that I heard from God,
that's not what Abraham did.

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You are indeed doing what your
father said."

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They said to him,
"We are not bastards,

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we are not illegitimate
children, we have one father God

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Himself.

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So they try another tactic,
well if he won't be satisfied

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with Abraham as being the
Father, okay,

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we'll have God as our Father.

11:26.769 --> 11:28.729
Jesus said to them,
"If God were your Father

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you would love me,
for I came from God,

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and now I am here.

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I did not come of my own,
but he sent me.

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Why do you not understand what
I say?

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Is it because you cannot accept
my word?

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You are from your father the
devil."

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The devil?

11:40.480 --> 11:42.520
These are the people who
believe in him,

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and Jesus ends up the whole
thing as I told--

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they finally end up saying,
yeah the Jews in verse 48 the

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Jews are saying,
"Are we not right in

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saying that you are a Samaritan
and have a demon?"

11:53.408 --> 11:56.868
Now they're both being
antagonistic,

11:56.865 --> 12:02.785
and finally the chapter ends
way down there as I talked about

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last time verse 56,
"Your ancestor Abraham

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rejoiced that he would see my
day, he saw it and was

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glad."

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Then the Jews said to him,
"You are not yet fifty

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years old, and have you seen
Abraham?"

12:12.009 --> 12:15.229
Jesus said to him,
"Very truly I tell you,

12:15.230 --> 12:17.540
before Abraham was,
I am."

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There's that strong
Christological claim of Jesus

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being God himself,
and of course they picked up

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stones to throw at him,
but Jesus hid himself and went

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out of the temple.

12:26.950 --> 12:30.330
Notice there are these things
going on, Jesus speaks in

12:30.327 --> 12:32.327
riddles in the Gospel of John.

12:32.330 --> 12:37.150
Jesus does not do what a good
Yale instructor is supposed to

12:37.148 --> 12:40.168
do, which is explain things to
you.

12:40.169 --> 12:42.069
Jesus talks in riddles.

12:42.070 --> 12:45.380
When they ask questions he
responds in--with non-sequiturs.

12:45.379 --> 12:49.239
And then when they act like
they want to believe in him he

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pushes them and then starts
picking at them,

12:52.418 --> 12:55.428
and accusing them of stuff and
eventually the scene ends up

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with everybody is all
frustrated,

12:57.298 --> 12:59.308
Jesus is accusing them of
trying to kill him,

12:59.308 --> 13:02.888
and sure enough then they do
start to try to kill him.

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Notice how in the Gospel of
John repeatedly these issues

13:07.014 --> 13:09.044
come down to Christology.

13:09.039 --> 13:11.419
Who is the person of Jesus?

13:11.418 --> 13:15.138
The point at which they pick up
the stones to throw at him is

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when he makes this claim by
quoting Exodus,

13:18.000 --> 13:23.460
the very name of God,
that Jesus himself is God.

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Now with all that going on
let's look at how this then

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plays itself out in the first
letter of John.

13:29.649 --> 13:34.039


13:34.038 --> 13:37.868
Just to back up,
remember how diverse we're

13:37.870 --> 13:41.330
finding Christianity,
and we're going to start seeing

13:41.325 --> 13:43.565
that diversity now representing
itself in Christology.

13:43.570 --> 13:47.530
We have seen it already in
geography, right?

13:47.529 --> 13:49.689
We've seen that,
and according to the Book of

13:49.687 --> 13:51.757
Acts,
the Gospel spread out in

13:51.755 --> 13:54.895
concentric circles from
Jerusalem to Judea,

13:54.899 --> 13:56.519
to Samaria to the ends of the
earth,

13:56.519 --> 13:59.509
but we also saw how in Acts if
you read it critically between

13:59.514 --> 14:02.364
the lines you can see it didn't
really spread that way.

14:02.360 --> 14:05.490
There were anonymous Christians
who went off out of Jerusalem

14:05.485 --> 14:08.295
after a certain period of
persecution and they took the

14:08.298 --> 14:11.108
message to Cyrene and to
different parts of the east of

14:11.110 --> 14:14.080
the Mediterranean and these were
anonymous people,

14:14.080 --> 14:15.340
we don't know them,
they weren't Peter.

14:15.340 --> 14:17.880
Then later Paul and Barnabas
take things around,

14:17.879 --> 14:20.439
and Phillip goes off to
Samaria, and maybe there's this

14:20.437 --> 14:23.087
Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of
Acts who's converted,

14:23.090 --> 14:25.210
and he may take the Gospel back
to Ethiopia.

14:25.210 --> 14:28.210
So the spread of Christianity
historically was much messier

14:28.211 --> 14:31.321
then it really is portrayed in
any straightforward way in the

14:31.317 --> 14:32.247
New Testament.

14:32.250 --> 14:35.090
It seemed to have been spread
by just people going to their

14:35.085 --> 14:38.015
home villages and hometowns and
taking back this message that

14:38.018 --> 14:39.728
they heard in different places.

14:39.730 --> 14:42.860
The way the Gospel spreads,
the way Christianity spreads is

14:42.855 --> 14:43.605
differently.

14:43.610 --> 14:46.140
We saw, for example,
that in Thomasine Christianity,

14:46.139 --> 14:48.829
which seems to have been very
popular in Syria and then all

14:48.828 --> 14:51.518
the way into India,
that's a form of Christianity

14:51.523 --> 14:55.043
that's slightly different from
the form of Christianity that's

14:55.044 --> 14:56.954
rising up in Rome at the time.

14:56.950 --> 15:00.260
Although church tradition says
that Peter was the one who took

15:00.260 --> 15:03.030
the Gospel to Rome and founded
the church there,

15:03.028 --> 15:06.058
well, we have good reasons as
you can tell why we historians

15:06.056 --> 15:07.026
tend to doubt that.

15:07.029 --> 15:07.389
Why?

15:07.389 --> 15:10.739
Because we attend--we believe
basically that again anonymous

15:10.738 --> 15:13.968
Christians who are lost to
history probably were the first

15:13.972 --> 15:16.132
ones who took the Gospel to
Rome,

15:16.129 --> 15:19.869
and then Peter became connected
--with that tradition.

15:19.870 --> 15:22.420
There's a certain kind of
Christianity that's growing up

15:22.418 --> 15:24.208
in Rome,
there's another kind of

15:24.207 --> 15:27.097
Christianity that's growing up
in Syria and India,

15:27.100 --> 15:29.940
there's another kind of
Christianity that's growing up

15:29.937 --> 15:32.507
in Antioch and in that part of
western Syria,

15:32.509 --> 15:34.539
and there's another kind of
Christianity we don't know

15:34.538 --> 15:36.718
anything about at this point
that's probably growing up in

15:36.719 --> 15:38.319
Egypt,
we just don't have enough

15:38.322 --> 15:40.882
sources to know what kind of
Christianity may have been

15:40.879 --> 15:41.969
growing up in Egypt.

15:41.970 --> 15:45.650
There's different geographical
regions experiencing different

15:45.654 --> 15:48.514
kinds of Christianity,
and those different kinds of

15:48.509 --> 15:51.009
Christianity are diverse with
respect to the Torah,

15:51.009 --> 15:52.439
the Jewish law right?

15:52.440 --> 15:56.080
If there's another--if there is
still a form of Christianity

15:56.081 --> 15:59.661
that's predominantly Jewish
that's located in Jerusalem and

15:59.663 --> 16:02.383
it's led by James the brother of
Jesus,

16:02.379 --> 16:05.909
who seems to have been famous
for advocating a certain kind of

16:05.905 --> 16:09.485
law observant Torah obedient
form of discipleship to Jesus,

16:09.490 --> 16:12.050
then you've got a form of
Jewish Christianity that still

16:12.048 --> 16:14.988
seems to be keeping the law,
and we've seen that reflected

16:14.989 --> 16:16.849
possibly in the Gospel of
Matthew,

16:16.850 --> 16:20.310
with its teaching that the law
is still something that people

16:20.307 --> 16:21.227
ought to obey.

16:21.230 --> 16:23.970
We've seen though that the
Gospel of Mark teaches a

16:23.966 --> 16:26.596
Christianity that maybe it--
some people say Mark was

16:26.597 --> 16:28.887
written in Rome,
other people say maybe Mark was

16:28.894 --> 16:31.514
written in Syria or in Galilee,
but it's some kind of

16:31.514 --> 16:33.724
Christianity that's now
predominantly Gentile,

16:33.720 --> 16:35.530
although it still has Jewish
elements,

16:35.529 --> 16:38.069
but these are people who are
not keeping the law.

16:38.070 --> 16:40.180
They seem to believe that they
don't have to keep the Jewish

16:40.183 --> 16:40.403
law.

16:40.399 --> 16:43.599
Then we've got the form of
Christianity in Luke that we saw

16:43.601 --> 16:47.421
where the Torah,
the law, represents a certain

16:47.424 --> 16:52.104
an ethnic tradition of the Jews,
so if you're Jewish you should

16:52.095 --> 16:54.825
keep the law but if you're a
Gentile you don't need to keep

16:54.831 --> 16:55.351
the law.

16:55.350 --> 16:58.940
Then we saw from the Gospel of
Thomas and the Gospel of John

16:58.941 --> 17:01.621
where is the concern about the
law at all?

17:01.620 --> 17:02.810
It's not really there.

17:02.808 --> 17:05.128
You can read all the way
through the Gospel of John,

17:05.130 --> 17:07.320
sure there are some
controversies about the Sabbath,

17:07.318 --> 17:08.638
about what you can do on the
Sabbath,

17:08.640 --> 17:13.250
but disputes about observation
of Jewish law are not really at

17:13.246 --> 17:17.776
issue in the Gospel of Thomas
and they're not really at issue

17:17.776 --> 17:19.736
in the Gospel of John.

17:19.740 --> 17:24.430
What is at issue in the Gospel
of John is Christology.

17:24.430 --> 17:25.600
What do you believe about Jesus?

17:25.598 --> 17:28.418
Let's look at the different
kinds of Christologies you get

17:28.420 --> 17:31.390
in early Christianity too before
we move onto the letters.

17:31.390 --> 17:36.890
First Mark, the Gospel of Mark,
what is Mark's Christology?

17:36.890 --> 17:38.530
What is his doctrine of Christ?

17:38.529 --> 17:41.259
Well for one thing,
according to Mark,

17:41.262 --> 17:45.102
Jesus is the Son of God,
now that doesn't necessarily

17:45.104 --> 17:48.874
mean yet that Jesus is
completely divine or equal to

17:48.871 --> 17:49.611
God.

17:49.608 --> 17:53.138
You can be called a Son of God
without necessarily being God

17:53.144 --> 17:55.664
himself in this period of
Christianity,

17:55.660 --> 17:58.610
but at least Mark certainly
considers Jesus the Son of God.

17:58.608 --> 18:01.918
He also, though,
considers Jesus to be the

18:01.923 --> 18:05.803
Messiah, the Christ,
who has to suffer and Jesus'

18:05.803 --> 18:10.413
suffering is for the purpose of
ransoming us sinners.

18:10.410 --> 18:14.300
Now the Christology that Mark's
working with is Jesus is the

18:14.295 --> 18:15.955
Messiah,
the Son of God,

18:15.961 --> 18:19.351
it's mandated that he suffers,
so it's God's will that the

18:19.345 --> 18:20.155
Messiah suffer.

18:20.160 --> 18:22.610
And that's one of the reasons
he writes his Gospel is to

18:22.611 --> 18:25.371
convince his readers that Jesus'
suffering and execution wasn't

18:25.374 --> 18:27.384
an accident and it wasn't a
catastrophe,

18:27.380 --> 18:29.410
and it wasn't a calamity,
it was God's will,

18:29.410 --> 18:31.130
it needed to happen.

18:31.130 --> 18:35.490
So the suffering Son of God is
part of Mark's Christology.

18:35.490 --> 18:38.820
If you get to Luke,
as I've said before,

18:38.817 --> 18:43.507
this whole idea that Jesus'
death was a ransom is not in

18:43.510 --> 18:44.280
Luke.

18:44.279 --> 18:47.659
In fact, Luke excises that part
of Mark when he's copying that

18:47.662 --> 18:50.412
part of Mark,
and he leaves out that ransom

18:50.413 --> 18:54.273
passage from Mark because that
doesn't fit his Christology.

18:54.269 --> 18:57.189
For the Christology of Luke,
do you remember,

18:57.189 --> 18:59.839
Luke and Acts,
what is the Christology of

18:59.842 --> 19:00.442
Luke?

19:00.440 --> 19:03.730
Anybody want to venture a
remembrance?

19:03.730 --> 19:06.340
The martyr prophet exactly.

19:06.338 --> 19:11.098
Jesus is the martyr prophet
who's an example for Stephen,

19:11.098 --> 19:14.898
or Paul, or all of us who are
followers of Jesus,

19:14.900 --> 19:16.920
we're all martyr prophets,
we're called to be martyr

19:16.923 --> 19:19.333
prophets,
that's not a ransom for many.

19:19.328 --> 19:23.608
Luke doesn't have a doctrine of
the atonement,

19:23.608 --> 19:28.028
the Christian doctrine that
says, the death of Jesus was to

19:28.030 --> 19:32.760
pay for the sins of humanity or
to redeem human beings from the

19:32.757 --> 19:36.287
debts of sin,
so that's Luke's.

19:36.288 --> 19:39.918
The Gospel of Thomas,
there's no death at all in the

19:39.924 --> 19:41.284
Gospel of Thomas.

19:41.279 --> 19:44.839
The Christology of the Gospel
of Thomas though is that Jesus

19:44.838 --> 19:48.458
comes across as practically an
already resurrected figure.

19:48.460 --> 19:51.260
He's a knower,
he's a figure of wisdom who's

19:51.258 --> 19:54.058
come from the Father,
who's come from above,

19:54.056 --> 19:57.566
and he comes to give his
disciples true knowledge.

19:57.568 --> 20:02.978
So Jesus as the revealer of
hidden knowledge is the main

20:02.980 --> 20:06.720
Christology of the Gospel of
Thomas.

20:06.720 --> 20:11.170
Now the Gospel of John,
this is when you get closest to

20:11.170 --> 20:14.880
what will be seen as orthodox
Christianity.

20:14.880 --> 20:20.170
A lot of orthodox Christology
was set at least,

20:20.172 --> 20:26.502
at one of the main periods,
at the Council of Nicaea.

20:26.500 --> 20:35.840
So we call this the Council of
Nicaea in 325 of our era CE,

20:35.838 --> 20:38.218
there was a council called
together by the Emperor

20:38.220 --> 20:41.330
Constantine who was tired of all
these Christians squabbling,

20:41.328 --> 20:45.258
especially about Christology,
and he got bishops and people

20:45.258 --> 20:48.188
from around the empire,
and he tried to get them to

20:48.188 --> 20:49.138
come to an agreement.

20:49.140 --> 20:53.260
They wrote what has come down
to be called the Nicene Creed.

20:53.259 --> 20:57.479
And a lot of Christians,
Roman Catholics,

20:57.480 --> 21:00.590
Episcopalians,
Anglicans, some other churches,

21:00.588 --> 21:04.778
will actually say the Nicene
Creed in church as part of the

21:04.779 --> 21:05.719
literature.

21:05.720 --> 21:08.000
Can anybody say it?

21:08.000 --> 21:12.410
We believe in--some of you know
it,

21:12.410 --> 21:15.840
yes, you know the Nicene Creed,
so that Nicene Creed about

21:15.836 --> 21:17.886
Jesus being very God,
from very God,

21:17.893 --> 21:19.343
God from God,
light from light,

21:19.338 --> 21:22.178
begotten not made,
because that was one of the

21:22.182 --> 21:25.632
Christological--
so was Jesus Son of God because

21:25.626 --> 21:29.796
he was born from eternity as
divine or did God say at one

21:29.796 --> 21:34.336
point okay he's a really good
guy I'm going to graduate him to

21:34.336 --> 21:35.896
divinity status?

21:35.900 --> 21:38.470
That was one Christology.

21:38.470 --> 21:41.910
The Nicene Creed said,
no, Jesus did not become divine

21:41.913 --> 21:43.413
he always was divine.

21:43.410 --> 21:47.500
The orthodox Christology was
set to a great extent by the

21:47.500 --> 21:51.930
Nicene Creed in 325,
but how do we get from the year

21:51.928 --> 21:56.118
30 when Jesus is crucified,
the year 70 when the Jerusalem

21:56.115 --> 21:59.075
temple is destroyed and the
Gospel of Mark may have been

21:59.076 --> 22:01.696
published,
the 50s when Paul was writing

22:01.698 --> 22:03.938
his letters,
maybe a year in the 90s when

22:03.939 --> 22:07.359
the Gospel of John is writing,
from those times all the way to

22:07.361 --> 22:11.141
year 325 where there's a whole
lot of fighting going on between

22:11.144 --> 22:14.684
Christians trying to solidify
what the orthodox Christology

22:14.683 --> 22:15.603
should be?

22:15.598 --> 22:17.618
Of these different sources
we've talked about,

22:17.618 --> 22:20.878
the one that comes the closest
to the Nicene Creed is this

22:20.875 --> 22:22.985
Christology of the Gospel of
John,

22:22.990 --> 22:26.450
because according to John,
Jesus is fully God,

22:26.450 --> 22:31.620
co-equal with the Father,
he's I am,

22:31.618 --> 22:34.188
that is identifying himself
with the figure who appeared to

22:34.192 --> 22:37.292
Moses in the burning bush,
he's the descending and

22:37.288 --> 22:41.108
ascending redeemer,
he's also the lamb of God

22:41.114 --> 22:45.914
sacrificed for the people,
and in his sacrifice he takes

22:45.914 --> 22:48.204
away the sins of the world.

22:48.200 --> 22:52.090
All those elements that would
end up becoming orthodox

22:52.089 --> 22:54.589
Christianity,
orthodox Christology,

22:54.586 --> 22:57.886
those can be found in the
Gospel of John.

22:57.890 --> 23:00.520
Now how do we get from there to
1 John?

23:00.519 --> 23:02.079
Any questions about that?

23:02.078 --> 23:04.518
What I want you to really see
is I want you to be able to

23:04.517 --> 23:06.427
anchor down,
not just take my word for it

23:06.430 --> 23:08.620
that well,
Professor Martin knows all

23:08.618 --> 23:11.488
things about all things,
and he tells me that there are

23:11.488 --> 23:13.678
these different Christology's
and these different early

23:13.682 --> 23:15.962
Christian documents and so
that's what I'm going to write

23:15.955 --> 23:16.805
back on a paper.

23:16.809 --> 23:17.389
I don't want that.

23:17.390 --> 23:20.110
What I want you to do is be
able to actually anchor down

23:20.113 --> 23:22.743
these ideas into these
particular texts that come from

23:22.736 --> 23:25.456
particular different places in
early Christianity,

23:25.460 --> 23:29.860
so any questions about that?

23:29.859 --> 23:30.619
Yes sir?

23:30.618 --> 23:33.508
Student:
>

23:33.509 --> 23:35.699
Prof: The Christology of
Matthew is quite a bit like

23:35.704 --> 23:35.974
Mark.

23:35.970 --> 23:39.090
Matthew also believes that the
death of Jesus,

23:39.093 --> 23:42.013
for example,
was as a ransom for people and

23:42.007 --> 23:42.907
for sins.

23:42.910 --> 23:46.830
Matthew also believes that
Jesus is the Son of God and that

23:46.827 --> 23:48.177
he is the Messiah.

23:48.180 --> 23:54.360
Exactly how divine Jesus is in
the Gospel of Matthew is up for

23:54.357 --> 23:56.037
grabs,
it's not clear,

23:56.038 --> 23:58.958
but he still--he definitely
seems to believe that Jesus is

23:58.960 --> 24:00.190
divine in some sense.

24:00.190 --> 24:03.740
Matthew's Christology is not
too much different from Mark's.

24:03.740 --> 24:06.860
The one thing that makes him a
bit different is that he seems

24:06.858 --> 24:09.668
to also take Jesus to be
something like a new Moses who

24:09.665 --> 24:11.815
either--
who not is giving a new law but

24:11.824 --> 24:14.354
is interpreting the Mosaic Law
in the proper way,

24:14.348 --> 24:16.998
so Jesus as a law giver and
Jesus as a teacher is also

24:17.000 --> 24:18.900
important for Matthew's
Christology.

24:18.900 --> 24:23.420
Any other questions?

24:23.420 --> 24:28.300
Okay look at 1 John,
the first letter of John,

24:28.304 --> 24:33.084
right toward the end of the New
Testament.

24:33.078 --> 24:37.028
Now, first, there are several
different connections with 1

24:37.027 --> 24:40.487
John to the Gospel that you can
see immediately.

24:40.490 --> 24:42.900
Let's hop through the Gospel
and see these.

24:42.900 --> 24:44.210
First look at the very
beginning,

24:44.210 --> 24:46.610
"We declare to you what
was from the beginning,

24:46.608 --> 24:49.028
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our

24:49.029 --> 24:50.619
eyes,
what we have looked at and

24:50.619 --> 24:52.589
touched with our hands
concerning the word of

24:52.585 --> 24:53.205
life."

24:53.210 --> 24:56.420
That all should sound familiar,
there's the seeing motif,

24:56.420 --> 24:58.670
the hearing motif,
and even the touching thing

24:58.670 --> 25:00.080
because,
if you remember,

25:00.080 --> 25:03.470
it's in the Gospel of John that
you have that famous scene where

25:03.474 --> 25:07.034
doubting Thomas wants to touch
Jesus' body to make sure about--

25:07.029 --> 25:08.449
that this is the real Jesus.

25:08.450 --> 25:11.580
"This life was revealed,
and we have seen it and

25:11.584 --> 25:14.524
testified to it [testimony and
testifying and witnessing is

25:14.519 --> 25:17.659
part of the Gospel of John also]
and declare to you the eternal

25:17.656 --> 25:20.846
life [eternal life is one of the
themes from the Gospel of John]

25:20.846 --> 25:23.626
that was with the Father and
was revealed to us.

25:23.630 --> 25:25.020
[There's Jesus as the
revealer.]

25:25.016 --> 25:27.736
We declared to you what we have
seen and heard so that you may

25:27.743 --> 25:29.223
also have fellowship with us.

25:29.220 --> 25:31.800
And truly our fellowship is
with the Father and his Son

25:31.801 --> 25:32.521
Jesus Christ.

25:32.519 --> 25:35.249
We are writing these things so
that our joy may be complete.

25:35.250 --> 25:38.710
We're in the same world,
the same linguistic,

25:38.709 --> 25:42.559
the same discursive,
the same theological world as

25:42.560 --> 25:44.370
the Gospel of John.

25:44.368 --> 25:46.178
Look at 1:5,
"This is the message we

25:46.178 --> 25:48.528
have heard from him and
proclaimed to you that God is

25:48.529 --> 25:50.699
light and in him there is no
darkness."

25:50.700 --> 25:53.010
That wonderful light/darkness
motif.

25:53.009 --> 25:55.379
Look at verse 7:
If we walk in the light,

25:55.377 --> 25:58.067
as he himself in the light,
we have fellowship with one

25:58.074 --> 26:00.974
another and the blood of Jesus
his son cleanses us from all

26:00.970 --> 26:01.420
sin.

26:01.420 --> 26:05.530
The blood of Jesus being
significant there too.

26:05.528 --> 26:09.968
2:29: "If you know that he
is righteous you,

26:09.971 --> 26:15.151
may be sure that everyone who
does right has been born of

26:15.153 --> 26:16.453
him."

26:16.450 --> 26:22.020
So born of him recalls this
birth stuff we've just seen in

26:22.019 --> 26:22.899
John 3.

26:22.900 --> 26:25.430
And there are lots of others,
if you just read through the

26:25.432 --> 26:28.012
first letter of John and you
keep your ear attuned to those

26:28.008 --> 26:30.628
themes that you've already seen
in the Gospel of John,

26:30.630 --> 26:32.600
you can just underline them and
highlight them all the way

26:32.595 --> 26:34.565
through the letter of John,
so they're there.

26:34.568 --> 26:37.978
There are some interesting
problems with this letter also.

26:37.980 --> 26:42.980
Look at 1:8:
If we say we have no sin we

26:42.980 --> 26:47.840
deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us.

26:47.838 --> 26:51.018
If we confess our sins,
he who is faithful and just

26:51.019 --> 26:54.009
will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all

26:54.008 --> 26:55.278
unrighteousness.

26:55.279 --> 26:58.049
If we say that we have not
sinned we make him a liar and

26:58.049 --> 26:59.259
his word is not in us.

26:59.259 --> 27:02.309
All of us are sinners, yay!

27:02.308 --> 27:05.458
You just have to confess your
sin and Jesus will cure you of

27:05.459 --> 27:05.779
sin.

27:05.779 --> 27:06.959
We're all sinners.

27:06.960 --> 27:09.280
Anybody who says they're not
sinners has a problem.

27:09.278 --> 27:13.218
Now look at 3:5,
"You know that he was

27:13.215 --> 27:18.555
revealed to take away sins and
in him there is no sin,

27:18.558 --> 27:24.218
no one who abides in him
sins."

27:24.220 --> 27:28.590
I thought we just said we are
sinners.

27:28.588 --> 27:33.208
"No one who sins has
either seen him or known

27:33.208 --> 27:34.338
him."

27:34.338 --> 27:42.488
That sounds a little
problematic.

27:42.490 --> 27:45.900
Everyone who commits sin is a
child of the devil,

27:45.902 --> 27:49.602
for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning.

27:49.598 --> 27:52.048
The Son of God was revealed to
this person to destroy the works

27:52.047 --> 27:52.637
of the devil.

27:52.640 --> 27:55.870
Those who have been born of God
do not sin because God's seed

27:55.865 --> 27:56.775
abides in them.

27:56.779 --> 27:59.009
They cannot sin because they
have been born of God.

27:59.009 --> 28:01.269
The children of God and the
children of the devil are

28:01.269 --> 28:02.269
revealed in this way.

28:02.269 --> 28:04.419
All who do not do what is right
are not from God,

28:04.417 --> 28:07.057
nor are those who do not love
their brothers and sisters.

28:07.058 --> 28:09.888
Now wait a minute,
the first part he says,

28:09.886 --> 28:12.986
we all sin and we have to
confess our sins.

28:12.990 --> 28:15.750
In this part it says,
if you're in him you don't sin,

28:15.752 --> 28:17.882
and if you do sin you're in the
devil.

28:17.880 --> 28:22.030
Look at 5:18,
"We know that those who

28:22.030 --> 28:26.750
are born of God do not sin,
but the one who is born of God

28:26.747 --> 28:29.987
protects them and the evil one
does not touch them."

28:29.990 --> 28:33.600
Well which is it?

28:33.598 --> 28:40.328
Do Christians in John's church
sin or do they not sin?

28:40.328 --> 28:45.478
Is there a contradiction here
in the text?

28:45.480 --> 28:47.600
That's not the only weird place
in this letter,

28:47.598 --> 28:55.108
look at what he says about love
in 2:5: "Whoever obeys his

28:55.112 --> 29:01.412
word truly in this person the
love of God has reached

29:01.412 --> 29:03.232
perfection.

29:03.230 --> 29:07.590
By this we may be sure that we
are in him."

29:07.588 --> 29:13.748
Love is supposed to be there,
2:10,

29:13.750 --> 29:15.550
"Whoever loves a
brother,"

29:15.554 --> 29:18.544
now your English translation
may say "or sister,"

29:18.544 --> 29:20.714
but the Greek just says
"brother"

29:20.709 --> 29:23.489
and maybe it's supposed to
include sisters also but the

29:23.492 --> 29:26.122
gender of the Greek word is just
"brother"

29:26.122 --> 29:28.032
at this point in the Greek.

29:28.028 --> 29:31.058
"Whoever loves a brother
lives in the light and in such a

29:31.063 --> 29:33.403
person there is no cause for
stumbling."

29:33.400 --> 29:37.550
Okay so that talks about loving
one's brother,

29:37.545 --> 29:39.935
well who is the brother?

29:39.940 --> 29:44.550
It seems like the brothers for
this writer are other members of

29:44.548 --> 29:46.108
the same community.

29:46.108 --> 29:48.788
He's not necessarily talking
about your physical brother,

29:48.786 --> 29:51.166
your blood brother,
but he's also not talking about

29:51.174 --> 29:52.374
just any human being.

29:52.368 --> 29:54.098
Notice how this works several
times,

29:54.098 --> 29:56.958
so look at 2:15,
so we're supposed to love and

29:56.959 --> 30:00.009
we're supposed to love our
brothers but 2:15,

30:00.009 --> 30:03.579
"Do not love the world or
the things in the world.

30:03.578 --> 30:07.238
The love of the Father is not
in those who love the

30:07.236 --> 30:08.256
world."

30:08.259 --> 30:14.589
So we're not supposed to love
the world, "Love not the

30:14.590 --> 30:18.630
world, do not love the
world."

30:18.630 --> 30:20.930
Remember the word for world I
said last time was

30:20.929 --> 30:22.739
cosmos,
the entire universe.

30:22.740 --> 30:27.280
Does this sound a little odd if
you think back on what may be

30:27.281 --> 30:31.221
the most famous verse in the
entire New Testament?

30:31.220 --> 30:36.480
If you go to football games
anybody know what the most

30:36.480 --> 30:39.160
famous football verse is?

30:39.160 --> 30:42.820
John 3:16, you see it on
posters--do they still--they did

30:42.817 --> 30:46.607
that years ago do--they don't
still do the posters I guess,

30:46.605 --> 30:47.255
right?

30:47.259 --> 30:50.529
Just one guy does it all over
the whole NFL?

30:50.529 --> 30:53.999
John 3:16--yes sir?

30:54.000 --> 30:56.690
Student:  Well I was
going to say during the VCS

30:56.688 --> 30:59.428
National Championship game
before the quarterback wore a

30:59.425 --> 31:00.965
John 3:16 on his eye block.

31:00.970 --> 31:01.860
Prof: Did they win?

31:01.858 --> 31:03.558
Student:  They did win
and he made it the number one

31:03.558 --> 31:04.378
Google search (inaudible).

31:04.380 --> 31:05.460
Prof: Great!

31:05.460 --> 31:10.440
The Florida quarterback wore
John 3:16 on his cheeks,

31:10.444 --> 31:14.954
these cheeks I suppose,
and that's why they won,

31:14.951 --> 31:16.391
okay, good.

31:16.390 --> 31:19.340
What does John 3:16 say,
let's quote it,

31:19.335 --> 31:22.125
"For God so loved the
world--

31:22.130 --> 31:23.390
Students:
"…that he gave

31:23.391 --> 31:26.671
his only begotten Son--"
Prof: You all are wimpy.

31:26.670 --> 31:29.790
"For God so loved the word
that he gave his only begotten

31:29.790 --> 31:30.970
Son--
," "--for God so

31:30.967 --> 31:31.687
loved the world."

31:31.690 --> 31:36.570
1 John 2:15,
"Do not love the

31:36.568 --> 31:38.638
world."

31:38.640 --> 31:40.370
Yes sir?

31:40.368 --> 31:43.788
Student:
>

31:43.788 --> 31:45.208
Prof: I believe so,
I actually haven't checked,

31:45.207 --> 31:46.327
does anybody have a Greek New
Testament?

31:46.328 --> 31:48.928
Michael has a Greek,
Michael's going to look it up

31:48.929 --> 31:51.739
while I continue,
this is 2:15 and see if

31:51.740 --> 31:56.540
cosmos or some other word
is the word for world though.

31:56.538 --> 31:57.958
We'll get back to you on that
question.

31:57.960 --> 32:02.360
Look at 3:1:
See what love the Father has

32:02.361 --> 32:05.271
given us that we should be
called children of God,

32:05.268 --> 32:06.868
and that is what we are.

32:06.868 --> 32:11.718
The reason the world does not
know us is that it did not know

32:11.723 --> 32:12.213
him.

32:12.210 --> 32:14.910
Love is part of that,
look at 3:11:

32:14.910 --> 32:18.090
For this is the message you
have heard from the beginning,

32:18.085 --> 32:19.975
that we should love one
another.

32:19.980 --> 32:26.310
This is loving one another;
it's not talking here so much

32:26.308 --> 32:27.988
about loving the world.

32:27.990 --> 32:30.400
Look at 3:14:
We know that we have passed

32:30.398 --> 32:32.548
from death to life because we
love one another.

32:32.548 --> 32:34.718
Whoever does not love abides in
death.

32:34.720 --> 32:37.380
Look at 3:23:
And this is his commandment,

32:37.380 --> 32:39.820
that we should believe in the
name of his Son Jesus Christ and

32:39.818 --> 32:41.778
love one another,
just as he has commanded us.

32:41.779 --> 32:44.359
Look at 4:7:
Beloved let us love one another

32:44.355 --> 32:46.755
because love is from God,
and everyone who loves is born

32:46.759 --> 32:47.809
of God and knows God.

32:47.809 --> 32:51.389
Look at 4:11:
Beloved since God loved us so

32:51.393 --> 32:54.603
much we ought to love [not the
world but]

32:54.597 --> 32:55.797
one another.

32:55.799 --> 32:57.609
Verse 12:
No one has ever seen God.

32:57.608 --> 33:00.318
If we love one another,
God loves is in us and his love

33:00.324 --> 33:01.384
is perfected in us.

33:01.380 --> 33:03.270
What about the translation?

33:03.269 --> 33:04.819
Student:  Same verb,
same noun.

33:04.818 --> 33:09.298
Prof: Same verb,
same noun in John 3:16 and 1

33:09.298 --> 33:12.898
John 2:15, so is there a
contradiction?

33:12.900 --> 33:15.620
That's just all I'm asking,
the Gospel of John talks about

33:15.615 --> 33:18.725
God loving the world,
the cosmos, and 1 John says

33:18.731 --> 33:22.241
Christians are not supposed to
love the cosmos.

33:22.240 --> 33:24.330
Contradiction,
we don't know,

33:24.326 --> 33:25.216
maybe not.

33:25.220 --> 33:31.910
Look at 4:16:
So we have known and believe

33:31.907 --> 33:33.887
the love that God has for us.

33:33.890 --> 33:38.360
God is love and those who abide
in love abide in God and God

33:38.361 --> 33:39.651
abides in them.

33:39.650 --> 33:42.120
[Keep reading.]
Love has indeed been perfected

33:42.123 --> 33:45.143
among us in this that we may
have boldness in the Day of

33:45.144 --> 33:45.864
Judgment.

33:45.858 --> 33:50.018
Because as he is so are we in
this world.

33:50.019 --> 33:53.409
There is no fear in love but
perfect love casts out fear.

33:53.410 --> 33:55.550
For fear has to do with
punishment, and whoever fears

33:55.554 --> 33:57.084
has not reached perfection in
love.

33:57.078 --> 33:59.068
We love because he first loved
us.

33:59.068 --> 34:00.858
Those who say,
"I love God,"

34:00.857 --> 34:03.127
and hate their brothers or
sisters are liars.

34:03.130 --> 34:06.400
And for those who do not love a
brother or sister whom they have

34:06.400 --> 34:08.840
seen cannot love God whom they
have not seen.

34:08.840 --> 34:12.700
The commandment we have from
his is this: those who love God

34:12.704 --> 34:14.544
must love all of humanity.

34:14.539 --> 34:18.249


34:18.250 --> 34:20.990
What?

34:20.989 --> 34:26.109
No, I'm lying to you again;
follow along in your Bibles.

34:26.110 --> 34:28.070
See, some of you went to sleep.

34:28.070 --> 34:31.090
Look at 21:
The commandment we have from

34:31.090 --> 34:33.580
him is this, those who love God
must love their brothers.

34:33.579 --> 34:38.119
There's nothing in 1 John about
loving the world,

34:38.119 --> 34:43.489
about loving humanity,
about loving all humankind,

34:43.489 --> 34:45.639
all mankind,
there's nothing like that in

34:45.639 --> 34:47.089
the first letter of John.

34:47.090 --> 34:50.870
What you do have in the first
letter of John is that God is

34:50.867 --> 34:53.987
love, but that Christians,
the followers of John,

34:53.994 --> 34:55.824
must not love the world.

34:55.820 --> 34:58.320
The world doesn't love them,
they don't love the world.

34:58.320 --> 35:01.170
This is again a radically
sectarian kind of stance,

35:01.168 --> 35:03.328
and in fact,
there's nothing here about

35:03.333 --> 35:04.533
loving outsiders.

35:04.530 --> 35:08.810
According to the first letter
of John, all this love that's

35:08.807 --> 35:12.857
talked about is basically
centered only on the community

35:12.864 --> 35:14.124
of believers.

35:14.119 --> 35:17.089
It's an internal love,
it's brotherly love but that

35:17.090 --> 35:19.410
means that the term
"brothers"

35:19.409 --> 35:22.559
is taken to mean members of
John's own community.

35:22.559 --> 35:27.019
There's nowhere that Christians
in 1 John are told to love

35:27.016 --> 35:29.436
people outside the community.

35:29.440 --> 35:32.830
They're told repeatedly to love
people inside the community.

35:32.829 --> 35:33.659
Yes sir?

35:33.659 --> 35:36.979
Student:
>

35:36.980 --> 35:39.610
Prof: Out of
brother--just to the community

35:39.606 --> 35:40.406
of believers?

35:40.409 --> 35:43.639
Well you just have to analyze
the letter and see how does it

35:43.639 --> 35:46.649
occur here and just go through
it, it occurs all the way

35:46.652 --> 35:47.312
through.

35:47.309 --> 35:49.639
For example,
I think you could definitely

35:49.637 --> 35:53.947
prove it with letters of Paul,
who specifically uses it for

35:53.947 --> 35:58.977
both Gentiles and Jews but only
within the body of Christ.

35:58.980 --> 36:01.390
Whether that's the case here,
you just have to read the

36:01.387 --> 36:01.787
letter.

36:01.789 --> 36:05.359
I would argue that it is,
and it's precisely because I

36:05.356 --> 36:09.056
read the letter as setting up
this dichotomy between the

36:09.056 --> 36:12.216
outside cosmos and the inside
brotherhood,

36:12.219 --> 36:15.219
but it's just a matter of
reading the letter.

36:15.219 --> 36:18.379
The word in itself wouldn't
necessarily supply that.

36:18.380 --> 36:19.500
Any other questions?

36:19.500 --> 36:20.630
Yes sir?

36:20.630 --> 36:21.930
Student:  Is that the
same as

36:21.929 --> 36:22.969
>?

36:22.969 --> 36:24.719
Prof: Yes,
I believe--well sometimes it's

36:24.724 --> 36:26.334
philia and sometimes
agape.

36:26.329 --> 36:29.199
Student:
>

36:29.199 --> 36:32.499
Prof: Okay,
in the epistles it's almost

36:32.496 --> 36:34.106
always agape.

36:34.110 --> 36:39.340
Any other questions?

36:39.340 --> 36:41.350
In other words,
what I'm reading in 1 John is

36:41.346 --> 36:43.486
representing again a radical
sectarian group.

36:43.489 --> 36:46.269
These are people who see
themselves as a community set

36:46.269 --> 36:47.529
apart from the cosmos.

36:47.530 --> 36:50.040
The cosmos is a place of
darkness and a place of the

36:50.041 --> 36:51.571
devil and that sort of thing.

36:51.570 --> 36:55.310
In fact--so now what is the
cause of this radical

36:55.309 --> 36:56.479
sectarianism?

36:56.480 --> 36:59.040
This is the most interesting
problem of the letter.

36:59.039 --> 37:04.199
Look at 2:18:
Children, it is the last hour.

37:04.199 --> 37:07.409
As you have heard that the
antichrist is coming,

37:07.405 --> 37:09.855
so now many antichrists have
come.

37:09.860 --> 37:14.110
There are these antichrists,
and notice it says:

37:14.110 --> 37:17.100
They went out from among us but
they did not belong to us.

37:17.099 --> 37:20.459
For if they had belonged to us
they would have remained in us,

37:20.456 --> 37:23.756
but by going out they made it
plain that none of them belongs

37:23.759 --> 37:24.309
to us.

37:24.309 --> 37:28.919
The people he's calling
antichrist are people that used

37:28.920 --> 37:34.210
to members of his own community
and they left the community for

37:34.213 --> 37:35.583
some reason.

37:35.579 --> 37:39.219
Now look at 2:22,
"Who is the liar but the

37:39.215 --> 37:43.005
one who denies that Jesus is the
Christ."

37:43.010 --> 37:45.890
He's saying you must believe
that Jesus is the Messiah,

37:45.893 --> 37:48.193
that's one thing,
is that the only thing?

37:48.190 --> 37:50.400
Not necessarily;
this is the antichrist,

37:50.400 --> 37:53.470
"The one who denies the
Father and the Son,"

37:53.469 --> 37:55.309
so some people,
he's saying,

37:55.306 --> 37:58.986
have left the community because
their Christology is not high

37:58.994 --> 37:59.614
enough.

37:59.610 --> 38:02.140
They're not allowing the true
sonship of Jesus,

38:02.135 --> 38:04.765
they're not allowing the
Messiahship of Jesus;

38:04.768 --> 38:07.768
maybe you're saying he's just a
prophet or he's just a human

38:07.768 --> 38:10.308
being, that's one of the things
that's going on.

38:10.309 --> 38:14.729
Look at 5:1:
Everyone who believes that

38:14.728 --> 38:17.278
Jesus is the Christ has been
born of God.

38:17.280 --> 38:19.940
Everyone who loves the parent
loves the child.

38:19.940 --> 38:23.800
That's the main part about
Jesus being the Christ,

38:23.804 --> 38:27.754
but now look at 4:2,
I'll start at the beginning of

38:27.746 --> 38:30.326
chapter 4:
Beloved, do not believe every

38:30.326 --> 38:33.206
spirit but test the spirits to
see whether they are from God,

38:33.213 --> 38:35.913
for many false prophets have
gone out into the world.

38:35.909 --> 38:40.329
By this you know the spirit of
God: every spirit that confesses

38:40.329 --> 38:44.249
that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God,

38:44.250 --> 38:48.020
and every spirit that does not
confess Jesus is not from God,

38:48.018 --> 38:51.128
and this is the spirit of the
antichrist.

38:51.130 --> 38:53.910
One of the things that's going
on here--look at also 5:8,

38:53.911 --> 38:55.651
just briefly,
and we'll move on:

38:55.650 --> 39:01.140


39:01.139 --> 39:03.879
These are three that testified:
the spirit and the water and

39:03.882 --> 39:04.442
the blood.

39:04.440 --> 39:05.640
And these three agree.

39:05.639 --> 39:08.199
In other words,
this author is objecting to

39:08.202 --> 39:11.622
some people who don't admit the
Messiahship of Jesus,

39:11.619 --> 39:13.709
and that may have been
reflected also in the Gospel.

39:13.710 --> 39:15.640
Remember some of the
reasons--some of the people

39:15.635 --> 39:18.125
there's a division is because
the writer of the Gospel of John

39:18.134 --> 39:20.764
believes that some people aren't
willing to confess that Jesus is

39:20.755 --> 39:22.335
divine,
that Jesus is the Messiah,

39:22.335 --> 39:23.335
that he's the Son of God.

39:23.340 --> 39:25.150
Now we get to a different
situation,

39:25.150 --> 39:28.320
apparently there are other
people who have now come up in

39:28.315 --> 39:31.245
the community who may be
accepting that Jesus was the

39:31.253 --> 39:34.423
Christ but they're denying that
he was fully human,

39:34.420 --> 39:35.870
they're denying that he was
flesh and blood,

39:35.869 --> 39:38.539
and actually we do see
different beginnings of

39:38.538 --> 39:40.078
different Christologies.

39:40.079 --> 39:42.689
The people--we have a term for
this,

39:42.690 --> 39:47.260
these early Christians who
said--they said that Jesus--

39:47.260 --> 39:49.170
maybe there was a human Jesus
but that's not really the

39:49.166 --> 39:52.026
Christ,
the Christ was this spirit that

39:52.032 --> 39:56.102
maybe looked like he was human--
in fact some of them said,

39:56.101 --> 39:58.881
well if he walked along a wet
beach he wouldn't leave

39:58.882 --> 40:01.512
footprints because he didn't
have a physical body,

40:01.505 --> 40:02.785
he just was spirit.

40:02.789 --> 40:07.879
He just seemed to be a body,
he seemed to be flesh and blood

40:07.875 --> 40:09.965
and that--
the Greek word for

40:09.971 --> 40:12.271
"seem"
he just looked like,

40:12.268 --> 40:15.648
we get this term we call
Docetics.

40:15.650 --> 40:21.230


40:21.230 --> 40:24.640
Dokeo is the Greek word
for "to seem"

40:24.639 --> 40:28.309
or "to look like,"
so other Christians used this

40:28.307 --> 40:31.587
term as a label for those
Christians who said,

40:31.590 --> 40:33.490
Jesus wasn't truly flesh and
blood,

40:33.489 --> 40:35.179
because how can a divine being
be flesh and blood?

40:35.179 --> 40:36.689
That's a contradiction in terms.

40:36.690 --> 40:39.720
You can't have a being that's
both God and flesh and blood

40:39.722 --> 40:42.652
because flesh and blood rots and
dies, and goes away.

40:42.650 --> 40:45.240
God is eternal,
so God by definition can't be

40:45.235 --> 40:47.175
flesh and blood,
and so they said,

40:47.175 --> 40:50.755
if Jesus is divine he must not
have been flesh and blood.

40:50.760 --> 40:53.340
He must have just seemed like
he was flesh and blood.

40:53.340 --> 40:57.400
Other Christians said,
that's wrong and they call

40:57.402 --> 41:00.622
these people the
"Seemsters,"

41:00.619 --> 41:01.719
Docetics.

41:01.719 --> 41:05.669
Docetism refers to a
Christology that says Jesus is

41:05.668 --> 41:07.668
spirit;
the Christ is spirit,

41:07.672 --> 41:10.012
but not really flesh and blood
human.

41:10.010 --> 41:13.610
Notice how this author is
arguing against different kinds

41:13.606 --> 41:17.586
of ideas and it shows a further
split in early Christianity.

41:17.590 --> 41:20.540
You have some people believing
that Jesus was human but not

41:20.536 --> 41:22.936
fully divine,
other people believing that he

41:22.936 --> 41:25.156
was so divine that he wasn't
even human,

41:25.159 --> 41:28.729
and this author is trying to
hold together these two things.

41:28.730 --> 41:31.490
Now how this happened--so
that's what's going on,

41:31.489 --> 41:34.969
the Gospel--the first letter of
John shows a community that's

41:34.974 --> 41:38.174
again divided but now it's
divided by some of the people

41:38.170 --> 41:41.250
within its midst going off
because they thought,

41:41.250 --> 41:43.530
you can't have a flesh and
blood God,

41:43.530 --> 41:45.490
and therefore,
if you're going to have Jesus

41:45.494 --> 41:47.234
as God he can't be flesh and
blood,

41:47.230 --> 41:50.500
so they've left the community.

41:50.500 --> 41:52.630
Let's look at 2 John,
this is a little--

41:52.630 --> 41:55.860
I'm going to read all the way
through this one because this is

41:55.862 --> 41:57.392
going--
we need to sort of figure out

41:57.391 --> 41:58.011
what's going on.

41:58.010 --> 41:59.030
It's a very short letter.

41:59.030 --> 42:02.170
"The elder,"
so he calls himself the elder,

42:02.172 --> 42:04.472
so he doesn't even give us his
name.

42:04.469 --> 42:06.479
The elder to the elect lady and
her children,

42:06.480 --> 42:09.530
whom I love in the truth,
and not only I but also all who

42:09.528 --> 42:11.978
know the truth,
because of the truth that

42:11.976 --> 42:14.616
abides in us and will be with us
forever ...

42:14.619 --> 42:17.299
I was overjoyed to find some of
your children walking in the

42:17.300 --> 42:19.710
truth just as we have been
commanded by the Father.

42:19.710 --> 42:21.730
He's talking to an elect lady
and her children,

42:21.726 --> 42:24.006
most of us think this is a
metaphor and he's actually

42:24.005 --> 42:25.405
addressing this to a church.

42:25.409 --> 42:27.829
The elect lady probably means
the church itself,

42:27.831 --> 42:30.721
not a particular human person,
but that's just a judgment

42:30.715 --> 42:31.175
call.

42:31.179 --> 42:34.069
But now, dear lady,
I ask you not as though I were

42:34.068 --> 42:37.308
writing to you a new commandment
but one we had from the

42:37.309 --> 42:39.609
beginning, let us love one
another.

42:39.610 --> 42:41.750
There's that love thing,
so we're know we're still in

42:41.748 --> 42:44.258
the same kind of Christianity
that we were with the others.

42:44.260 --> 42:46.760
This is love,
that we walk according to his

42:46.757 --> 42:48.727
commandments;
this is the commandment that

42:48.731 --> 42:50.201
you have heard from the
beginning ...

42:50.199 --> 42:52.779
Many deceivers have gone out
into the world,

42:52.780 --> 42:56.200
those who do not confess that
Jesus Christ has come in the

42:56.199 --> 42:56.799
flesh.

42:56.800 --> 43:00.190
[There are those people again.]
Any such person is the deceiver

43:00.190 --> 43:01.340
and the antichrist.

43:01.340 --> 43:04.390
Be on your guard so that you do
not lose what we have worked for

43:04.389 --> 43:05.939
but may receive a full reward.

43:05.940 --> 43:08.880
Everyone who does not abide in
the teaching of Christ but goes

43:08.876 --> 43:10.316
beyond it does not have God.

43:10.320 --> 43:13.280
Whoever abides in the teaching
has both the Father and the Son.

43:13.280 --> 43:16.880
Do not receive into the house
or welcome anyone who comes to

43:16.878 --> 43:19.318
you and does not bring this
teaching,

43:19.320 --> 43:22.090
for to welcome is to
participate in the evil deeds of

43:22.094 --> 43:22.954
such a person.

43:22.949 --> 43:26.489
The main purpose of this very
short letter is to say,

43:26.489 --> 43:29.239
to another church that's in the
same kind of community with this

43:29.235 --> 43:30.935
one,
there are people who have left

43:30.942 --> 43:33.702
our community and the reason is
they don't believe Jesus was

43:33.701 --> 43:34.871
fully flesh and blood.

43:34.869 --> 43:37.709
Don't even let them come to
visit you,

43:37.710 --> 43:39.640
these are traveling preachers,
and he says,

43:39.639 --> 43:41.279
don't receive them,
don't give them money,

43:41.280 --> 43:43.320
don't give them food,
don't put them up in your guest

43:43.324 --> 43:45.694
room,
just completely shun them,

43:45.686 --> 43:49.696
so he's writing to another
church because of this.

43:49.699 --> 43:52.449
Now look at 3 John:
"The elder to the beloved

43:52.445 --> 43:55.185
Gaius," now it's the same
person writing,

43:55.190 --> 43:57.090
he says, but now it's to a man
named Gaius,

43:57.090 --> 43:59.470
not to the elect lady.

43:59.469 --> 44:02.369
I pray that all may go with
you, in good health ...

44:02.369 --> 44:05.359
Beloved, you do faithfully
whatever you do for the friends,

44:05.364 --> 44:07.434
even though they are strangers
to you.

44:07.429 --> 44:09.009
They have testified to your
love before the church.

44:09.010 --> 44:12.610
You will do well to send them
on in a manner worthy of God,

44:12.610 --> 44:15.220
for they began their journey
for the sake of Christ accepting

44:15.217 --> 44:16.607
no support from non-believers.

44:16.610 --> 44:18.560
This is a letter that has been
sent around,

44:18.559 --> 44:21.159
probably with other traveling
preachers,

44:21.159 --> 44:24.669
but these traveling preachers
seem to be representatives of

44:24.668 --> 44:26.828
the elder himself,
the author.

44:26.829 --> 44:28.919
He's writing to a man named
Gaius and says,

44:28.923 --> 44:31.173
you're a good guy,
you receive our messengers,

44:31.168 --> 44:34.308
you receive the people that
we're sending around to preach.

44:34.309 --> 44:36.199
"I have written something
to the church"

44:36.204 --> 44:38.204
--
oh he did write a letter to the

44:38.204 --> 44:40.324
church,
so now you see he wrote another

44:40.324 --> 44:42.964
letter to the church,
he's writing this letter to an

44:42.956 --> 44:43.536
individual.

44:43.539 --> 44:47.399
"But Diotrephes,
who likes to put himself first,

44:47.396 --> 44:50.136
does not acknowledge our
authority.

44:50.139 --> 44:52.069
So if I come"--in other
words,

44:52.070 --> 44:56.150
Diotrephes seems to be the
leader of a church and has not

44:56.152 --> 45:00.092
allowed the elder to send his
letter to that church.

45:00.090 --> 45:03.580
He's intercepting letters and
not allowing these things to be

45:03.579 --> 45:05.149
read aloud in the church.

45:05.150 --> 45:07.240
All these letters were supposed
to be read aloud in churches.

45:07.239 --> 45:10.749
If I come I will call attention
to what he is doing in spreading

45:10.746 --> 45:12.246
false charges against us.

45:12.250 --> 45:14.870
And not content with these
charges, he refuses to welcome

45:14.867 --> 45:17.477
the friends and even prevents
those who want to do so and

45:17.483 --> 45:18.983
expels them from the church.

45:18.980 --> 45:24.260
Diotrephes is refusing to
welcome the messengers from the

45:24.262 --> 45:30.112
elder that the elder sent ahead
of himself with the letter that

45:30.112 --> 45:32.002
makes up 2 John.

45:32.000 --> 45:34.380
You see what's going on here?

45:34.380 --> 45:36.700
There's a leader of this
Johannine church,

45:36.699 --> 45:39.189
probably after the writing of
the Gospel,

45:39.190 --> 45:41.030
probably after the writing of 1
John,

45:41.030 --> 45:44.310
and he writes 2 John as a sort
of introductory letter to a

45:44.313 --> 45:45.673
church,
and he says,

45:45.672 --> 45:48.282
I'm sending you some of my
messengers,

45:48.280 --> 45:50.760
receive them,
listen to the letter,

45:50.760 --> 45:52.700
give them what they need,
help them out financially,

45:52.699 --> 45:55.649
put them up in your guest room,
and then send them on their way

45:55.646 --> 45:58.306
so they can travel around to
other Christian churches.

45:58.309 --> 46:01.989
Something's gone wrong though,
maybe this is a different--

46:01.989 --> 46:04.309
maybe 3 John--we don't know,
this is speculation,

46:04.309 --> 46:08.479
maybe 3 John is another letter
that he had to write to an

46:08.476 --> 46:12.416
individual in that town because
2 John didn't work.

46:12.420 --> 46:13.770
Why?

46:13.768 --> 46:16.118
It may be that those people
disagreed with him about his

46:16.123 --> 46:18.843
Christology also,
so they may have received the

46:18.838 --> 46:22.168
very people that he thought they
shouldn't receive.

46:22.170 --> 46:26.330
And so he writes 3 John to an
individual saying,

46:26.329 --> 46:29.559
Diotrephes is causing a bunch
of problems not receiving my

46:29.563 --> 46:33.083
messengers and not allowing my
letters to be read in church.

46:33.079 --> 46:36.679
You see how this
represents--this is all guess

46:36.679 --> 46:37.239
work.

46:37.239 --> 46:40.809
We don't know what's going on
but we see several things about

46:40.806 --> 46:41.576
the letter.

46:41.579 --> 46:43.929
There's a greeting,
there are well wishes,

46:43.929 --> 46:46.499
there's praise of the
reputation and behavior of the

46:46.503 --> 46:49.093
recipients,
he attempts to establish a

46:49.092 --> 46:51.722
relationship,
he talks to this person--he's

46:51.717 --> 46:54.847
the father's son or a patron
client relationship and there's

46:54.847 --> 46:56.437
a letter of recommendation.

46:56.440 --> 46:58.020
Send them on,
this is what you do in the

46:58.021 --> 46:59.761
ancient world,
you give a messenger--there's

46:59.764 --> 47:00.904
no post office you know.

47:00.900 --> 47:04.210
You give a letter to someone
who's traveling and that person

47:04.208 --> 47:06.788
gets to a friend of yours to
where it says,

47:06.789 --> 47:09.149
and they show the letter,
that letter is read outside--

47:09.150 --> 47:12.490
read aloud to the group,
and then you put that person up

47:12.492 --> 47:15.242
or those people up,
you host them for a while,

47:15.244 --> 47:17.424
they talk and you share your
messages,

47:17.420 --> 47:19.360
and then you send them on--you
give them a little bit of

47:19.360 --> 47:21.510
financial support to send them
on their way to the rest of the

47:21.510 --> 47:21.900
travel.

47:21.900 --> 47:25.040
That's clearly what is going on
and both of these letters are

47:25.036 --> 47:27.336
letters of recommendation,
typical letters of

47:27.335 --> 47:28.325
recommendation.

47:28.329 --> 47:33.989
What makes it interesting is
that 2 John seems to have been a

47:33.994 --> 47:38.814
letter of recommendation that
didn't work, maybe.

47:38.809 --> 47:42.669
And then 3 John had to be
written to an individual because

47:42.666 --> 47:46.316
his letter couldn't get through
to the whole church.

47:46.320 --> 47:50.050
What's the cause of this
division?

47:50.050 --> 47:53.720
Clearly the cause of division
in the Gospel of John is that

47:53.722 --> 47:57.462
some people are not accepting a
high enough Christology,

47:57.460 --> 47:59.810
they're not accepting that
Jesus is truly divine.

47:59.809 --> 48:02.959
They might be accepting that
Jesus is human but not that he

48:02.958 --> 48:03.608
is divine.

48:03.610 --> 48:07.530
The situation has shifted
slightly by the time we get to

48:07.530 --> 48:09.900
the 1 John,
the letter, because there it

48:09.902 --> 48:12.742
seems like yes he's talked about
some people are antichrist

48:12.744 --> 48:15.544
because they've denied that
Jesus is the Messiah but other

48:15.539 --> 48:18.329
people are antichrist because
they've denied that Jesus is

48:18.331 --> 48:18.971
flesh.

48:18.969 --> 48:22.139
He says they have gone out from
among us,

48:22.139 --> 48:25.519
so the church has been split
again on the issue of

48:25.521 --> 48:29.321
Christology but now the
Christology is do you accept the

48:29.318 --> 48:33.028
full fleshness of Jesus,
but then when you get to 2 John

48:33.025 --> 48:36.705
and 3 John,
the split--is the split now

48:36.710 --> 48:37.920
doctrinal?

48:37.920 --> 48:39.670
Is it Christological?

48:39.670 --> 48:42.920
Or is this just a split over
who gets to be the leader?

48:42.920 --> 48:46.040
Who gets to be the recognized
leader of these churches?

48:46.039 --> 48:48.019
Is it the elder?

48:48.018 --> 48:51.628
Do his letters have to be
accepted and his emissaries get

48:51.630 --> 48:53.760
accepted in different churches?

48:53.760 --> 48:55.730
Or is it this guy Diotrephes?

48:55.730 --> 48:58.530
Is he sort of trying to buck
the elder for the leadership?

48:58.530 --> 49:01.690
Is there a dispute over
Christology?

49:01.690 --> 49:04.690
Do they disagree about
Christology or is it now a

49:04.686 --> 49:07.056
purely a personnel leadership
issue?

49:07.059 --> 49:11.639
It's very difficult to see but
you can very quickly see by

49:11.641 --> 49:15.261
looking at these four different
documents,

49:15.260 --> 49:18.620
the Gospel of John,
1 John, 2 John,

49:18.619 --> 49:21.879
3 John, four different
documents which may have been

49:21.878 --> 49:23.868
written in the--
not by the same person,

49:23.867 --> 49:25.907
we don't think they're all
written by the same person,

49:25.909 --> 49:28.109
but they're clearly written by
the same school of early

49:28.108 --> 49:28.718
Christianity.

49:28.719 --> 49:30.949
They share enough the
vocabulary and enough theology.

49:30.949 --> 49:34.359
You can almost see four
different stages of development

49:34.358 --> 49:36.568
and you see what we might
expect.

49:36.570 --> 49:38.970
Remember I said that in growing
up in Texas we always said

49:38.974 --> 49:41.384
"let's make like a Baptist
church and split."

49:41.380 --> 49:46.400
Early churches also seem to
split a lot, is that what we see

49:46.402 --> 49:47.002
here?

49:47.000 --> 49:50.020
Four different stages of a
church with different kinds of

49:50.021 --> 49:52.501
divisions happening and,
therefore different,

49:52.503 --> 49:54.753
kinds of Christianity
developing due to these

49:54.753 --> 49:57.073
divisions;
very possible.

49:57.070 --> 49:59.360
Any questions about that?

49:59.360 --> 50:01.250
Questions, comments, outbursts?

50:01.250 --> 50:06.100
Now what I've just given you is
one reading of these texts,

50:06.103 --> 50:09.203
and I've done a lot of
speculating.

50:09.199 --> 50:10.489
For example,
you could just say,

50:10.492 --> 50:12.872
well 2 John may have been
written to one church and 3 John

50:12.869 --> 50:15.329
is written to a totally
different geographical region,

50:15.329 --> 50:16.519
that's entirely possible.

50:16.518 --> 50:19.558
I think it's interesting to put
them in this way and read them

50:19.561 --> 50:21.501
this way,
but that's just one historical

50:21.501 --> 50:24.411
reconstruction because a lot of
what I'm teaching you is let's--

50:24.409 --> 50:27.279
how do you imagine history
developing if all you have are

50:27.280 --> 50:29.950
these texts by which you
construct the history of the

50:29.947 --> 50:30.817
early church?

50:30.820 --> 50:34.070
Next time we're going to shift
gears dramatically because now

50:34.067 --> 50:37.257
we're not going to be talking
about the historical situation

50:37.260 --> 50:39.910
of the text,
we're going to be talking about

50:39.914 --> 50:43.384
how do you get through all these
texts to try to figure out the

50:43.382 --> 50:44.952
historical Jesus himself?

50:44.949 --> 50:47.699
Did Jesus of Nazareth really
exist?

50:47.699 --> 50:49.819
What did he do?

50:49.820 --> 50:50.850
What did he say?

50:50.849 --> 50:52.849
What did he think of himself?

50:52.849 --> 50:55.149
That's what we'll talk about
next time.

50:55.150 --> 51:00.000