Bibliotheca
Sacra 120 (July 1963) 117-125.
Copyright © 1963 by
1.
LITERARY KEYS TO THE FOURTH GOSPEL
The Symphonic
Structure of John
Merrill
C. Tenney
THE
UNIQUE character of the Fourth Gospel is recognized
by all students of the New Testament. In spite of
the
fact that it describes the same Person as the
Synoptic Gospels,
it narrates new episodes in His life, places Him
in other
geographical surroundings, reports
different discourses, and
employs another type of vocabulary. Because of
the radical
difference between John and the Synoptics,
many scholars
have concluded that it is unhistorical, and cannot
be utilized
as a reliable basis for information concerning the
life of
Jesus.
Divergence of presentation does not
necessarily imply con-
flict, for the variations may
be explained in terms of purpose.
The
writer affirmed that he had a much broader knowledge
of the person and work of Jesus than he expressed
in his
book, but stated that "these signs are written
that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that
believing ye may have life in his name" (20
:31). His attention
was concentrated on the main objective of fostering
belief.
Around
this theme he wove others, important in themselves,
and so interrelated that they could be expressed in
inter-
changeable terms, i.e., "the life was the
light of men" (1:4).
These
interwoven themes, fluctuating in emphasis but always
progressive in development, lead steadily forward to
the cli-
max which consummates them simultaneously, and creates
the cumulative incentive to faith.
This type of structure may be called
symphonic, from its
likeness to the form of a symphony. A symphony is
a musical
118 BIBLIOTHECA
SACRA April, 1963
composition having several movements related in
subject, but
varying in form and execution. It usually begins
with a domi-
nant theme, into which
variations are introduced at intervals.
The
variations seem to be developed independently, but as the
music is played, they modulate into each other until
finally
all are brought to a climax. The apparent disunity
is really
part of a design which is not evident at first, but
which ap-
pears in the progress of the composition.
Symphonic structure is difficult to
analyze because of its
nature. A logical argument, marked by steps of
reasoning,
can easily be reduced to a categorical outline like
a lawyer's
brief. While it is possible to outline the Fourth
Gospel on the
basis of its geographical, chronological, and
psychological
order, it contains also an elusive element that
cannot be com-
pletely captured by rigid
structural analysis. On the other
hand, without an orderly investigation the symphonic
ele-
ments will never be
discerned, because they will remain
indistinguishable in the complex mass of
the narrative.
It is not within the province of
this study to attempt a
survey of all the subordinate themes in John which
could be
included in the symphonic structure. Such an
essay might be
wearisome or trivial, or both. The main purpose is
to demon-
strate the nature of symphonic
structure, with sufficient de-
tail to illustrate the method and results of the
investigation.
The basic clues may be found in the
direct statement of
purpose appended to the close of the twentieth
chapter. Here
the main narrative ends, and the author concludes
by saying:
"Many
other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book; but
these are
written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son
of God; and that believing ye may have life in his
name"
(John
20:30-31).These words indicate that the central person
of the Gospel is Jesus; that the main argument is
to prove
that He is the Messiah; that the chief support of
the argu-
ment is in the
"signs" which He performed; and that the
dominant purpose of writing is to inculcate
belief in the
readers that they may obtain life in Christ.
From these impli-
cations are derived the trends
of thought that appear in the
structure of the Gospel. They are interwoven so
that they
constitute a unit; yet they are sufficiently
distinctive to be
THE SYMPHONIC STRUCTURE
OF JOHN 119
separately identifiable.
The signs come first in the order of
the themes suggested
by the two verses cited above. Signs are
miraculous works
performed or mentioned to illustrate spiritual
principles. In
the development of the Gospel they implement Jesus'
words
to Nathanael:
"Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the
fig tree, believest thou?
thou shalt see greater
things than
these" (1:50). Jesus' initial introduction to
the disciples, and
to Nathanael in
particular, had revealed that He exercised
supernatural powers of discernment.
Because of Jesus' casual
remark that he had seen Nathanael
under the fig-tree—pre-
sumably at his house--and knew
what he was doing, Nathan-
ael confessed Jesus to be
the Son of God (1:51). The "greater
things," which would be even more convincing,
must refer to
the miracles, which the disciples witnessed afterward,
and
which fixed their faith in Him.
In the Gospel are seven signs which
bear directly upon the
development of thought: the changing of water into
wine
(2:1-11);
the healing of the nobleman's son (4:46-54); the
healing of the impotent man (5 :1-15); the
feeding of the five
thousand (6 :1-14); the walking on the water
(6:15-2:1); the
healing of the blind man (9 :1-41); and the
raising of Lazarus
(11:1-44).
Although these signs occur at irregular intervals,
they serve as mileposts in Jesus' career, and are
the explicit
foundation of belief.
The changing of water into wine
brought Jesus into public
prominence. He had not hitherto been known in
preacher or prophet, and had not exercised
miraculous powers.
His
disciples had accepted Him largely because of John the
Baptist's
recommendation, confirmed by their personal con-
tacts and observation. Jesus'
ability to control the chemical
processes of nature induced them to believe on Him
with new
understanding and fervor. This
capability of transforming
material substance may be an indication of His
ability to
change spiritual life. The promise that He would alter
Peter's
character (1:42), the prescription of new birth
for Nicode-
mus (3:5), and the profound
alteration in the attitude of the
woman of
this miracle.
Immediately following the discussion
of the first sign, John
120 BIBLIOTHECA
SACRA April, 1963
records Jesus' prediction of His own resurrection.
His stress
on the Jews' inquiry at the cleansing of the
temple, "What
sign showest thou unto us,
seeing that thou doest these
things?" (2:18) implies that the miracles were
related to
substantiate Jesus' authority.
Jesus' reply to the Jewish query
by the enigmatic statement, "Destroy this
temple, and in three
days I will raise it up" (2:19), provides a
contrast between
the first sign and the final great manifestation of
power in
the resurrection. The first confirmed the
disciples' personal
allegiance; the last provided a rational
theological basis for
faith. Between these two poles of demonstrated power
are
ranged six other miracles, each of which demanded an
ad-
vance of faith and marked the
solution of a new problem.
The healing of the nobleman's son
showed that Jesus'
powers were not limited by distance, for
where the interview with Jesus took place, were
twenty miles
apart. The important aspect of the second sign is its
demand
for choice of an alternative. The first sign
required repose
while waiting for Jesus to act; the second required
an instant
decision to trust Him on the basis of His word.
The healing of the impotent man
called for a positive act
of volition. Asking an invalid who had been
confined to his
bed for thirty-eight years to stand and carry away
his bedroll
seemed absurd. Nevertheless Jesus commanded precisely
what
seemed impossible. When the sick man complied
voluntarily,
the impossible occurred. The third sign was important
be-
cause it precipitated the controversy that defined
both the
claims of Jesus. and the
position of His enemies. It crystallized
the unbelief of His opponents.
The feeding of the five thousand,
and the walking on the
water, occurred in close sequence. Both were pivotal
to the
narrative of John, for they marked a crisis in the
faith of the
disciples. Convinced of Jesus' power to control
the laws of
nature, they confessed Him as the Son of God, and
avowed
lasting belief in Him (6:68-69).
The healing of the blind beggar
involved man's relation to
"fate." His affliction could not be traced to accident
or to
misbehavior that would make him directly responsible
for his
adversity. The disciples could not understand why
so unusual,
a malady should be causeless, and they asked
Jesus whether
THE SYMPHONIC STRUCTURE
OF JOHN 121
the man himself or his parents were to blame.
Jesus' reply
and His accompanying action indicated that He was
more
interested in correcting the man's state than He
was in ex-
plaining it. Having challenged
the blind man's faith by action
and words, Jesus restored sight by an act of
creative power,
and transformed his life and destiny.
The raising of Lazarus proved that
Christ was able to
reverse the current of death and to impart
vitality even to a
corpse. For the casual crowd of spectators this
miracle was
the greatest possible evidence of Jesus'
supernatural charac-
ter; to the family at
test of faith that they had ever faced. Both in its
inherent
quality and in its demand this sign was
climactic.
These seven signs culminating in the
resurrection of Jesus,
the eighth and greatest of all, carry the theme of
the power
of Christ as it penetrates and dominates the
adverse forces
of human existence. They illustrate every aspect
of Jesus'
sovereignty over the world and the methods by which
he
exercised that sovereignty to evoke faith, or in
response to it.
Two aspects of the life of Jesus are
prominent in this
Gospel:
what Jesus did, and what He was (20:30-31). The
first aspect concerns His action; the second, His
character.
John
confines the action largely to the signs, which have al-
ready been discussed. In addition, he uses such
episodes as the
entry into
feet (13:1-15), or His rebuke to Peter at the
betrayal
(18:1-11) to reveal His nature. These deeds or works,
as John
calls them, attested His competence as a Savior, and
con-
firmed His claim to deity. His character was
summarized in
the words, ". . . Jesus is the Messiah, the
Son of God" (20:31).
Both
His office and His nature are involved in this statement.
The
dual theme begins with the prologue, and continues
through the entire Gospel. "Messiah"
(Gr. Christ) is an Old
Testament
concept, and represents the person who the
prophets declared would become the redeemer and
the teacher
of God's people. "Son of God" emphasizes
the new revelation
of deity through the Son who bears God's nature in
flesh, and
who speaks as a man, but with divine authority.
Unlike the Synoptics,
which portray the Messiah mainly
against the Jewish background of political and
social hopes,
122 BIBLIOTHECA
SACRA April, 1963
John
emphasizes the spiritual meaning of the title. He records
how John the Baptist refused to be regarded as the
Messiah,
and focused the attention of his disciples on
Jesus. John's
intent to present Him as the Messiah is confirmed by
the
words of Andrew: "We have found the
Messiah" (1:41). An-
drew was convinced after an interview that Jesus
fulfilled the
claims of John the Baptist, and so called Him Messiah.
Jesus
Himself affirmed His Messiahship
when He told the Samari-
tan woman, "I that speak unto thee am he"
(4:26). When she
announced to the village her tentative belief,
they first listened
to Him, and then believed, saying, "Now we
know . . . that
this is indeed the Saviour
of the world" (4:42). Their equa-
tion of Messiah and Savior
indicates that their estimate of
Him was theological rather than political.
Contrary to the certainty of the
Samaritans is the con-
fusion of the Jewish multitude depicted in chapter
7:35-44.
In
the last critical months of Jesus' life He appeared in Jeru-
depth of His teaching and by the magnitude of His
claims,
the multitude debated whether He might be the
Messiah. They
asked three questions: "Can it be that the
rulers indeed know
that this is the Messiah (Christ)?" (7:26);
"When the Mes-
siah (Christ) shall come,
will he do more signs than those
which this man hath done?" (7:31); "What, doth the Mes-
siah (Christ) come out of
indicates their dependence on the interpretation
of the leaders.
If
their teachers maintained silence concerning Jesus, did
they do so because they knew Him to be the Messiah,
but did
not want to acknowledge His claims?
The second question expresses
popular feeling. Jesus had
performed so many wonderful works that the people
could
scarcely expect the Messiah to be any greater.
The third ques-
tion implies that the
popular concept was defined by Scripture,
since they would not accept the suggestion that the
Messiah
could come out of
and originate from
had declared. Ironically, the people did not know
the truth
that He conformed to the prophetic requirements. The
un-
certainty troubled them, for at a later date they
asked Him
pointedly whether He were the Messiah or not
(10:24). On
THE SYMPHONIC STRUCTURE
OF JOHN 123
the very eve of the cross, the multitude expressed
its mis-
giving by protesting that the Messiah (Christ) should
abide
forever (12:34). How, then could He suffer
death? Jesus made
His
final claim in the prayer to the Father, in which He called
Himself
the Messiah (Christ) (17:3).
The theme of Christ's sonship is a parallel to that of His
messiahship. The title, "Son
of God," was first applied to Him
by John the Baptist (1:34), and was echoed by Nathanael
(1:49) in the opening paragraphs of the Gospel. The function
of Christ as Son of God is elaborated in the
explanation
following Jesus' teaching on the new birth
(3:16-18). He is
the Savior of the world, to whom men must commit
themselves
in order to receive eternal life. This discourse
to Nicodemus
parallels the verdict of the Samaritans, who
declared after
listening to Jesus, "Now we believe . . . for
we have heard for
ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the
world" (4:42).
As Jesus' career progressed, a
growing complexity of re-
action to His claims developed. During the last year
of His
life He spoke more openly concerning His own person,
yet the
bewilderment of the crowd increased.
When they demanded
that He declare whether He were the Messiah or not,
He made
plain that He had already demonstrated His Messiahship, and
He
boldly asserted that He was the Son of God (10:36). The
two themes converge in the confession of Martha,
who an-
swered His challenge to faith,
"Yea, Lord: I have believed
that thou art the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God,
even he
that cometh into the world" (11:27).
John's doctrine of the Messiah
differs in its emphasis
from that of Matthew. Matthew connects it more
definitely
with the fulfillment of the national destiny of
unites it with Jesus' sonship
in the function of saviorhood.
The
difference is more apparent than real, since the nation of
(Gen.
12:1-3; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8), and since its mission is
fulfilled in the person of the Messiah who is the
Son of God.
The last great theme in this
symphony is life. The Gospel
opens with the statement, "In Him was life, and
the life was
the light of men" (John 1:4), and closes with
the declaration
of its main objective, "That believing, ye
may have life
124 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA April,
1963
through his name" (20:31). The term is
defined in Jesus' final
prayer: "And this is life eternal, that they
should know thee,
the only true God, and him whom thou didst send,
even Jesus
Christ"
(17:3). John regards life as both a dynamic and an
experience. As a dynamic it renews and refreshes
the soul;
as an experience it enlarges the scope of
understanding and
acquaints the believer with God.
This concept permeates the entire
book. The life is like a
light which shines in darkness, for it manifests the
radiance
of the divine glory to men (1:14). The two chief
characters
of the early chapters, Nicodemus and the Samaritan
woman,
were both recipients of this revelation. To the
cultured and
learned rabbi Jesus said that life would be
attained by the
new birth, which involved repentance and the inner
work of
the Holy Spirit. For the outcast Samaritan woman He
de-
scribed it as an inward supply of living water,
refreshing
and always plentiful. In both cases, life was
conditioned on
faith in Him.
The concept of eternal life is
expanded with the develop-
ment of the Gospel. It
involves superiority to physical death,
for it is linked with the resurrection of the last
day (5:21, 25).
Yet
this life is not simply an award or condition to be ex-
pected in the future; it is a
present possession of all who have
truly believed (5:24), guaranteeing to its possessor
exemption
from condemnation, and triumph over death.
In the synagogue at
bread of life. He emphasized sustenance rather than
destiny,
though He asserted that those who believed on Him
would have
eternal life, and would be raised at the last
day (6:40). The
crux of His message lay in the declaration that
unless His
hearers would eat His flesh and drink His blood
they would
have no life in them (6:53). Contrary to His
intention, many
took his words literally, and turned away from Him
because
they did not understand His meaning. His figurative
language
was an obstacle which they could not surmount. He
meant
that they must absorb Him into their lives as they
assimilated
their food, in order that the life in Him might be
transmitted
to them.
In a later discourse He announced
that He had come as the
Good
Shepherd to bestow life, and to give it abundantly, (10:-
THE SYMPHONIC STRUCTURE
OF JOHN 125
10).
The context emphasizes the aspect of safety and protec-
tion which the sheep enjoy
under the guidance of the shep-
herd and in the shelter of the fold. "I give
unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall
snatch them
out of my hand" (10:28).
In His final discourse to the
disciples, Jesus reiterated the
importance of eternal life. To the incredulous and
pessimistic
Thomas,
who could see only failure and death in Jesus' im-
pending fate, the Lord said, "I am the way,
and the truth, and
the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by
me" (14:6).
If
life consists in the knowledge of the Father, the introduc-
tion to that knowledge comes
only through the Son. A similar
idea appears in the metaphor of the vine, for
fruitfulness,
which is a product of vitality, depends upon direct
union with
Christ,
the true Vine (15:1, 4). "Because I live," He said,
"ye shall live also" (14:19).
The fulfilment
of eternal life is implied in Jesus' prayer.
In
his petitions for the disciples He spoke of revelation (17:6),
preservation (17:11), joy (17:13),
sanctification (17:17),
unity (17:21), and glory (17:24). In the resurrection
of
Christ
completeness was manifested, and the immediate effects
exemplified. Consolation, peace, and certainty were
imparted
to the desolate disciples as they entered into a
new experience
with Him.
These themes of the signs, the sonship and messiahship of
Christ, and eternal life run concurrently
through the Gospel
like the melodies of a symphony. They interweave
with each
other, sometimes implicitly, sometimes explicitly
where their
connections are openly expressed. They are related
to the key-
note of belief, for the signs are the basis of
belief; the person
of Christ is the object of faith, and eternal life
is the result
of belief. By the interrelation of these topics
the Gospel is
constituted a coherent whole, conveying the message
of God's
love and saving power to men.
This
material is cited with gracious permission from:
www.dts.edu
Please report any errors to Ted
Hildebrandt at: