Martijn Steegen, «M. Steegen: To Worship the Johannine 'Son of Man'. John 9,38 as Refocusing on the Father», Vol. 91 (2010) 534-554
Important early textual witnesses show John 9,38-39a to be absent. Because of the use of uncharacteristic vocabulary, the use of rare verb forms such as e¶fh and pistey¥w, and the unique confession of faith and worship of Jesus as “Son of Man” during his earthly life, John 9,38 has been said to stand outside Johannine theology. I argue that, although John 9,38-39a confronts the Gospel’s reader with uncharacteristic vocabulary, this does not necessarily imply that these words were added by a later hand under liturgical influence. Instead of standing outside Johannine theology, the confession of faith and the worship by the man healed from his blindness function as the first fulfilment of the proleptic prediction of the words in 4,23 kaiù gaùr oO pathùr toioy¥toyv zhtei˜ toyùv proskynoy˜ntav ayßto¥n. Then, I confront the absence of 9,38-39a with yet another text-critical problem in the larger pericope 9,35-41 — the replacement of the title yiOoùv toy˜ aßnurw¥ poy in 9,35 by yiOoùv toy˜ ueoy — and argue that these two text-critical problems cannot be separated from one another. Finally, I explore how the designation “Son of Man” functions within the framework of pistey¥w and proskyne¥w. The worship of the Johannine Jesus can hardly be seen as a goal in itself. Instead, it is an acknowledgement that the Father is made known in the person of Jesus (cf. 9,3), and hence is typically Johannine.
538 MARTIJN STEEGEN
object only occurs here in the Gospel. Therefore, Porter concludes
that these verses are out of harmony with the teaching of the
evangelist elsewhere 10.
Given the great importance of the Johannine story of the man
born blind in the historical evolution of the church’s baptismal
liturgy, Porter considers the origin of 9,38 and the words kaı ù
eıpen o ÃIhsoyv of verse 39a to have arisen from liturgical
® Ω ˜
usage 11. Porter points out two important developments in the
church’s liturgy that bear upon the understanding of 9,38-39a as a
liturgical addition. From the third century onwards the examination
of the catechumens’, fitness reached its climax with the confession
of the candidate: “I do believe, Lord†12. In the liturgy this
confession followed directly after the reading of the story of the
man born blind, which served as a reading in preparing converts
for baptism 13. According to Porter it is highly probable that the
confession was made in response to the story of the man born
blind, a story which originally had no confession of faith, and that
this confession became part of the text 14.
The second development in the liturgy that Porter points out
with regard to the textual problem at 9,38 and 39 is the origin of
the lectionaries. These manuscripts originated from the growing
number of texts read in services and the need to have an orderly
overview, since the markings in the margins of the biblical texts
became insufficient. Based upon the findings of H.C. Hoskier,
Porter argues that the long lesson 16 in the Syriac lectionaries runs
PORTER, “John IX. 38, 39aâ€, 390.
10
More recently see B. SCHWANK, Evangelium nach Johannes (St. Ottilien
11
1998) 280-281.
For a reconstruction of the early Christian baptismal liturgy see
12
R.E. BROWN, The Gospel According to John I-XII. A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary (AB 29A; Garden City, NY 1966) 380. Earlier in
his discussion, Brun asserts: “Perhaps we have here an addition stemming from
the association of John ix with the baptismal liturgy and catechesis†(p. 375).
E. HOSKYNS, The Fourth Gospel (London 21947) 365. He notes that since
13
the woman of Samaria, the paralytic, and the blind man appear in the second
century frescoes in the catacombs at Rome as baptismal symbols, it is likely
that the use of these chapters in baptismal liturgies may have their roots in the
second century.
PORTER, “John IX. 38, 39aâ€, 393.
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