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.
541
TO WORSHIP JOHANNINE “ SON MAN â€
THE OF
the prostration of the man born blind within the overall view of the
Gospel, if the man born blind becomes the only character in the
Gospel to worship Jesus during his public ministry? Did the author
of the Fourth Gospel use the verb proskynew in 9,38 in the more
Â¥
general sense of its meaning, like elsewhere in the LXX and the
NT ? Or are there any substantive links to be found between 9,38
and chapter four?
II. To Worship the Son of Man
Before continuing with our exegesis of the verb proskynew in
Â¥
the Fourth Gospel, it is important to observe that within the
pericope 9,35-41 verses 38-39a are not the only verses posing a
complex text-critical problem. Another text-critical problem strikes
the reader in 9,35, since in several early textual witnesses the title
reads yıov toy ueoy in place of yıov toy anurwpoy.
Ωù ˜ ˜ Ωù ˜ß ¥
The worship — the confession of faith (pisteyw) and the
Â¥
prostration (proskynhsen ayt√) — by the healed man in 9,38
¥ ß
follows Jesus’ demand for the man’s faith in the yıov toy Ωù ˜
anurwpoy in 9,35, and Jesus’ self-disclosure in 9,37 kaı ewrakav
ß ¥ ù Ω¥
ayton kaı o lalwn meta soy eke˜nov estin. Although the man
ßù ùΩ ˜ ù ˜ß ı¥ ß
recognises Jesus after his healing as a “prophet†(9,17), and later
on as “a man from God†(9,33), he is at first incapable of
understanding Jesus’ question in 9,35, as is apparent from 9,36:
kaı t¥v estin, kyrie, ™na pisteysw eıv ayton.
ùıß ¥ ı ¥ ß ß¥
Since important manuscripts read yıov toy ueoy in place of
Ωù ˜ ˜
yıov toy anurwpoy, it seems that the man born blind was not the
Ωù ˜ß ¥
only one who had difficulties understanding Jesus’ question. Given
the external evidence, it seems that even scribes of later times
experienced difficulties in combining the title yıov toy anurwpoy
Ωù ˜ß ¥
with the verb proskynew 23. Is it possible that the occurrence of
Â¥
these two difficult text-critical problems in close proximity, in
9,38-39a and in 9,35 respectively, is not just coincidental?
to my God and your God’ (John 20,17). Resurrection and Ascension in the
Gospel of Johnâ€, The Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of John (eds.
C.R. KOESTER – R. BIERINGER) (WUNT 222; Tübingen 2008) 209-235.
N27 lists the following text witnesses A L U C 070. 0250 f 1.13 33 lat
23
sy bo reading the title yıov toy ueoy and 66.75 a B D W pc sy s co reading the
Ωù ˜ ˜
p.h
title yΩov toy anurwpoy.
ıù ˜ß ¥
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