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.
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TO WORSHIP JOHANNINE “ SON MAN â€
THE OF
for true worshippers. The Father accomplishes his search by the
sending of his Son (cf. 6,65; 15,1-2) 49.
In the understanding of the fourth evangelist it is impossible
for anyone to see (oraw) God or come to knowledge of God on
Ω¥
their own (cf. 1,18; 5,37). Jesus reveals and speaks (lalew) of¥
what he has seen and what he knows from the Father (cf. 1,34 ;
3,11.22 ; 6,46; 8,38). He even speaks with a unique authority
(cf. 7,17.18.26.46 ; 18,20). Those who believe will see (cf. 1,50-51),
while those who refuse to see are condemned (cf. 3,36 ; 5,37-38;
6,36). In 3,14 (cf. 8,28 ; 12,23;) the theme of coming to believe is
combined with the expression “Son of Man†since the purpose of
the lifting up of the Son of Man on the cross— the return of the
Son to the Father— is that everyone who believes in the Son of
Man will have eternal life. Finally, when the believer looks up to
the glorified Son of Man, the supreme revelation of God will take
place (cf. 3,13-15). The healed man in John 9 is challenged to
recognise that God is made known to him in the person of Jesus,
the Son of Man, the incarnate Logov (cf. 1,14). Within this context
Â¥
the question of Jesus to the man born blind in 9,35 could be
interpreted as follows: “Do you believe that I came to bring
judgment ? †Does the man believe that there is someone who
reveals the works of God (cf. 9,3) ? Earlier references to the Son of
Man (cf. 1,51; 3,13-14; 5,27; 6,27.53.62) have already indicated
that Jesus used this term to refer to his role as the one who makes
God known 50.
3. Jesus as Son of Man: Characterizing the Relationship between
Father and Son
We propose that the evangelist combines two important
dynamics, which characterize the relationship between the Father
and his Son, in the worship of Jesus as the Son of Man. In the first
dynamic, worship of the Son of Man opens access to the Father. It
is the Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has made the
Father known (cf. 1,18). Consequently, it is not possible to come to
the Father except through the Son (cf. 14,6). If one isolates this
THYEN, Das Johannesevangelium, 263.
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SCHNACKENBURG, John, II, 295.
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