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.
550 MARTIJN STEEGEN
dynamic, the high Christology, it is possible to claim that John
invites his audience to worship Jesus as God, demonstrated in
verses such as 1,1 and 20,28. However, in John’s understanding of
the verb proskynew, as we have tried to demonstrate, the worship
Â¥
of Jesus can hardly be seen as a goal in itself.
This is because the worship of the Son of Man shows a second
dynamic in the relationship between the Father and his Son. It is
our conviction that the action of the man born blind is not to be
understood as an expression of formal adoration of Jesus as God
because in Jesus God Himself makes an approach to human
beings (cf. 6,20.29; 14,9-10). The work that Jesus fulfils is the
work of God, in order that people may believe in him whom God
h a s sent. This in particular is made very clear by Jesus’
characterisation as “Son of Manâ€. The “Son of Man†is “the place
among men where it is possible to come “to hearâ€, “to seeâ€, “to
touch †and “to look upon†the manifestation of the Father to
us †51. The healed man’s worship in 9,38 has to be understood as
honour due to the God-sent messenger, which in itself gives
honour and adoration to God 52.
Thus, by using the verb proskynew, the author of the Fourth
Â¥
Gospel aims to focus again on the revelation of God’s work at the
end of this miracle story. Based on this conclusion, the worship by
the healed man born blind is not just the climax of the miracle
story and the expression of the Johannine concept of coming to
belief, because, at the same time, it also functions as the first
fulfilment of the proleptic prediction of the words in 4,23 : kaı gar
ùù
o p a t h r toioy t o y v zhteı t o y v proskynoy n t a v ay t o n 53 .
Ω ù ¥ ˜ ù ˜ ߥ
According to John, the Father will be glorified in the Son.
Whatever one asks in Jesus’ name he will do, but only in order
that the Father may be glorified in the Son in (cf. 14,13). By
formulating the relation between the Father and the Son in this
way, John provides a firm and ironic answer to the objection made
by the Pharisees towards the healed man in 9,24: “Give glory to
God. We know that this man [Jesus] is a sinnerâ€.
MOLONEY, The Johannine Son of Man, 123.
51
SCHNACKENBURG, John, II, 254.
52
See also W. SCHENK, Kommentiertes Lexikon, 341-342.
53
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