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.
552 MARTIJN STEEGEN
Greeks’ proskynew should be understood as no more or less than
Â¥
a Wallfahrtsproskynese 58. If there is no deeper theological meaning
in the use of the verb proskynew in 12,20, then this may
Â¥
also undermine the implications of our interpretation of the
proskynew of the blind man after his healing in 9,38. Perhaps
Â¥
there is no parallel with the story of the Samaritan woman at all,
and the evangelist only uses the verb proskynew to illustrate the
Â¥
strong faith of the blind man in Jesus.
However, in 12,20-23 the evangelist again links the verb
proskynew with the christological title o yΩov toy anurwpoy and
¥ Ω ıù ˜ß ¥
with the verb anaba¥nw. In 1,51; 3,13 and 6,62 the verb anaba¥nw
ß ı ß ı
and the expression o yΩov toy anurwpoy are combined. Each time
Ω ıù ˜ß ¥
the combination occurs in the words of Jesus, he is reacting to
questions or objections concerning his role as revealer who
provides knowledge of the Father and access to him (cf. 5,37 ;
6,46). In these statements, Jesus emphasizes that the Son of Man is
the place where God reveals himself. The statements provide the
basis for expressions such as “No one comes to the Father except
through me†(cf. 14,6) and “Whoever has seen me has seen the
Father †(cf. 14,8). In 3,14-15 the ascension of the Son of Man is
defined and reinterpreted as his “being lifted upâ€, indicated by the
verb ycow (cf. 8,28 ; 12,31-34), a synonym for his glorification
Ω¥
(dojazw) on the cross (cf. 12,23; 13,31) 59.
Â¥
If one reads 12,20-23 and takes the previous meanings which
the evangelist attached to the verbs anaba¥nw, proskynew (4,20-
ß ı ¥
26 ; 9,38) and the expression o yıov toy anurwpoy into account,
Ω Ωù ˜ß ¥
then, in our view, Jesus does provide the Greeks with instructions
for true worship. In with his answer Jesus invites the Greeks, just
as he also invited the Samaritan woman and the man born blind, to
deepen their moving up and worship. The true topov of worship is
Â¥
no longer situated geographically on a mountain top, in a city or a
temple. In place of moving up to their temple and worshipping, the
Greeks are invited to move up to the Son of Man, who will be
glorified, and to worship him as the true revealer of God.
HORST, Proskynein, 292.
58
M.C. DE BOER, Johannine Perspectives on the Death of Jesus (Contri-
59
butions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology, 17; Kampen 1996) 161-162.
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