George C. Heider, «The Gospel according to John: The New Testament’s Deutero-Deuteronomy?», Vol. 93 (2012) 68-85
The article examines parallels in canonical function between Deuteronomy and John. Following clarification of the significance of «canonical function», the essay investigates first external parallels between the two books that impact their reading especially within their sections of the OT and NT. It then looks at internal components of the books that contribute to their larger canonical role, with especial attention paid to the role of the future community as implied readership, rhetorical devices, location, and claims of final authority and sufficiency. The article concludes with a proposal regarding ways in which the two books do, indeed, function within their testamental canons in like ways.
78 GEORGE C. HEIDER
As for the Gospel according to John, while vocables related to
remembrance are far less frequent than in Deuteronomy, the
concept still plays a crucial role. John tells us that the disciples
regularly understood what Jesus was saying or doing only as they
later remembered the Scriptures and/or Jesus’ “word†(n.b., placed
on the same level) following his “glorification†(his crucifixion,
perhaps considered together with his resurrection and ascension,
according to Johannine theology [12,23]) (John 2,22; 12,16).
Further, his Upper Room discourses contain both commandments
to remember (John 15,20; 16,4) and a promise that the Advocate
(pαÏάκλητος) will help his followers to do just that (John 14,26).
To summarize our reflections on internal factors to this point: while
internal components of a biblical book by definition cannot determine
the theological effects of incorporation into a canon, both Deuteronomy
and John exhibit a conception of word and community that lends to
each a proclivity toward a continuing, distinctive canonical role.
Specifically, these include a view of the word of God as the effective
force by which the community of faith is constituted and sustained
over time, as well as the ongoing imperative of remembrance for the
later community’s understanding of its place in the divine economy.
Such communities would, indeed, be in a position to recognize as
authoritative for themselves a collection of works that would grant
special hermeneutical place to parts that place in the foreground these
very points.
However, our consideration of internal factors need not content
itself with an examination of what Deuteronomy and John say
about the community of faith per se. In addition, we may ask
whether they share any similarities in perspective on the wider
world that might contribute to their potential to serve in distinctive
and similar ways within their respective canons. In both cases, in
fact, location — both physical and social — plays an important role
in the understanding of the community.
The physical location of Deuteronomy is on the plains of Moab,
east of the southern end of the Jordan River, before it empties into the
Dead Sea. John’s Gospel is not so delimited, but it does place the
outset of Jesus’ public ministry explicitly east of the Jordan and toward
the southern end thereof (John 1,28; 3,22-26) 25. In sum, physical
25
Thereby forever frustrating Holy Land tour guides, who must deal with
the accounts in Matthew (3,13) and Mark (1,9), which suggest a Galilean