John #3

As well as the Gospel and letters of John this Bible study uses the book “Written that you may believe: Encountering Jesus in the fourth Gospel” by Sandra M. Schneiders (2003) Crossroad Publishing Co. New York, NY.

Background reading to study #3 Written that you may believe Ch. 6.

04/22/10
Women in John’s Gospel

Women play an important role in John’s Gospel. They have much greater prominence here than in the Synoptics. Luke brings women into his accounts, but in John they have extraordinarily prestigious roles. There is a subtle undermining of the male hierarchy found in the early tradition and even the other Gospels. In Paul’s account of the resurrection appearances of Jesus found in 1 Cor 15:5 (an account that he himself received – most probably from the Jerusalem church) Jesus appears first to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to five hundred brothers, then to James, and lastly to Paul himself. In this account the message is only given to men. In Matthew and the longer ending of Mark the first witnesses of the resurrection are women, but in John the first witness is exclusively Mary Magdalene and an extended scene of recognition is devoted to her. In John all the key moments include women with individual roles.

In Chapter 4 there is the account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. In v. 28-30 & 39-42 she is described as the person who leads people to faith. “Come and see a man who has told me everything… can he be the Messiah?” In this she appears to fulfill Jesus’ commission made the night before he died. At that time he prays for his disciples (the “priestly prayer of Jesus”). In this prayer he leads his disciples into communion with himself and with the Father, through him. Then in Jn 17:20 he prays for those who will believe through the word of these disciples. The Samaritan woman has already modeled this for the disciples. In v. 24 he also prays that people will enter into a direct relationship with him, “to see (his) glory”. This woman, who is not even Jewish, has achieved this for her townspeople. Through her they have entered into this relationship, have believed for themselves and begun to see the glory of Christ. She stands in contrast to Nicodemus from the previous chapter who seeks Jesus by night and while he enters into conversation with Jesus, does not move forward in faith as she does.

The confession of the Christ Mt 16:16 by Peter at Caesarea Philippi is seen as the turning point of the Synoptic gospels. It gives Peter a tremendous prestige. In John’s Gospel this role is assumed by Martha of Bethany. In Jn 11:27 after the death of her brother, Lazarus, it is Martha who proclaims Jesus “the Messiah, the Son of God”. The woman at the well in Samaria makes a tentative question “Can he be the Messiah? For Martha there is no doubt. No man in John’s Gospel does anything equivalent.

The woman who anoints Jesus as Messiah ahead of his crucifixion is Mary of Bethany. She does not wait for an official priest or prophet but takes the role upon herself. Jn 11:5 identifies the only named persons in the Gospel whom Jesus loved – Mary, Martha and Lazarus. To some theologians they are therefore the best candidates for the historical figure of the beloved disciple. It is noteworthy that two of the three are women, and the man is placed last.

The key woman in the Gospel appears at the beginning and end of the Gospel. In Chapter 2:1-11 we have the account of the wedding at Cana. The wedding itself evokes the final image of the New Testament: the new Jerusalem descending like a bride adorned for her husband (Christ). The wedding at Cana is the first of the signs and marks the re-beginning of the Gospel (following the Prologue and the calling of the disciples). It takes place on the third day, the day of resurrection, anticipating the end of the Gospel. Conversely the garden scene at the end of the Gospel evokes both Eden and the New Jerusalem with its trees of life and healing.

The scene opens with the wine running out and Jesus’ mother asking Jesus to intervene. He replies “Woman what is this to you and to me?” adding that his hour has not yet come. This sounds like a semi-rebuke – we should not be getting involved. This semi-rejection reflects other accounts in the Synoptics where Jesus keeps his mother and brothers at a remove in order to establish a new community not based on ties of blood.

Strangely Jesus then acts counter to his words by working the miracle. The woman prompts him to act before he wants to. He produces an enormous quantity of wine (about 600 liters) and his glory is revealed. This seems to indicate that his hour has indeed come. The transformed wine is a symbol of the transformed earth. It symbolizes the joy of the resurrection.

So who is this woman? This figure’s primary importance is in her symbolism not as an historical figure. Traditionally this passage has been understood as Mary, the mother of Jesus, displaying her influence over her son. Why then does Jesus call her “Woman”— a term that would have been as strange then as today when addressing one’s mother?

At the foot of the cross in Jn 19:25-27 Jesus addresses the two key figures of the beloved disciple and the woman. He says “Woman here is your son” and to the disciple “here is your mother”. From that moment the beloved disciple “took her into his own” - that is brought her into close relationship. This has been read traditionally as Jesus looking out for his mother, Mary, as a dutiful son. Instead (as so much in the Gospel) this passage can only be read symbolically.

The word for disciple is masculine – there is no female form. Some modern scholars say that the male pronoun “he” and also the word “son” is used as a substitute for this male noun. There is no way of knowing from the text the gender of the beloved disciple. This had led some to identify Mary Magdalene as the beloved disciple here. This is corroborated by the Gospel accounts that state that all the male disciples scattered after Jesus’ arrest –with only the women remaining at the foot of the cross.

The significance of Jesus’ words is that the beloved disciple should enter in to a relationship with the woman. Theologian Raymond Brown argued that by bringing the woman into his home, this makes the beloved disciple a brother of Jesus. This seems trivial. If read at a wider level of symbolism, however, the meaning becomes deeper. The figure of the beloved disciple symbolizes both the reader, the one entering into relationship with Jesus through the Word, and also the new redeemed human community. The Woman is both Jesus’ mother (Mary) from whom Jesus was born. But she also stands for more than this – for the natural created order – the earth, nature, physical motherhood and God’s feminine Wisdom poured forth into all of this. At Cana she is the created order that brings forth Jesus. At the cross she becomes the earth redeemed from violence – embraced and transformed by the beloved disciple in a new creation in the shadow of the cross. She therefore represents the old creation on the way to transformation. The Christian disciple brings creation into relationship with her/himself in order to bring it to the perfection God intends.