The Courageous Gospel
Resources for Teachers, Students, and Preachers of the Fourth Gospel
Robert A. Hill
The Courageous Gospel
Resources for Teachers, Students, and Preachers of the Fourth Gospel
Copyright © 2013 Robert A. Hill. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-374-8
EISBN 13: 978-1-62189-700-2
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Hill, Robert Allan 1954–
The courageous gospel : resources for teachers, students, and preachers of the fourth gospel / Robert A. Hill
x + 250 p. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 13: 978-1-61097-374-8
1. Bible. John—Textbooks. 2. Bible. John—Study and teaching. 3. Bible. John—Sermons. I. Title
BS2616 H5 2013
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Frontispiece
The Courageous Gospel
John in Sermon, Lecture, Essay and Discussion
I. This book is intended to provide interpretative aids for the teaching of the Gospel of John. Its first part provides materials of introduction. The Gospel of John continues to receive much attention, whether through monographs or commentaries, journal articles or conference papers, or courses on the New Testament and early Christianity. With voluminous material available on the Gospel of John students often find it difficult to move beyond an introduction to the Gospel of John. Such difficulty may result from a lack of certainty about navigating the well-tread path of Johannine studies or from simply trying to make sense of the rich, deep, polyphonic voice of the Fourth Evangelist, or a host of other reasons. The author first studied John in New York City, during the late 1970s, with Dr. J. Louis Martyn and Dr. Raymond Brown. Their excellent teaching, their emphasis on the ‘two level drama’, and their emphasis on the Jewish background to the Fourth Gospel continue to be compelling, convincing interpretative perspectives. The author then studied John in Montreal, in the 1980s, with Dr. Frederik Wisse (along with Dr. George Johnston and Dr. N.T. Wright). Wisse’s expertise and emphasis upon the Hellenistic background to the New Testament, and his work on the Nag Hammadi Library, continue to be equally compelling and convincing interpretive perspectives. A stereoptic vision of a different sort, one eye in New York and one in Montreal, provides the angle of vision for this book. At some point, Johannine scholarship will find a way to synthesize these two great and lasting visions of and versions of John. Almost forty years of work on John, both in the pulpit and in the classroom, thus stand behind this collection. Coda: The Courages in John encapsulates the introductory work of part one.
II. The second part of the book offers a series of sermons on John, written and delivered in 2004, alongside class notes from much earlier. Professors, pastors, and Johannine scholars recognize the need to assist students as they proceed with their study and use of the Gospel of John, in relationship to interpretation in general and preaching in particular. Divinity schools and schools of theology want to encourage students to develop the necessary tools for integrating their learning in areas of theology and biblical studies with their teaching and preaching. Homiletics, in divinity and theological schools, is a necessary component of Master of Divinity degrees. But, too often, students are left on their own to try to synthesize the material from their numerous years of study. It is for this first reason that the book provides students with a series of sermons on John. These sermons provide a resource that helps students see what a “final product” looks like when based on certain Johannine texts. The sermons are connected to original notes on lectures by Raymond Brown, which he delivered and I noted, in the 1970’s. Two Battles, an opening sermon on John 1, exemplifies this emphasis on interpretation.
III. The third part of The Courageous Gospel assembles a collection of lectures and lecture materials on John, which are largely provided in an attempt to rebalance or reset the current emphasis in Johannine studies on the Gospel’s Jewish background. That is, the focus of this third section is a somewhat neglected area of study in recent research on the Fourth Gospel, the relationship between Gnostic thought and the Gospel of John. The Martyn-Brown hypothesis of the “levels” of the Johannine community continues to provide the necessary foundation for any historical study of this Gospel. Brown, in particular, helped us realize the deeply Jewish nature of the Fourth Gospel. Though Brown and Martyn have deeply assisted our understanding of Johannine thought, their hypothesis and Jewish background alone do not fully explain the Johannine thought world in its entirety. The religious world of the Mediterranean in the late-first century and second-centuries is diverse and varied. Scholars tend to demarcate “Hellenistic” or “Jewish” thought but such clear boundaries are scholarly constructions. However, that does not mean there is no advantage to identifying material in this way or from searching the plurality of sources available to ancient writers and thinkers. An aspect that deserves more scholarly attention is this relationship between Gnostic and Johannine thought. The author’s own earlier book and annual lectures in this regard provide a portion of the collection here. Mentors and friends—T. J. Weeden, R. L. Hart, F. Wisse, J. Ford, R. Walton, J Ashton—provide the rest.
The third part of this volume attempts to be a catalyst for future work on John’s Gospel in this important area. Included in this section are comments on gnostic thought and its relationship to New Testament studies and, specifically, Johannine studies. I make use here of the work of George MacRae—a gifted scholar who passed away too soon. MacRae was on the front lines of gnostic studies and his lucid presentation of gnostic and early Christian materials continues to provide a path for further study. Though his work is somewhat dated, MacRae’s assessment of the Gospel of John continues to offer much material worthy of attention. Aspects of the Fourth Gospel—especially, but not limited to, the Farewell discourse—demonstrate thoughts quite parallel to gnostic thought. Part II of this volume, then, will highlight the areas of convergence between gnostic and Johannine thought. Gnosticism, a broad lecture on the topic, epitomizes the direction of this section.
IV. The fourth part of the volume is meant to assist students and ministers in their further endeavors. Included here are certain materials helpful for one preparing sermons, classes, or essays on John. The chapters here include: various teaching tools, summary outlines, and sample quizzes and tests.
1 / Abstract
—Robert Allan Hill
Boston University 2011
Some who have taught the Gospel of John over the last generation have recognized a need for a second book, for class use, beyond the commentary (Ashton, Brown, Bultmann, Barrett, et al.). The second book is needed to engage the commentaries with the hermeneutical, exegetical, homiletical, and pastoral implications of the study. The Courageous Gospel intends to meet this need. (In fact, at Boston University, 2007–2013, in offprint form, and with annual redaction, it has done so).
The book has four parts. The first is a succinct summary of the key matters of introduction, taken from the author’s lectures, and summarized by a graduate student. The second is a collection of sermons on