Johannine Studies
VIII. METAPHORS AND AN OBLIGATIONAL NORM FOR MINISTRY IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL
Johannine Studies
VIII. METAPHORS AND AN OBLIGATIONAL NORM FOR MINISTRY IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL
Subjects reviewed in this chapter:
Preliminary Considerations: Comparing John with the Synoptics, Ministry and Church in John, Themes Which Inform – Three Metaphors for Ministry: Following Jesus, Bearing Much Fruit, Serving Christ – The Ethical Norm for Ministry – the New Commandment – Conclusion
Ministers and church leaders are concerned with practical theology. It is their concern to ask, “How will a study of ministry in the Gospel of John relate to the church’s ministry today?” “Do we find examples of congregational life in the Fourth Gospel like we find in Paul’s correspondence to the Thessalonians or Corinthians?1 And, if so, do those situations sufficiently parallel contemporary church challenges?”2 At this juncture, we have found the work of Don S. Browning helpful. Browning believes three generalizations can be made about practical theology: 1) it “tries to answer the question of what we should do in the face of problems and challenges to faithful action,” 2) “it consists of several different levels,” and 3) “it is correlational and critical.”3
All three of Browning’s generalizations are germane to our study, but the second is especially so. Within it Browning sets forth five “analytically distinct levels to practical theological thinking.”4 First is the metaphorical level which parallels systematic theology and is concerned with the great metaphors which symbolize our faith experience. God as creator is an example. Second is the obligational level which parallels formal theological ethics and is concerned with moral development. The golden rule is an example. Third is the need-tendency level, the psychological plane concerned with personal emotional motivational development. The concern for justice and love in a marriage relationship is an example. Fourth is the contextual-predictive level, the sociological dimension wherein “we try to interpret the situation that confronts us in our ethical deliberation.”5 An inner city church’s struggle for survival as it attempts to find resources to care for the homeless in its community is an example. Finally there is the rule-role communication level, the point in which “specific rules and roles for organizing our practical action” takes place, both for individuals and groups.6 Paul’s command to the Thessalonians, “if any one will not work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10) is an example. It is essential for practical theologians to work at all of these levels, although the last three are the traditional areas for doing practical theology.
Although the Fourth Gospel may not address actual congregational settings, it does set forth at least three “ministry metaphors” and an “obligational norm” which relate the Biblical message to contemporary church ministry.7 In this study we will work with the metaphorical and obligational levels (the first two) using the Fourth Gospel as our guide. Admittedly, our effort will be incomplete, but hopefully it will be an illustration of an essential step since practical theology as Browning puts it “cannot afford to ignore the higher levels, the metaphorical and the obligational.”8
Preliminary Considerations
First, however, three preliminary but concise considerations require our attention: 1) a comparison of John with the Synoptics concerning the topic of ministry; 2) a consideration of the reality of “church/ministry” in John; and, 3) a brief development of three related theological themes: “incarnation,” “the world,” and “sending.”
Comparing John with the Synoptics
Although ministry in all four of the gospels is predicated on the ministry of Jesus, it is expressed and emphasized differently by each writer.9 However, in the Synoptics there are usually three ministry activities attributed to Jesus – preaching, serving and healing. In John the vocabulary and thought patterns for these activities are significantly modified. For example, the terms “gospel” and “preaching” are nearly absent from John's vocabulary. Instead, emphasis is given to “testimony” and “witness.” Further, in the Synoptics (as for most of the New Testament) ministry focuses upon “service.”10 The Fourth Gospel speaks of “slaves,” “servants,” and “service” with some regularity, but to my knowledge in only three instances, 12:26; 13:17 and 15:15, does the language seem to relate to ministry. Similar observations can be made of the third activity, healing. Jesus’ ministry in the Synoptics is characterized by frequent healings and/or exorcisms, vital demonstrations of the power of God’s Kingdom over Satan.11 In John; the vocabulary for “healing” and the “kingdom” is used infrequently.12 Only four miracles are healings,13 a small number in comparison to the Synoptic record. Even more noticeable is the absence of exorcisms in John, a prevalent activity in the Synoptics (Mark 3:15). True, in John, Jesus is accused of having a demon, but never is there an exorcism. In fact, the miracles of Jesus are not described as miracles but as his “works” (5:36; 9:3; 10:32-33; 14:10), and/or “signs” (2:11, 23; 3:2; 4:54 et al) which have the force of testimony and are given for the purpose of producing faith. Miracles in the Fourth Gospel, Smith states, “have the express function of raising the question of who Jesus is and suggesting an answer.”14
Even though certain ministry vocabulary and thought patterns in the Synoptics are missing and/or modified in John, a rich message of ministry remains. Testimony leads people to choose life or judgement.15 Service is stressed through the love commandment (John 13:34, 35; 15:12-13, 17) and the footwashing scene (13:1-11, 12-20).16 The works of Jesus are integral to his ministry. In saying this, though, we must be careful. The Fourth Gospel does not express matters differently without reason. The language, structure, and activity of the gospel are fundamental to its purpose.
Ministry and Church in John
But what about the reality of church and ministry in John? Raymond Brown points out that up to 1965 most of the discussion concerning this topic was negative.17 For example, it was argued there is no explicit reference to church order and governance or to the Lord’s Supper or baptism or the “people of God” in the gospel, and, like Mark and Luke, John does not use the term “church.” On the other hand, reflecting a consensus of scholarship today, there is implicit evidence for the church as a community within the gospel. The symbolic discourses on the Shepherd and Vine include sheep and branches, images not just of individuals, but of the disciples, a community of believers. The frequent controversial discourses probably reflect struggles within and without the community encompassing the pre-gospel period as well as the time of the gospel.18 The discussion on worship in John 4 probably points to the church’s worship in spirit and in truth (4:23-24). The mission and witness of the disciples seem to prefigure the church.19 Teaching on love, prayer, obedience, the Spirit, bearing fruit and persecution in the world suggests a community of disciples with a fellowship and ministry. The prayer of Jesus in John 17 includes the future – “those who believe in me through their word,” (John 17:20). Our study cannot settle the contemporary debate concerning Johannine ecclesiology, but it is a defensible assumption to work with the reality of the church in the Fourth Gospel, especially when the evidence of the Johannine epistles is considered.20 If we may speak of the church as a community we must speak of its ministry as well. Edward Schillebeeckx expresses the matter well in his much broader study. There is “no community without ministry,” and conversely there is “no ministry without community.”21
Themes Which Inform
Finally, there are at least three interrelated themes which inform and narrow our topic: incarnation, the world and the role of sending. All three could be viewed as metaphors of ministry, but we will reserve that designation for three more specific matters.
Incarnation and ministry. No writing in the NT has a higher christology than John. Not only does the gospel parallel in its own way Paul's conviction that God has acted decisively in Jesus (cf. Rom. 1:1-4, 16-17; 3:21-22), it affirms also the pre-existence and universal importance of Christ. Smith states, “The cosmic significance of Christ, . . . is now expressed in a Gospel, . . .” and a central early Christian “tenet is now taken to mean that Jesus is, at least functionally, equivalent to God.”22
John’s high christology contains as well the fullest expression of Jesus’ humanity – the incarnation. Jesus is declared to be the “only Son” who “became flesh” (1:14).23 We will cite several examples which emphasize both the human and transcendent dimension of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus participates in a wedding feast (2:1-11), at which time he reminds his mother, “What have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (2:4). Jesus, weary, sits down at a well in Samaria and reveals to a woman her past (4:1-42). Agitated in spirit, Jesus weeps at the tomb of Lazarus and in the same moment reveals himself to be the resurrection and the life (11:33, 35, 25). During the last supper Jesus lays aside his garments and washes the disciples’ feet (13:3-5). John introduces this scene by stating “when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (suggesting the footwashing is symbolic of his death). At the hour of his glorification, his death, he thirsts (18:28). Resurrected, he shows the disciples bodily evidences of his death and then commissions them (20:20-21). One week later, he tells Thomas to touch and to handle the bodily signs of his suffering – believing (20:27), which leads Thomas to confess, “my Lord and my God” (20:28).
Further, the incarnation is underscored by statements which identify and depict the solidarity of Jesus and the disciples. If people persecute Jesus they will persecute the disciples (15:20). If the world hates the disciples it is because the world first hated Jesus (15:18). If anyone receives the disciples that person receives Jesus, and the one who sent him (13:20). As the Father has sent Jesus into the world in like fashion Jesus sends the disciples (20:21). Jesus prays not for the disciples to be taken out of the world, but that the Father will protect them from the evil one (17:15). Sometimes the fullness of John’s christology is most clearly expressed by Jesus’ opponents, “It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God” (10:33). Smith states, “it is not the intention of the Fourth Evangelist to present the revelation of God in Jesus in such a way as to negate his humanity or to make his experience foreign, and therefore irrelevant to his followers.”24
A corollary of the incarnation is the gospel’s view of “flesh.” Flesh is not evil, nor does it stand in opposition to God. Flesh is simply “the sphere of the human and the worldly as opposed to the divine, . . .”25 Through Jesus’ flesh, John affirms, “we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (1:14). Flesh cannot avail (6:63) because it is transitory and helpless, but through it the glory of God is revealed in Jesus and through it the community of believers by the Spirit continues Jesus’ mission and ministry to the world. H. Richard Niebuhr describes the gospel's view of flesh: “whatever is is good . . . . the physical, material, and temporal are never regarded as participating in evil in any peculiar way because they are not spiritual and eternal. On the contrary, natural birth, eating, drinking, wind, water, and bread and wine are for this evangelist not only symbols to be employed in dealing with the realities of the life of the spirit but are pregnant with spiritual meaning. Spiritual and natural events ‘are interlocking and analogous.’”26
Bultmann perhaps best depicts John’s meaning of flesh when he says, “This is the paradox which runs through the whole gospel: the doxa (glory) is not to be seen alongside the sarx (flesh), nor through the sarx as through a window; it is to be seen in the sarx and nowhere else.”27
A theology of incarnation is crucial to the church’s self-understanding and sense of ministry.28 T.F. Torrance aptly conveys the significance when he states, “Thus through the Incarnation is revealed to us that God in His own Being is not closed to us, for He has come to share with us the deepest movement of His divine heart, and so to participate in our human nature that the heart of God beats within it.”29 The church through the incarnation, Karl Barth believes, is the community that exists for God, but in so doing it must understand that God exists for the world which means that in existing for God the church must exist for the world.30 In John the church and its ministry are shaped by the imperative of the incarnation. This leads us to a second theme.
The world. If the means of ministry is the Spirit working through the flesh, the object of ministry is the world.31 But, what constitutes the world in John? Niebuhr believes the world is one of the Fourth Gospel’s apparent paradoxes.32 First, it refers to the totality of creation.33 Within the notion of creation it focuses especially upon the world of men, of human affairs, of humankind capable of knowing and comprehending.34 Both creation and humanity are transitory. They belong to the world that is below in contrast to the world that is above (8:23; 18:36). In this sense “the world” is comparable to “flesh.”
But, the world also, and often in the same context, refers to humankind rejecting Christ, living in darkness, doing evil, being ignorant of God, and exulting over Jesus’ death.35 In this sense flesh and the world are not synonymous. This world, Bultmann declares, “stands over against God and confronts him with hostility; . . .” This world has made itself “independent of God.” Its synonym is darkness, the “darkness of lies and sin.”36 God sent his son to both the world of creation and alienation (3:16). But “this world,” the world of darkness and under the power of its ruler, hated Jesus and hates his disciples. It rejected Christ and refused to believe. This world is judged and not saved (3:18; 5:24; 9:39; 12:47-48). Jesus’ disciples, the community of faith, are in an alienated and hostile world but are not of it (17:11, 15). Accordingly, they are opposed and suffer tribulation (16:33), but are encouraged since Jesus through his death overcomes the world (12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
To accept this apparent paradox is important for the church and its ministry. It must “love” the world, “die” for the world, be involved with the world, all the while knowing it is still flesh. It must know that it came out of the world, but it is not of the world. The church cannot accept the world's values, live by its strength, measure its success by the world’s standards, or share its dreams. It must never forget the only way to transform the world is through the Word made flesh. Schnackenburg states, “ . . . in the Johannine theology of incarnation and mission, the greatness of God’s act is manifest in the very bridging of the chasm between God and the ‘world’.”37
Sending. Finally, the themes of the incarnation and the world as foundational realities for the church’s ministry are closely related to the church’s commission and authority expressed primarily in the gospel by a theology of “sending.”38
God’s mission to the world is carried out through the “sending” of John the Baptist, the Son, the Spirit, and the disciples who represent four aspects of a single mission.39 The ultimate “sending,” though, is of the Son (3:17) from which the other three gain legitimacy and significance.40 In other words, each aspect of the one mission has a christological focus. Although the sending of the disciples is central to Jesus, it is connected to the sending of John and the Spirit as well.
For example, John the Baptist is sent by God to witness to the light (1:6-7). His mission has import only because he is sent by God. Its purpose is that all should believe in the “Lamb of God.”41 Even though John does not know Jesus, he “came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel” (1:31). His testimony is that Jesus is the Lamb of God (1:29, 36); that he is the one who is able to baptize with the Spirit (1:33; 3:34); and that he is the Son of God (1:34). His witness also includes his own confession (1:20; 3:28) and complete abnegation before Jesus.42 In this John’s joy is fulfilled (3:29). The truth of John’s witness, even though delimited by his role, makes him a paradigm of discipleship.43
The Spirit’s mission is parallel to the Son’s (15:26). The Spirit's primary function is to teach – not his own thoughts – but only the teachings of Jesus (14:26). Together, the Spirit and the disciples bear witness to Christ (15:26), but only after the Son’s glorification (7:39; 16:7; 20:22). The Spirit is the church's source of life and the world’s salvation.44 Without the Paraclete there is no church or ministry.
The sending of the disciples is inextricably united to the sending of the Son and modeled after his mission (20:21; 4:38; 13:16, 20; 17:18). When some of the key elements of Christ’s sending are listed, the church’s self-understanding and motivation for ministry in relationship to Christ are implicitly portrayed.
1. The Son is sent to do the Father’s will and not his own (4:24; 6:38).
2. In so doing the Son does only what pleases the Father (8:29).
3. He does not seek his own initiative or glory (5:30; 8:42; 12:49; 7:18).
4. Rather, he honors the Father (5:23).
5. He honors the Father by acknowledging that his teaching, words and works are his Father’s and not his own (7:16; 8:26; 14:24; 9:4).
In other words, the Son's life, mission, authority and self-identity are bound up in his unity with the Father (6:57; 17:21), and that unity includes the disciples “that the world may know and believe that thou didst send me” (11:42; 5:24; 12:44-45). Jesus, the Son, is the model apostle.45
Now, we believe the statements pertaining to the sending of the disciples become clearer.
4:38 – I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
13:16 – Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.
13:20 – Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me.
17:18 – As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
20:21 – Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.
In conclusion, what can we say specifically concerning the church’s commission? Its mission is not its own, but is defined in reference to God. Its self-understanding – its identity – is inseparably linked to its message so that its election and message coincide. Its ministry is not the result of its own resources or facilitation. Rather, its service is a faithful response to God who through his Son sends his witnesses into the world to lead others to follow Jesus. In this commitment there is an absolute sense of necessity. The church, like John, confesses its abnegation – “I must decrease, he must increase” – and therein its joy is fulfilled.
Three Metaphors for Ministry
Our three metaphors, “following,” “bearing fruit,” and “serving,” are found in one passage, 12:23-26, which provides “ . . . a splendid commentary on the meaning that the hour of Jesus’ death and resurrection will have for all men.”46 The first metaphor, “following,” stands for the commitment of discipleship. The second, “bearing fruit,” is part of a parable comparing the death of a grain of wheat as the means of bearing much fruit to the death of Jesus as the means by which “all men” are “drawn” to Christ (12:32). The third, “serving,” characterizes the loving behavior of those who belong to Jesus. The unifying theme is life through death. Bultmann refers to verses 23-26 as “The Law of Access.”47 The way to glorification for Jesus leads through death. This law, “to which Jesus is subject,” is extended to the disciples.48 The three metaphors are interrelated and are set within the framework that Jesus’ hour has come.49
First Metaphor – Following Jesus
To follow Jesus is to accept a fundamental reality of discipleship – “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (12:25).
Instances of following (or rejecting or denying discipleship) are found several times in the gospel. There is the call of the first disciples of Jesus (1:35ff.).50 When this instance is carefully examined other crucial words for discipleship appear – “abide (dwell),” “come,” and “see,”51 Jesus asks the two men sent to him by John, “What do you seek?'”52 The men wish to “abide” with Jesus (1:38) to which Jesus responds, “Come and see” (1:39). Bultmann points out that “ . . . the essential meaning of the narrative is hidden behind these events.”53 Discipleship is at stake. John the Baptist’s proclamation had led two disciples to follow Jesus. Andrew then finds Sirnon and brings him to Jesus the Messiah.54 So, Brown concludes, the disciples must begin to act like apostles and bring others to Jesus.55
In John 6 the term “follow” (used in the sense of discipleship) does not occur, but the theme pervades the chapter. First, we are told a multitude “followed him” (6:2). Later, when the people seek Jesus he tells them they seek him “not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (6:26). The Bread of Life discourse is then given and ends with many of his disciples drawing back (6:66) which prompts Jesus to ask the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter then confesses for all (6:68-69). In this instance discipleship is predicated upon Jesus’ claims and teaching.
In the Light of the World discourse (8:12-10:21) the man born blind (9:1-41) is healed and becomes Jesus’ disciple despite significant persecution revealing that the person who follows Jesus “will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (8:12).
In the passage on the shepherd who gives his life (10:1-42), the sheep follow Christ for two reasons: 1) he goes before them and they know his voice (10:4); and 2) he lays his life down for the sheep (l0:11ff.).56 The theme of death and discipleship parallels 12:23-26.
The incident of Peter’s premature discipleship (John 13:36ff) follows the footwashing scene (13:8) and demonstrates that Peter remains “too proud to countenance the humility of Jesus.”57 Peter’s response, “Lord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (13:37) is sincere, but unenlightened (good intentions are inadequate) as he struggles over what his own will is. Jesus tells him “the cock will not crow, till you have denied me three times” (13:38).58 The reinstatement of Peter, the reversal of his threefold denial, is found in the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus in Galilee (21:15-22). The question is asked three times “Do you love me?” It is reminiscent of Peter’s triple denial (18:17, 25-27) and ends with Christ’s challenge, “Follow me” (20:19).
Among contemporary theologians discipleship has been shown to be a major expression of church and ministry. For example, Avery Dulles has developed a major model of the church as a community of disciples.59 He builds a Biblical basis for the model first out of the book of Acts, but then turns to the gospels. He states “when the evangelists speak of the common life of the disciples with Jesus, they are quite conscious of the ecclesial significance of their statements.”60 Focusing on the latter chapters of John, Dulles speaks first of the role of the Paraclete, but then turns to the post-Easter experience and dwells on the necessity of Peter’s obeying “the precept ‘Follow me’ (21:19).” He states, “Discipleship for John achieves its fullest meaning in the post-Easter situation for only then is the Holy Spirit given in fullness.”61 We believe Dulles demonstrates that discipleship is a major means by which the church’s response to the work of Christ is made known. The call to discipleship in examples like Peter suggests a corresponding parallel to the community of faith. The church must die to itself to follow Christ. It can only follow, abide, come, and see as it gives its life to Christ for the sake of the world.
Second Metaphor – Bearing Much Fruit
If the heart of discipleship is a call to hate one’s life in this world (12:25) and to follow Jesus unto death, a striking parallel is the metaphor of bearing fruit. Jesus states, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (12:24). The verse, Schnackenburg states, is “ . . . an impressive little parable” by which “Jesus illustrates the fruitfulness of his death, a fruitfulness which will lead to his glorification.”62
But what does it mean to bear fruit in the gospel? Fruit bearing is emphasized in three contexts: 1) in our present text, 2) in the conversion of the Samaritans (4:31-42), and 3) in the allegory of the vine (15:1-17).63
The immediate context. The coming of the Greeks (12:20) symbolically anticipates the future after Jesus’ crucifixion when the church would include both Jews and Gentiles (cf. 10:16; 11:52).64 Their request to see Jesus (12:21) depicts the theme of discipleship and is reminiscent of the disciples’ call of 1:35-51. But, the time of the Gentiles first requires the glorification of the Son of man (12:23), illustrated by Jesus’ statement comparing his death to the sowing of a seed of grain. Hoskyns believes this parable should not be applied “primarily to the lives of the disciples of Jesus, as though their fruitful obedience to the will of God was to burst forth independently on its own. They are the fruit of the isolated (xvi. 32) obedience and death of Jesus; and their fruitfulness springs from His death, and is joined organically to it.”65
The harvest of the Samaritans. Jesus tells his disciples “He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life,” (4:36). Here again, gathering “fruit” stands for making converts to the Christian faith, most immediately the Samaritans.66 As in 12:24 Schnackenburg compares the passage to the work of Jesus which precipitates a rich missionary harvest.67 Interestingly, it is the woman's testimony, not the disciples’, which leads to the conversion of the Samaritans (4:39). Witness as evangelism is important for John.
However, the relationship of the two, witness and evangelism and/or preaching, must be carefully weighed.68 The gospel emphasizes that the works of Jesus done in his Father’s name bear witness to him (10:25).69 Jesus challenges both “the Jews” (10:37-38; 5:36) and his disciples (14:11) to believe his works. If they do, they will know the Son’s unity with the Father (10:37; cf. 14:11).70 The mission of Jesus is “to do the will of him” who sent him, and “to accomplish his work” (4:34).71 The “now” of his hour (12:23; 13:1; 17:1) is the work of God for the salvation of the world. Word and deed are one.
The discourses of Jesus are often the outgrowth of his deeds.72 Two examples are given.73 First, the “sign” of the feeding of the five thousand (6:1-14) is followed by the discourse on the bread of life (6:25-59) and the response of Jesus’ disciples (6:60-71). The unity of sign and discourse, deed and word, reaches a climax when “many of his disciples draw back” (6:66), except for the Twelve (6:69). A second example is the healing of the man with congenital blindness (9:1-40), a demonstration that Jesus has come for judgment as well as for salvation (9:39-41). The theme and discourse, Jesus the light of the world (8:12), precede the sign. The dynamics of both discourse and deed lead to acceptance and rejection – acceptance on the part of the blind man (9:38), rejection on the part of Jesus’ opponents.74
Finally, as previously noted, the “signs” (the works) of Jesus function to produce faith, but not “simply a belief in miracles.”75 Jesus' signs should never be confused with the “food that perishes” since they symbolize the food which “endures to eternal life,” (6:27). Word and deed are one.76 The witness of the church that produces faith requires both preaching and practice, a connection and unity between its words and its deeds. Dulles states, “the goal of preaching is not mere profession of faith in the message, but rather a communion of life and love.”77
The allegory of the vine. Perhaps the most familiar passage of bearing fruit is the allegory of the vine (John 15:1-17). Fruitfulness, service to God, is related to answered prayer, and is produced by obedience in love. Bearing fruit “is simply living the life of a Christian disciple (see w. 5, 8); perhaps especially the practice of mutual love (v. 12).”78 For Bultmann, the nature of fruit-bearing” is every demonstration of vitality of faith, to which, according to vv. 9-17, reciprocal love above all belongs.”79 Obedient love is the essential element in the growth of faith. It is expressed through the image of mutual abiding. Abiding and bearing fruit constitute a reciprocal relationship. A believer cannot abide in the vine without bearing fruit nor can one bear fruit without abiding in Christ. Thus, we must not equate bearing fruit with human merit or achievement. The church is a created being. It owes its existence to the Word of God. It is not its own master, nor can it make its own beginning or end. Only because of the vine is the church enabled to keep the new commandment (13:34-35), and by its keeping a witness is given that “all men will know that you are my disciples” (13:35).80
Third Metaphor – Serving Christ
As noted earlier, although the gospel speaks of “slaves,” “servants,” and “service” with some regularity in only three instances, 12:26; 13:17 and 15:15, does the language seem to relate to ministry. Two of the passages (13:17; 15:15) belong to the theme of the new commandment of love. The other (12:26) is a part of the passage containing our three metaphors (12:23-26).
The lesson from the allegory of the vine serves to introduce our last metaphor – “for apart from me you can do nothing” (15:5). Christian service originates with Christ and is rendered to him – “If any one serves me, he must follow me;” (12:26a). Service is given to Christ because it belongs to Christ. This includes service rendered to others since “washing the feet” of others actually means washing Jesus’ feet.81 The church ministers to its own and the world by facing Christ. When this is accomplished its service has God’s power, life and authority – it is of the Spirit and not the flesh. Christian service cannot have a human origin. Self-originating service and/or human-centered service denies the gospel’s theology of sending and faith.82
So far we have emphasized the first half of Jesus’ statement, “if any one serves me, he must follow me; . .” The second half is equally significant. To serve Christ means to follow him. Serving Christ is predicated on dedicated discipleship.83 The model for service and following is the footwashing scene (13:4-11, 12-20). In the first section (13:4-11) Peter struggles with Jesus, refusing at first to permit him to wash his feet. Bultrnann maintains that Peter reflects the natural man who simply does not want this kind of service. “The service in question is not just any personal act of kindness – for why should this not be acceptable to the natural man? – but it is service performed by the incarnate Son of God. And even if man can reject it out of pride, Peter’s words do not just express this kind of pride, but rather the basic way men think, the refusal to see the act of salvation in what is lowly, or God in the form of a slave.”84
The struggle of discipleship in reference to service is more than a question of humility or submission. The difference is the acceptance in faith of both realities in the face of the incarnation.
If the point of issue in the first section (13:4-11) is the unwillingness of Peter to permit Jesus to wash his feet, the second section (13:12-20) stresses the disciples’ need to similarly serve others in the community of faith.85 This is “impossible” without first accepting the loving service of Christ.86 God’s love in Christ is the prerequisite for Christian service. When the church knows and accepts the incarnation, then it is called to serve its own by loving them.
Consequently, in light of John I5:15, the believer is more than a mere servant – he is a philos (loved one) of Jesus.87 Brown states, “Thus . . . the Christian remains a doulos (slave) from the viewpoint of service that he should render, but from the viewpoint of intimacy with God he is more than a doulos.”88 The friendship of Jesus defines the environment of service and bathes it with divine dignity.
Finally, Jesus also affirms, “if any one serves me, the Father will honor him” (12:-26). Nowhere else does John use timan (honor) with God as subject.89 Probably, the language parallels Mark 10:30, 43 and depicts the reward of following. But it conveys more than a promise to the servant to follow Christ into death. It is a promise that reaches beyond the cross to the completion of Jesus' glorification (12:23). The middle member of verse 26 “and where I am, there shall my servant be also;” should not be overlooked. It probably refers to the permanent fellowship the disciples will share with Jesus after his death and resurrection (John 14:2-3; see also 13:33, 36). The church’s call to service receives God’s honor. Christian service is rendered by a martyr church, but not a church with a martyr’s complex. The call to self-denial is not without reward. The Father honors those who serve him.
The Ethical Norm for Ministry – the New Commandment
We have examined three themes and three metaphors. The themes, the incarnation, the world and the divine sending, serve as necessary foundational assumptions for ministry in John. The three metaphors, following Christ, bearing fruit and serving Jesus, function as analogies for faith development.
But, as noted, Browning sets forth two “higher levels” for practical theology – metaphors and ethical norms. The latter, to which we now turn, and in the gospel there is but one, shape and guide moral development.
The ethical norm for the Fourth Gospel is the new commandment of love (13:34-35). “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (13:34-35).
Why is the new commandment an ethical norm? First, its very nature is marked by a sense of duty. Bultmann points out that the disciples “are directed towards an existence that has the character of an ‘ought’.”90 It is ethical in nature.91 The command is given to guide and regulate the interpersonal behavior of the disciples. Second, it is the commandment that encompasses all other commandments and governs their meaning.92 Third, although the command is relegated to a specific group, the community of believers, within that group it is universal in scope. Mutual love is bound upon all – every disciple is obligated by it. Fourth, it is not an optional command, nor is it operative under certain conditions. It guides the church at all times.
Why is it a “new” commandment? First, let us state some negatives. It is not to be confused with a universal love for the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men, or the love of enemies or even the love of neighbors.93 Neither is it new because it is a spontaneous and unmotivated love directed to human beings who are sinners and unworthy of love.94 Why, then, is it new? Barrett, we believe, is correct when he sees the newness as God’s love in and for the new age made possible by Jesus’ life and death.95 It is new because it is defined by the cross. This view fits the context and parallels the message of our three metaphors. Standing behind it and informing it is the revelatory character of the mutual love which regulates the relationship of the Father and Son (10:18; 12:49f; (14:31); 15:10). Jesus’ statement in John 15:10 to the disciples conveys this thought, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Accordingly, the new commandment creates and sustains the fellowship of the Christian community – the church. It affirms that the moral norm which governs the church is the cross.
Further, Brown is correct in seeing it as “the basic stipulation of the ‘new covenant’ of Luke xxii 20.”96 “This covenant was to be interiorized and to be marked by the people’s intimate contact with God and knowledge of Him – a knowledge that is the equivalent of love and is a covenantal virtue.”97
What effect does the new commandment have within the Christian community? Brown points out that “the new commandment keeps alive the spirit of Jesus among the disciples as they continue to live their life in the world.”98 Barrett states the notion similarly, “The disciples cannot accompany Christ in his death; they are to be left to live in this world . . . For the direction of their life in this new situation (a messianic community living between the advents of the Messiah) Jesus leaves one new commandment.”99 Finally, what effect does the new commandment have among outsiders? It serves as a witness.100 Its practice will lead outsiders to recognize the distinctiveness of Christian love. This is a part of Jesus' prayer, “I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me” (John 17:23). The practice of the new commandment is a proof of Christian discipleship and an authentication of the revelation of the Father in the Son.
Conclusion
We have demonstrated that faith and moral development are a central concern of John. It is at these two levels (theology and formal theological ethics) that essential reflection is made concerning the other three (the need-tendency, contextual-predictive, and rule-role communication levels).
All of the levels, however, are essential in doing practical theology. Our study supports Browning’s contention that practical theology “cannot afford to ignore the higher levels, the metaphorical and the obligational.”101 Biblical theology and ethics provide an enduring basis for specific contemporary ministry applications.
We have shown as well that the witness of the ancient church, even when apparently lacking specific examples of congregational life, does speak to ministers and churches today. The message of the Fourth Gospel including the incarnation, the world, sending, following, bearing fruit, and serving relates to contemporary ministry challenges. In other words the ministry message of one gospel can enlighten and assist the efforts of both ministers and members to anchor their personal ministries and the churches they serve in a theology of ministry. Theology can be practical.
Our effort is unfinished and ongoing. Not all of the possible metaphors for ministry in the gospel have been explored. One striking omission is the metaphor of “feeding” or “tending” and “shepherding” in John 21:15ff. and John 10. Also, the three metaphors and single ethical norm could be probed with greater depth both textually and theologically. And, especially unfinished and of necessity, is the completed task of practical theology. What we have learned requires translation into the specific experiences of people and churches at the social, psychological and rule and role levels. This, the Fourth Gospel cannot provide. Only people in actual churches of actual communities working out actual life situations in their hour can complete the task of practical theology. This is the gospel applied.
Finally, our study has taught us that the church and its ministry must never stray from Christ and the cross. Only as the community of faith remains close to its Lord can it do God’s will, learn the delights of pleasing him, experience the freedom of dedicated discipleship and the reward that honoring the Father brings when the church freely acknowledges its witness and works not to be its own but the fruit of the Vine. The gospel stresses the importance of the church’s witness to Christ in its proclamation and deeds and in its love for one another. Witness and love are the bottom line, but only when those who do them point others to Jesus Christ and allow their fruitfulness to spring from Christ's death and to be joined organically to it. The words of Jesus speak to the church today, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
