Dualism In The Gospel Of John

Introduction Gospel of John is a wonderful gospel where one can find various elements included such as I am sayings, Jesus talk with various people like Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, Greeks etc., Christological aspects and the author’s purpose in portraying the divinity of Jesus appears wonderful. The usage of riddles, parallelism, dualism etc, make this gospel unique and different from the synoptics. There are things like wedding at Cana, Lazarus narration, high priestly prayer are described which were omitted or unwritten by the other evangelists. Coming at the end of the first half of the Gospel, John 12:20-36 is a key transitional text. Scholars are agreed that these verses are an introduction to the passion story—that the “w[ra” of w.
pw/j le,geij su. o[ti dei/ u`ywqh/nai to.n ui`o.n tou/ avnqrw,pou in V34. They said that they have heard that the Messiah remains forever. How can the Son of Man must be lifted up?” (John 12:34). The Greeks found this incomprehensible. That the eschatological bringer of salvation himself should die means to them that eternity should enter into the temporal and subject himself to the dying. But this is not in their doctrine. With this idea in mind, that salvation giver going through death made them confuse. The presupposition of the Greeks regarding Messiah was completely different. Accordingly they speak that the Christ will never have any consummation. Jesus whom these Greeks seek is not necessarily the Jesus whom they get. But Jesus Speaks about the Son of Man must be lifted up first, before all people can properly be drawn to him. After the dying, then, comes the fruit. That may appear difficult for them to digest. But Jesus’ response to the request of the Greeks is nothing other than a call to discipleship, to follow him in the dying so that the fruit-bearing can begin. That is when Jesus will be seen after the dying. The eschatological drawing of all people to himself Jesus accomplishes through his own death and by his call to discipleship, to follow him into the
The tradition of the mission of Abgarus of Edessa has probably some reference to their request. Gerald L. Bolchart says that the Greeks mentioned in this texts were none but the diaspora Greek speaking Jews. But some other scholars like F.F. Bruce, Jey J. Kanakaraj, Westcost says that they are proselytes but not the diaspora Jews. Kanakaraj adds saying that they are people from Greece even and they might be a people from the nearby territory of Decapolis where Greeks had been living for past 200 years then. This appears justifiable when we further look into the passage where these people approach Philip, a disciple with Greek name and who said to have his roots in Bethsaida near to Decapolis. But here Philip in turn approached Andrews who always bring people to Jesus who actually brought Philip to