Water Bread And Light In John's Gospel
Water, Bread and Light are three important symbols in John’s Gospel. How do these symbols help the Johannine community to understand the identity of Jesus?
The Gospel of John addresses the Johnannine audience’s journey of faith with theological reflections on the origin and identity of the “Word”. The author uses universal symbols of the light, the bread and the water to represent the identity of Jesus to the Johnannine community, thus reinforcing a high Christology. The signs performed by Jesus also assure the readers of his divine identity and sonship.
The Prologue (1:1-18) serves as introduction to the central themes of the Gospel through the “theological, philosophical and anthropological” (R. Brown) exploration of Jesus’ public ministry. …show more content…
Those who achieved correct faith understood the transcendent meaning of the bread and heed Jesus’ warnings not to work for the bread that perishes (6:27). The “bread of life” is the allusion to the manna from Exodus 3:14 when the manna had come from heaven to feed the Jews who were wandering in the desert. The Gospel reassures the audience that “the divine word and wisdom are often presented under the symbolism of bread in the Hebrew Scriptures” (R. Brown). However the manna could only physically nourish the people and it would perish (v.27), unlike the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus’ offering of the bread was the sign that wisdom has come to give food to all who seek because he is the revealer of truth (4: 1-42) as the divine teacher of the people. As he proclaims, “I am the living bread” (6:25). These ego emi statements reveal significant information about the identity of Jesus by symbolically referring to the gift of God which “makes those who believe see natural hunger, thirst and death as insignificant” (R. Brown). Consumption of the “bread of life” promises those who believe that they shall achieve eternal life and become children of God who will share the close bond between God, the Father and
The Gospel of John addresses the Johnannine audience’s journey of faith with theological reflections on the origin and identity of the “Word”. The author uses universal symbols of the light, the bread and the water to represent the identity of Jesus to the Johnannine community, thus reinforcing a high Christology. The signs performed by Jesus also assure the readers of his divine identity and sonship.
The Prologue (1:1-18) serves as introduction to the central themes of the Gospel through the “theological, philosophical and anthropological” (R. Brown) exploration of Jesus’ public ministry. …show more content…
Those who achieved correct faith understood the transcendent meaning of the bread and heed Jesus’ warnings not to work for the bread that perishes (6:27). The “bread of life” is the allusion to the manna from Exodus 3:14 when the manna had come from heaven to feed the Jews who were wandering in the desert. The Gospel reassures the audience that “the divine word and wisdom are often presented under the symbolism of bread in the Hebrew Scriptures” (R. Brown). However the manna could only physically nourish the people and it would perish (v.27), unlike the revelation of God in Jesus. Jesus’ offering of the bread was the sign that wisdom has come to give food to all who seek because he is the revealer of truth (4: 1-42) as the divine teacher of the people. As he proclaims, “I am the living bread” (6:25). These ego emi statements reveal significant information about the identity of Jesus by symbolically referring to the gift of God which “makes those who believe see natural hunger, thirst and death as insignificant” (R. Brown). Consumption of the “bread of life” promises those who believe that they shall achieve eternal life and become children of God who will share the close bond between God, the Father and