Jesus and the Language of Judgment, Part 5
Jesus and the Language of Judgment, Part 5
John
(avg. read time: 3–6 mins.)
To this point, we have explored Jesus’s language of judgment according to the Synoptic Gospels. Now we must turn our attention to how the Gospel according to John presents this language. For all that John is the most unique of the canonical Gospels, and this will be reflected in the expressions featured, there is notable continuity between what we have seen in the last four parts and what we find in John.
For example, John 3:3–5 features the familiar language of “entering” the kingdom of God, which corresponds with what we have seen previously as connected with eschatological judgment. Likewise, the rest of the chapter shows the links we have seen between everlasting life as a consequence of salvation (i.e., the positive outcome of judgment) and the kingdom of God (3:15–16, 36; cf. 4:14, 36; 5:21, 24–26, 29, 39–40; 6:27, 33, 35, 40, 47–51, 53–54, 57–58, 63, 68; 8:12, 51; 10:10, 28; 11:25–26; 12:25, 50; 14:6, 19; 17:2–3; 20:31). Of course, “everlasting life” is the preferred expression in John of the salvific state, but it is worth noting how John maintains the connection to the kingdom of God, the central element of Jesus’s teaching elsewhere. An extra element that we see here upholds the assumption that no one is automatically born into the kingdom, which is the description that people must be “born from above” in order to enter the kingdom. Other elements of judgment in ch. 3 may or may not have been said by Jesus, as it is not entirely clear where Jesus’s words end prior to v. 22, or if everything between v. 10 and v. 22 is to be taken as a quote without any commentary from the narrator. But it is, in any case, notable how vv. 17–21 supply even more explicit judgment language. This includes the direct reference to “judgment,” the contrast of “condemnation” and “salvation,” and the notion of the light “exposing” the deeds of evil done in darkness while those who do good/true come into the light. All of these elements are things we have seen from Jesus’s teaching elsewhere. Likewise, the contrast in v. 16 is between everlasting life, which fits what we have seen elsewhere as an image of salvation, and perishing, which fits the language and imagery we have seen elsewhere of condemnation (esp. Matt 10:28, 39; 16:25; 21:41; 22:7; Mark 8:35; 12:9; Luke 9:25; 13:3, 5; 17:27, 29, 33; 20:16).
Chapter 5 provides a remarkable extent of judgment language beginning in v. 22 and continuing to the end of the discourse in v. 47. Jesus says that the authority of judgment has been given to him because he has been entrusted to enact the Father’s will (in v. 27 he will also link it with him being the Son of Man). This fits with the role he has in Matt 25:31–46 in particular (though it is indicated elsewhere). Everlasting life is again connected to the positive outcome of judgment, as is the notion that the one who has faith in him does not come into judgment (i.e., condemnation), but passes from death to life (cf. Luke 15:24, 32). Jesus also ties the final judgment to resurrection in vv. 25–29, so that some will rise to a resurrection of life and others will rise to a resurrection of judgment/condemnation. The rest of the discourse concerns the subject of testimony, which has rather obvious resonances with the judgment language, as does the language of “accusing” (v. 45). This element is a more characteristic emphasis of John’s as, even though other Gospels portray the disciples as witnesses or otherwise invoke testimony, the language of testimony is more prevalent in John than any other Gospel (1:6–8, 15, 19–34; 2:25; 3:11–15, 26–36; 4:39, 44; 5:31–39; 7:7; 8:14–18, 30, 38; 10:25, 40–41; 12:17; 13:21; 15:26–27; 16:7–11; 18:23, 37; 19:35; 20:30–31; 21:24–25) The testimony noted here is already being cited in his favor against his opponents, but the day will yet come (as foretold in vv. 25–29) that the veracity of this testimony will come to bear with an ultimate finality of consequence when cited against those who deny him. Much the same applies to 8:14–19 and its use of testimony language. Even more vivid in this same line of thought is 10:22–39, wherein Jesus is threatened with stoning for blasphemy and Jesus declares testimony in his favor against their verdict.
By contrast, Jesus’s discourse in 6:26–58 does not have the clear, explicit usage of judgment language. Here, it is more of an assumed context or background to what Jesus says than the focus, as in ch. 5. That is, the judgment language articulated previously informs what Jesus says about receiving everlasting life, as no one has it automatically. What is more distinctive here is that everlasting life is linked to the consumption of the bread of life (i.e., Jesus), which is not particularly informed by the judgment language as such.
More explicit is Jesus’s interaction with the formerly blind man he healed in 9:35–41. He says here that it was for judgment that he came into the world, which relates to what he has said previously, particularly in ch. 5. The results of his examination include giving sight to the blind and showing how those who claim to see have become blind. The last point is made clear in his short dialogue with the Pharisees, for he says their sin remains because they claim to see. That is, their sin was sin done with eyes wide open, with knowledge, what ancient Jews described as the “sin of the high hand,” which received no leniency in the punishment meted out against it.
Finally, two related texts relate judgment to “the ruler of this world,” that is, Satan. Satan has not typically been referenced in these judgment texts because they have been directed as promises and warnings for humans. But certainly implications have been made, such as in the reference to the children of the evil one in Matt 13 and the description of Gehenna/hell as being prepared for the devil and his angels/messengers in Matt 25, and it could generally be considered a safe and shared assumption that he would be so judged. All that the statements in John add in this regard are explicitness. The first appears in 12:31 when Jesus says the judgment of “this world” is coming with the result that the ruler of “this world” will be driven/cast out (using the terminology often used for exorcism). This will be accomplished by Jesus being “lifted up” in crucifixion (though, as I have argued before, this also entails reference to his resurrection and exaltation). This exemplifies the Johannine framework of the cosmic conflict that I have briefly described in my article on participatory victory in 1 John for Evangelical Quarterly.
The second appears in 16:8–11 when Jesus talks about what will happen when the Holy Spirit, who he describes as the “Advocate/Helper” (the Paraclete) comes. He is said to convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment. Judgment is not necessarily the overarching concern, but all three of these things are interrelated, as we have noted previously. Most specifically, the judgment language is applied to the ruler of this world, for he has already been judged, even if the consummate execution of that judgment remains in the future with the complete implementation of God’s victory in Christ.