Farewell Discourse

Jesus saying farewell to his eleven remaining disciples, from the Maesta by Duccio.

In the New Testament, Chapters 14-17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples at the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion.[1]

This discourse is rich with Christological content, e.g. it reiterates the Pre-existence of Christ in John 17:5 when Jesus refers to the glory which he had with the Father "before the world was".[2]

Structure of the discourse

After the introduction in John 13:31-38, the discourse itself may be separated into four components: First discourse: Chapter 14, Second discourse: 15:1-16:4a, Third discourse: 16:4b-33 and The Farewell Prayer: 17:1-14.[3]

The theme of the First discourse is Departure and return; peace and joy, and is similar to the third discourse. Second discourse (15:1-16:4a) deals with Jesus' love and the world's hatred. the Third discourse again deals with Departure and return; peace and joy, as the first discourse does.[4]

The Farewell Prayer

John 17:1-26 is generally known as the Farewell Prayer or the High Priestly Prayer, given that it is an intercession for the coming Church.[4] The prayer begins with Jesus' petition for his glorification by the Father, given that completion of his work and continues to an intercession for the success of the works of his disciples and the community of his followers.[4]

The Farewell Prayer consists of the following five petitions:[4]

  • 17:1-5: Petition for glorification based on the completion of his work
  • 17:6-10: Petitions for his disciples
  • 17:11-19: Petition for the preservation and sanctification of "his Own" in the world
  • 17:20-23: Petition for unity of "his own"
  • 17:24-26: Petition for the union of "his own" with himself

The Vine

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The discourse includes an extended metaphor of Jesus as the true vine. God is described as the vine tender, and his disciples are said to be branches, which must "abide" in him if they are to "bear fruit". The disciples are warned that barren branches are pruned by the vinedresser. This image has been influential in Christian art and iconography. The disciples are reminded of the love of God for Jesus, and of Jesus for the disciples (especially the beloved disciple), and are then instructed to "love one another" in the same manner. It goes on to speak of the "greatest love" as being the willingness to "lay down" life for one's friends, and this passage has since been widely used to affirm the sacrifice of martyrs and soldiers in war, and is thus often seen on war memorials and graves.

The sermon goes on to talk of Jesus' sending "another paraclete" (Greek: ἄλλο Παράκλητον), a "Spirit of Truth" that will "testify about" Jesus.[5]Paraclete comes from the Koine Greek word παράκλητος (paraklētos, "one who consoles, one who intercedes on our behalf, a comforter or an advocate"). When the dogmatic definition of the Trinity became necessary in the 3rd century, the passage became central to the arguments about the role of the Holy Spirit. Arguments about the Filioque, which partly caused the East-West Schism between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, centered around this verse.

Historicity

Verses 14:30-31 represent a conclusion, and most modern scholars regard the next three chapters to have been inserted later.[6] Some Biblical scholars consider the farewell discourse not to be authentic, given that stories about Jesus and his teaching were transmitted orally for decades after his death, and they view the farewell discourse as too long and prose-like to have been transmitted this way.[6] In addition, it appears only in the Gospel of John, which is not considered a key source for historical information about Jesus.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ John by Gail R. O'Day, Susan Hylen 2006 ISBN 978-0-664-25260-1, Chapter 15: The Farewell Discourse, pages 142-168
  2. ^ Creation and Christology by Masanobu Endo 2002 ISBN 3-16-147789-8 page 233
  3. ^ Johannes Beutler, 2001 "Synoptic Jesus Tradition in the Johannine Farewell Discourse" in Jesus in Johannine tradition by Robert Tomson Fortna, Tom Thatcher 2001 ISBN 978-0-664-22219-2 pages 165-174
  4. ^ a b c d The Gospel according to John by Herman Ridderbos 1997 ISBN 978-0-8028-0453-2 The Farewell Prayer: pages 546-576
  5. ^ John 14:16
  6. ^ a b Funk, Robert W., Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar. The five gospels. HarperSanFrancisco. 1993. "Introduction," p 1-30.
  7. ^ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" p. 302-310