My Research

Belief is a recognised focus of John’s Gospel, indicated both by the prevalence of πιστεύω and the stated purpose of the Gospel as written “in order that you might believe” (20:31). Scholarly attention has centred upon Jesus as the object of belief resulting in a primary focus upon propositional belief. This overlooks the complexity of the response to Jesus for which the Gospel calls. The intended response to Jesus involves not merely propositional belief, but related ideas such as knowing, loving, obeying, receiving, and abiding. These inter-related ideas convey the complexity of genuine belief, the belief that leads to life. A thorough analysis of the network of terms, in the context of narratives that convey the ideal response to Jesus, leads to a rich description of genuine belief as composed of cognitive, relational, ethical, ongoing, and public aspects. The complexity and pervasiveness of the presentation of belief demands to be accounted for.

The purpose of the complexity of the Johannine concept of belief is especially understood when the Gospel is read in its Graeco-Roman context. By exploring the religious repertoire of a plausible early audience of the Gospel, a picture can be established of the patterns of devotion that the audience may have brought to the text. In light of these patterns, it becomes evident that the author seeks to reshape such devotion to the gods into a form of believing that aligns with the identity of Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God. Christological motivations shape the Johannine concept of belief and necessitate presenting to the audience not only who to believe but also how to believe in order to have life. Reshaping the pattern of devotion of the audience requires a multi-faceted and pervasive presentation of belief, which informs the way the ideal audience is to respond to Jesus.

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Believing in Jesus is central to John’s Gospel – we are told the aim of the Gospel is to evoke and encourage belief in order that we might have life (20:31). Yet along the way John introduces us to characters who believe in Jesus, before revealing that they have not believed in the way the Gospel intends. By doing this, John prompts us to ask what genuine belief entails.

The Gospel sets out the importance of believing in Jesus from the beginning (1:12-13). Initially we are told that some believe in Jesus while others reject him. In the first parts of the story we see that in practice, as the disciples believe in Jesus (2:11), while the Jews in the Temple do not (2:18-20). We then read that not only the disciples believed in Jesus, but so too many of the crowd who were in Jerusalem (2:23). Excitedly, we anticipate that these are genuine believers, ready to follow Jesus alongside the disciples, only to discover that Jesus does not entrust himself to them (2:24). In fact, John uses the same word to describe the belief of the crowd and Jesus’ lack of trust in them, making sure we know that Jesus does not trust their faith.

We expect that people will either believe or disbelieve, so the story of these untrustworthy believers jars with us. All the more so given we are not told exactly why Jesus does not trust them, other than there was something wrong in their attitude (2:24-25). It makes us ask ‘why?’. Why are they not trusted? What is it about their belief that was not right? And this is what John intends.

A similar subversion of expectation comes in John 6, where after feeding the crowd, many disciples follow Jesus. These disciples are distinct from the broader crowd, suggesting they have some commitment to Jesus. Jesus teaches them about the bread of life, but they find his teaching challenging (6:41,52). These disciples then turn away from Jesus, ceasing to be disciples (6:66). Like with the untrustworthy believers, we expected that these were true followers of Jesus, but they prove not to be so. Again, we are led to ask ‘why?’

In contrast to those disciples, the 12 stay with Jesus and remain his disciples (6:68-69). These 12 are prepared to accept Jesus’ teaching as ‘the words of life’ (6:68). They also have a greater understanding of Jesus, calling Jesus ‘the Holy One of Israel’ (see Isa 41:14), rather than just ‘the prophet’ (6:14). John begins to show us what makes the difference between a flawed response to Jesus and genuine belief. The other disciples fall short in their unwillingness to accept Jesus’ teaching, or to go beyond an inadequate idea of who Jesus is.

A third case is found in John 8. Some of the crowd believe that Jesus has come from heaven (8:30). Jesus challenges those who believed to move to a deeper commitment to him, a greater understanding of who he is (8:31-32). Rather than doing so, they become hostile to Jesus, eventually turning on Jesus, seeking to kill him (8:59). They had apparently believed, but their actions reveal themselves not to be true believers. This time we can see the reason for their failure – they do not hold to Jesus’ teaching as he commands (8:32).

The final example in this pattern is in John 15. The image of the vine and branches presents us with two types of branches, those which bear fruit, and those which do not (15:2). Both are described as being ‘in Jesus’, which in the Gospel of John conveys a relationship; it is not quite the same as what Paul talks about with being ‘in Christ’. Despite being ‘in Jesus’, those branches which bear no fruit are cut off and destroyed (15:6). Once again, those we expect to be genuine believers, these branches ‘in Jesus’, prove not to be.

The previous three examples began painting the picture of what genuine belief entails. John showed us the need for a more complete acceptance of Jesus’ teaching. But in case we see genuine belief as simply requiring sufficient understanding, now we see that it must also include bearing fruit. This fruit is a visible and outward response to Jesus, it is the evidence of discipleship (15:8). The striking image of destruction in 15:6 conveys just how important it is that we realise an outward response is essential to genuine belief.

John uses a pattern where he introduces characters who apparently believe, but then we are surprised as their responses are shown to fall short of the standard of genuine belief. These characters serve to provoke us to question the nature of genuine belief. It draws our attention to the complexity of the response that Jesus requires of us. It is vital that we think about what it means to believe. If believing in Jesus is central, we must know what it means to believe. John leads us to ask that question – and he devotes much of his Gospel to showing us just what it means to believe, and therefore to have life.

The full article is:C. Seglenieks, “Untrustworthy Believers: The Rhetorical Strategy of the Johannine Language of Commitment and Belief”, Novum Testamentum 61:1 (2019), 55-69.
(download the prepub version here; the official version here)

In the Gospel of John, characters often confess their belief about who Jesus is. Yet on the night Jesus is arrested, in chapters 13-17, only one such confession is recorded. The disciples declare their belief that Jesus has come from God (Jn 16:30). Jesus’ response to them, “now you believe” is often taken as a question, but there are several good reasons why Jesus’ words are more likely to be a statement.

The problem arises because our early copies of the Bible do not have a question mark there until the 10^th century. Despite this, most English bibles make Jesus’ words a question. If the question mark was only added later, we ought to ask, “should this really be a question?”

The first reason which suggests it should not be a question is the disciples’ confession. They say that they now believe that Jesus came from God (16:30). This is an important fact, one that Jesus states often, especially in the face of opposition (5:36, 43; 8:23, 42). The disciples themselves have earlier shown that they too misunderstand things around Jesus’ connection to the Father (14:8).  Jesus continues to teach about his connection to the Father, and at the end of this teaching, the disciples finally understand. Thus, it is wrong to focus on what the disciples might still not understand, for they have made progress.

The second reason is that Jesus has affirmed the disciples’ faith, and will do so again very soon. Jesus has just said that his disciples believe he has come from God (16:27), and it seems inconsistent for Jesus to question his disciples when they declare that same belief. Jesus affirms the faith of his disciples again in 17:8, where he says that they truly know that Jesus has come from God, and that God has sent him. While Jesus corrects their misunderstandings, his attitude towards his disciples throughout chapters 13-17 is one of affirmation and encouragement rather than mockery.

Now it might seem that the disciples’ faith is flawed because Jesus immediately predicts that they will be scattered, and he will be left alone (16:32). But what happens next? The disciples are not shown to run away – they are present when Jesus is arrested, and Peter is confident enough to swing a sword (18:10). Peter and another disciple follow when Jesus is arrested, going in to the house of Annas (18:15). Finally, at the cross the Beloved Disciple is present, rather than only the women as in the other Gospels. In these ways that he tells the story, John downplays the failings of the disciples around the cross.

This is seen more clearly in light of the one failing that John shows clearly, which is Peter’s denial. As a result of his failure, Peter is shown being restored into his role as a disciple of Jesus (21:15-17). He declares his love for Jesus three times, balancing the three denials. Yet the other disciples are not shown to need such a restoration, and the next time we see them Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit. They may have been afraid when Jesus was arrested (they were hiding in a locked room when he appeared to them) but theirs is a failure of nerve, not a failure of belief.

Indeed, Jesus finishes the prediction that the disciples will abandon him saying that the reason he has said these things is so that the disciples may have peace (16:33). He is not trying to unsettle them or cause them to doubt their faith. Jesus has been preparing the disciples throughout chapters 13-17 for his departure. Now in 16:30, with only Jesus’ last prayer to come, the disciples come to understand what Jesus has been teaching them. His teaching is successful. The disciples do now believe that Jesus has come from God.

Seeing the disciples’ faith positively at this point also fits with the broader shape of the narrative in John. For John, the cross is not a low point in the story but the climax. When Jesus has alluded to his death, he has spoken of being lifted up and glorified (3:14; 12:27-32). Jesus remains in control throughout his arrest. On the cross, Jesus declares ‘it is finished’, and while he quotes Psalm 22, it is not the ‘cry of dereliction’ but about dividing his clothes (19:24). The disciples’ confession does not highlight their weakness before the low point of the story, but it is part of building up to the climax. Jesus has brought his disciples to the level of understanding where they need to be, so now he can go to the cross.

Therefore, we should not read Jesus’ response to the disciples in 16:31 as a question, but as a statement. The disciples now understand Jesus’ connection to the Father, at least as much as they can before the cross and the gift of the Spirit. Their confession is positive, with no note of condemnation. It reflects that Jesus’ teaching in chapters 13-16 has reached its goal. The disciples are now as ready as they can be to face the coming cross.

The full article is: C. Seglenieks, “‘Now You Believe’: The Faith of the Disciples in John 16:30-33,” Colloquium, 50/2 (2018), 89-107.
(download the full article here)