Creation's Renewal in the Gospel of John

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13 See Ν. T. Wright (Christian Origins and the Question of God, vol. 3, The ... Lightfoot, St John's Gospel A Commentary (Oxford Clarendon, 1956) 321, Wnght John for Every ... (for the Hebrew ρ [Gen 2:8]), while John uses κήπος ( 19:41 ; cf.
Creation's Renewal in the Gospel of John JEANNINE K. BROWN Bethel Seminary St. Paul, MN 55112

IN A CLIMATE of renewed interest in the Jewish setting of the NT, biblical scholars are hearing and discerning particular themes in new ways. One such theme is creation and its eschatological renewal inaugurated in Jesus the Messiah. The theme of creation's renewal has received increased attention recently in Pauline scholarship, given explicit references to "new creation" (καινή κτίσις) in 2 Cor 5:17 and Gal 6:15 as well as implicit indicators elsewhere (e.g., Rom 8:18-22).1 The idea that a theme might be an implicit expression rather than or beyond an explicit representation is quite likely in narrative genres, since story often com­ municates in indirect fashion. So it would not be surprising tofinda theme such as creation's renewal implicitly present in the Gospels.2

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E g , J Duncan M Derretí, "New Creation. Qumran, Paul, the Church, and Jesus," RevQ 13 (1988) 597-608, W Huhtt Gloer,^;/ Exegetical and Theological Study ofPauls Understanding of New Creation and Reconciliation in 2 Cor 5 14-21 (Mellen Biblical Press Series 42, Lewiston Mellen Biblical Press, 1996), Moyer V. Hubbard, New Creation m Paul's Letters and Thought (SNTSMS 119, Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2002) 2 Edith M Humphrey, "New Creation," in Dictionary for Theological Intei-pretation of the Bible (ed Kevin J Vanhoozer, Grand Rapids. Baker, 2005) 536-37, here 536, also Derrett, "New Creation," 603 In this article, 1 use the terms "creation's renewal." "re-creation," and the like to express the theme of creation as John seems to conceive of it In John, Jesus enacts creation's completion and renewal (see the definition below) In no case does John draw on creation as a theme to introduce a dichotomy between original creation and some sort of replacement for it While Ï do not understand "new creation" terminology in Paul or in various commentators' designation of this theme in John to intimate this kind of dichotomy, I have avoided using "new creation" terminology in my own descriptions of John's creational theme to avoid possible perceptions of such a dichotomy

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In fact, in the Fourth Gospel this creational theme seems to be particularly significant, though specific language of creation is not used and the theme's presence across the whole of the Gospel has received little formal treatment in Johannine scholarship3 The goal of this article is to demonstrate the presence of the theme of creation's renewal across the narrative of John The creation theme in John can be seen most clearly in the following areas (1) allusions to creation that begin the Gospel, (2) the explicit motif of life throughout, (3) allusions to Genesis 1-2 in the passion and resurrection accounts, and (4) the implications of Jesus' resurrection on the first day of the week (The last category connects to the prominent Johannine signs motif) This cluster of features provides compelling evidence for creation's renewal as a theme of significant import in John Before proceeding, a brief definition of creation's renewal as expressed in John is in order The creational theme in John is used to emphasize continuity between God's purposes for creation, including humanity, and the mission of Jesus the Messiah In addition, the theme of creation in light of the Johannine story of Jesus emphasizes Jesus completing creation's purposes (e g , 4 34, 19 28-31) and Jesus bringing creation's renewal (e g , 20 22-23, the signs motif) 4 These intertwined emphases on Jesus vis-à-vis creation are heard within an eschatological framework of already/not yet, which characterizes John's Gospel as it does other writings of the NT Thus, while re-creation has truly begun in Jesus, John highlights Jesus himself and the community of his believers as the locus of re-creation in the time following Jesus' death and resurrection (e g , 20 21-22) I "In the Beginning" Where John Begins John opens his Gospel by leading the audience back to the beginning 5 As Paul S Minear puts it, "This poet, m crafting the Prologue, had one eye fixed on 3 A few scholars who see the theme as more pervasive in John include John Ν Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener The Atonement in the Fourth Gospel as Re-Creation " Neot 33 (1999) 161-68, Ν Τ Wright, John for Everyone (2 vols , Louisville Westminster John Knox, 2004), and Jan A Du Rand, 4 The Creation Motif in the Fourth Gospel Perspectives on Its Narcological Function within a Judaistic Background, ' in Theology and Chnstology in the Fourth Gospel Essays bv the Members oj the SNTS Johannine Writings Seminai (ed G Van Belle, J G Van der Watt, and Ρ Mantz,BETL 184, Leuven Leuven University Press, 2005) 21-46 4 For Jewish antecedents to the notion of creation's renewal, see Isa 65 17-25,66 22-23 Jub 4 26, 19 25 2 Bar 32 6, 57 2 Du Rand ('^Creation Motif," 36) provides further examples On the concept of the need for completion of creation from an OT perspective, see Terence E Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament A Relational Theology ofOeation (Nashville Abingdon, 2005)9 5 Rather than attempting to identify the author of the Fourth Gospel, I use the conventional designation of John for the author (with masculine pronouns as needed) for ease ot expression and to refer to the implied author of this Gospel For the concept of implied author, see Jeannine Κ Brown, Scripture as Communication Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids Baker Academic, 2007) 41-42

CREATION'S RENEWAL IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 277 the Genesis account of creation . . . and the other eye fixed on the stories about Jesus."6 The evangelist cites thefirstwords of Genesis 1fromthe LXX/Ev αρχή ("in the beginning"), and by so doing evokes the story of creation as the starting place for his Gospel about Jesus. Not only does John introduce the themes of life and light (ζωή and φως [1:4-5]), which are clearly derivedfromGenesis 1 (w. 3,14, 20,24 LXX),7 but his use of λόγος evokes the recurring Genesis language of "God said" in the creative activity (ειπεν ò θεός [Gen 1:6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28 LXX]).8 Certainly, the language of all things coming into existence via the λόγος (John 1:3) directly connects John's introduction to the creation account of Genesis 1. That the evangelist chooses to begin here points to the centrality of creation as the con­ textfromwhich he will tell his story of Jesus. By evoking this context, John signals that the Jesus story will illuminate the ongoing story of God's creation and provide its culmination.9 II. "Life" as a Motif in John Connected to the Genesis allusions in the Johannine Prologue is the promi­ nence of the motif of life throughout the Gospel.10 In addition to its use in the Pro­ logue, life is established as a central motif in John in a number of ways. First, the sheer repetition of the word ζωή (forty-seven times; e.g., 3:15-16; 8:12; 10:10; 13:37-38; 17:2-3) signals its importance. Second, believers' participation in the renewal of creation (which is enacted by the breath of Jesus in 20:22) is foreshad­ owed in John 3, where Jesus speaks to Nicodemus of being "born from above" (γεννηθή άνωθεν [3:3]). This heavenly birth is tied to being born of the Spirit (πνεύμα [3:5-8]). Ben Witherington III and Jan A. Du Rand, among others, connect the language of birth in John 3:3-8 (see also 1:12-13) to John's creation theology.11 6 Paul S. Minear, Christians and the New Creation: Genesis Motifs in the New Testament (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994) 83. For the relationship between the Jewish wisdom tradition and Genesis allusions in John 1, see John Painter, "Earth Made Whole: John's Rereading of Genesis," in Word, Theology, and Community in John (ed. John Painter, R. Alan Culpepper, and Fernando F. Segovia; St. Louis: Chalice, 2002) 65-84, here 75. 7 George R. Beasley-Murray (John [2nd ed.; WBC 36; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999] 11) connects light and life in John 1 to (new) creation. 8 Peder Borgen, Philo, John, and Paul: New Perspectives on Judaism and Early Christianity (BJS 131; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987) 77; John Painter, "Rereading Genesis in the Prologue of John?" in Neotestamentica et Philonica: Studies in Honor of Peder Borgen (ed. David E. Aune, Torrey Seland, and Jarl Henning Ulrichsen; NovTSup 106; Leiden: Brill, 2003) 179-201, here 180-81. 9 Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John (rev. ed.; NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 64-65; Gail R. O'Day and Susan E. Hylen, John (Westminster Bible Companion; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006) 23; Calum M. Carmichael, The Stoiy of Creation: Its Origin and Its Interpretation in Philo and the Fourth Gospel (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996) 39. 10 Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 164. 11 Ben Witherington III, "New Creation or New Birth? Conversion in the Johannine and Pauline Literature," in Conversion in the Wesleyan Tradition (ed. Kenneth J. Collins and John H.

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Third, the motif of life is highlighted by its explicit use in three of the "I am" statements in John ("I am the bread of life" [6:35, 48, 51]; "I am the resurrection and the life" [11:25]; "I am the way, the truth, and the life" [14:6]). Other "I am" claims revolve around the notion that Jesus is both life and sustenance for humanity (see 9:5; 10:11; 15:1). Finally, the strategic placement of the theme of life at the end of the Gospel in its statement of purpose (20:30-31) argues for its centrality in John. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (NRSV) In fact, faith, which is rightly considered thematic in John (with the verbal form alone occurring almost one hundred times) is the penultimate purpose of John's Gospel. The ultimate purpose of the Johannine signs is life (through faith). In this way, the first five verses and the final statement of purpose of John act as an indusio, communicating the importance of life given through Messiah Jesus. The motif of life is part of the broader theme of creation in John, as signaled by its initial use in 1 :l-5 as well as the frequent modifying of "life" with the adjec­ tive "eternal" (αιώνιος; seventeen times in John). Eternal life, that life which begins with the arrival of the incarnate Word (1:1 -4), the king of Israel ( 1:49), is precisely the life that anticipates the renewal of creation. The clearest connection between eternal life and creation's renewal may well be Jesus' claim in John to be "the res­ urrection and the life" (11:25). These two terms are conceptually interwoven (so that "resurrection" helps to clarify "life" and vice versa), especially given a com­ posite set of expectations in first-century Judaism that included both resurrection and renewed creation.12 Eternal life has already begun, according to John, in the person (and then the community) of Jesus at his resurrection, in anticipation of the final resurrection. It is curious that this connection between "life" and creational theology is discussed rather infrequently in Johannine scholarship. Part of the rea­ son may be the tendency to hear "eternal life" as primarily an abstract or privatized concept rather than as a notion concretized in its Jewish setting as creational (i.e., historical) and communal as well as eschatological.13 Tyson; Nashville: Abingdon, 2001) 119-42, here 121-22. See also Du Rand, "Creation Motifs 25; Derrett, tcNew Creation," 604-5; and Sandra M. Schneiders, "The Raising of the New Temple: John 20.19-23 and Johannine Ecclesiology," NTS 52 (2006) 337-55, here 348. 12 James D. G. Dunn, "Jesus and the Kingdom: How Would His Message Have Been Heard?" in Neotestamentica et Philonica (éd. Aune et al.), 3-36, here 5-7. 13 See Ν. T. Wright (Christian Origins and the Question of God, vol. 3, The Resurrection of the Son of God [Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003] 369), who puts future bodily resurrection of believers at the center of the Jewish/Christian concept of renewed creation. On the tendency to privatize the eschatological vision of the NT, see Vincent R Branick, "Apocalyptic Paul?" CBQ 47 (1985) 66475, here 666.

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III. The Climax of John: Allusions to Genesis 1-2 in the Passion and Resurrection Narratives That John begins his Gospel with clear allusions to Genesis 1-2 is significant. That the evangelist liberally sprinkles Genesis allusions at the climactic moments of the narrative anchors creation thematically in John and helps to define the motif in terms of creation's eschatological renewal. While virtually all commentaries recognize an allusion to Gen 2:7 in John 20:22 ("breathe"; "life"), a number of other creation allusions occur in John 19-20 as well.14 These include the setting of John 20 and the connections drawn between Adam and Jesus. Although any one of these may not be persuasive in itself, the cumulative effect of these numerous connections with Genesis argues for their inclusion in John's communicative inten­ tion.15 A. Set in a Garden The setting of the resurrection scene in John is indicated in 19:41 : "Now there was a garden [κήπος] in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had been laid." In fact, in 18:1 the author begins the entire passion story in a garden.16 The reader is reminded of the setting once again in the midst of the resurrection story, when Mary supposes Jesus to be the gardener (κηπουτός [20:15]). Some have noted the possible significance of the setting in a garden. Thomas L. Brodie, for example, indicates that the garden sug­ gests a "beginning."17 Others are more explicit: John's reference to a garden alludes to the creation story of Genesis 2.18 Given that John is the only evangelist to pro14

Most of these have been recognized by Suggit ("Jesus the Gardener") and Wright (John for Eveiyone) 15 An author's communicative intention is not necessarily identical to her conscious intentions See J Brown, Scripture as Communication, 39,101-10 It is possible that John consciously alludes to Genesis 1-2 at a number of points (e.g., 1 1-5,20 22) and echoes the Genesis text at other points without fully attending to (though still intending) these latter connections. Richard Β Hays (Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul [New Haven* Yale University Press, 1989] 29) suggests that echoes do not depend on conscious intention and so are more subtle than allusions 1 interact with Hays's seven entena at the end of this article to support the plausibility of this Johannine theme 16 Francis J Moloney, Glorv Not Dishonor Reading John 13-21 (1998, repr., Eugene, OR Wipf& Stock, 2004) 150. 17 Thomas L Brodie, Tixe Gospel according to John A Literary and Theological Commentary (Oxford. Oxford University Press, 1993) 559 18 Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 166-67; Edwyn C Hoskyns, "Genesis I—III and St John's Gospel," JTS 21 (1920) 210-18, here 214-15, John Bowman, The Fourth Gospel and the Jews A Study in R Akiba, Esther, an d the Gospel ofJohn (PTMS 8, Pittsburgh Pickwick, 1975) 214, R H. Lightfoot, St John's Gospel A Commentary (Oxford Clarendon, 1956) 321, Wnght John for Every­ one, 2.102; Ruben Zimmermann, "Symbolic Communication between John and His Reader* The

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vide this particular setting for the crucifixion and resurrection, and that he reminds the reader of the setting at a number of points (18:1,26; 19:41; 20:15), the author "invites comparison with another garden."19 An objection to the idea that John intentionally alludes to Genesis 2, the primordial garden of original creation, is that John uses a different Greek word for 20 garden than is used in the LXX in Gen 2:8. The term in the LXX is παράδεισος (for the Hebrew ρ [Gen 2:8]), while John uses κήπος ( 19:41 ; cf. 18:1,26). Yet the two Greek words are used as synonyms in the OT (e.g., Eccl 2:5; cf. Sir 24:30-31 ).21 In addition, in Ezek 36:35 LXX the Hebrew word "p in reference to Eden is trans­ lated by κήπος, and not παράδεισος.22 The Greek translations of Genesis from Aquila and Theodotion use κήπος to render ρ (Aquila in Gen 2:8 and 3:2; Theodotion in 3:2).23 In fact, Edwin C. Hoskyns concludes that κήπος is the pre­ ferred translation (over παράδεισος) for the garden of Eden during thefirsthalf of the second century C E . Whether or not this can be demonstrated definitively, John N. Suggit helpfully suggests that John uses κήπος rather than παράδεισος in reference to the garden of the resurrection scene because παράδεισος in the NT refers to the final state ("paradise") and so would not have been appropriate for John's purposes.25 The case that John is intentionally alluding to Genesis 2-3 in the reference to the resurrection occurring in a garden is supported further by Mary's identification of Jesus as the gardener (20:15). Although Francis J. Moloney notes that Mary's identification is mistaken, Hoskyns explores the two levels of meaning in this iden­ tification: "Mary thinks that Jesus is the gardener. The real question is, is she right or wrong?"26 Whatever misconceptions Mary as a character in the story might 24

Garden Symbolism in John 19-20," in Anatomies of Narrative Criticism: The Past, Present, and Futures of the Fourth Gospel as Literature (ed. Tom Thatcher and Stephen D. Moore; SBLRBS 55; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008) 221-35. 19 Nicolas Wyatt, " 'Supposing Him to Be the Gardener' (John 20,15): A Study of the Paradise Motif in John," ZNWSÌ (1990) 21-38, here 24. 20 See, e.g., Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (2 vols.; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003) 2:1077. 21 Hoskyns, "Genesis I-III," 214. 22 Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 166. 23 Ibid.; Hoskyns, "Genesis I-III," 214. J. N. Sanders and B. A. Mastín (A Commentary on the Gospel according to St. John [HNTC; New York: Harper & Row, 1968] 416 n. 1) allow for the possibility that Aquila and Theodotion may be following an early (first century) translation tradition in their use of κήπος. 24 Hoskyns, "Genesis I-III," 214. In this regard, Hoskyns cites the use of κήπος in Isa 51:3 and Ezek 31:8-9 (in Aquila) and Isa 51:3; Ezek 28:13; and 31:8 (in Theodotion). 25 Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 166, citing Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 12:4; and Rev 2:7 as exam­ ples. 26 Moloney, Glory Not Dishonor, 165; Hoskyns, "Genesis I-III," 214. Lightfoot (St. John's Gospel, 322) points to examples of characters in John, including Caiaphas and Pilate along with Mary, who speak "more truly than [they] knew."

CREATION'S RENEWAL IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 281 have regarding Jesus' identity, it is very likely, given John's emphasis on a garden as the setting for the resurrection, that John wants his reader to hear truth in Mary's assumption.27 Jesus is the gardener, and this implicit message connects Jesus to that first gardener, Adam.28 At this point in the narrative, John implies an Adam christology. B. Jesus as New Adam If John does imply in 20:15 that Jesus is an antitype of Adam, it becomes quite probable that he introduces this notion earlier in the passion story. In Pilate's interrogation of Jesus (18:28-19:16b), the evangelist presents Jesus to the crowd outside the praetorium with the words, "Behold, the man!" (Ιδού ό άνθρωπος [19:5]). There have been numerous theories concerning the meaning of this dec­ laration. Some commentators locate its significance primarily at the story level (with Pilate). For example, G. R. Beasley-Murray argues that Pilate's words "demonstrate the harmlessness of Jesus."29 Most scholars, however, understand the significance of the words to be almost entirely on the discourse level of the narrative; that is, they see the import of "Behold, the man" to be concentrated in John's message to his readers.30 In view of the number of allusions to Genesis 1-2 in John 19-20 and specif­ ically the Adam christology that emerges in 20:15 when Mary identifies Jesus as the gardener, it is likely that "Behold, the man" alludes to thatfirstman, Adam, in the first creation story. Once again, John shows in narrative fashion that God is inaugurating creation's renewal in Jesus, the "second Adam."31 Even as Pilate

27 The two levels of narrative, story and discourse, are thereby illuminated In narrative crit­ icism, the story level includes the characters, settings, and plot, while the discourse level involves the communication between the implied author and the implied reader Both narrative levels need to be assessed to understand the intended impact of the implied author on the implied reader See Jeannme Κ Brown, The Disciples in Narrative Perspective The Portrayal and Function of the Matthean Disciples (SBL Academia Biblica 9, Atlanta Society of Biblical Literature, 2002) 35-36 28 Wright, John for Everyone, 2 146, Lightfoot, St John's Gospel, 322, Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 167, and Fabien Blanquart, Le premier jour (Jn 20) (LD 146. Pans Cerf, 1991 ) 64 29 Beasley-Murray, John, 337 He does go on to speak of the significance of this on the dis­ course level (author to reader) "the Evangelist will have wished his readers to recognize that the pathetic figure is the Man sentfromGod" (ibid ) 30 On a connection to 1 Sam 9 17, see Keener, John. 2 1123, and Andrew Τ Lincoln, The Gospel according to Saint John (BNTC 4, Peabody, MA Hendrickson, 2005) 466 In relation to OT messianic texts, such as Zech 6 12, see Andreas J Kostenberger, John (Baker Exegetical Com­ mentary on the New Testament, Grand Rapids Baker Academic, 2004) 533 31 Since narratives often include indirect communication, Keener's critique (of the possible garden allusion, John, 2 1077) that "John nowhere else uses any explicit Adam Chnstology" invites further investigation of how narrative authors are prone to use indirect and implicit clues to point to themes (including allusions)

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declares, "Behold, the man," on the story level, on the discourse level the implied author is signaling that Jesus is the center of creational renewal.32 C. The Breath of Life Rebreathed The final and most clearly recognized allusion to Genesis 2 occurs in John 20:22, where Jesus breathes on his disciples and says to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Virtually all commentators understand John to be echoing the moment in Gen 2:7, when God breathes (LXX: εμφυσάω) into Adam the breath of life (LXX: πνοήν ζωής).33 In John 20:22 the same verb is used (εμφυσάω) to express Jesus' imparting of the Holy Spirit (πνεύμα άγιον) to his disciples.34 Given that εμφυσάω is a rather unusual term, the evangelist's use of it here clearly echoes the first story of human enlivenment in Genesis 2. 35 Thus, "John wants us to see here an act of creation."36 This connection is heightened by the use of εμφυσάω in Ezek 37:9 LXX, which envisions the breath of Yhwh recreating God's people. 37 If, as Edith M. Humphrey suggests, John 20:22 is the climax of John's story, then John signals the theme of creation's renewal centered on restored humanity as the story comes to its pinnacle. "The climax of the Fourth Gospel presents Jesus as 'breathing' upon the apostles after the pattern of the creating God who breathed upon the Edenic couple; now they receive the Spirit, and not simply the gift of life."38 I have examined the significant allusions to Genesis 1-2 at the beginning and the conclusion of John's Gospel; these allusions frame the story of Jesus with the

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John Suggit, "John 19:5: 'Behold the Man,'" ExpTim 94 (1982-83) 333-34, here 334; idem, "Jesus the Gardener," 167; Thomas Barrosse, "The Seven Days of the New Creation in St. John's Gospel," CBQ 21 (1959) 507-16, here 516; and Wright, John for Everyone, 2:146. 33 E.g., Beasley-Murray, John, 380-81; Brodie, John, 569; D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991) 651; Köstenberger, John, 575; Lincoln, John, 499; Hoskyns, "Genesis Ι-ΠΙ," 216; and Veselin Kesich, The First Day of the New Creation: The Resurrection and the Christian Faith (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1982) 167. 34 Du Rand ("Creation Motif," 45 and n. 72) suggests the possibility that the author of John could have had access to a text form of Genesis that read πνεύμα ζωής, given the reading of πνεύμα ζωής for Gen 2:7 in Philo Det. 22.80. 35 The word occurs in the LXX only ten times apart from Gen 2:7; cf. 1 Kgs 17:21 ; Job 4:21 ; Ezek 21:36; 22:20; 37:9; Nah 2:1; Tob 6:9 (Χ); 11:11 (X); Wis 15:11; Sir 43:4. 36 John W. Pryor, John, Evangelist of the Covenant People: The Narrative and Themes of the Fourth Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992) 89. For a connection to "new creation," see Brodie, John, 569; Carson, John, 651; Wright, John for Everyone, 2:150. 37 Suggit, "Jesus the Gardener," 163. 38 Humphrey, "New Creation," 536. For a helpful discussion of the distinctions and overlap between God's renewal of creation and God's redemption of humanity from the vantage point of Isaiah, see Fretheim, God and World, 183.

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theme of creation. The climactic moment of Jesus' resurrection certainly echoes this important theme of creation restored.39 Into this framework, John infuses the language of "(eternal) life" to ensure that the reader experiences the impact of the message of re-creation. This language culminates in 20:30-31, the Gospel's state­ ment of purpose, so that there can be no mistaking the importance of this theme for John. IV. Jesus' Resurrection on the "First Day of the Week" There is further evidence for the renewal of creation as thematic in John's Gospel. This evidence clusters around the motifs of days, the completion of the creation week, God's work, and the Sabbath. I have already noted that the location of the resurrection in John is a garden. The temporal setting of the resurrection is also important for the creation theme. The evangelist mentions at two points that Jesus' resurrection occurs on the "first day of the week" (τη μια [των] σαββάτων [20:1, 19]). Although each of the Gospels notes this setting (see Matt 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1), only John reiterates and emphasizes this language (20:19: "When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week"). 40 This emphasis moves beyond the story level to communicate theologically that a new week has begun. Once again creation's renewal is evoked. Genesis 2:2-3 indicates that after six days of creative work, God rests on the seventh day. John turns the clock ahead in his dual reference to τη μια [των] σαββάτων, thereby sig­ naling that re-creation begins at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, the first day of the new week (of re-creation) for John may be a way of referring to an eighth day of creation. In 20:26, the reader hears of Jesus' appearance to his dis­ ciples "a week later"—in Greek μεθ* ημέρας οκτώ ("after eight days"). It is pos­ sible that John intimates the equation of the "eighth day" with renewed creation,41 a connection that becomes explicit in early Christian writers, such as Justin Martyr and Barnabas: Furthermore, the precept of circumcision, obliging you without fail to circumcise your offspring on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision by which we are cir­ cumcised from error and wickedness through our Lord Jesus Christ, who arose from 39

G. K. Beale ('The Eschatological Conception of New Testament Theology," in Eschatology in Bible and Theology: Evangelical Essays at the Dawn of a New Millennium [ed. Kent E. Brower and Mark W. Elliott; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997] 11-52, here 19) claims that "[n]ew creation is in mind whenever the concept of resurrection occurs, since it is essentially the new cre­ ation of humanity." 40 The Greek reads τη ήμερα εκείνη τη μιςι σαββάτων. Wright (John for Everyone, 2:149) com­ ments on the importance of this reiteration in 20:19. 41 Mary L. Coloe (God Dwells with Us: Temple Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001] 130) speaks of the "eschatological blessings of the eighth day" in her discussion of the importance of this language in John 20.

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the dead on thefirstday of the week For thefirstday of the week, while it remains thefirstof all the days, yet is called the eighth, according to the number of all the days of the cycle, and still it remains the first (Justm Martyr Dial 41.4; cf also 138.1)42 Furthermore [the Lord] says to them, "Your new moons and the Sabbaths I cannot [endure] " Do you see what he means9 The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but that which I have made, m which I will give rest to all thmgs and make the begin­ ning of an eighth day, that is the beginning of another world. Wherefore we also cel­ ebrate with gladness the eighth day m which Jesus also rosefromthe dead, and was made manifest, and ascended mto Heaven (Let Barn 15 8-9, trans. K. Lake, LCL)43 This clear equation of the eighth day and creational renewal in some early Christian writers may find its roots in the Johannine language in 20:1, 19 (cf. also 20:26). More certainly, John alludes in these references to the week of creation in Genesis 1-2.44 The "first day" of creation's renewal has begun on resurrection morning.45 The first day/eighth day motif contributes to the theme of creation's renewal in John in two distinct ways. Specifically, two aspects of John's story culminate m the mention of the first day of re-creation (eighth day): the notion of the com­ pletion of God's work in Jesus and the Johannine signs. I will examine each of these m turn. A. The Completion of God s Work: The Sabbath A number of Johannine scholars have noted the theme of God's work coming to completion in Jesus, especially m connection with 19:28, 30. In these verses, the author uses τελέω to indicate completion: "when Jesus knew that all was now finished [τετέλεσται]..." (19:28) and "[Jesus] said, 'It is finished' [τετέλεσται]" (19:30). As Raymond E. Brown indicates in his discussion of 19:28, the motif of God's work being fulfilled in Jesus begins earlier in the Gospel and is especially 42

Michael Slusser, ed, St Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho (trans Thomas Β Falls, rev Thomas Ρ Haiton, FC, Selections 3, Washington Catholic University of America Press, 2003) 63 43 Cf also 2 Enoch 33 1-2 and "The Writing without Title" (On the Origin of the World [Nag Hammadi Codex 11,5 and XIII,2] 117 28-32 Richard J Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC 50, Waco Word, 1983] 250) speaks of "the eschatological symbolism of the number eight, which represented an eighth day of new creation, following the seven days of the old creation's history" in Jewish or at least early Christian literature Kesich (First Day, 180) uses the expression "Christ of the 'eighth day'" and notes that "the early Christians started calling [the day of Jesus' resurrection] the 'eighth day * So crucial was this day that they had to name it with a name that goes beyond the accepted notion of a seven-day week, that points to the completion of tune already m this age " 44 This is suggested by Kostenberger, John, 561 η 2, Carson, John, 635, Moloney, Glory Not Dishonor, 159, Wnght, John for Everyone, 2 140, and G Κ Beale, "The New Testament and New Creation," in Biblical Theology Retrospect and Prospect (ed Scott J Hafemann, Downers Grove, IL InterVarsity, 2002) 159-73, here 168 45 Schneiders, "New Temple," 345

CREATION'S RENEWAL IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 285 apparent in chaps. 4-5, where Jesus clarifies his work in relation to God's work.46 "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete [τελειώσω] his work [αύτου το έργον]" (4:34); 'The works that the Father has given me to com­ plete [τελειώσω], the very works [αυτά τα έργα] that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me" (5:36). Given these narrative connections in John between chaps. 4—5 and 19:28, 30, along with the focus in Genesis 1 on the work of God in creation (see Gen 2:2: "God rested from all the work [LXX: τα έργα] that he had done in creation"), it is probable that the Johannine notion that Jesus comes to complete God's work echoes the creation story of Genesis.47 Implied in this Johannine motif of the completion of God's work in the Messiah is the assumption that God's work is not yet completed, though the Gen­ esis passage that is echoed (Gen 2:1-3) explicitly communicates the completion of God's work with the resulting rest from that work.48 The author of John expresses that Jesus' work, which culminates in the cross (19:30), completes the Father's work, ushering in the Sabbath of God's full rest. The reader hears this idea in the motif of τελέω, in the explicit indication that the Father is still working (with Jesus joining that work), and in the signaling of the Sabbath's arrival upon Jesus'death (19:31).49 In 5:17, Jesus answers antagonism over his healing activity on the Sabbath with these words, "My Father is still working, and I also am working." The idea that God continues to work, even on the Sabbath, was present in Jewish reflections of the rabbinic period and possibly Jewish traditions predating John.50 For exam­ ple, Gen. Rab. 11.10 qualifies Gen 2:2 by indicating that "it wasfromthe work of the world that he rested. But he did not rest from the work involving the wicked 46 Raymond E. Brown, TJie Gospel according to John: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (AB 29,29A; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970) 2:908; see also Lincoln, John, 478; Keener, John, 2:1147. 47 In addition to the conceptual connections mentioned and the linguistic repetition of τα έργα in both Genesis 2 and John 4-5, Gen 2:1 also introduces language of completion ("the heavens and earth werefinished[LXX: συνετελέσθησαν]"), which, as I have noted, occurs also in John 19:28,30 (τελέω). On this connection, see Coloe, God Dwells, 197; Minear, Christians and the New Creation, 92; Painter, "Earth Made Whole," 66-67. 48 For Fretheim (God and World, 12), however, even the initial creative work of God has a "becoming" nature to it. Drawing on the Isaianic promise of new creation (65:17; 66:22), Fretheim notes that such a concept implies "an element of incompleteness that is integral to the very structures of created existence, even before sin ('subdue' the earth, Gen 1:28)" (p. 9). 49 Paolo Ricca, Die Eschatologie des vierten Evangeliums (Zurich/Frankfort: Gotthelf, 1966) 69. 50 Regarding traditions that the evangelist might have known, Borgen (Philo, John, and Paul, 85) claims that in 5:17 John "presupposes the exegetical traditions, which, based on Gen 2:2-3 raised the question of whether or not God could rest on the sabbath. The conclusion was that God is always active, at least with regard to certain definitive functions." For discussion of Philo in this regard, see Carmichael, Story of Creation, 121.

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or from the work involving the righteous. But he continued to labor with these and with those." 51 Both Genesis Kabbah and John qualify (albeit in different ways) the Sabbath rest of God in Gen 2:2-3 without negating it. In John, the work of God is understood as coming to completion at the cross (19:28, 30). 52 Thus the escha­ tological Sabbath begins.53 It is important in this regard that immediately after Jesus' words from the cross, "It is finished," John mentions that the Sabbath is about to begin (19:31). This connection may once again echo Genesis, where the completion of God's cre­ ative work culminates in the seventh day of God's rest (Gen 2:2-3).54 The Sabbath, which is clearly a temporal indicator on the story level in John, is a theological signal at the level of author and reader. The Sabbath as a theological signal com­ bines with the notion of Jesus' doing the Father's work (4:34; 5:17, 36) and bring­ ing it to completion at the cross (19:28,30) to usher in the Sabbath rest of creation's renewal. These various motifs come at a climactic moment of the Gospel, leading into 20:1, where the author turns to the resurrection narrative: "Early on the first day of the week [σάββατον]." The arrival of the first day of the week caps the var­ ious allusions to the work of God (in creation) that has now come to completion in Jesus' death, ushering in Sabbath rest and re-creation. B. The Johannine Signs A second and even more prominent aspect of John's story that culminates in the reference to the first day of the new week (20:1) is the Johannine signs. The emphasis on signs has long been acknowledged as an important part of the organ­ ization of John's Gospel. In addition, since Rudolf Bultmann's work on the topic, debate has centered around whether and how John used a signs source in the con-

51

Jacob Neusner, Genesis Rabbah: The Judaic Commentary to the Book of Genesis: A New American Translation (BJS 104; Atlanta: Scholars Press. 1985) 118. The rabbinic commentary goes on to give evidence from Jer 50:25 and Ps 31:19 that punishing the wicked and rewarding the righ­ teous should be considered God's work. As R. Brown (John, 1:217) summarizes, "There are a whole series of rabbinic statements... to the effect that Divine Providence remained active on the Sabbath, for otherwise, the rabbis reasoned, all nature and life would cease to exist." 52 Coloe, God Dwells, 23. See also Anthony J. Kelly and Francis J. Moloney (Experiencing God in the Gospel of John [New York: Paulist, 2003] 38, 367), who speak of the true character of creation being fulfilled at the cross (with τελέω in 19:30). 53 In John's eschatological perspective, the "already" of God's re-creation has begun in Jesus' death and resurrection, though there still exist elements of the "not yet." For example, the death of believers still occurs after the time of Jesus' resurrection (11:24-25). In addition, presumably Roman power, exercised by Pilate in John's narrative, is not eradicated after Jesus' resurrection. 54 Köstenberger, John, 551 ; R. Brown, John, 2:908; Ricca, Die Eschatologie, 69, Wright, John for Everyone, 2:139; Keener, John, 2:1147.

CREATION'S RENEWAL IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 287 struction of his Gospel.55 The relevant question for this study, however, is how the Johannine signs contribute to the theme of creation. Many commentators have discerned seven signs in John's Gospel, which are used to frame the first half of the work (1:19—12:50).56 The signs are typically delineated as follows, with thefirsttwo being numbered by the evangelist (2:11; 4:54): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Water into wine (2:1-11) Healing of official's son (4:46-54) Healing of man by pool (5:1 -9) Feeding offivethousand (6:1-15) Walking on water (6:16-21) Healing of blind man (9:1-7) Raising of Lazarus (11:1 -44)

Few scholars, however, discuss the significance ofthat number, apartfromnoting its connotation of completion in a Jewish milieu.57 Some, however, have suggested a further meaning in the signs. John Painter suggests that "[t]he signs of Jesus are miracles, new acts of creation."58 The seven Johannine signs point ahead in the narrative toward thatfinaland greatest of signs, the resurrection of the Messiah— thefirstmoment of re-creation.59 Is there legitimacy in making this connection? I would argue that one reason John draws attention to these seven signs of Jesus is to echo the seven days of creation, offering afinaland eighth sign precisely to indicate the arrival of renewed creation. Evidence for this comes early in the Gospel, immediately after the narration of the first sign at Cana. Following this first sign, the author tells of the clearing of the temple by Jesus. When the Jewish authorities demand a sign from 55 See, e.g., Robert T. Fortna, The Gospel ofSigns: A Reconstruction of the Narrative Source Underlying the Fourth Gospel (SNTSMS 11; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970). 56 E.g., Köstenberger, John, 347; R. Brown, John, lxxxxix, 429-30. 57 E.g., Fortna, Gospel of Signs, 101. On a related note, it seems significant that several proposals tie the number seven (representing the seven days of the creation week) to the creation theme in John (cf. R. Brown's observation of "the passion for finding sevens" in John [John, 1:106]). Although I am not convinced by the specific ways these scholars understand the number seven to serve as a framework for John (or parts of John), it is not insignificant that these scholars "hear" seven resonating in John. For example, Barrosse ("Seven Days"), following M. E. Boismard, counts seven days at the beginning of Jesus' ministry (1:19-2:11), leading into the miracle at Cana on the seventh day; cf. Μ. E. Boismard, Du baptême à Cana (Jean 1,19-2,11) (LD; Paris: Cerf, 1956). For other proposals highlighting seven, see Carmichael, Story of Creation, 124-26; Bruno Barnhart, The Good Wine: Reading John from the Center (New York: Paulist, 1993) 35-45; Coloe, God Dwells, 21-23. 58 Painter, "Earth Made Whole," 77; see also Du Rand, "Creation Motif," 25. 59 Wright, John for Everyone, 2:131.

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Jesus for his actions (2:18; σημεΐον), Jesus responds by giving them a riddle: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (2:19). The sign (σημεΐον) Jesus gives them is hidden in a riddle that they do not understand (2:20). Yet John's readers are informed of the meaning of the riddle: the sign is Jesus' resurrection ("he was speaking of the temple of his body" [2:21]).60 If the seven signs sketched above are an accurate portrait of John's structural movement, then Jesus' resurrection is an eighth sign, foreshadowed early in John ("in three days I will raise it up" [2:19]).61 Though not referred to as a "sign" (σημεΐον) in John 20, Jesus' resurrection is referred to as such in 2:18-22.62 Addi­ tional support for this reading can be found in the character of the first and seventh Johannine signs. The first sign, the changing of water to wine (2:1-11), has often been understood as a sign of eschatological promise, with the imagery of an abun­ dance of wine signaling the restoration of Israel in the final days (e.g., Amos 9:11-13). In this light, the first Johannine sign suggests creation's renewal.63 The seventh sign is the raising of Lazarus (11:1-44). Virtually all commentators note the fore­ shadowing of Jesus' own resurrection in the story of Lazarus, both in theme and in details. The seventh sign foreshadows the eighth sign, which is also centered on resurrection, a signal of re-creation. V. Conclusion I have presented evidence for the theme of creation's renewal in the Gospel of John. Allusions to Genesis 1-2, which tie John's story of Jesus to the creation of humanity and the world, are primary indicators of this theme. Such allusions are prominently placed at the beginning (1:1-5) and at the end (chaps. 19-20) of the Gospel. An evaluation of the various allusions argued for in this article indicates that they meet Richard B. Hays's criteria for biblical echoes. First, Genesis 1-2 (in Greek translation) was certainly available to the author of John (criterion of availability). In addition, there is adequate volume and recurrence (Hays's second and third criteria) of uncontested repetitions from Genesis 1-2 in John 1 and John 19-20 to support a variety of other echoes from Genesis 1-2 in John's passion and resurrection narratives.64 As we have seen, John 1:1-5 has a number of linguistic 60

Lightfoot, St. John s Gospel, 113. As Lightfoot (St. Johns Gospel, 113) states: "the Lord, in ambiguous language [2 1 9 - 2 1 ], offers the supreme sign of the Gospel, namely, His resurrection, in other words, Himself and His work, since He is the resurrection." 62 Since the third through the seventh signs are not explicitly numbered by John, it is no strong argument against the resurrection as the eighth sign that it does not have a number attached to it at the point at which it occurs in the narrative. 63 Du Rand, "Creation Motif," 25. 64 The criterion of volume, for Hays, is focused on the "degree of explicit repetitions of words or syntactical patterns," though also relevant is the prominence of the text being echoed (Echoes of 61

CREATION'S RENEWAL IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 289 and conceptual ties to Genesis 1, and commentators agree that John 20:22 alludes to Gen 2:7. These clear allusions provide support for the validity of the other Johannine echoes of Genesis argued for in this article (e.g., 19:5,41; 20:15). A fourth criterion Hays suggests is thematic coherence, which considers the alignment of a possible echo within the author's rhetorical emphases.65 Given that John begins the Gospel by evoking the creation of the world and humanity, allusions to Genesis 1-2 at its climax fit well the emphasis on creation, pointing to the enactment of creation's renewal at the resurrection of the Messiah.66 The fifth criterion, historical plausibility, asks whether the author could have intended the echo and whether the intended readers could have understood it.67 The notion of re-creation, supported by echoes of Genesis 1-2, would not only have been understandable to John and his audience but would have fit well afirst-centuryJewish frame of reference, especially in relation to Jewish eschatological views.68 Hays's sixth criterion, history of interpretation, asks if other interpreters, both contemporary and historical, have noticed the same echoes.69 The creational theme evidentfromallusions to Genesis in John 19-20 has been recognized by a number of interpreters in twentieth-century scholarship.70 In addition, John's emphasis on thefirstday of the week (20:1,19; cf. 20:26) and its connection to creation (specifically, the nexus of Jesus' resurrection, thefirst/eighthday, and renewed creation) finds support in patristic interpretation.71 Satisfaction, thefinalcriterion proposed by Hays, asks if "the proposed reading make[s] sense."72 In essence, this criterion is about coherence: coherence with the literary context and coherence with the reader's experience of the work.73 in this article I have argued that the Johannine echoes of Genesis 1-2 fit the scope of John from beginning to end as well as the historical setting of John in first-century Scripture, 30). In our case, it is difficult to think of a list of prominent First Testament texts omitting the creation accounts of Genesis 1-2. The criterion of recurrence is the use of echoes of the same precursor text in more than one place in the text being analyzed. 65 Hays (Echoes of Scripture, 30)frameshis criteria for Paul's letters and so speaks, in this case, of the echoesfittingwith Paul's line of argument. I have reframed this criterion for John as narrative. 66 In addition, the alignment of the proposed Genesis echoes with the motifs of work/completion andfirst-eighthday/Sabbath in John further substantiate the validity of these echoes. 67 Hays, Echoes of Scripture, 30. 68 See n. 4 above. 69 Hays, Echoes ofScripture, 31. 70 E.g., Hoskyns, "Genesis I-III" (1920); Suggit, "John 19:5" (1982- 83). As mentioned, allusions in John 1:1-5 and 20:22 are recognized by many, even most, interpreters. 71 E.g., Justin Martyr DM 41.4; 138.1; Let. Barn. 16.8-9. 72 Hays, Echoes of Scripture, 31. 73 Hays (Echoes ofScripture, 31 -32) indicates that "it is in fact another way of asking whether the proposed reading offers a good account of the experience of a contemporary community of competent readers."

290 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 72,2010 Jewish thought. In my estimation, this criterion is met. My argument is that the proposed way of hearing echoes of Genesis in John meets each of Hays's seven criteria. In addition to the evidence for the Johannine theme of creation's renewal from allusions to Genesis 1-2 in John 19-20,1 have also examined the Johannine motifs of the first and eighth day; the completion of God's work in Jesus, which ushers in eschatological Sabbath rest; and the seven signs of John, which culminate in the eighth sign of resurrection. The cumulative effect of these motifs indicates that John intends to communicate that in Jesus, the Messiah, the completion and renewal of God's creative work have arrived. Recognizing this theme in John is important on at least two levels. First, at the level of interpretation, the theme of creation's renewal is disclosed most clearly through a narrative reading of John. Woven into the fabric of the story of the Fourth Gospel, the theme of creation and its renewal emerges through suggestion and allusion rather than through explicit statements. Yet this is exactly what we ought to expectfromnarrative texts such as John's Gospel. Second, if John is emphasizing creation as part of his narrative portrait of Jesus, then the Gospel contributes to the NT theme of renewed creation, already evident in Paul and Revelation.74 Recent attention to this theme, including the present article, suggests that the concept of creation's renewal is a vital component of a NT theology that takes seriously the Jewish setting of the NT as well as the narratival genre in which over half the NT is cast. G. K. Beale has suggested, in fact, that "the kingdom of the new creation is a plausible and defensible center for NT theology."75 Whether the renewal of creation should be at the center of NT theology or not, I would argue that it should be understood as an important rubric that informed and energized the NT writers and their early Christian communities in theological reflection and communal praxis. As such, it suggests itself as a fruitful resource for the theological reflection and communal praxis of contemporary Christian communities.

74 For the latter, see Elke Toenges, "'See, I Am Making All Things New': New Creation in the Book of Revelation/' in Creation in Jewish and Christian Tradition (ed. Henning Graf Reventlow and Yair Hoffman, JSOTSup 319; Sheffield. Sheffield Academic Press, 2002) 138-52. 75 Beale, "New Creation," 159 He goes on to clarify that this "focus is not merely on new creation alone but on the messianic king who reigns over the new creation and is himself the beginning of that creation The significant theological doctrines of the NT gain their fullest meaning within the framework of this overriding idea" (p. 164).

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