God’s Agent in the Fourth Gospel

A presentation on an article by Peder Borgen

Structure of the Article

The State of the research The principles of Agency Heavenly Agent Conclusion and perspective

What the article didn’t define but what would be helpful to know before reading it!!!

Halakah - (Hebrew) rule or law (from halak to walk). As a Rabbinic technical term it refers to the rules handed down which should guide everyday behavior,

particularly to these rules as interpretation of the Torah. Mandean - . a member of a small Gnostic sect that originated in Jordan

and survives in Iraq and who believes that John the Baptist was the Messiah

SECTION 1 – The state of the Research (Christology) CH Dodd

The Son as God’s delegated Representative Complete & uninterrupted dependence upon the father, dualism between

high & low spheres Platonic idea – no serious commissioning and sending

Bultmann Places commissioning and sending at centre of gospel But John goes beyond the thought of a prophet and interprets Gnostic

mythology about divine and pre-existent agents commissioned by the Father and sent to the world. (Mandean Literature is the source of this hypothesis)

Preiss and Barrett Close parallels in the halakah encourage the comparison between jewish

rules for agency and John’s Christology The idea that the son as commissioned by the father This is where the discussion starts

SECTION 2 – The Principles of Agency

Helpfully split into sub-sections …

a. The unity between the agent and the sender

b. The agent subordinate to the sender

c. The obedience of the agent to the will of the sender

d. The task of the agent in the lawsuit

e. His return and reporting back

f. The agent appointing other agents as an extension of his own mission in time and space

Section 2 (a) – Unity between agent and Sender

The basic principle of agency “is that an agent is like the one who sent him”

Judicial mysticism the agent is a person identical with the sender – the agent ranks as his masters own person

Section 2 (b) – The agent as subordinate

John 13:16 v’s Gen R.78

“the sender is greater than the sent”

The idea of the Son- Father relationship also implies that the Son is subordinate to the Father which ties into the agent sender relationship. (note not found in synoptics)

Section 2 (c) – the obedience of the agent to the will of the sender.

It is a legal presumption that an agent will carry out his mission (Erubin 31b-32a)

I appointed you for my advantage and not my disadvantage (Qiddushin 2:4)

If a householder said to his agent, “go and give heave-offering” the agent should give the heave-offering according to the householder’s mind (Terumoth 4:4)

Section 2 (d) – The task of the agent in the lawsuit

Go forth and take legal action so that you may acquire title to it and secure the claim for yourself.(baba Qamma)

No scene of commissioning BUT in John’s gospel there are some phrases which point to something similar

The sender takes possession of the property when the agent does (Jn 6:44)

“the coming to the agent, Christ, is the same as being in the possession of the Father, and only those who are included in the Father’s claim come to his agent. Against such background it is logical that the rabbis discussed if an agent in such cases is to be charateraises as partner to his sender.

Section 2 (e) – his return & reporting back to the sender

It is in accordance with the halakah that an agent who is sent on a mission is to return and report to the sender

“Behold we send you a great man as our shaliach, amd he is equivalent to us until such time as he returns to us”

“Thy messengers, O God are not like the messengers of human beings; for the messengers of human beings must needs return those who send them before they can report. With thy messengers, however it is not so,… whithersoever they go that are in thy presence and can report: we have executed thy commission.”

NOT SO WITH JOHN … no contrast between divine and human agents. Applies the human principle of return and report to God’s agent Jesus Christ

Section 2 (f) – The appointment of other agents as an extension of the agent’s own mission

Halakhic rule “an agent can appoint an agent” (Qiddushin 41A)

The unity between the agent, and the sender is extented to these “agents of the agent”

Section 3 – Heavenly Agent

So far … we have focused on the earthly Jesus but we now need to focus on the divine and heavenly agent who has come down among humanity.

Our old friend Philo can shed some light in this area as he was influenced by “merkabah mysticism

SECTION 4 - Conclusion and Perspective