There is also the covenant idea, which is linked to the scholar John Pryor. It is not the disciples who chose to follow Jesus but it is Jesus who chooses them because he realises that they possess the true qualities that he wants them to have. The Gospel is full of covenant language such as chosen, love and commandment. Deuteronomy 6:6 reflects this idea of being chosen, ‘For you are a people holy to the Lord you r God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.’ Jesus chooses people to be his disciples because he can see who will be a true disciple to him and the people who won’t but will instead reject and betray him. Jesus loves the disciples he has chosen and has a close personal relationship with each of them.
One idea about discipleship relates to ‘I am the true vine’ talking about how a disciple should have that mutual indwelling with Jesus and to be one of the covenant people you must stay within Jesus. People don’t have to earn salvation, they are given it if they are true disciples. The vine, according to Ed Sanders, resembles Israel and if Jesus is the true vine then Jesus is the new Israel. Disciples also bear fruit. Bearing fruit can mean they acquire the fruit of the spirit and love and compassion. Bearing fruit can also resemble bringing more disciples to the faith of Jesus and believing in him. The fruit and vine are images of unity and John uses the Fourth Gospel to teach that disciples must bear fruit and also have this mutual indwelling with Jesus in order to be a true disciple nd have a good nature of a disciple.
Another quality, which a person must have in order to be a disciple of Jesus, is to love one another as Jesus did. The best example of this is the feet washing. Jesus sets an example to them, which they must follow in order to be true disciples, ‘you also should wash one another’s feet’ and they should do it to each other in order to be like Jesus. The washing of the feet is also a reference to Jesus’ death and says that a disciple must accept his death on behalf of him, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ As well as resembling death this quote also shows that a disciple must be prepared to accept Jesus as a servant to them. John Painter is a scholar who shares this view, believing disciples should be cross bearers for Jesus and should share what he does. Disciples, according to John Painter, should take up the cross for others. They should follow in his examples and understand that his death will bring glory. There is a parallel from this passage, John 13:3-13 and Mark 8:31-37 because Mark shows how John wants people to understand Jesus’ death will bring glory, which is why he uses the feet washing as a parallel to the death of Jesus. Also in this passage we can learn that a disciple should lay down their life for others, just as Jesus is doing. Raymond Brown says that the passage is full of coded vocabulary so that people know what they should do but in a subtle way. ‘He put on’ and ‘took off’ are the examples of the coded vocabulary because they also mean lay down and take it up, stressing that a true disciple should both lay down his life and take it up for others, as Jesus did. A true disciple must love others and care for others just as Jesus did.
Through the teaching of Christian discipleship in the Fourth Gospel we learn that one part of their nature must be the ability to bring others to faith. They have to bring other people to also become disciples of Jesus. The Samaritan woman is a good example of this. Jesus defied convention by talking to this woman and respects her as a person like she deserves. Jesus brought the woman to faith by giving her understanding and in turn the woman brings people to faith because she now sees. She was insightful and a good witness which is also an important quality which one must possess in order to be a good disciple. The Samaritan woman is shown to be one of the best disciples because of her clear admission of faith and bringing other people to be disciples of Jesus. Another example of this is Simon Peter who also brings other people to faith and to be disciples of Jesus. Like the Samaritan woman he is also shown to hold one of the most important qualities in a disciple, the ability to bring other’s to faith.
Women are shown to be the best models of discipleship in John’s Gospel and it is through them that we can learn the nature of Christina discipleship. Perhaps one of the best examples used by John to teach us about disciples is Martha. Jesus taught Martha and she reveals understanding in the things that she has been taught. This is one of the qualities that John is stating as one a true disciple must have. Martha also accepts the resurrection of Christ as a disciple should and she believes in Jesus. She is a key disciple who can teach us much of the nature of a Christian disciple and how they should behave. The fact that Martha is said to have been loved by Jesus shows us exactly how good a disciple she really was because she is only one of three people in the Fourth Gospel who Jesus is supposed to have said he loved. Mary, Martha’s sister is also an example of an exemplar disciple for different reasons. She was also loved by Jesus yet she contrasts to Martha because she will accept the death of Jesus. Mary was the woman who washed Jesus’ feet and anointed his body, we can refer back to Jesus washing his disciple’s feet and his desire for them to follow his example, which is what Mary has done. This shows that Mary was prepared to lay down her life for Jesus exactly how a disciple should. Other women who are excellent examples of discipleship are Mary, mother of Jesus, the Samaritan woman and Mary Magdalene. Women play a very important role in the Fourth Gospel and each one represents a true quality of a disciple. Divinia Vedas believes that the Fourth Gospel was the most advanced in its portrayal of women being the best models of a disciple. It is through them that we can truly learn the nature of Christian discipleship.
Peter is a good example of a disciple because he represents what many of the disciples do, which is stumble in their faith but then regain it and carry on. John Chapter 6:68 shows how much he has progressed, ‘Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ He now understands Jesus and makes a confession of faith. After this Simon Peter stumbles by denying Jesus three times when asked if he knows him. He loses his faith now but progresses slowly in Chapter twenty-one. Peter then says three times that he loves Jesus and regains his faith. All disciples will stumble but only some will regain their faith and progress but others will not and will fail as disciples. Simon Peter is John’s way of showing that disciples will stumble but it is whether they regain their faith that is important.
John also teaches us through the Fourth Gospel that although there are models of the perfect disciple, there are also some that do not make it. Jesus’ disciples are included in this as taught by John in Chapter six. Jesus’ disciples do not understand which is a key quality that a disciple needs to have, ‘On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”’ This shows that they are not true disciples because they do not understand and then a bit later on in the same chapter it says, ‘From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him’. They do not make it as true disciples because they do not believe or understand. Similarly the lame man also does not make it as a true disciple. The lame man betrays Jesus and he does not stand up for Jesus but instead hides behind the Pharisees. The lame man does not have true belief of Jesus but responds to the sign of healing with no belief or understanding at all. He brings judgement upon himself and rejects truth and Jesus. It is only the word of Christ that gives life but the lame man rejects this and does not see this. John teaches that the nature of Christian discipleship in the Fourth Gospel is not always straightforward and there are not always people who will believe in Jesus despite things which may happen.
John uses the Fourth Gospel to teach us the nature of Christian discipleship and he uses a great variety of people when doing so. Women are probably the best examples of discipleship because most of them possess a lot of qualities that a disciple is required to have. John also shows what a disciple is not meant to be like, he shows how they should not behave. He also uses a lot of different characters when doing this in order to get his point across more effectively. John teaches us a lot about the nature of Christian discipleship through the Fourth Gospel.
- The teaching of discipleship in John’s Gospel can be used to give us an understanding of early Christian behaviour. Many of the people in the early times who believed in Jesus tried to be a good Christian and disciple to Jesus. The gospel shows what qualities early Christians believed a true disciple should possess. It is quite significant because we can learn what things people did believe in then and how our views have changed now. Through the Gospel we can understand that a disciple of Jesus must be faithful, loyal, obedient, have a respect for Jesus and expectations of him. A true disciple must also be open to change in their life, want to learn and also must worship Jesus. Early Christians tried to conform to this behaviour because this is what they believed they should act like and we can learn this through the Fourth Gospel. The Fourth Gospel is significant because it gives the reader a model for their own discipleship and was written for this purpose, to guide people in their quest to be a true disciple. It is a significant piece of writing for us to understand the behaviour of early Christians. It does use models of disciple to represent some people at the time. Nicodemus is used by John to show a secret group of Christians at the time, the crypto-Christians as called by Rensberger who would not stand up and be counted. This is significant as it shows us that not everyone was prepared to follow Jesus completely like they should do. Another model who shows us what some early Christians behaved like was the lame man, he betrays Jesus and represents a great number of people at that time who did not believe in Jesus. The lame man represents the synagogue Jews who do not believe the testimony of Moses, God or the prophets. The Blind Man was the model disciple who parallels the Johaninne Community, according to Rensberger. All of these models are good examples to show us some early Christina behaviour and give us an understanding of how some people behaved.
However this piece of writing can also be said that it is insignificant to give us an understanding of early Christian behaviour because we are only taught what a good disciple should be like. It does not really tell us what many people behave like, it uses models of discipleship. For example as I have mentioned earlier, there were three specific models of discipleship and how a Christian should behave in the Fourth Gospel; Nicodemus, the lame man and the blind man. These models are examples of some but you can not group all people into just three categories. It is impossible to put a vast number of people in such groups.
I think the Fourth Gospel is quite a good piece of writing to give us an understanding of the early Christian behaviour because it gives us three examples of what most of the people behaved like. It also shows us the qualities of a good disciple and how people should live their lives. People can see how to be a good disciple and follow these suggestions in order to be a good Christian and John also teaches us about how the early Christians behaved.
