Paper#3 - Essay on a “Representaive Figure” in the Gospel of John.

By Hugh O’Donnell, Paper #3, ND THEO 64103, Due November 15, 2005.

Nicodemus and Peter are similar Representative Figures in the Gospel of John. Peter is representative of believers inside Jesus’ inner circle who are slow to believe and do not believe in a courageous way. Nicodemus is representative of believers outside Jesus’ inner circle who are similarly hesitant to believe and show excessive fear of reprisal from Jewish authorities (7:13, 9:22, 12:15, 12:42, 19:38, 20:19). Both of these disciples need excessive quantities of grace before they come to wholly believe in Jesus in a manner acceptable to the Johannine community.

Representative Figures are specifically named characters appearing in the Fourth Gospel who are type cast with specific faith-response roles helping the author tell the story of Jesus. Representative Figures have been identified by numerous commentators of this gospel as an important literary device adding depth and color to the evangelist’s story. Representative characters illustrate different faith-responses to Jesus as seen thru the eyes of the Johannine community. Some characters are shown with quick, courageous faith in Jesus from the start. Other disciples are characterized with hesitant, fearful belief. These disciples need multiple signs, additional discipleship, and finally the death of Jesus before they are blessed with whole belief (12:38). Still others, like Judas Escariot and many Jewish Pharisees, never come to believe (7:48, 12:37-40, 13:26, 17:6,& 9, 20:27).

Ray Collins suggests Nicodemous is representative of official Judaism and is cast as a type of unbelief never fully accepted as a true disciple of Jesus by the Johaninne community[1]. Raymond Brown however says he represents a group among the Jewish leaders who hesitantly come to believe in Jesus (12:42-43). Brown says the author of John obviously intends Nicodemus to illustrate a partial faith in Jesus on the basis of signs[2]. Rudolf Bultmann suggests Nicodemus is representative of the inability of rabbinic scholarship to give the real answer[3]. All three would agree that Peter eventually comes to a whole belief in Jesus but only after the death of Jesus and only after the rehabilitating, subsequently added, details of Chapter 21. The final disposition of Nicodemus’ faith is uncertain. Nicodemus was not an important representative character to the Johannine community. He did not need to be mentioned in Chapter 21 which rehabilitated the faith characterization of Peter. The Johannine community recast Peter in Chapter 21 as he became a leading figure in other Christian communities.

I propose the representative characterization of Nicodemus was analogous to Peter. Both were representative of Jesus’ disciples, one inner circle and the other outer circle, that were hesitant and lacked the courage to be a true and dependable witness for Jesus. The subject of this essay is to lay out a case both were representative of disciples who needed multiple signs, needed other brokers to faith, and ultimately needed the excessive outpour of grace from Jesus’ death on the cross.

Peter is cast as a leading spokesman for Jesus’ (6:67-68) among the twelve apostles. Similarly, Nicodemus is cast as a leading spokesman for Jesus within Jewish authority circles (7:50-51). Peter, despite his leadership role among the disciples, was a person who feared the Jews. It can be argued that he stood up for Jesus when he was arrested (18:10) however he later denied Jesus three times (18: 15, 25,27) after being identified as one of Jesus’ Galilean friends. Nicodemus spoke up for Jesus (7:50) after his fellow Pharisees told the temple guards no Pharisees believed in Jesus ( 7:48), however, like Peter, Nicodemus could not declare openly for this man from Galilee when challenged if he too really believed in Jesus (7:52). Both, when subjected to fear, like other Pharisees who believed in Jesus, preferred the praise of men instead (12:43).

Both Peter and Nicodemus had intimate words with Jesus about the need for ritual washing (3:3-8, 13:6-10). Both misunderstood Jesus’ direct testimony to them that they must be born again from above and washed clean by the Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus unless one is born of water and Spirit he will not enter the Kingdom (3:3). Jesus told Peter unless I wash your feet, you will have no part in me (13:9). As Jerome Neyrey points out, most “unless” statements by Jesus describe moments of status transformation passage in the Johannine group community[4]. Both individuals failed initial transformation washing. Their direct words with Jesus where not sufficient and these disciples needed additional brokering to whole belief with more signs and more witnessing from other disciples (13:24, 18:16, 20:2, 19:38-39, 20:6).

In fact, ultimately, these two disciples needed the extravagant outpouring of Jesus’ Spirit on the cross (19:34) before they came to full belief. The Fourth Gospel uses the number three and extravagant quantities to mark both Peter and Nicodemus as hesitant believers who come to believe only after the outpouring of excessive grace. Nicodemus appears three times in the Gospel before he shows his whole, unhesitant and open belief by using an excessive amount of spices to bury the body of Jesus (19:39) [5]. Peter, after denying Jesus three times in public (18:17-27) now whole heartedly (3 times) says he will feed Jesus’ sheep (21:17), this just after an extravagant catch of 153 fish (21:8-17). Also note Peter’s display of faith comes just after Jesus appeared to them the third time (21:14). Peter and Nicodemus are not transformed to whole belief until after Jesus’ excessive outpouring of grace on the cross (19:34). Both ultimately needed excessive ritualistic washing by the shed blood and water of Jesus before the Spirit could fully cleanse their lack of courage. Both needed at least “three” chances/washings to be chosen.

The author of John depicts Jesus using both Nicodemus and Peter to show that faith is not just a matter of will power, boldness, leadership, or discipleship. It is not a function of scriptural scholarship (Nicodemus) or lack of it (Peter). Courageous, unhesitant faith is a function of the heart – a heart’s openness to receive great quantities of grace that flow from the Father through the Son. Whole, fully cleansed belief, does not come from excessive quantities of bread (6:26-27), fish (21:11), wine (2:6) or spices (19:39), but from the copious grace of the Father brokered by Jesus.

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[1] Raymond Collins, Representative Figures in the Fourth Gospel
Downside Review. Vol: 94 1976. Page(s): 26-46, 118-132.

[2]Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John (i-xii), Pg 130, Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York, 1970.

[3] Rudolf Bultmann , The Gospel of John: A commentary, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1971.

[4] Jerome Neyrey, The Footwashing I John 13:6-11: Transformation Ritual or Ceremony?, The Social World of the First Christians, Fortress Press, pg 203, 1995

[5] Hugh O’Donnell, Essay on Burial Passage from the Gospel of John, Paper#2 THEO64103, 10/25/05