Teaching the Gospel of John   By Hugh O’Donnell, Dec 4, 2009

 

John’s Gospel has a literary structure that easily adapts to teaching the Gospel with a hands-on approach that uses either group or individual exploratory study techniques, rather than lecture techniques that students hate.   The method brings alive the existing chapter structure of the Gospel such that the Gospel’s unity and content can be better remembered, better understood, and better connected.   The literary device is parallel contrast.  Students love to search for matching connectivity and contrast within parts of a document.   This teaching technique facilitates understanding the entire composition in greater depth as you guide them through all the parallels and contrasts they find.

 

The proposed literary organization is reality called a chiasm, a contrasting inverted parallel literary structure, often used in biblical writings to add focus and enhance memorization.  John’s original manuscript did not have the existing chapter breaks we now find oe even paragraph breaks.  In fact, if you study the text using chiastic literary examination, the manuscript is wonderfully divided by numerous chiasms as suggested by Peter Ellis in his book, The Genius of John.  Ellis clearly shows how the original text was organized, not by chronology or individual chapter/paragraph breaks used by modern writers, but by dozens of interconnected 5 part chiasms.

 

We may never know if the contrasting parallel structure proposed here was intended as such by the author of John. However, testing the proposed structure for parallel and contrasting elements as suggested will lead to learning and memory retention.   Ask your students to test John for the following chiastic structure:

 

A (Chap 1) - Witness of John (Baptist) & others - pre ministry Jesus.

B (Chap 2-4a) – Jesus the Mosaic Messiah & Church’s New Bridegroom

            C (Chap 4b) - Jesus gives life to a stranger.

                  D (Chap 5) – Jesus heals health of person of weak character and faith.

E (Chap 6-8) – Jesus, Son Messiah, gives life with spiritual food of Passover (Ch 6)and water/wine/light/sight of Tabernacles (Ch 7/8).

                  D’ (Chap 9/10) – Jesus heals sight of person of strong character and faith

             C’ (Chap 11) – Jesus gives life to close friend.

B’ (Chap 12-19) – Jesus the Davidic  Messiah & False “King” of the Jews.

 A’ (Chap 20/21) - Witness of John (Beloved Disciple) & others - post ministry Jesus. 

 

Using above structure, challenge your students to find parallel and contrast between:

1. A-A’ Jesus as witnessed to by others, pre and post ministry.
2. B-B’ Jesus as the new Bridegroom, Temple, Moses long promised Israel.
3. C-C’ Jesus as one who gives life to all.
4. D-D’ Jesus as one who heals and gives light to all believers.
5. E  Jesus as new Husband/Son/Groom, Moses, King David, for new Festivals.

 

For my owns suggestions on parallels and contrasts one might find - see

 

http://www.nd.edu/~hodonne1/JohnTEACH.htm