Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 70:1 (NA 2019)
Article: Faith And Narrative A Two-Level Reading Of Belief In The Gospel Of John
Author: Christopher Seglenieks

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Faith And Narrative
A Two-Level Reading Of Belief In The Gospel Of John

Christopher Seglenieks

([email protected])

Summary

The question of who truly believes according to John’s Gospel can be unclear, complicated by characters who display contradictory evidence, both portrayed positively yet also reflecting imperfections. A solution to the confusion lies in attending to the overt narration of the Gospel, which creates a distinction between events within the story and the presentation to the reader. Positive expressions of faith within the story can be identified as ‘acceptable belief’, involving commitment to Jesus but with a limited understanding of his identity and mission. Only after the cross is ‘genuine belief’, (which includes greater understanding), possible.

1. The Problem

Belief is a key theme running through the Gospel of John. It appears in the prologue (1:12–13), signalling its significance in the following narrative; the Gospel also has the stated aim that the reader might believe (20:31). The characters within the Gospel narrative contribute to the purpose of evoking and encouraging belief as they display and model belief or its alternative of unbelief, conveying in narrative form the intended response to Jesus. Yet at the same time there is a lack of agreement around the quality of belief displayed by certain characters within the Gospel. For some characters, their story is insufficiently detailed to make any confident assertions regarding their faith. For others, such as Nicodemus, there is an ambiguity which may function

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to provoke the audience to question the nature of belief.1 Yet it is not only the portrayal of marginal characters which suffers from a lack of consensus. The disciples are often seen as examples of genuine belief, yet some scholars reject their faith as inadequate.2 Others are less harsh in their ultimate assessment, but still focus on the failings of the disciples as evidence of inadequate faith.3 In contrast to Nicodemus, it does not appear to be the role of the disciples to be ambiguous. Indeed, their function within the narrative is more often understood to be modelling belief and discipleship. Given the centrality of belief within the Gospel, the uncertainty around who believes and what genuine belief actually entails presents a problem which needs resolution.

To resolve the divergent assessments of characters and...