"Isaiah Saw His Glory"

The Use of Isaiah 52–53 in John 12

Daniel J. Brendsel

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN:
  9783110391244
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The influence of Isaiah on John's narrative and theology has long been recognized, but it has yet to receive monograph-length attention. This study is a beginning attempt to fill that void through an examination of the use of Isaiah in the crucial hinge of John's gospel - John 12:1-43. Beginning with a reading of Isaiah 40-55 illustrating a way in which early Christians may have read this important section of Scripture, the bulk of the study examines the pericopes in John 12:1-43, seeking to identify and interpret John's use of Isaiah 52-53. It is concluded that a reading of this well-known Isaianic text rooted within its broader context in Isaiah, together with the mediating influence of other texts - notably Isa 6:9-10 and Zech 9:9-10 - has fueled much Johannine theology, Christology, and ecclesiology. Moreover, mirroring the progression of Isa 52:7-53:1 in John 12 is the author's way of underlining Jesus' identity as the Servant of God and announcing that the second exodus prophesied by Isaiah is secured by the rejection (and death) of Jesus.

Part I: John and Isaiah

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1 The Use of Isaiah in the Gospel of John

Interest in the role of the Old Testament (OT) in the Gospel of John has grown steadily in the past four decades. The foci vary greatly, as a brief survey of monographs reveals,¹ but Andreas Obermann identifies three common areas of inquiry:² (1) how Scripture forms the “matrix” of John’s theology and presentation; (2) what implications John’s use of Scripture has on various source theories; and (3) what John’s use of Scripture tells us about his theological motives. Despite the growing interest in the presence and use of the OT in John’s gospel, one important OT influence on John³ has yet to receive monograph-length attention—namely, the book of Isaiah.

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1.1 The Relationship between Isaiah and John

This lacuna in scholarship is not for lack of awareness of Isaiah’s importance in John. Indeed, a handful of scholarly essays and treatments in books devoted to other inquiries have pointed to the remarkably significant place of Isaiah in John’s gospel.

1.1.1 Past Research

In 1954, David R. Griffiths made broad comparisons between Isaiah and John, rarely suggesting literary dependence. He concluded that a “more detailed comparison” between the two works would be “artificial and unconvincing.”⁴ Soon after, however, Franklin W. Young examined further correspondences between Isaiah and John, concluding that John “consciously utilized Isaiah as a source of language and ideology.”⁵ Young’s particular contribution lay in demonstrating that Isaiah speculation flourished in early Judaism.

In Günter Reim’s study of the OT background of John’s gospel, he identified over forty connections in John to Isaiah (ranging from quotations and allusions to “formal parallels”).⁶ For Reim, much of the Isaianic material in John derived from tradition (e. g., Synoptic tradition, wisdom traditions, a signs source), including all the quotations of Isaiah and several allusions to Isaiah (e.g., Isa 6:1; 11:2, 3 ff.; 42:1; 50:6; 53:7). Reim’s focus was drawn to clear Isaiah allusions and motifs having no traditional parallel (though even this material, Reim speculated, came to John through contact with other early Christians): the “light of the world,” the trial motif, the “glorifying” and “lifting up” of Jesus on the cross, and the “Lamb of God.” Many of these Isaianic allusions and motifs indicate that the figure of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant was of special concern for John (and the Christians with whom he was in contact). Reim’s brief survey is at times given to mere assertion without demonstration, and his source-critical assumptions and approach led him to pass too quickly over much important Isaianic material in John (e. g., the Isaiah quotations) in his evaluation of the function of Isaiah in the gospel.⁷ Nevertheless, Reim’s conclusion is noteworthy: “No book of the Old Testament has shaped the theology of John more than Deutero-Isaiah, and none of the authors of New Testament writings was influenced by Deutero-Isaiah as much as John.”⁸

In 1982, Craig A. Evans proposed that John strategically places the twofold Isaiah quotation in 12:38–40 “to set the theological tempo for the passion narrative.”⁹ In a later article, Evans built on these findings, suggesting that John 12 is a “midrash” on Isa 52:7–53:12¹⁰ and calling for a reassessment of the role of the Servant Songs in John’s gospel.¹¹

Focusing on issues of plot and intertextuality, Andrew T. Lincoln has suggested that the metaphor of lawsuit is one of “the most distinctive” characteristics of John’s gospel, “holding many elements of its plot and discourse together.”¹² For Lincoln, “it is Isa 40 – 55 in particular that provides the resources” for the Johannine lawsuit motif and overall narrative form.¹³ John has reworked the lawsuit material in Isaiah 40 – 55 (i. e., the covenant lawsuit between Yahweh and Israel, and the trials and disputations between Yahweh and the nations) in his presentation of the trial of Jesus and the simultaneous counter-trial of the world by God.

In 1996, David Mark Ball argued that Jesus’ absolute “I am” sayings in John draw directly upon Yahweh’s

assertions in Isaiah 40 – 55. By asserting

, Jesus “takes on himself a phrase that is reserved for Yahweh alone and thus intimately identifies himself with God’s acts of creation and salvation.”¹⁴ Ball also argued that “I am the light of the world” in John 8:12 (cf. 9:5) alludes to the promises of light for the Gentiles in Isa 9:1, 2; 42:6; 49:6; 51:4, and “I am the way and the truth and the life” in John 14:6 draws upon the “way” motif in Isaiah 40 – 55.¹⁵ These findings led Ball to conclude that Isaiah 40 – 55 “forms an essential foundation to understanding John’s whole picture of Jesus,” though further study is needed to determine the full extent of Isaianic influence on John.¹⁶ Catrin H. Williams provided a complementary study to Ball’s, coming to similar conclusions concerning Isaianic influence on Johannine “I am” statements.¹⁷ Williams further reflected on the use of Isaiah in John in two introductory essays, concluding that Isaiah holds “a prominent, if not the highest, position among the scriptural texts that have contributed to the shaping of John’s gospel.”¹⁸

Most recently, James Hamilton offered a study proposing dozens of “resona-tio...

Table of contents

• Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Table of Contents
• Table of Figures
• List of Abbreviations
• Part I: John and Isaiah
• Part II: Explicit Reference to Isaiah in John 12
• Part III: Implicit Reference to Isaiah in John 12
• Bibliography
• Index of Ancient Sources
• Index of Authors and Historical Persons
• Index of Subjects and Biblical Characters