Return of the Believer

Terry L. Burden

Description

Return of the Believer is a survey of the teachings of the Gospel of John with the purpose of encouraging a renewal or a return to the faith reflected by John the true believer.

Return of the Believer: Studies in the Prayer of Jesus from the Gospel of John is a theological study of the Prayer of Jesus specifically, the Gospel of John in general, and relevant topics in the Synoptic Gospel. The Prayer of Jesus contains twenty-six verses with each verse prompting broader applications for the Christian faith. The main title Return of the Believer implies an original express of faith in Jesus Christ by John the writer of the Gospel. The study accepts an apologetic value to the Gospel of John as it argues the importance of true faith through the acceptance of John’s interpretation of Jesus Christ. The Prayer of Jesus is a summary of John’s views of Jesus. The return of the believer is a call for a renewal of faith in the New Testament, especially the Gospel of John. This study reveals the Apostle John as the true believer and model for the Christian faith, and the Prayer of Jesus provides a summary of John’s teachings and the expressed will of God for the Church. Each verse is explained in the context of its surrounding verses, and important topics are addressed. The special feature of the Prayer is its prompting of related issues that appear elsewhere in the New Testament and the teachings of the Church. For example, the Prayer, and the Gospel itself, does not mention the birth of Jesus but, instead, focuses on the pre-existence of the Son as the eternal Logos or God. This study requires an explanation of the difference. Discussions of each verse invite the reader to engage in contemporary related issues.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Biblical Commentary
• Philosophie et théologie
• Jesús de Nazaret
• Eternal Life
• Jesus
• God the Father
• Theology
• New Testament
• Faith
• Jésus-Christ
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 05 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781973698432
• Langue: English

Extrait

Return of the Believer
Studies in the Prayer of Jesus from the Gospel of John




TERRY L. BURDEN






Copyright © 2023 Terry L. Burden.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.



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Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-9844-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-9845-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-9736-9843-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023909573



WestBow Press rev. date: 06/01/2023



About the Author
Terry L. Burden, M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus of Religion and Culture at the University of Louisville. During his thirty-year residence, he inaugurated the Distance Education program in the Division of Humanities and continues to teach online today. His work in religious studies included a range of seminars offered in the Louisville area including appearances on local television. His skills in religion and culture included also Biblical Language Editor for Westminster/John Knox Press with work on the Old Testament Library and the New Testament Library Series. In the Indiana and Kentucky communities, Dr. Burden has also served as Pastor in local churches. A native of Kentucky, his teaching career has centered on the Old Testament, the New Testament, and religious traditions of the world. His published books include his recent “The Word Among Us: Theologies of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament” and “Between Two Creeks: The Mystery of the Blue Mist.” Volume Two of “Between Two Creeks” is forthcoming. Other books include “The Kerygma of the Wilderness Traditions in the Hebrew Bible” and “Handbook of Biblical Hebrew.” His present monograph, “Return of the Believer,” reflects Dr. Burden’s passion for Gospel studies. He has also written book reviews, essays, and articles that explore various aspects of religion and society. For more information, visit his website at www.terrylburden.com .



For Dennis
my brother



Contents
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter 1 Life Can Make Sense
Chapter 2 The gift of eternal life
Chapter 3 Knowing the Only True God
Chapter 4 Bringing Glory to God
Chapter 5 Becoming God’s Person
Chapter 6 Being a Witness for God
Chapter 7 God, the Source of Truth
Chapter 8 Resolving Doubts through Christ
Chapter 9 Praying for Believers
Chapter 10 Glorifying Jesus Christ
Chapter 11 The Presence of God
Chapter 12 The Security of Faith
Chapter 13 The Joy of Christ Within
Chapter 14 Living for God
Chapter 15 Believers are Not Alone.
Chapter 16 Belonging to Jesus Christ
Chapter 17 The Foundation of Faith
Chapter 18 Being a Disciple for Christ
Chapter 19 The Work of Sanctification
Chapter 20 The New Testament Today
Chapter 21 Being One in Christ
Chapter 22 Unity through God’s Glory
Chapter 23 Sharing God’s love
Chapter 24 Being with Christ Forever
Chapter 25 Staying Close to God
Chapter 26 Making a Difference
Conclusion
Bibliography



Introduction
Our present study focuses on the Prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of John 17. We accept the view that the Prayer is of vital importance to the Gospel of John. No doubt, a common interest exists because of the uniqueness of John’s Gospel in comparison to other New Testament understandings of Jesus the Christ of the Christian faith. The Gospel of John takes the reader on a different journey through the adult life of Jesus. John’s story of Jesus is divided into two major sections. The first is the account of the public life and ministry of the adult Jesus covered iv twelve brief chapters. John 13 departs from the public setting in the life of Jesus and begins the passion of Jesus (John 13–21). The Prayer of Jesus in Chapter 17 serves as a link between the last supper event better known as the Farewell Discourse (John 13–17) and the actual passion and resurrection of Chapters 18–21.
In John’s bold version of Jesus’s life and death, we see the development of Christian thought beyond the versions laid down by other New Testament writers, in particular the Synoptic writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). One of the greatest mysteries surrounding the uniqueness of John’s Jesus, when we compare John to other New Testament writings, is the seemingly total acceptance of the Gospel by the Church and the Gospel’s interpretation of Jesus. Perhaps the most profound mystery of John’s influence is the Council of Nicea and its credal statement in 325 C.E. This suggests, among other witnesses in history, the almost immediate popular acceptance of the Gospel of John in the early Church. The Church’s doctrinal stance became synonymous with that presented in the Gospel of John.
A second consideration in the study of the Prayer of Jesus is both the similarities and the differences between John and the Synoptic Gospels. Given the belief that John’s Gospel is the latest of the Gospels and, in fact, perhaps among the latest of the New Testament documents altogether, we must ask about the nature and the reasons for these differences. The most profound difference, for example, is the nature and reality of Jesus as the Son of God. The doctrine of the preexistence of the Son is exclusively that of the Gospel of John and yet the Church has wholeheartedly accepted this rendering of the Son. Of course, this motif will be discussed in our study that follows.
In Context
The study of each verse in the Prayer of Jesus will begin with an introductory section called “In Context.” Our concern is to establish the overall context of each verse of study. The purpose is to avoid lifting any verse our of its immediate context as it relates to the flow of the Prayer. For the present introduction, “In Context” applies to how the Prayer of Jesus in Chapter 17 relates to the surrounding chapters.
The Prayer of Jesus in John 17 is presented as the conclusion to the Farewell Discourse (John 13–17). Each of the four Gospels has its unique shaping to the story of Jesus Christ. For example, Matthew contains the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) and Luke has the Jerusalem Document (Luke 9–19). And John has the Farewell Discourse. As the name implies, the Farewell Discourse was spoken during the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples when he gave them instructions about their continued work after Jesus departed from them. The Farewell Discourse has one central theme: “what it means to be united with Christ (with Christ crucified and risen).” 1 The Prayer of Jesus in John 17 is a summary of this theme while the balance of John is an elaboration of this theology.
The Prayer of Jesus
The discourse that began in John 13 and concluded with Jesus’s prayer in Chapter 17 occurred during an evening meal, on the eve before the feast of the Passover (John 13:1). The Prayer concludes the discourse, but we are not aware of any specific location that would be different from the place of the last supper. The traditional place would be the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays his agonizing prayer requesting God that his “cup” be taken from him (Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:36, and Luke 22:42). But in John, the location is not stated; only after Jesus prayed the prayer, he and his disciples went into the Kidron valley to a garden. John does not record the agonizing prayer of Jesus as in the other three gospel accounts. Rather than a prayer of agony, John 17 is a prayer of victory. The reader can assume that when Jesus prays for his disciples in John 17 that his disciples are in his presence.
In the Gospel of John, the final prayer of Jesus plays a more dynamic role. Its length and theological content attest to the importance of the Prayer as a crucial message for his followers, even for all future believers. John’s Prayer of Jesus is much more detailed and theologically broadened than that of the prayer in the other Gospels. The theological motifs of this long prayer are consistent with the whole of the Gospel of John
Some scholars have identified the Prayer as a priestly intercessory prayer. The sixteenth-century Protestant theologian David Chytraeus (1531–1600) was the first to call the prayer in John 17 a “high priestly prayer.” 2 The book of Hebrews contains the only detailed teachings of the High Priest in the New Testament. Like the Gospel of John, the Letter to the Hebrews is a product of a later Church community when New Testament theology had evolved beyond the early Church. The Gospel of John is closely related to the Letter to the Hebrews in this regard more than any other book in the New Testament. 3 The early Church also linked the