Journal Article Summary Report #1 by Bryan Sumendap
Beutler, Johannes. "Two Ways of Gathering: The Plot To Kill Jesus in John 11:47-53." New Testament Studies 40 no 1 (Ja 1994): 38-54.
Summary of the Exegetical Steps by the Author. The author picked this text because it "has so far attracted mainly historical and text-historical interest." His main reason is "because the gathering of the High Priests and Pharisess, their reasoning, and the answer of Caiaphas are mainly attributed to pre-Johannine material, the reflection of the evangelist at the end of John himself or even a post-Johannine hand." This is due to the "idea of a death of Jesus for the 'scattered children of God' which seems to be alien to the earlier synoptic or synoptic-like material."
Beutler approaches the study by a synchronic investigation in the text, followed by a diachronic approach. Looking at the paper, he has conveniently divided it into three parts.
They are:
- Context and Structure
- The Tradition Behind the Section
- Hermeneutical Reflection.
In the Context and Structure he did a literary analysis which confirmed the limits of the passage. He summarized the things events that were taking place in the discussion among the Synedrion and the counsel of Caipahas. It is in this section that Beutler noticed the inclusion of the "gathering." He did a thorough examination of the structural analysis in John, to bring his main point of study. The first gathering was during the "calling together of Supreme Court of Israel at the time of the second Temple." The second gathering is right after the Caipahas' suggestion that the purpose of Jesus death, according to John, is "to bring them together and make them one."
In the next part, The Tradition Behind the Section, Beutler explores the similarities of the synoptic Gospels with that of John. He states that "only Matthew and John know about a formal gathering of the Sanhedrin" for the purpose of plotting to kill Jesus. He gives a historical background of the composition of Sanhedrin. Whereas, in the account of John several composition of the Sanhedrin is missing. He also studies the occurrences of Jesus' dying "for" the children of God in John, in Isaiah and also in Pauline texts.
The 'gathering' of the 'scattered children of God' by Jesus is linked with the Good Shepherd parable in John 10. He looks at the Q-tradition regarding this 'gathering of the children' and links it with texts of exilic and postexilic prophets. Therefore, this texts function as a preparation for the universal gathering of the 'dispersed children of God' in John 11:52.
In the last section for the Hermeneutical reflection, the author concludes the study by considering the broader biblical and theological context. He focuses on the "different attitude of human beings towards power. The attitude of the Jewish authorities who were afraid that their power will be taken away from them, and the attitude of Jesus who was ready to give up his life for the sake of many. Here he concentrates on the 'scapegoat-mechanism' theme found throughout the Bible, since Abel in the beginning, to the suffering one in Psalms, and to Jesus as a scapegoat too.
Strength and Contribution of the Article. For me, I understand this article to reemphasize that Jesus was willing to die for the sake of many. I think it contributed to remind readers that the first gathering was of the authorities who were afraid to lose their seat and authority. The idea of 'scapegoat' theme reminds us the basic characteristic of humankind. Beutler took a quite straightforward approach.
Weakness or suggestions. I think that the title does not really coincide with the hermeneutical reflection of the article. At the first reading, I was under the impression that he would emphasize on the implication of the oneness that Jesus will bring by the second gathering. Because it seems to me that the author was trying to bring out the concept of gathering, therefore to emphasize the second gathering of the people. But in the end, he concluded with a simple "the gathering of the mighty in order to maintain their rule of violence, and the gathering realized by the powerless one, who as a victim unites humanity." If he were to emphasize more on the outcome of that final gathering that will "unite humanity" then I feel that this article will become more meaningful. However, I think that the direction that he took was to emphasize that in this world there is always two classes of people, the one taking advantage and the victim. So in other words, he concluded that Jesus became a victim to bring the people to be united.
If only the author have extended the 'oneness' idea of the gathering resulted by the death of Jesus, it will bring another conclusion that will have a bigger implication for the readers.