RT Article
T1 Atonement and Martyrdom in the Gospel of John
JF Horizons in biblical theology
VO 42
IS 1
SP 58
OP 89
A1 Ripley, Jason J.
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2020
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1698280629
AB Does the Gospel of John portray Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice? This paper offers a new approach to the revelation vs. sacrifice impasse in scholarship, arguing that Jesus’ atoning death in John should be understood with reference to the non-cultic atoning deaths of the Jewish martyrdom traditions. After critically engaging scholarship, I contextualize John within post-biblical debates regarding sacrificial martyrdom, focusing on the competing reconfigurations of non-cultic atonement in the Maccabean literature. I subsequently show how Jesus’ atoning martyrdom reveals his anti-violent way of the cross as the true martyrdom and atoning sacrifice accepted by God, thereby resolving key tensions within Johannine scholarship. I then demonstrate how this vision of atonement addresses John’s understanding of sin as ignorance and addresses an audience itself facing threats of martyrdom (John 16:2). I conclude with some reflections on how John’s vision of atonement critically differs from later theological theories, particularly penal substitution.
K1 Gospel of John
K1 Maccabees
K1 Atonement
K1 Martyrdom
K1 Revelation
K1 Sin
DO 10.1163/18712207-12341403