Commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the Gospel of John
Toward a view of the Rite of Baptism and Discipleship in Gnostic Parlance
Introduction
The Rite as viewed in Orthodox and Gnostic Tradition. "This sacrament is called Baptism after the central Rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (GK., baptizien) means to`plunge,'`immerse' . . . into water which the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him "a new creature". This sacrament is also called "the washing and regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, "for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Holy Spirit without which no one "can enter the Kingdom of God."This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this (catechetical) instruction are enlightened in their understanding, "Having received in Baptism the Word, the true light which lighteth very man," (that cometh into the world) (1)the person has been enlightened, he became a "son of Light", indeed he becomes "light" himself.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Liberia Editrice Vaticana. 1994
This quotation from the `new' Catholic Catechism is in our opinion quite sufficient to define the importance and pre-eminence of this rite to the community of Christ and the Apostles and applies equally to the so-called gnostic communities as in the orthodox. This is the founding degree of the Ecclesia instituted by John the Baptist and most exquisitely explained in St. John's Gospel. In the present paper we discuss and Ðevaluate the meanings of this `divine' operation in terms of elemental characteristics as well as it's entire meaning of the soul's journey from a gnostically presumed preexistance to¸ ultimate perfection in Christ, which was known and revered by the Apostles of Jesus then and now in a concomitance to gnosis. This we will endeavor to do within a delimination of St. John's Gospel at the Ninth Chapter using other of the Johannine writings i.e.the First Epistle, and the Apocalypse for comparative evidence. Since this paper presumes a Gnostic parlance and audience in which and to which the Ninth Chapter is written, we will quote where appropriate gnostic texts and traditions where it appears parallel to our ground. However, before we venture forth into the text of the ninth chapter itself, we should address the basic traditions (canonical and gnostic) of baptism, as well as the Johannine motifs of pre-existant sin and pre-destined redemption.
The Synoptic gospels as well as John's gospel are in mutual¸ agreement concerning the accepted mission of the Baptist whom the synoptics accord the following tradition of Isaiah 40:3;
"A voice cries out: in the wilderness to prepare the name of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall be leveled and the rough places made plain.
"All the gospels introduce the Baptizer in this way as he makes his way coming forth from beyond the Jordan, in a sense re-tracing the steps of the ProphetElijah, from the place where he ascended to heaven in a fiery ball. In contradistinction, we find in the "Gospel of Thomas", (an early work of Gnostic favor and probably derived from the so-called Quelle or source material) (2), Jesus confidently conveying three sacred words to the Apostle Thomas, which were supposed to relate (in Aramaic) to the Rite of Baptism. These three "secret words" according to gnostic tradition are in Aramaic "Kavlakav, Savlasav and Zeesar", and apparently refer to the book of Isaiah 28:10:
"Whom will teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those weaned from milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept and precept upon precept,and line upon line and line upon line, here a little, there a little."
This passage by tradition has been interpreted to mean`precept' as a reference to the decalogue i.e. the Jewish commandments, and `line upon line' reference to the "stauros" or cross, and `here a little, there a little', to the regurgitation of springs in the Jordan River symbolizing apparently an upward, ascending and heavenward flow. The idea of the "reversing" the Jordan (River) is a common gnostic motif of baptism. While these two verses offer us differing ideas concerning baptism or the role of the Baptizer, they are not in opposition or isolated from one another as may be seen. Indeed both are drawn from the same source i.e. the prophet Isaiah, whose messianic messages were probably widely favored by those members of a number of Jewish baptist sects within the region. It is most plausible that the author of the ninth chapter which we here study given predilection to expound baptism knew most if not all those sects as well as their favorite scriptural verses.
Finally, as a footnote to the above it should be here pointed out that John's gospel presents an important distinction to the portrayal of the Baptizer as depicted in the synoptic gospels i.e. the identification of Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world", a harbinger to John's constant treatment of sin in the fourth gospel, and in particular as we will attempt to show `sin' primarily defined as blindness, ignorance or as unfaith. Let us now go forward to our concluding remarks i.e. treatment of St. John's theme of pre-existant sin and raison d'etre for salvation as is substage to our commentary on the ninth chapter.
More so than any other Gospel, John's gives the timeless, cosmic and universal motif of the Savior accentuated and highlighted treatment. All the Johannine writings, gospel,Epistles, Apocalypse share this distinction in the canon works of the New Testament. This is also true of the notions of sin, redemption and salvation. We here cite a few examples:
1. Pre-existant Sins:
"Everyone who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning, The Son of God was revealed for this purpose.." 1 John 3:8.
"You (the Pharisee) are from your Father, the devil...He was a murderer from the beginning." John 8:44.
"As He walked along He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" John 9:1.
2. Pre-destined Salvation:
"He (Christ) was the true light that lighteth everyone that cometh into the world." John 1:9.
"And all the inhabitants of the earth worshipped it¸(the beast) and everyone whose name has not been written in the book of life of the lamb, that was slaughtered from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8.
"Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin because they have been born of God."1 John 3:9.(epist)
In these few examples we have not only the implication directly of the pre-existant theme of sin and salvation but also an idiomatic process which I would term fourth dimensional i.e., a suspension at times of the normal divisions of time and place to seem quite arbitrary if not suspended altogether, which is so typical of Gnostic writings. This is also evident in the `ego-eimi' (I Am...) proclamation which also receives preeminence in the Johannine literature. It should be noted at this juncture that while Johannine writings refer to sin very frequently and with familiarity to the Jewish law, oddly, we have no reference in the Fourth Gospel of Adam's transgression (the epistles do cite Cain's murder of Abel) but rather appear to treat sin as if it were an error in the human person from almost creation itself! (3) What we can explicitly know from John as shall be seen is that sin constitutes `unfaith' or`choice-ignorance' and later in the Epistles, as rejection of Brotherly Love'
Finally, John makes clear that the Christian initiate is to be `born from above' (John 3:3-5), implying identification with a transcendent and alien origin altogether. And as John is known to typically show the Savior asserting the Church vs. the Synagogue,he also asserts the Seed of God against the Seed of Abraham, as if to identify the `children of light' as a unique and primordial race with it's own transcendent destiny. Such an interpretation would find parallels to very early gnostic communities like the Sethian, Barbelo and other gnostics whose mythologies seek an identification with a `race of wisdom or light'. Hence we conclude this general survey of St. Johns treatment of primordial ideas of sin and salvation with these last remarks. While John does not treat the subject of sin with the detail and technicality desirable to theologians and students of Christian forensics, his aptitude as `mystic',`visionary' and `storyteller' far surpasses any other in his generation. His ability to draw a community, a fraternity, a church or even a race of light together from mere adherents of an obscure and outcast fringe cult deserves him the title before Peter himself (with all respect) as First Patriarch of the Ecclesia. Let us review his work.
CHAPTER ONE: The Narrative Catechism of the Ninth Chapter; The Works of God In the Redeemed, & The Anointing Ceremony.
Of all the successive baptismal motifs found in John's Gospel, the Nc. stands out among them as 'suis dynamis' i.e. most explanatory of the inherent power in the introduction of Christ's light to the recipient. The story scene for the nc. has been carefully set by the preceding chapter (rather typical of John) in which Jesus' discourse in the Temple during the Festival of Lights in which he proclaims himself "Light of the World..." and finally concludes (ego eimi) as "Before Abraham was I AM". Hence opens the Nc. with a rather typical Johanine dialogue with the disciples' inquiry of the origin of the blind man's situation with clear reference to well held Jewish notions of sin; "Rabbi,who sinned, this man or his parents?", a question with a reasonable decalogical basis, (Ex. 20:5-6, Dt. 5:9, & Ps. 51:5) to which Jesus' answer is typically refutative in favor of putting the discourse into the forum of his own cosmic dynamis and gnosis, which supersedes all other laws of consequence upon this plane. He answers "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, he was born blind that God's works might be revealed in him.
We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no man can work. As long as I am in the world I am the Light of the world." Jn.9:1-3.
This narrative discourse, taking on the flavor of a catechesis has Jesus making a rather astonishing statement for the Johanine community or Church in direct juxtaposition to the orthodoxy of the Synagogue, seeming to subordinate the Law (or at least Jewish understanding of it) in favor of the perfecting remedial light which He (Christ) is. Hence the statement that "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," effectively deflects the general OT interpretation of sin in preparation for the more positive 'precept' of Faith or 'Faith-Gnosis' which is to distinguish 'the Church' vs. 'Synagogue' as well view of sin which is to characterize Johanine theology very early.
In the next statement, we become re-acquainted with Jesus' identification as the 'light sent' into the world and the Lord's admonition to "work the works of Him who sent me while it is day." This statement is another token of the Johanine dualism pervasive of all the Johanine literature and essentially gnostic in a general and subtle sense rather than radical as most would expect of gnostic dualism. In fact it can be said that John generally avoids specific treatment of complex philosophical and theological issues, while paying more detailed attention to his favorite topic's liturgy and other symbolistic expressions which seemed to be developed with a relish. In any event, this statement is full of symbolism of the demiurge of the gnostics in primitive form as Jesus references himself as a 'worker' but of the Light rather than of the darkness (and blindness) as the classic gnostic demiurge, the Lord of this world, would have been recognized to be. This is even furthermore developed in the rest of the verse:
" When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made (clay) with saliva and spread the (clay) on the man's eyes saying to him, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam (which means 'sent')'. Then he went and washed and came back able to see." Jn. 9:7.
Here the catechesis is interrupted to reveal the modus operandi, i.e., the ceremony of admission to the light, the Baptism according to Christian Theologians have tended to view this sequence as a referent to the creation of Adam and hence a reference to the 'original sin' and though certainly indeed Adam is modeled from clay, Gn 2:7, no actual referent to the original transgression is found anywhere in John as one would expect given John's frequent treatment of sin in his writings, rather we find that "neither this man nor his parents sinned". It is a frustrating facet of the Johanine writings that the origin and nature of sin are largely left untreated though in the present chapter seems to oppose the very notion of inherited sin. As we shall see, the gnostic audience is obliged to include such an interpretation, meanwhile the action of the spittle and the clay has certain referent to both creation and the demiurge in a gnostic parlance.
In Robert Ambelain's book "La Notion Gnostique du Demiurge; dans les Ecritures et les Trations Judeo-Chretiennes", a well developed depiction of the Demiurge from the OT, as the 'worker in clay' and 'the potter' is demonstrated which when compared to the Nag Hamadi text known as the "Hypostasis of the Archons orThe Reality of the Rulers" which shares many common features with our subject, we find the following"
"Their chief (the Demiurge) is blind; because of his power and his ignorance he said, with his power, 'It is I who am God..."
"then there was a voice that came forth from incorruptibility, saying, 'You are mistaken Samael' which is 'god of the blind'...This is the reason why incorruptibility looked down into the region so that by the Father's will she might bring the entirety into union with the light. The rulers (archontes) laid plans and said 'Come, let us create a man that will...be of soil (clay or mud) from the earth.' They modeled their creature as one wholly from the earth. "They had taken some soil from the earth and modeled their man...", They said, "Let us lay hold of it by means of the form we have modeled..."
"And the snake instructor, said 'With death you shall not die; for it was out of jealously that He said this to you. Rather your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, recognizing good and evil.
"The Hypostasis of the Archons"
(otherwise The Reality of the Rulers)
The above references serve to collaborate the gnostic character of the demiurge depicted as 'the worker in clay' and whom Jesus would mimic in this scene, a possible betrayal of the story of Adam though officially it is otherwise absent in the fourth gospel. This absence would be the more anomalous here given that the didactic of the nc. is generally held to be specifically directed to Jewish-Christian converts ( supposedly represented by the blind man), who are threatened with excommunication from the synagogue for professing Jesus as the Son of God sent. Furthermore, gnostic texts which are concerned with Johanine philosophy (Hypostasis of the Archons a notable example) do usually treat the story of Adam but more with focus on the primal subjugation, (of Adam and his generation) by the ruling powers'the archons', than an exploration of Adam's culpability for theintroduction of sin into the world. This may be deliberate avoidance on the author's part reflected perhaps by Jesus' own refusal to discuss the foresic issue in verse 3. The likely reason for such failure, I believe, might owe to an unresolved conflict within the Johanine community itself over 'original sin' which may have succeeded the author's life as the First Epistle of John would possible indicate. I would further propose that such a conflict would have likely to be between orthodox vs. gnostic Jewish converts. We will have an opportunity to take up this notion later in this commentary but must now return to symbolisms and functions of the anointing ceremony.
The above story of anointing with clay and saliva, while certainly to be found elsewhere in the synoptic's ( Mk. 8:22-26) but I believe here is meant to demonstrate an important initiatory significance of the ceremony within a gnostic parlance and exclusive to the community of John's followers. That is to say that the story demonstrates Christ's baptism as a remodeling or repairing the very admixture of the elements of one's ownnature in order to receive Jesus by faith and to perceive and follow him by gnosis. For if the man nor his ancestors are being punished for any sin but rather he is "born blind" that "God's works might be revealed 'in him' " this gesture would truly compliment that purpose and we will see in the next section that a reference is found for this man to be almost unrecognizable to his fellow townsmen consequent to this act! But let us divert for a moment to references elsewhere in the Johanine literatureas may show the general virtues inherent in anointing as would be known to the community:
"But you have been anointed by the Holy One (the Christ) an you have all Knowledge 1 Jn. 1:20 and
"As for you, the anointing you received from him (the Christ) abides in you and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you all things.
"and returning to our favorite gnostic text we find: "Thus the authorities (the World) cannot approach them because of the Spirit of Truth present with in them; and all who have become acquainted with this Way exist deathless in the midst of the dying mankind. Still that sown element (the sperema) will not become known now" ... until the true man within a modelled-form reveals the existence of the Spirit which the Father has sent. Then he will teach him everything and he will anoint them with the unction of eternal life given him from theundominated generation. Then they will be freed from the bondage of blind thought: They will trample death under foot, which is of the authorities (the World) and will ascend to the limitless light where the sown element (sperema-seed) belongs." and "Then all the children of light will be truly acquainted with truth."
"The Hypostasis of the Archons"
These passages, both from the canon writings attributed to John's immediate community, i.e., within the apostolic generation, as well from the slightly later but not less Johaninely interested community of the 'Hypostasis of the Archons' seem to agree on many points of an anointing ceremonies virtue, including the presence of God's seed within the children of light, which 'teaches all things', and bestows eternal life. There is some weakness in the nc's lack of development for what might in gnostic parlance be termed the doctrine of the clot, and while the elements of clay and saliva work to imply a remodeling of the man born blind, i.e., his hylic and psychic deficits, Joh does not divert to explain this potentially transformative effect upon his nature. Yet as we shall see later in the nc., John does go on to an exposition of man's revelation of Christ as the light of the world, through the course of discipleship, ultimately showing in paerenesis unfaith as ignorance or blindness, the primal sin and the origin of darkness.
Preface to Part II
(A few notes on the dualisms in part I¸) Before going forward to our evaluation of the issue in "Discipleship and the paerenesis of the Metakoi" in part II, we should address in a few lines or so the dualistic themes presented in part I, as they are also an important undercurrent of gnostic parlance as we have sought to demonstrate in this manuscript. Firstly, we would put forth for general understanding of St. John the author (or authors) of the last gospel (so-called) that John's gospel does not merely betray dualism but in fact 'multi-dualisms' as does so much of gnostic writing. It seems to me that those who suggest that while John is 'dualistic' yet not in the sense of the gnostic's radical dualism hence protecting the Johanine writings to orthodoxy, we should bear in mind that most new religions, created from old ones are usually viewed as radical to the former religion while hardly radical to the new one.
This distinction is important, I believe, since it is the habit of so-called scholars to criticize gnostic vs. non-gnostic or quasi-gnostic writing on the basis of a radical form. In fact, the radicalism of gnostic theology is put forth by those heresiologists who have done so for reasons not disinterested to their own motive or point of view. I believe this may be a trap, for the present day gnostic church and tradition does not view itself as any more radicalized than Christianity is itself from the view of its Jewish parent. But, to return to dualism in the first part of the N.c. we would not the following:
The text of the Nc we have in the first seven verses alone no less than three instances of dualism either evident or implied. Firstly, in vs. 1, as Jesus passes by he sees a man 'blind frombirth', which insinuates 'from the beginning' since we know that this passage is to relate to the 'race' or 'seed' of Abraham (see end of eighth chapter which lead in the Nc.), i.e., the Jews. This passage is left open, awaiting (in Johannine style) a completion at the end of N.c. Secondly, the dualistic referent to mundane time, "We must work the works of Him who sent me, while it is still day; night comes when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the World." Here we have 'double' dualism, in that we have a 'flash back' to the prologue of Light and Darkness, famous to this gospel, and secondly to 'the works' of man vs. God, which is so important in the eventual theological value of John to the new Church!
Part II., The Discipleship of the Baptized (of the Metakoi) in John N.c.
With the anointing and washing ceremonies concluded and sight restored to the subject of this story, we now are quickly referred to the task that awaits him as a witness to the 'Light' which has lightened the eyes of the blind man who we shall refer to (in gnostic parlance) as 'metakoi', that is 'way farer'. At once it becomes clear that a dramatic transformation of the man has occurred, so that his own neighbors, (many of whom it can be assumed are not baptized while others may be) cannot recognize or 'know' him. This was to the gnostic and Johannite alike an important fact of initiation
"The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man" (a flash forward to 'ecce home' and the trial of Jesus). But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" ... They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was the sabbath day...
"Now, what has occurred in these few verses is most fascinating from a gnostic point of view for it gives us a very clear referent for docetism or what I would term "dualism of person." However, the docetism identified here and as I have written in my last paper "Docetism and the Christology of the Gnostics" is a doctrine which supposes either Jesus, or His passion, or Hismiraculous signs to be a mirage or phantom appearance, or merely symbolical rendering, but rather a teaching of the gnostics as well and especially with in the Johannine community with regard to the dualism of the gnosis itself, in effect rendering the truth and the truth of things to be incomprehensible nay even confounded in the 'sight' of the uninitiated that is unbaptized and unbelieving 'world'. This dynamic 'occultation' is poignantly depicted here but has referents in many other places in John's writings, for instance:
"The reason 'the world' does not know us is that it did not know him."... "What we know is this: when he is revealed we will be 'like' him, for we will see him as he is." 1 Jn. 3: 1-2.
The above quotes are also supported in Paul's epistle to the Colossians and also referent to the state of the baptized:
"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above... for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, is revealed then you will also be revealed with him in glory." Colossians, 3: 1-4.
This disguise provided by the new light of Christ is the basis for the gnostic didactic of the 'metakoi' who is in the world but not of it. Those familiar with the gnostic paerenesis "The Hymnof the Pearl" will at once see this formula at work. For the newly made or baptized in Christ are to share his own identity and work as one "sent" into the world, to witness to the reality of Christ just as Christ is "sent" into the world to give testimony of the Father. John does this nowhere more eloquently though subtley than in the following verses. In the above verseswe have a cue for this as the scene begins with the Johannine technical staging of a 'flash forward' to the trial of Jesus which can easily be depicted from this piece:
The formerly blind man appears now before Pharisees who ask him to recount his restoration of sight which he does in plain (even simple) terms. Then commences a rather typical midrashic polemicfrom the Pharisees on Jesus' qualifications and the implication of sin "for he does not observe the sabbath." This indicates John's use of this story not only to explain the effects of Baptism but is written to polemicize as has been often noted by scholars, the Church of Christ vs. the Synagogue. It has also a value as an underlying polemic as shall be seen, regarding the nature of sin to the Johannine community. As for the 'metakoi'the man born blind, the simpleness with which he treats the whole affair makes him rather unbelievable and so they call his parents to give testimony.
In the scene depicting the testimony of the parents, I detect two vignettes presented by the author. Obviously, in the first place, a continuation of a trial motif in which the 'parents' who are metaphors for the Jewish Christian community offer basic rational testimony concerning their son, but when questionedabout his receiving his sight they clam up with fear "but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.'
Monseigneur Robert M. Cokinis
(Tau Harmonius II)
Introduction
The Rite as viewed in Orthodox and Gnostic Tradition. "This sacrament is called Baptism after the central Rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (GK., baptizien) means to`plunge,'`immerse' . . . into water which the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him "a new creature". This sacrament is also called "the washing and regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, "for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Holy Spirit without which no one "can enter the Kingdom of God."This bath is called enlightenment, because those who receive this (catechetical) instruction are enlightened in their understanding, "Having received in Baptism the Word, the true light which lighteth very man," (that cometh into the world) (1)the person has been enlightened, he became a "son of Light", indeed he becomes "light" himself.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Liberia Editrice Vaticana. 1994
This quotation from the `new' Catholic Catechism is in our opinion quite sufficient to define the importance and pre-eminence of this rite to the community of Christ and the Apostles and applies equally to the so-called gnostic communities as in the orthodox. This is the founding degree of the Ecclesia instituted by John the Baptist and most exquisitely explained in St. John's Gospel. In the present paper we discuss and Ðevaluate the meanings of this `divine' operation in terms of elemental characteristics as well as it's entire meaning of the soul's journey from a gnostically presumed preexistance to¸ ultimate perfection in Christ, which was known and revered by the Apostles of Jesus then and now in a concomitance to gnosis. This we will endeavor to do within a delimination of St. John's Gospel at the Ninth Chapter using other of the Johannine writings i.e.the First Epistle, and the Apocalypse for comparative evidence. Since this paper presumes a Gnostic parlance and audience in which and to which the Ninth Chapter is written, we will quote where appropriate gnostic texts and traditions where it appears parallel to our ground. However, before we venture forth into the text of the ninth chapter itself, we should address the basic traditions (canonical and gnostic) of baptism, as well as the Johannine motifs of pre-existant sin and pre-destined redemption.
The Synoptic gospels as well as John's gospel are in mutual¸ agreement concerning the accepted mission of the Baptist whom the synoptics accord the following tradition of Isaiah 40:3;
"A voice cries out: in the wilderness to prepare the name of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the uneven ground shall be leveled and the rough places made plain.
"All the gospels introduce the Baptizer in this way as he makes his way coming forth from beyond the Jordan, in a sense re-tracing the steps of the ProphetElijah, from the place where he ascended to heaven in a fiery ball. In contradistinction, we find in the "Gospel of Thomas", (an early work of Gnostic favor and probably derived from the so-called Quelle or source material) (2), Jesus confidently conveying three sacred words to the Apostle Thomas, which were supposed to relate (in Aramaic) to the Rite of Baptism. These three "secret words" according to gnostic tradition are in Aramaic "Kavlakav, Savlasav and Zeesar", and apparently refer to the book of Isaiah 28:10:
"Whom will teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those weaned from milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept and precept upon precept,and line upon line and line upon line, here a little, there a little."
This passage by tradition has been interpreted to mean`precept' as a reference to the decalogue i.e. the Jewish commandments, and `line upon line' reference to the "stauros" or cross, and `here a little, there a little', to the regurgitation of springs in the Jordan River symbolizing apparently an upward, ascending and heavenward flow. The idea of the "reversing" the Jordan (River) is a common gnostic motif of baptism. While these two verses offer us differing ideas concerning baptism or the role of the Baptizer, they are not in opposition or isolated from one another as may be seen. Indeed both are drawn from the same source i.e. the prophet Isaiah, whose messianic messages were probably widely favored by those members of a number of Jewish baptist sects within the region. It is most plausible that the author of the ninth chapter which we here study given predilection to expound baptism knew most if not all those sects as well as their favorite scriptural verses.
Finally, as a footnote to the above it should be here pointed out that John's gospel presents an important distinction to the portrayal of the Baptizer as depicted in the synoptic gospels i.e. the identification of Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world", a harbinger to John's constant treatment of sin in the fourth gospel, and in particular as we will attempt to show `sin' primarily defined as blindness, ignorance or as unfaith. Let us now go forward to our concluding remarks i.e. treatment of St. John's theme of pre-existant sin and raison d'etre for salvation as is substage to our commentary on the ninth chapter.
More so than any other Gospel, John's gives the timeless, cosmic and universal motif of the Savior accentuated and highlighted treatment. All the Johannine writings, gospel,Epistles, Apocalypse share this distinction in the canon works of the New Testament. This is also true of the notions of sin, redemption and salvation. We here cite a few examples:
1. Pre-existant Sins:
"Everyone who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning, The Son of God was revealed for this purpose.." 1 John 3:8.
"You (the Pharisee) are from your Father, the devil...He was a murderer from the beginning." John 8:44.
"As He walked along He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" John 9:1.
2. Pre-destined Salvation:
"He (Christ) was the true light that lighteth everyone that cometh into the world." John 1:9.
"And all the inhabitants of the earth worshipped it¸(the beast) and everyone whose name has not been written in the book of life of the lamb, that was slaughtered from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8.
"Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin because they have been born of God."1 John 3:9.(epist)
In these few examples we have not only the implication directly of the pre-existant theme of sin and salvation but also an idiomatic process which I would term fourth dimensional i.e., a suspension at times of the normal divisions of time and place to seem quite arbitrary if not suspended altogether, which is so typical of Gnostic writings. This is also evident in the `ego-eimi' (I Am...) proclamation which also receives preeminence in the Johannine literature. It should be noted at this juncture that while Johannine writings refer to sin very frequently and with familiarity to the Jewish law, oddly, we have no reference in the Fourth Gospel of Adam's transgression (the epistles do cite Cain's murder of Abel) but rather appear to treat sin as if it were an error in the human person from almost creation itself! (3) What we can explicitly know from John as shall be seen is that sin constitutes `unfaith' or`choice-ignorance' and later in the Epistles, as rejection of Brotherly Love'
Finally, John makes clear that the Christian initiate is to be `born from above' (John 3:3-5), implying identification with a transcendent and alien origin altogether. And as John is known to typically show the Savior asserting the Church vs. the Synagogue,he also asserts the Seed of God against the Seed of Abraham, as if to identify the `children of light' as a unique and primordial race with it's own transcendent destiny. Such an interpretation would find parallels to very early gnostic communities like the Sethian, Barbelo and other gnostics whose mythologies seek an identification with a `race of wisdom or light'. Hence we conclude this general survey of St. Johns treatment of primordial ideas of sin and salvation with these last remarks. While John does not treat the subject of sin with the detail and technicality desirable to theologians and students of Christian forensics, his aptitude as `mystic',`visionary' and `storyteller' far surpasses any other in his generation. His ability to draw a community, a fraternity, a church or even a race of light together from mere adherents of an obscure and outcast fringe cult deserves him the title before Peter himself (with all respect) as First Patriarch of the Ecclesia. Let us review his work.
CHAPTER ONE: The Narrative Catechism of the Ninth Chapter; The Works of God In the Redeemed, & The Anointing Ceremony.
Of all the successive baptismal motifs found in John's Gospel, the Nc. stands out among them as 'suis dynamis' i.e. most explanatory of the inherent power in the introduction of Christ's light to the recipient. The story scene for the nc. has been carefully set by the preceding chapter (rather typical of John) in which Jesus' discourse in the Temple during the Festival of Lights in which he proclaims himself "Light of the World..." and finally concludes (ego eimi) as "Before Abraham was I AM". Hence opens the Nc. with a rather typical Johanine dialogue with the disciples' inquiry of the origin of the blind man's situation with clear reference to well held Jewish notions of sin; "Rabbi,who sinned, this man or his parents?", a question with a reasonable decalogical basis, (Ex. 20:5-6, Dt. 5:9, & Ps. 51:5) to which Jesus' answer is typically refutative in favor of putting the discourse into the forum of his own cosmic dynamis and gnosis, which supersedes all other laws of consequence upon this plane. He answers "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, he was born blind that God's works might be revealed in him.
We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no man can work. As long as I am in the world I am the Light of the world." Jn.9:1-3.
This narrative discourse, taking on the flavor of a catechesis has Jesus making a rather astonishing statement for the Johanine community or Church in direct juxtaposition to the orthodoxy of the Synagogue, seeming to subordinate the Law (or at least Jewish understanding of it) in favor of the perfecting remedial light which He (Christ) is. Hence the statement that "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," effectively deflects the general OT interpretation of sin in preparation for the more positive 'precept' of Faith or 'Faith-Gnosis' which is to distinguish 'the Church' vs. 'Synagogue' as well view of sin which is to characterize Johanine theology very early.
In the next statement, we become re-acquainted with Jesus' identification as the 'light sent' into the world and the Lord's admonition to "work the works of Him who sent me while it is day." This statement is another token of the Johanine dualism pervasive of all the Johanine literature and essentially gnostic in a general and subtle sense rather than radical as most would expect of gnostic dualism. In fact it can be said that John generally avoids specific treatment of complex philosophical and theological issues, while paying more detailed attention to his favorite topic's liturgy and other symbolistic expressions which seemed to be developed with a relish. In any event, this statement is full of symbolism of the demiurge of the gnostics in primitive form as Jesus references himself as a 'worker' but of the Light rather than of the darkness (and blindness) as the classic gnostic demiurge, the Lord of this world, would have been recognized to be. This is even furthermore developed in the rest of the verse:
" When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made (clay) with saliva and spread the (clay) on the man's eyes saying to him, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam (which means 'sent')'. Then he went and washed and came back able to see." Jn. 9:7.
Here the catechesis is interrupted to reveal the modus operandi, i.e., the ceremony of admission to the light, the Baptism according to Christian Theologians have tended to view this sequence as a referent to the creation of Adam and hence a reference to the 'original sin' and though certainly indeed Adam is modeled from clay, Gn 2:7, no actual referent to the original transgression is found anywhere in John as one would expect given John's frequent treatment of sin in his writings, rather we find that "neither this man nor his parents sinned". It is a frustrating facet of the Johanine writings that the origin and nature of sin are largely left untreated though in the present chapter seems to oppose the very notion of inherited sin. As we shall see, the gnostic audience is obliged to include such an interpretation, meanwhile the action of the spittle and the clay has certain referent to both creation and the demiurge in a gnostic parlance.
In Robert Ambelain's book "La Notion Gnostique du Demiurge; dans les Ecritures et les Trations Judeo-Chretiennes", a well developed depiction of the Demiurge from the OT, as the 'worker in clay' and 'the potter' is demonstrated which when compared to the Nag Hamadi text known as the "Hypostasis of the Archons orThe Reality of the Rulers" which shares many common features with our subject, we find the following"
"Their chief (the Demiurge) is blind; because of his power and his ignorance he said, with his power, 'It is I who am God..."
"then there was a voice that came forth from incorruptibility, saying, 'You are mistaken Samael' which is 'god of the blind'...This is the reason why incorruptibility looked down into the region so that by the Father's will she might bring the entirety into union with the light. The rulers (archontes) laid plans and said 'Come, let us create a man that will...be of soil (clay or mud) from the earth.' They modeled their creature as one wholly from the earth. "They had taken some soil from the earth and modeled their man...", They said, "Let us lay hold of it by means of the form we have modeled..."
"And the snake instructor, said 'With death you shall not die; for it was out of jealously that He said this to you. Rather your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, recognizing good and evil.
"The Hypostasis of the Archons"
(otherwise The Reality of the Rulers)
The above references serve to collaborate the gnostic character of the demiurge depicted as 'the worker in clay' and whom Jesus would mimic in this scene, a possible betrayal of the story of Adam though officially it is otherwise absent in the fourth gospel. This absence would be the more anomalous here given that the didactic of the nc. is generally held to be specifically directed to Jewish-Christian converts ( supposedly represented by the blind man), who are threatened with excommunication from the synagogue for professing Jesus as the Son of God sent. Furthermore, gnostic texts which are concerned with Johanine philosophy (Hypostasis of the Archons a notable example) do usually treat the story of Adam but more with focus on the primal subjugation, (of Adam and his generation) by the ruling powers'the archons', than an exploration of Adam's culpability for theintroduction of sin into the world. This may be deliberate avoidance on the author's part reflected perhaps by Jesus' own refusal to discuss the foresic issue in verse 3. The likely reason for such failure, I believe, might owe to an unresolved conflict within the Johanine community itself over 'original sin' which may have succeeded the author's life as the First Epistle of John would possible indicate. I would further propose that such a conflict would have likely to be between orthodox vs. gnostic Jewish converts. We will have an opportunity to take up this notion later in this commentary but must now return to symbolisms and functions of the anointing ceremony.
The above story of anointing with clay and saliva, while certainly to be found elsewhere in the synoptic's ( Mk. 8:22-26) but I believe here is meant to demonstrate an important initiatory significance of the ceremony within a gnostic parlance and exclusive to the community of John's followers. That is to say that the story demonstrates Christ's baptism as a remodeling or repairing the very admixture of the elements of one's ownnature in order to receive Jesus by faith and to perceive and follow him by gnosis. For if the man nor his ancestors are being punished for any sin but rather he is "born blind" that "God's works might be revealed 'in him' " this gesture would truly compliment that purpose and we will see in the next section that a reference is found for this man to be almost unrecognizable to his fellow townsmen consequent to this act! But let us divert for a moment to references elsewhere in the Johanine literatureas may show the general virtues inherent in anointing as would be known to the community:
"But you have been anointed by the Holy One (the Christ) an you have all Knowledge 1 Jn. 1:20 and
"As for you, the anointing you received from him (the Christ) abides in you and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you all things.
"and returning to our favorite gnostic text we find: "Thus the authorities (the World) cannot approach them because of the Spirit of Truth present with in them; and all who have become acquainted with this Way exist deathless in the midst of the dying mankind. Still that sown element (the sperema) will not become known now" ... until the true man within a modelled-form reveals the existence of the Spirit which the Father has sent. Then he will teach him everything and he will anoint them with the unction of eternal life given him from theundominated generation. Then they will be freed from the bondage of blind thought: They will trample death under foot, which is of the authorities (the World) and will ascend to the limitless light where the sown element (sperema-seed) belongs." and "Then all the children of light will be truly acquainted with truth."
"The Hypostasis of the Archons"
These passages, both from the canon writings attributed to John's immediate community, i.e., within the apostolic generation, as well from the slightly later but not less Johaninely interested community of the 'Hypostasis of the Archons' seem to agree on many points of an anointing ceremonies virtue, including the presence of God's seed within the children of light, which 'teaches all things', and bestows eternal life. There is some weakness in the nc's lack of development for what might in gnostic parlance be termed the doctrine of the clot, and while the elements of clay and saliva work to imply a remodeling of the man born blind, i.e., his hylic and psychic deficits, Joh does not divert to explain this potentially transformative effect upon his nature. Yet as we shall see later in the nc., John does go on to an exposition of man's revelation of Christ as the light of the world, through the course of discipleship, ultimately showing in paerenesis unfaith as ignorance or blindness, the primal sin and the origin of darkness.
Preface to Part II
(A few notes on the dualisms in part I¸) Before going forward to our evaluation of the issue in "Discipleship and the paerenesis of the Metakoi" in part II, we should address in a few lines or so the dualistic themes presented in part I, as they are also an important undercurrent of gnostic parlance as we have sought to demonstrate in this manuscript. Firstly, we would put forth for general understanding of St. John the author (or authors) of the last gospel (so-called) that John's gospel does not merely betray dualism but in fact 'multi-dualisms' as does so much of gnostic writing. It seems to me that those who suggest that while John is 'dualistic' yet not in the sense of the gnostic's radical dualism hence protecting the Johanine writings to orthodoxy, we should bear in mind that most new religions, created from old ones are usually viewed as radical to the former religion while hardly radical to the new one.
This distinction is important, I believe, since it is the habit of so-called scholars to criticize gnostic vs. non-gnostic or quasi-gnostic writing on the basis of a radical form. In fact, the radicalism of gnostic theology is put forth by those heresiologists who have done so for reasons not disinterested to their own motive or point of view. I believe this may be a trap, for the present day gnostic church and tradition does not view itself as any more radicalized than Christianity is itself from the view of its Jewish parent. But, to return to dualism in the first part of the N.c. we would not the following:
The text of the Nc we have in the first seven verses alone no less than three instances of dualism either evident or implied. Firstly, in vs. 1, as Jesus passes by he sees a man 'blind frombirth', which insinuates 'from the beginning' since we know that this passage is to relate to the 'race' or 'seed' of Abraham (see end of eighth chapter which lead in the Nc.), i.e., the Jews. This passage is left open, awaiting (in Johannine style) a completion at the end of N.c. Secondly, the dualistic referent to mundane time, "We must work the works of Him who sent me, while it is still day; night comes when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the World." Here we have 'double' dualism, in that we have a 'flash back' to the prologue of Light and Darkness, famous to this gospel, and secondly to 'the works' of man vs. God, which is so important in the eventual theological value of John to the new Church!
Part II., The Discipleship of the Baptized (of the Metakoi) in John N.c.
With the anointing and washing ceremonies concluded and sight restored to the subject of this story, we now are quickly referred to the task that awaits him as a witness to the 'Light' which has lightened the eyes of the blind man who we shall refer to (in gnostic parlance) as 'metakoi', that is 'way farer'. At once it becomes clear that a dramatic transformation of the man has occurred, so that his own neighbors, (many of whom it can be assumed are not baptized while others may be) cannot recognize or 'know' him. This was to the gnostic and Johannite alike an important fact of initiation
"The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man" (a flash forward to 'ecce home' and the trial of Jesus). But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" ... They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was the sabbath day...
"Now, what has occurred in these few verses is most fascinating from a gnostic point of view for it gives us a very clear referent for docetism or what I would term "dualism of person." However, the docetism identified here and as I have written in my last paper "Docetism and the Christology of the Gnostics" is a doctrine which supposes either Jesus, or His passion, or Hismiraculous signs to be a mirage or phantom appearance, or merely symbolical rendering, but rather a teaching of the gnostics as well and especially with in the Johannine community with regard to the dualism of the gnosis itself, in effect rendering the truth and the truth of things to be incomprehensible nay even confounded in the 'sight' of the uninitiated that is unbaptized and unbelieving 'world'. This dynamic 'occultation' is poignantly depicted here but has referents in many other places in John's writings, for instance:
"The reason 'the world' does not know us is that it did not know him."... "What we know is this: when he is revealed we will be 'like' him, for we will see him as he is." 1 Jn. 3: 1-2.
The above quotes are also supported in Paul's epistle to the Colossians and also referent to the state of the baptized:
"So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above... for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, is revealed then you will also be revealed with him in glory." Colossians, 3: 1-4.
This disguise provided by the new light of Christ is the basis for the gnostic didactic of the 'metakoi' who is in the world but not of it. Those familiar with the gnostic paerenesis "The Hymnof the Pearl" will at once see this formula at work. For the newly made or baptized in Christ are to share his own identity and work as one "sent" into the world, to witness to the reality of Christ just as Christ is "sent" into the world to give testimony of the Father. John does this nowhere more eloquently though subtley than in the following verses. In the above verseswe have a cue for this as the scene begins with the Johannine technical staging of a 'flash forward' to the trial of Jesus which can easily be depicted from this piece:
The formerly blind man appears now before Pharisees who ask him to recount his restoration of sight which he does in plain (even simple) terms. Then commences a rather typical midrashic polemicfrom the Pharisees on Jesus' qualifications and the implication of sin "for he does not observe the sabbath." This indicates John's use of this story not only to explain the effects of Baptism but is written to polemicize as has been often noted by scholars, the Church of Christ vs. the Synagogue. It has also a value as an underlying polemic as shall be seen, regarding the nature of sin to the Johannine community. As for the 'metakoi'the man born blind, the simpleness with which he treats the whole affair makes him rather unbelievable and so they call his parents to give testimony.
In the scene depicting the testimony of the parents, I detect two vignettes presented by the author. Obviously, in the first place, a continuation of a trial motif in which the 'parents' who are metaphors for the Jewish Christian community offer basic rational testimony concerning their son, but when questionedabout his receiving his sight they clam up with fear "but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.'
Monseigneur Robert M. Cokinis
(Tau Harmonius II)