preferences, preconceptions, and even prejudices” (The Interpretation of the Fourth
Gospel, p. 290).
If, on the other hand, the premise is false, then the situation is entirely different.
There remains the possibility that the Gospel was indeed written according to the
principles of parallelism rather than according to the principles of narrative. That this
is more than a mere possibility may be deduced from the fact that chiastic parallelism
as a structural principle in ancient Middle Eastern books has been amply documented
in the last fifty years for both classical and biblical authors. C. H. Talbert is
undoubtedly correct in his contention that books in the ancient Middle East were
frequently written according to the laws of chiastic parallelism, and in his subsequent
judgment that “. . . the very law of duality (i.e., parallelism) by which one part is made
to correspond to another by being either analogous or contrasting seems deeply
rooted in Near Eastern mentality” (Literary Patterns, Theological Themes, and the
Genre of Luke-Acts, p. 74).
In addition, I believe that John’s Gospel is not simply constructed according to
the principles of chiastic parallelism, but also that each of its parts, numbering five,
and each of the twenty-one individual sequences of the Gospel is constructed
according to the principles of chiastic parallelism.
The following study will demonstrate that John creates his parallelism most
often by repeating either the same words or the same content. Occasionally he
creates parallelisms by means of antithetic parallelism, i.e., by contrasting a negative
with a positive or a positive with a negative situation or concept. On rare occasions
he not only parallels words and content, but even the literary form of a sequence..Page 24 Introduction
Chiastic Structure of the Gospel
In the following outline of the Gospel, the reader will notice that the Gospel is
divided into twenty-one sequences, with the first mirrored back by the twenty-first,
the second mirrored back by the twentieth, the third by the nineteenth, and so through
the entire Gospel, with the eleventh sequence (6:16-21) standing starkly alone in the
center. This has been done because each sequence constitutes a well-defined unit
either because of unity of place or time or theme or situation. Ideally these sequences
should take the place of the old chapter arrangement of the Gospel that comes from
Stephen Langton, who in 1226 divided the Gospel into its present very poor
arrangement of chapters and verses.
The original Gospel, like almost all ancient books, contained neither chapters
nor verses nor even paragraphs. Scholars are agreed that Langton’s division is almost
entirely arbitrary, and they have attempted to rectify the situation by retaining
Langton’s chapters and verses but adding titles or headings to indicate where they
believe John would have begun new chapters and paragraphs if he were writing his
Gospel today.
In the following outline, because of limitation of space, only the most obvious
parallels of persons, places, and situation can be indicated in bold type. Following
the commentary on each sequence, beginning with the fourth, the reader will find a
listing of the full range of parallels John has created in order to compose his Gospel
according to the laws of parallelism.
Commentators down through the centuries have been all too content to laud
John’s Gospel for its theological depth and for its occasional brilliant literary sorties.
But on the whole, they apologized for the seemingly pedestrian literary gifts of the
author. When John is seen through the focus of chiastic parallelism, this judgment
has to be revised. Any author who could compose so elaborate a structure with such
artistic attention to detail and over so long a work deserves to be ranked with the best
of antiquity’s literary artists.
As you study John’s chiastic structure on the next
page, note particularly how he has paralleled part
with part, sequence with sequence, and section with
section. The total effect of such a structure when
presented to the eye is similar to the effect of an
elaborate mosaic or a large Persian rug.
The Rewards of Parallelism
Studying the chiastic outline of John’s Gospel on page 25, the reader will notice
that the author has paralleled in a chiastic structure PART for PART, SEQUENCE
with SEQUENCE, and SECTION with SECTION. With the relative ease which the
literary style of John can now be detected, this study will make it a key that virtually
anyone can use to gain access to the all too often “hidden” treasures of the Scriptures.
Richard Greene Moulton emphasizes the importance of printing the text in such
a way that the chiastic structure can be seen visually and thus adverted to: “The
essential thing is that the verse structure should be represented to the eye by proper
printing of the text. Where this is done further explanation is superfluous; where
structural arrangement is wanting, no amount of explanation is likely to be of much
avail.”
Admittedly, such a structure is alien to modern experience and difficult to
appreciate. But for the reader who is willing to study the principles of parallel
structure and apply them to the Gospel of John as a whole, the aesthetic, literary, and
theological rewards are considerable.
Leaving aside the aesthetic rewards, which are too subjective to be adequately
described, and leaving until later the theological rewards, the literary rewards can be
described briefly..Page 28 Introduction
First, sequences of the Gospel and sections of sequences which seem to
Bultmann and others to be out of their original place in the Gospel and which they
accordingly move either backward or forward in the Book to achieve a more flowing
and continuous narrative are seen to be precisely where the principles of chiastic
parallelism require them to be (e.g., 2:13-25; 3:22-36; chapters 5, 6, 7).
Second, sections of the Gospel which are considered by many to be doublets of
earlier sections, and which are therefore deduced to be the work of inept editors, are
seen to be artistic and necessary parallels of their chiastic counterparts when judged
according to the principles of chiastic parallelism (e.g., 3:22-36 parallels 1:19-31
and chapters 16–17 parallel 13:1–14:31).
Third, individual sequences and sections of sequences whose beginnings and
ends are difficult to determine when one expects them to follow the principles of
narrative are seen to have clear and definite beginnings and endings when one reads
them according to the principles of chiastic parallelism.
Fourth, such pericopes as 2:13-25 (the cleansing of the Temple), 11:1-54 (the
Lazarus story and the priests’ plot), to name but two, have always posed problems
for those who read John according to the principles of narrative. According to the
principles of parallelism, both pericopes are exactly where they belong, the Temple
pericope balancing the Passion narrative (the destroying of the body of Jesus) and
the Lazarus pericope balancing the “bread of life” promise in 6:32-58.
Lastly, many have adverted to what has been called the “spiral” movement of
John’s thought. They have seen this spiral movement, however, as peculiar,
confusing, and repetitive. When the spiral movement is seen as part and parcel of
John’s chiastic parallelism, it ceases to be peculiar and becomes artistic; it ceases to
be confusing and serves to clarify; it ceases to be repetitious and becomes balanced
and supportive.
There may be no more effective way to promote an ongoing renewal in biblical
studies today than to teach and encourage Christians to read the Scriptures according
to the same principles by which they were composed.
Finally, one may ask, why John intentionally arrange his composition according
to the principles of parallelism? Some possible answers are: (1) in order that the work
might be the more easily memorized; (2) in order that corresponding parts might help
to interpret one another; (3) in order to give to his grand theme a suitable artistic form.Introduction Page 29
in the same way that Vergil chose dactylic hexameters for his theme; (4) in order to
present his work to the world in the same parallel literary pattern used so extensively
in the Old Testament and other epic works of the Middle Eastern authors.
CONCLUSION
We conclude, therefore, that neither interpreters of the Fourth Gospel nor
translators should ignore the help given to them by an author when he chooses
parallelism as his method of composition.
After a close study of John’s Gospel, the reader will be awe struck by his literary
genius. Rarely in Western literature has form been woven into content, pattern sewn
into meaning, structure forged into theme with greater subtlety or success. The result
is a Gospel of profound paradox that first reveals then resolves itself in absolute
symmetry. To look closely at the major patterns of paradox is to discover how the
literal level of the Gospel fully engenders the meaning and how pattern finally
unravels predication.
The Gospel of John is the most intricately composed, complex and relatively
long opus in the New Testament. The author did not mind, however, breaking his
Gospel up into manageable pieces. Even in the central part of his composition, which
is strictly coherent, he has paid the greatest attention to the individual sequences and
sections. The grand effect of the Fourth Gospel is due to its parts melting into one
continuous whole.