Antisemitism and The New Testament - Jewish-Christian Conflict in The New Testament - Gospel of John - Later Commentary

Later Commentary

Successive generations of Christians read in the Gospel of John the collective guilt of Jews, universally and in all generations, in the death of Christ. John's use of the collective expression "the Jews" is likely explained by the historical circumstances in which and audience for which he wrote. After the destruction of the Temple in the year 70, the Jewish priesthood, and thus the class of the Sadducees, no longer existed. As John wrote his Gospel after these events, for a Gentile audience, he spoke generically of Jews, rather than specifying a group within Judaism that no longer existed and that would have been unfamiliar to his readers.

Most commentators consider that Jesus' statements refer to the specific group of Pharisees he was addressing, or possibly the Pharisaic movement as a whole, but not to the Jewish people as a whole, which would have included Jesus and all his followers. On the other hand, some retort that Rabbinic Judaism is the heir of the Pharisees and that the verse should still be considered an attack on Judaism as a whole.

It has been argued that John's descriptions of the Jews ought to be read in context of the persecution of Christians in the New Testament. John is commonly thought to be the "last apostle", given that eleven of the twelve original apostles met a martyr's death, having been killed in unusual circumstances. Stephen is executed by stoning. Before his conversion, Saul (who later became better known as Paul of Tarsus) puts followers of Jesus in prison. After his conversion, Saul is whipped at various times by Jewish authorities, and is accused by Jewish authorities before Roman courts.

Read more about this topic:  Antisemitism And The New Testament, Jewish-Christian Conflict in The New Testament, Gospel of John

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