I continue The Resurrection of the Son of God in Chapter 17, pp. 662-682. This chapter covers Easter resurrection passages in the Gospel of John, specifically the last two chapters of John, 20-21.
Wright immediately notes that John has more garden detail than the other Gospels (p. 664). Grave clothes, Jesus meeting Mary, Peter and John running to the tomb.
John has modeled his Gospel on creation; he begins with the familiar words of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning,” the number seven is significant throughout John’s Gospel, and Wright suggests that the way John ends his Gospel is pointing to the beginning of new creation. The day Jesus is crucified, Friday (day 6), Pilate announces, “Behold the man,” (19:5) which should remind us of the creation of humanity on day 6 in Genesis (p. 667). Jesus “rests” in the tomb on day 7, as God rested on the Sabbath, and Jesus rises from the dead “on the first day of the week.” (20:1) A new week has begun! We find ourselves in a garden scene, like humanity was placed in a garden. Jesus breathes on his disciples (20:22), reminding us of God breathing into humanity the breath of life in Gen. 2:7. Wright suggests that resurrection in John is the eighth sign, again, signaling the beginning of God’s new creation (p. 669). Whereas the original creation ends with the creation of humanity, in God’s new creation, it begins with the renewed Human.
And who is this renewed Human? Wright notes that the angels sitting at the head and foot in the grave (20:12) “function like cherubim at either end of the mercy-seat of the ark.” (p. 668) Who cannot be represented physically by the ark? God! Who is Jesus? This Human is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, writes Paul in Col. 1:15. He is the one to Whom the angels bow.
Wright discusses how tightly integrated the resurrection story of John 20 is to the rest of the gospel on pp. 668-74. The purpose of Wright’s project being to respond to the historical Jesus debates and claims that much of Christianity was invented later (especially the resurrection). On the contrary, Wright argues chapter 20 is tightly woven into the narrative and themes of the book. You can’t just separate chapter 20 from John and have a complete story.
Chapter 21 of John is a different question. It is evident from reading the end of chapter 20 that the narrative is complete. The author sums up his purpose and is finished. Wright suggests that John 21 was added later to answer two questions: what about Peter’s denial and why isn’t the author going to live until Jesus returns? This chapter gives us the reconciliation of Peter and an explanation that Jesus’ rebuke of Peter was hypothetical in its example of John living until He returns (21:22-24). Likely, these were both questions that had become issues as it became obvious John was about to die. “But I thought Jesus told you that you would remain until He returns!” “No, beloved, let me tell you a story and why don’t you write it down this time.”
With this chapter on John, Wright has completed his survey of the gospels. Resurrection is an essential theme, neither a later addition nor an invented story tacked on to a jumble of other stories. It is thoroughly rooted in Jewish expectations and yet diverges from the way first-century Jewish people expected. In the final two chapters of his book, Wright will conclude his argument on resurrection.