Craig R. Koester > Quotes

“Jesus does not categorically reject the idea that God might ever punish someone for sin, and John’s Gospel does assume that sinners are subject to judgment (3:36; 5:29). Similarly, Jesus does not deny that human actions might bring negative consequences, since people do perform actions that injure themselves and their children. The idea is that suffering is not always a penalty for some wrongful act.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Surely we are not blind, are we?” And Jesus responds, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (9:39–41).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“The Father sent Jesus to bring release from sin (1:29; 3:17), and Jesus sends his followers to bring this message to the world. Yet retaining sins by holding people to account is the essential corollary to this, since forgiveness without accountability lets sin continue unchallenged. Jesus identified sin in order to overcome it, and this also shapes the mission of his disciples. The Spirit “blows where it chooses” (3:8), but its handiwork can be seen where faith is evoked, where sin is brought to light, and where people come to know the risen Jesus and his Father, who abide within the community of faith.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“The Gospel consistently ascribes betrayal to the powers of evil, and says that at each juncture Christ responded to evil with graciousness.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Nathanael acclaims Jesus as Son of God and King of Israel (1:47–49). He believes because of what Jesus “said” to him without seeing any miracles (1:50). Then Jesus says that having come to faith, Nathanael and others like him “will see” greater things. They “will see” the glory of God revealed in the Son of Man (1:51).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“It does not say that the Lamb takes away “guilt” but that he takes away sin—he removes unbelief. The Gospel does not relate Jesus’ death to the need for divine justice but to the need for human faith.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Yet the idea that God wills the betrayal does not fit the wider context. Throughout the Gospel Judas is given the same favor that the other disciples receive. Jesus includes him among his twelve disciples, even though Judas is already a devil (6:70–71). He washes Judas’s feet even though Judas remains unclean (13:10–11). He even feeds Judas, only to have Satan enter him (13:27). The betrayal is explicitly said to come from the devil, not from God (13:2).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“John poses clear alternatives when calling people to faith and life. Yet if taken alone, this can make his Gospel seem simplistic. One might conclude that people either know nothing of God or they know him completely, that they are either in the darkness or are fully enlightened. Here it is essential to recall how the Gospel portrays specific human beings.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Characters in the Gospel respond to the signs with genuine faith if they have already been brought to faith by what they have heard from or about Jesus.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Sending presupposes that God is separated from the world and yet engaged with the world. A gap stands between God and human beings, and for a genuine relationship to exist this gap must be overcome.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“In John’s Gospel human life is seen in relation to Christ and to the God who sent him.1”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“The Gospel lets readers hear several points of view, not just one. The theological significance of the signs emerges from the clash of different perspectives. When Jesus heals a paralytic and blind man on the Sabbath, some identify him as a lawbreaker. This perspective has internal coherence for many of Jesus’ opponents. For them, healing is a form of work; work is forbidden on the Sabbath; therefore Jesus has deliberately broken the law of God and is a sinner (5:16; 9:16a). Yet others point out the problem with this line of thought. Jesus has been empowered to heal, and healing consistent with the will of God. From their perspective Jesus is not a sinner (5:19; 9:16b, 30–33). The evangelist clearly advocates the second point of view, but he must make the case for Jesus over against the contrary interpretation.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“God’s gift of the Spirit is related to his gift of the Son, but placing them together shows that neither can be taken without the other. In the wider context of the Gospel we find that the Spirit works through the message of Christ, and the message of Christ is effective because the Spirit makes it so.7”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“What is peculiar is that the first line calls the thirsty person to come, and the second line invites the believer to drink. This suggests that thirsty people and believers are in some way alike, which nuances and deepens the Gospel’s understanding of faith. Elsewhere it seems more clear-cut: Apart from faith people thirst, and those who believe no longer thirst (4:14; 6:35). But this passage recognizes that thirsting and believing actually coexist.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“If sin is the unbelief that separates people from God, then the Lamb of God removes sin by removing unbelief. In Johannine theology, sin is taken away when faith is evoked. Sin is the opposite of faith, and both are relational notions. If sin is a deadly alienation from God, then faith is a life-giving relationship with God. The death of Christ takes sin away when it creates faith in the face of unbelief.12 For this to occur, the death of Christ must call forth human faith in God by conveying God’s love to humankind.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“the faith generated through words is sometimes confirmed by signs. It also creates the perspective from which signs can be understood. It even persists without signs. For people in later generations, the words that can evoke faith are communicated through the witness of Jesus’ followers, including that of the Fourth Evangelist. Through the Gospel the signs of Jesus come to readers in verbal form. The signs are made visible through the words of the Gospel.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“It is the transition from love of self into the service of Christ. All people will lose themselves and their lives—death is a given for everyone—but those who relinquish themselves in service to Christ remain in a relationship that bears fruit and brings them life. In this context they are no longer alone. They are with Jesus, sharing in community with him and his Father. And this relationship has a future through the promise of resurrection.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“In contemporary usage, holiness can have the negative connotations associated with moralistic piety. In its basic sense, however, what is holy is “set apart” from what is common and is dedicated to God’s purposes. According to John, being holy or set apart is not an end in itself but a prerequisite for engaging the world. Those who are fully identified with the world are not in a position to speak the truth to it. They have no means to confront it. But Jesus was sanctified or set apart in order to be sent into the world with a truth that is different from what the world offers (10:36).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“During Jesus’ ministry the words people hear from or about Jesus enable them to make sense of the signs they see. For readers living after Jesus’ resurrection, this means that they have what is essential: they have received the words from and about Jesus.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“There is no suggestion that God destines Judas for destruction.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“The serpent on the pole was a visible reminder of sin and God’s judgment upon it (Num. 21:4–7).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Like self-love, self-hatred can become an isolating preoccupation with oneself—and a debilitating self-loathing makes relationship impossible.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“If God is the giver of life, one may wonder why illness exists or why one person becomes ill and another does not. Yet the Gospel does not offer theological explanations for these questions. Instead, the Gospel reframes the issue. This is done most directly in the story of the man born blind. When the disciples see the blind man sitting along the street in Jerusalem, they ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, so that he was born blind?” (9:2).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“God commanded Jesus not only to lay down his life but to take it up again (10:17–18).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“Retaining sins is a confrontational action that reaches its goal when the hearers recognize their accountability and are moved to change by embracing the release that comes through faith.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“There are usually several dimensions to each of these topics, and this creates tensions in the Gospel.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“John 3, which anticipates that as Moses lifted up the serpent on the pole, so must the Son of Man be lifted up on the cross, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (3:14–15). The passage goes on to say that it was because God so loved the world that he gave his only Son—and in light of the previous verses God’s giving of the Son includes giving him up to die (3:16). It was because God so loved the world that he gave his only Son up to death, so that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. If on one level the crucifixion conveys Jesus’ love for those who followed him, on another level it conveys God’s love for the world that hated him.”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“John refers to flesh differently than does Paul”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“So what is Jesus’ role in judgment? Sometimes he says that the Father has given him responsibility for judgment and that he judges according to God’s will (5:22, 30). Elsewhere the Gospel says that Jesus was not sent to judge but to save (3:17). Paradoxically, Jesus can say that he does and yet does not judge (8:15–16, 26).”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel

“The evangelist understands that there is a divinely appointed hour for Jesus’ death,”
― Craig R. Koester, The Word of Life: A Theology of John's Gospel