Water and the Word
I love reading the Gospel according to John. But I confess that it’s been 12 years since I read it closely—or at least as closely as I did for a Greek exegesis class I took my Junior year at Grove City College. T. David Gordon was my professor. For fifteen weeks we meticulously worked through the original Greek of John 1-12. Translating required me to read the text more slowly than I would have had it been in English. And this attentive reading enabled me to see themes I’d never noticed (including certain word play in the original Greek). It was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
But as I said, it’s been a minute since I read John with similar care. So when I saw Palestinian scholar Yohanna Katanacho’s essay “Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes,” I thought, “It’s time to return to a close reading of John.”
I’m nearly half-way through Katanacho’s essay, and I’ve loved every page. Indeed, I anticipate offering several brief meditations on it. Here I share two paragraphs in which Katanacho traces John’s discussion of water (τὸ ὕδωρ). Katanacho will have the last word. Enjoy!
First, water is important in the Gospel of John. In John 1, we see the waters of baptism. In John 2 we encounter water being transformed into wine. In John 3 Nicodemus had to be born from the water and the spirit-Spirit. In John 4 Christ gives the Samaritan woman water that springs with eternal life. In John 5 another sign is connected to water. In John 6 we see Jesus walking on the water. In John 7 Jesus talks about the living water (i.e., the Holy Spirit). In John 9 Jesus ask the blind man to wash in Siloam, another water scene. In John 11:55 we are reminded of the importance of water to cleansing. However, in John 13 Jesus states that water does not guarantee cleansing. Last, in John 19:34 water is mentioned yet again. To say the least, it seems that John is really interested in using water as a motif. The water in John 2 was needed for cleansing. Religious people had to ritually cleanse themselves in order to keep the requirements of first century Judaism. The text implies that all the water jars are filled with water. In other words, Jesus resolves the problem of not having wine and creates a new problem. There is no longer water at the wedding. People no longer have any ritual means to cleanse themselves.
This leads me to my second observation. What is the means of cleansing if there is no water? The Gospel of John is like a tapestry; certain themes or words run through it. One of these important words is hour. Jesus tells his mother that his hour has not yet come. At the same time he performs the sign. Jesus is pointing out that the basis of the coming messianic age that is full of joy is not miracles but is the hour. He clarifies that the hour has not come. The “hour becomes a theological leitmotif that encapsulates Jesus’ passion, his glorification, and human redemption.” [Quoting Craig Morrison, 2005]. John uses the label hour in John 7:30; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1. Taken together, these texts clarify that John uses the word hour to refer to the cross and glorification of Jesus Christ. Put differently, the hour becomes the indispensable foundation for the new world order, or the messianic age. It is associated with all the elements of the new world order and it is the means by which the elements of Pharisaic Judaism are transformed and integrated into a Christocentric reality. The cleansing water of Judaism cannot be transformed into the messianic wine without the hour and all the meaning it carries.
