The third event based on the first statement in the chapter is the calling of a new community. The incarnate Word, Jesus, formed a discipleship community with those who came to him and those whom he called. In the process of forming the new community, the ‘being together’ of the Word with God is reflected. The divine relationship in the beginning has been expressed by the special verb σκηνόω in the second event, the incarnation of the Word, and now the specific ‘being together’ of Jesus with the new community begins within the bigger picture of σκηνόω of the incarnate Word among humanity.
In the narrative of forming a new community (1:37-51), two verbs (ἀκολουθέω and μένω) need to be noted. The narrative begins with the first verb ἀκολουθέω (to follow). The two disciples of the Baptist follow Jesus after they were introduced to ‘the Lamb of God’ (1:36) by their master. The verb ἀκολουθέω appears four times32 in the
narrative. The first three times are used for the two disciples who follow Jesus, and the fourth one is used when Jesus calls Philip to follow him (1:43). The verb ἀκολουθέω
appears again in the last chapter of the Gospel when Jesus commands Peter to follow him (21:19, 22). Even though the same verb ἀκολουθέω is used both in the beginning (1:37) and in the last scene of the Gospel, the disciples’ understanding of ‘following’ would be very different. Newbigin (1982, 19) describes the whole Fourth Gospel ‘as an exposition of what it will mean to “follow Jesus”’. Bauckham (2015, 146) also supports this, saying,
The literal following prefigures the true following that is possible only after the passion week. The two momentous weeks correspond in that the disciples become disciples of Jesus in the first week, but only in the passion week are they taught what it will mean for them truly to follow Jesus on the way through the cross to glory that he himself takes in that week.
The true meaning of the first verb ἀκολουθέω, however, needs to be supplemented by the second verb μένω (to remain) in two ways.
First, the true meaning of ἀκολουθέω can be achieved by remaining (μένω). The narrative shows a picture of the process through the first two disciples. They follow (ἀκολουθέω, 1:37) Jesus calling him ‘Teacher’, stay (μένω, 1:39) with him on the day they meet Jesus and tell Peter that they have found (εὑρίσκω, 1:41) the Messiah. The new community begins with ἀκολουθέω and works through μένω and eventually εὑρίσκω. This process can be applied to the whole narrative of the Gospel. The disciples follow (without fully understanding what it means) Jesus, stay (being together) with him learning through the whole life of Jesus including the cross and resurrection, then understand what it means to follow Jesus. Without μένω, the new community cannot reach the point of understanding the true meaning of ἀκολουθέω. In this sense, the whole Gospel can be read as a process of the discipleship community ‘being together’ with Jesus learning the true meaning of following him. The Evangelist uses the verb μένω 40 times in the Gospel. The ‘to stay’ or ‘to abide’ is an important theme of the Gospel not only because of the frequency of the use of the verb but also because of Jesus’ intimacy with the Father and also with his disciples by being together with them. Secondly, the ultimate purpose of ἀκολουθέω is associated with μένω. In other words, the new community follows Jesus to be with him forever. The ‘being together’ should not be seen just as a preparation for the following, rather it is the goal of the following. The Evangelist uses the noun form of μένω (μονή) twice in the Gospel. The μονή is the place the Father owns, which Jesus will prepare for the community (14:2) and also the place where God will abide with the one who loves him (14:23). In a sense, the ‘being together’ is the ultimate goal of God for the new community, and the Gospel
70
could be described ‘as an exposition of what it will mean to remain (μένω) with God through Jesus’ (cf Newbigin, 1982, 19).
At the end of the new community section (1:44-51), which is the end of the chapter, Jesus presents what the new community will see. Jesus talks to Nathanael who came to him by the invitation of another disciple, Philip, and says to him, ‘you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’ (1:51). In this verse, Jesus substitutes himself for the ladder (stairway in NIV) in Jacob’s story in Genesis (28:12) meaning that he is the place where God meets humanity. The idea that Jesus is the meeting place in the incarnation episode (Tabernacle and Temple) is affirmed by what Jesus says to Nathanael. Those are the places where God enters into a personal relationship with his people. At the ladder, God promised Jacob that he would be with him and watch over him wherever he goes (Gen 28:15a). In the ‘tent of meeting’, ‘[t]he Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend’ (Exod 33:11a). The relationship Jesus anticipates for the new community is to be friends with him. The meaning of friend is revealed in what Jesus says to his disciples after his being together with them. Jesus says, ‘I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you’ (15:15b).
To summarize the discussion to this point, the relationship between God and the Word revealed in the first statement is represented by the Word, Jesus, in the following three events and provides the basis for them. Since those Johannine grand narrative themes show the missional story of God in the Gospel, I maintain that relationship is a central theme in the mission of God, and it is important to examine how Jesus reveals this relationship as he shapes and equips his disciples throughout the rest of the Gospel.