Texts in Conversation
John and Rabbinic tradition in tractate Sanhedrin similarly value belief without direct experience. In John a disciple believes only after seeing the risen Jesus. In Sanhedrin a student is critiqued for doubting his teacher until he witnesses it himself.
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John 20:29
New Testament
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” 28 Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
Sanhedrin 100a
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
Sometime later that student’s ship set sail at sea. He saw the ministering angels cutting precious stones that size. He said to the angels: For whom are these stones? The angels said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is destined to place them at the gates of Jerusalem. When the student returned, he found Rabbi Yoḥanan, who was sitting and teaching. The student said to him: My teacher, teach, and it is fitting for you to teach. Just as you said with regard to the precious stones, so I saw. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Good-for-nothing, if you did not see it, you would not believe it? You are one who mocks the statements of the Sages. Rabbi Yoḥanan directed his eyes toward him in anger and rendered him a pile of bones.
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... John’s use of testimony is not confined to a juridical frame, but is used in a broader context to include the revelation of God. In the Old Testament, sense perception is important in divine revelation and the emotional impact of the divine presence. This revelation is often expressed in the language of testimony. The main issue in John is how Jesus reveals God. There is a similarity here to what we often find in the Old Testament, where God and his will are revealed in sense-perceptible ways. Thus, we argue that John is following Jewish tradition in which sense perception and testimony operate together in the theology of revelation ..."
Wang, Kuan Hui
Sense Perception and Testimony in the Gospel According to John
(p. 22) Durham University, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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