The concept and activity of obedience can be regarded as fundamental to human existence as well as to Christian religion. The focus of this study was to investigate the occurrence of this concept in the Gospel of John. Of the two well-known Greek nouns ὑπακοή and ἀπειθέω (translated as ‘obedience’), and the two related verbs ὑπακούω and ἀπειθέω (translated as ‘obedient’), only ἀπειθέω occurs once (3:36) in the Gospel of John. The verb τηρέω has been used several times and not consistently translated because of diverse literary contexts. The objective of this study was to point out how the Gospel of John is filled with the obedience concept and how it was implied from different perspectives. The following themes associated with obedience will be discussed: (1) obedience to God as Father, (2) the essence of obedience – to love, (3) various expressions of obedience, (4) the ability to obey, (5) Christian obedience is to become like Jesus and (6) the rewards of being obedient.
The concept and activity, ‘obedience’, are understood as a virtue fundamental to human existence, as well as fundamentally essential and important for the Christian religion. This article investigates the occurrence of ‘obedience’ in the Gospel of John. To experience God’s blessings and enjoy God’s communion, God should be obeyed.
This study approaches the concept of obedience as a person’s will to comply with an instruction, invitation, proposal or laws of authority and custom. Secular and religious societies across many cultures and eras seem to accept that obedience is an indispensable custom: a custom to be respected and observed in our homes, workplaces and communities to which we belong. This is evident from everyday life, where obedience emerges as a lifelong norm to be respected and to be adhered to by all people. Hence, in terms of concept and activity, obedience is understood as a virtue fundamental to human existence, as well as fundamentally essential and important for the Christian religion.
There are very little academic publications on the explicit use and featuring of the noun, ‘obedience’ and the verb ‘obedient’, in the Bible.
Obedience implies the existence of a relationship. In the Gospel of John, believers learn through the example (ὑπόδειγμα, 13:15) of Jesus that they are called to a relationship with Jesus and consequently a life of obedience. Anyone who wants to know God – who wants to walk closely with God – must obey God. This seems to be a strong declaration. Unfortunately, no other way exists to draw believers into a close relationship with God, experience entirely God’s blessings and enjoy the communion that believers desire,
The objective of this study was pointing out how the Gospel of John is filled with the concept of obedience, even though the noun and verb do not explicitly occur. The following themes associated with obedience will be discussed: (1) obedience to God as Father, (2) the essence of obedience – to love, (3) various expressions of obedience, (4) the ability to obey, (5) Christian obedience is to become like Jesus and (6) the rewards of being obedient.
Obedience should always have an object. According to the Gospel of John, both God and Jesus are referred to as objects of obedience. Jesus legitimises his obedience in his references to God as Father. The Johannine use of the noun
According to Meyer (
The title ‘father’ calls familial imagery into play. The unique usage of ‘father’ in the Gospel of John was established upon the distinctive and revelatory practice of Jesus (cf. 1:18). This kind of usage effected some consequences in the picturing of Jesus and his followers to whom he preached. For Jesus, the inference of ‘Father’ was to proclaim the reign and authority of God (cf. D’Angelo
According to Koester (
God is also referred to as the Father of believers after Jesus’ death and resurrection. At the empty tomb, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene, ‘[g]o to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”’ (20:17). The perception is that through their relationship with Jesus, people will know God as their Father. This then implies,
The Father is bound to the Son via love, which is consequently extended to others via the Son. In general, love conveys a consciousness of intimacy and feeling. However, in the Gospel of John, love is primarily understood as a bond of commitment. A mutuality of love exists between the Father and the Son; if the Father loves the Son then the reverse is also true: the Son will also love the Father (5:35; 14:31). This enables Jesus to fulfil the will of the Father. Additionally, the character of God is evident in that He loves the world – unfortunately, in this instance, the love is not mutual. This proves that the love of God exceeds to be a feeling. Because of his commitment to the world, God has sent the Son, whom he loves, to communicate his own love to a world, alienated from its Creator (Koester
Here, it is necessary to realise that although the Father’s love and the love of believers can be distinguished, they are not to be separated. Both engage the Son: ‘the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God’ (16:27). From this statement of Jesus, it is clear that love constitutes a bond in which believers live.
Love from the Father is fundamental for God’s children because they are requested to share their love with others. The Father’s love for the Son was not limited to the Son. The Son incarnated to extend the Father’s love through the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus. After communicating to his followers, the Father’s love, Jesus called them to love one another. To express love within any community is not so easy. Even though faith creates relationships, still human weaknesses and deficiencies continue to be part of the believer’s daily life – this is evident in the Gospel from the human side of Jesus’ disciples. After challenging his disciples to love one another, Jesus assures those loving him and keeping his word that ‘the Father will love them’ and then both, he and the Father will come to them and reside in them (14:23; Koester
In the Gospel of John, there are three basic phrases referring explicitly to obedience: ‘doing the will of God’, ‘finishing the work the Father gave…’ and ‘obey (τηρέω) my commands’.
The assertion is that the obedience of an agent ‘to do the will of the sender’ is a legitimate hypothesis.
The Greek phrase ‘τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με’ is fundamental in the study of obedience in the Gospel of John (cf. Lindars
Explicit references of Jesus’ doing the will of the ‘One who sent me’.
4:34 ‘Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν ἵνα ποιήσω
5:30 ‘Οὐ δύναμαι ἐγὼ ποιεῖν ἀπʼ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐδέν· … ὅτι οὐ ζητῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμὸν ἀλλὰ
6:38 ‘ὅτι καταβέβηκα ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8:29 ‘καὶ
The entire life of Jesus is focussed on completing the will of τοῦ πέμψαντός με. The unity between the Father and the Son, as articulated in the phrase of doing ‘τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με’ (6:38), refers to an operative and honourable unity (cf. Lindars
In
4:34 …. desire
5:30 …. dependence
6:38 …. purpose (salvation of man)
8:29 …. presence of the Father and obedience of Jesus.
These references regarding the submission of Jesus to the will of the Father aught not be interpreted to reduce Jesus’ identity to be that of a conventional agent of the Father. Jesus expresses distinctly the inattentiveness about his own will (5:30; 6:38). His intention is only following ‘the will of him who sent me’. Jesus, as the Son of God, is in an exclusive way an agent. His mission is not founded in an ordinary historical commissioning, but in something much deeper. ‘Throughout his mission he experiences the presence of his Father in him which enables him to fulfil the will of the Father in obedience’ (cf. Van der Merwe
This subsection refers to the foundation and culmination of obedience in John, namely, love (14:31) and glory (17:4) (see
In 14:31, Jesus communicates to his disciples that ‘the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, thus I am doing (ποιέω)’ (14:31). Jesus’ obedience throughout his life (14:31, emphasised by καθὼς and οὕτως; cf. 8:29 and 17:4) is admirable,
The crucifixion of Jesus is the culmination of Jesus’
In his gospel, John clearly guides the readers towards Jesus’ obedience to the Father. In 4:34, the author refers to the work that the Father gave Jesus to complete. In 5:36, he uses the plural, ‘works’, to substantiate the diversity of these works. Then in 17:4, Jesus expresses that through his obedience (17:6–8), he has completed the work that is related to 17:1, which reflects that he has glorified the Father. He then completed his last work by yielding his life to God through his crucifixion (19:30, ‘It is finished’ Beasley-Murray
The phrase ‘obey my commands’ (15:10) is equivalent to ‘doing the will of God’ (see
The equivalence between ‘obey my commands’ and ‘doing the will of God’.
Although different vocabularies have been used, the above-mentioned phrases construct a chiasm, indicating that the two nouns ἐντολάς and θέλημα relate to one another, as well as the two verbs, τηρήσητε and ποιῶ. Love for Jesus will result in keeping the commands of Jesus. The interchange of ‘my commands’ with ‘my word’ and ‘my words’ in 14:21, 23, 24 implies that these references encompass, not some merely ethical instructions, but the complete choice of the revelation from the Father (cf. 8:31–32; 12:47–49; 17:6). Those who love Jesus will live in the light and truth (Beasley-Murray
The word translated
This section deals with the following four aspects in order to get a broad perspective of how the author tries to influence the reader to act in obedience: (1) to follow Jesus, (2) to abide in Jesus, (3) their deeds have been done in the name of God; (4) the Paraclete will guide the disciples in all truth.
The Gospel of John, as a narrative, is filled with horizontal and vertical dualisms, to call for a radical change of life to be faithful followers of Jesus. In fact, the Gospel decisively invites readers ‘into a profound spiritual experience of God and divine realities in and through Jesus’ (Kim
‘Glorification’ the consequence of ‘obedience’.
14:31 ‘ἀλλʼ ἵνα γνῷ ὁ κόσμος ὅτι ἀγαπῶ τὸν πατέρα, καὶ καθὼς ἐνετείλατο μοι ὁ πατήρ, οὕτως ποιῶ’
17:4 ‘
The ‘abiding’ motif
‘Abiding’ then means to continue having fellowship with him, to love him, keeping his commands even as he kept the commands of the Father (15:10). Beasley-Murray (
[
The call of Jesus to his disciples to ‘abide in him’ and to ‘abide in his love’ is a call for obedience. The loving relationship depicted here refers to a relationship of dependence on Jesus. Such a relationship is focussed on Jesus and seeks to dwell in his words (cf. Stander
In John 3:21, the author makes a strange expression, ‘But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God’ (NKJV). In the biblical environment, ‘truth’ is not an abstract idea. When a declaration is made that God is true, it means basically that God is faithful. Correspondingly, when the author refers to people following the truth, ‘he refers to those who continue in faithful obedience to God’ (Newman & Nida
Once when a person starts to live truly in the light that person will continue to keep God’s other commandments (14:15, 23–24), the principal commandment, loving other fellow disciples (13:34–35), comes into picture.
One does the works of the one whose nature one shares (8:39, 41), hence birth from God’s Spirit remains necessary for genuinely good works (3:6).
In John 16:13, it is written that ‘when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own
Tenney (
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Köstenberger (
In the Gospel of John, the following three words have been distinguished to reflect on how a person can become like Jesus:
The use of the Greek verb δείκνυμι (meaning ‘show’ or ‘reveal’),
The καθώς-particle of comparison (‘just as’) occurs frequently through the Gospel of John in combining together God–Jesus–disciples in relationships. This particle (καθώς) defines the union:
[
The author applied this particle on the following essential aspects and daily activities of Jesus and the disciples:
[
These activities indicate the
After Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (13:4–12), he tells them (13:15), ‘For I have given you an example (ὑπόδειγμα)’, I appeal you all to act in a similar way’. Most theological dictionaries translate ὑπόδειγμα as ‘example’, ‘pattern’ or ‘model’.
Because of the direct linguistic context (Chapter 13) and larger literary context (Chapters 13–17) of the noun ὑπόδειγμα (example), both references (person/deed) consequently can be applied to Jesus: he
This passage serves as an example (ὑπόδειγμα) what intense love comprises and should be mimed by the disciples of Jesus (13:1–2, 34–35). This activity of Jesus serves to exemplify what intense love is. ‘[T]he emphasis, lies on the attitude of intense love’ (Van der Watt
Jesus as Lord (13:6) washed the disciples’ feet as a symbolic expression to serve one another in love – they also ought to (ὀφείλω
According to the Gospel of John, a life of obedience has certainly some consequences for the believer; the following discussion confirms it:
The presence of Jesus and God in the lives of believers is clearly expressed in 14:21, 23:
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and
‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and
The two specific participles in 14:21, ἔχων (‘has’) and τηρῶν (‘keep’ or ‘obey’), designate much more than having a list of the commandments of Jesus. Borchert (
In this pericope, Jesus articulates it so clearly that his presence is real and definite by obeying the command to love him. The rhetorical accent falls not on the admonishment to love, but on the assurance that the one who loves is loved. In 14:2–4, Jesus refers to a transcendent dwelling, which he is going to prepare (ἑτοιμάσαι) for the disciples to be with him. Then in 14:21, 23, he defines an immanent residence constituted via obedience by way of love (Brant
After commanding his disciples to love one another, Jesus continues saying that ‘You are my friends
The concept of being a friend of God is explicitly applied in the Old Testament to Abraham (2 Chr 20:7; Is 41:8; cf. Jas 2:23) and implicitly to Moses (Ex 33:11). Likewise, Jesus can refer to Lazarus as ‘our friend Lazarus’ (Jn 11:11). The biblical authors, as in the Gospel of John, already (Borchert
Jesus promised a double reward for those who serve him (being obedient to him) by following him. He stated in the last two phrases of 12:26
Both the demand and the reward of the life of following Jesus obediently are distinctly communicated in 12:26. Following Jesus on the journey of death and glory (through death to glory), the faithful servant of Jesus will partake in both suffering and honour, both humiliation and glorification. This is the distinctive aspect of spirituality of being obedient to Jesus that 12:26 communicates in a most distinctive mode. To follow Jesus concerns obedience to his commands and:
[
Through obedience, God will also be glorified. John describes how Jesus glorified God by doing the things that the Father showed him to do and how believers can glorify God by being obedient.
The glorification of God through obedience is evident from both the life and ministry of Jesus himself (17:4). In this verse, Jesus pronounces to the Father that he has been obedient to what the Father commanded him to do. In the rest of chapter 17, he elaborates on this:
‘I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do’ (v. 4).
‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world’ (vv. 6, 26).
‘[T]he words that you gave to me I have given to them’ (vv. 8, 14).
‘I protected them in your name that you have given me’ (v. 12a).
‘I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost’ (v. 12b).
‘I have sent them into the world’ (v. 18).
‘I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth’ (v. 19).
‘The glory that you have given me I have given them’ (v. 22).
Here, in chapter 17, Jesus confesses in the presence of his disciples to the Father his obedience to the Father. He finished the work that the Father gave him to do (17:4). This is not only a prayer to God but also a didactic opportunity used by Jesus to reveal to his disciples paramount secrets, ‘his “whence and whither” and his role as God’s broker’ (Neyrey
In 15:8, Jesus said to his disciples that ‘This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples’. The bearing of fruit of the disciples is the result of the redemptive work of the Son (Carson
In the Gospel of John, the verb δοξάζω (‘glorify’) is usually employed in two ways: firstly, it refers to the hour of the glorification of Jesus (his crucifixion and resurrection) and secondly, the result, the glorification of the Father in the Son (7:39; 8:54; 11:4; 12:16, 23, 28; 13:31–32; 14:13; 16:14; 17:1, 4–5; Borchert
The prime task of the disciples is to glorify Jesus (cf. 17:10; 21:19) through which the Father is glorified. The bearing of much fruit, hence, not only designates these followers to be true disciples (μαθηταί) of Jesus but also that God is glorified in their obedient discipleship. Bearing fruit then comprises both the loving of others as God loves them and bearing witness to the world (Witherington
Unfortunately, sometimes, ‘obedience’ and ‘becoming like Jesus’ also come with heavy costs: persecution, rejection and being hated by the world (Jn 15:18–25). In John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first’ (15:18); ‘If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also’ (15:20).
In chapter 8, Jesus teaches his disciples that ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (8:12); ‘I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins’ (8:24); ‘[h]e [the Father] cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit’ (15:2) and ‘[i]f anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned’ (15:6).
According to this study, the Gospel of John is saturated with the concept of obedience and its correlated connotations. Christian obedience is primarily directed to God and secondarily to Jesus. When it is directed to God, the will to follow Jesus’ example of love and glorification of God by proclaiming the Gospel are the fundamental principles of obedience. Jesus has indicated that obedience can only be constituted and realised through relationships. His devoted relationship with the Father to commit himself in following the will of the ‘one who sent him’ forms the other side of his activities of obedience. To live in truth and to be obedient to God, Jesus has set an example to be imitated. The obedience asked from believers arises out of love and is directed towards love (Lee
To love Jesus is expressed in keeping his commandment. Obedience to this will lead to experiencing the love of the Father (14:21). Through their obedience to Jesus, the disciples will glorify the Father and make the love of him not only known but also experiential. God will become sensible, audible and visible in the world.
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
D.G.V.D.M is the sole author of this article.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research work received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the author.
According to my survey, it seems as if not much has been academically published on obedience, neither in the Old Testament nor in the New Testament. During 2001, Bill Berends published in
Arndt, Danker and Bauer (
The verb τηρέω has been used several times and not consistently translated: ‘… anyone keeps (τηρήσῃ) my word’ (8:51); ‘…anyone keeps (τηρήσῃ) your word’ (8:52); ‘… keep (τηρῶ) his word’ (8:55); ‘… not keep (τηρεῖ) the Sabbath’ (9:16); ‘… should save (τηρήσῃ) this perfume’ (12:7): ‘… you will obey (τηρήσῃ) what I command’ (14:15); ‘Whoever has my commands and obeys (τηρῶν) them’ (14:21); ‘… will obey (τηρήσει) my teaching’ (14:23); ‘… will not obey (τηρεῖ) my teaching’ (14:24); ‘If you obey (τηρήσητε) my commands’ (15:10); ‘If they obeyed (ἐτήρησαν) my teaching, they will obey (τηρήσουσιν) yours also’ (15:20); ‘Holy Father, protect (τήρησον) them’ (17:11); ‘… that you protect (τηρήσῃς) them from the evil one’ (17:15). This verb does not even occur in the list of semantic-related vocabulary for obedience in the study by Louw and Nida (
On ethics, see the study by Brown and Skinner (eds.
See the study by Bennema (
See: ‘do the will of Him who sent me’ (4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29) to be discussed in the section ‘Following the will of God (4:34; 5;30; 6:38; 8:29)’.
‘My food is to do the will of ‘I seek to do not my own will but the will of ‘… not to do my own will, but the will of ‘And the In these texts, it is clear that Jesus’ references to ‘
See the study by Thompson (
If God is like a human father in some ways, He is different from a human father (Koester
See the study by Thompson (
Although the act of ‘obedience’ is implied in discipleship, living a life of holiness, ethics, mimesis and the like, it will not be discussed in this essay because of space constrain.
This assertion is verified in the following halakhic sources: Erubin 31b–32a, Qiddushin 2:4 and Terumoth 4:4 as quoted by Borgen (
See also 7:18 and 8:50.
Cf. Moses, who did ‘as he was charged to do beforehand’ (Josephus [
John 12:49f; 13:34; 14:15, 21, 31; 15:10, 12, 14, 17.
John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 8:29.
See footnote 2 and cf. 1 John 2:3, 4; 3:22, 24; 5:3.
In this context of the Gospel of John, the use of ‘commandments’, ‘word’ and ‘words’ have the same meaning. The equivalence of ‘word’ and ‘commandment’ originates from the Old Testament. There the Decalogue is referred to as ‘the words’ of God (cf. Dt 5:5). In 14:21, 23, 24, the references to the ‘commandments’, the ‘words’ and the ‘word’ of Jesus are all references to the love command (Newman & Nida
This verb has been used to express obedience with regard to keep my (8:51), your (8:52), his (8:55) word; to obey commands (14:15, 21; 15:10) and to obey the teaching of Jesus (14:23, 24; 15:20).
Cf. the study by Kim (
According to Brodie (
(1) ‘Abide in me, and I in you’ (v. 4); (2) ‘As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me’ (v. 4); (3) ‘Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, …’ (v.5); (4) ‘If anyone does not abide in me....’ (v. 6); (5) ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’ (v. 7); (6) ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love’ (v. 9); (7) ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love’ (v. 10); (8) ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide’ (v. 16).
For the ethical implications of the Johannine community, see Rensberger (
In the Gospel of John, the character of people is demonstrated by their ‘works’, to be either part of the world or to be born anew from above (Borchert
Arndt et al. (
The adverbial comparative particle καθώς occurs 31 times in the Gospel of John (1:23; 3:14; 5:23, 30; 6:31, 57, 58; 7:38; 8:28; 10:15; 12:14, 50; 13:15, 33, 34; 14:27, 31; 15:4, 9, 10, 12; 17:2, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23; 19:40; 20:21).
Arndt et al. (
According to Everett, (
Arndt et al. (
This statement is based on the common practice of ancient mimesis. Students should mime their teacher or slaves should follow the example(s) set by their lord (Harrison
See the study by Arndt et al. (
‘Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor’ (12:26).