Thesis Chapter 3: Conclusion

The Gospel of John appears to have been influenced, in part, by the Greco-Roman dramas and theaters of the day. There is evidence of cultural influence on the author (or his community). There is a good chance that whoever wrote the Gospel of John, whether a Jewish fisherman from first-century Galilee, or someone else, they would have been familiar with dramatic writings and stage shows happening around them.

Internally, the Gospel contains many dramatic elements that have been analyzed by scholars since the early 20th century. The most influential work in this area recently has come courtesy of Jo-Ann Brant. She has meticulously highlighted dozens of elements and structures within the Gospel of John that reflect Greek drama, particularly Greek tragedy.

Building on Brant, Cornelia Van Deventer set out to develop her methodology for biblical drama criticism. She sought to devise a way that the Gospel of John could be experienced (VD, 99). In order to accomplish this, Van Deventer argues for finding the director; the audience; the plot; the settings and stage; and the characterization of a passage.

This exegesis of the background of a text and the dramatic elements of any given passages in John may very well lead to a better understanding of how the original audience experienced the gospel. This was demonstrated through an exegesis of John 18:28-19:16 in chapter 2. Understanding how the original audience would have experienced the Gospel of John as a performance sets the stage for the how the Church, or a modern audience, can experience the Gospel in the same way.

There are three ways in which the Church can apply this method of exegesis to better experience the Gospel of John: preaching, rituals, and evangelism.

Preaching

Whenever a preacher takes the stage or pulpit, they are to some degree, performing. A dramatic exegesis of the passage being preached on can help the preacher know the best way to approach the sermon as a performance. This can help them prepare the sermon, but actually performing it as the sermon may prove more challenging. Many preachers reading this may immediately envision a first-person character sermon and cringe at the thought of trying such a performance. A sermon need not be gimmicky in order to be performative and to portray a narrative in John well. Here David Rhoads’ biblical performance criticism may be helpful.

Rhoads primary concern is interpreting the New Testament documents as performances in an oral culture, rather than merely written documents (Rhoads, What is? 86). This interpretive approach has many overlaps with biblical drama criticism. Strictly applying biblical performance criticism to the Gospel of John, or John 18:28-19:16 is outside the scope of this paper. However, Rhoads’ practical application of this method can be useful to preachers wanting their congregations experience the Gospel the way the original audience did. Three areas that Rhoads’ covers are: The performer’s approach; dynamics of performing; and rhetoric and audience.

The Performer’s approach

Simply put, a performer’s job is to perform the text. In this context, the performer is the preacher. How the preacher performs the text matters because it reflects how they are interpreting the text to the audience. Consequently the preacher’s exegesis of the text must be sound, and they must make sure they are identifying the dramatic elements of the text.

According to Rhoads, performance means more than just reading the text aloud. Performers, or in this case preachers, must ditch “the script” entirely and become fully immersed in the narrative world of the story (Rhoads, What is? 96). This thought may scare a preacher who dutifully uses their notes or manuscript for every sermon. Just as knowing the material for a regular sermon can lead a preacher to preach their sermon without notes, a performance sermon can be done the same way. In fact, it may be easier in some cases because the performance only needs to truly rely on the passage at hand and not any extra content that is typically written for expository preaching.

Not using a manuscript, notes, or “script” doesn’t mean that the preacher shouldn’t create one though. Before ditching the script (memorizing the passage), it would do well for the performer to first translate the text into something script-like. This means emphasizing the dramatic (and theatrical) elements of the text, as was done in chapter 2. But whereas this paper largely stopped at mere translation, Cornelia Van Deventer has demonstrated that the entire passage (and the entire Gospel) can be turned into a working script (Van Deventer, Embracing Vulnerability, 171).

Once the scene is translated and compiled into script form, it can be used to build out the performance. For the performer, they should memorize their lines. This helps “notice the details” and “bring the text into the world of sound” which helps imagine the scene that the performer is about to enter into (Rhoads, 96. Rhoads recommends not trying to imitate ancient forms of performing, but rather use contemporary methods that a a contemporary audience would recognize).

Dynamics of performing

According to Rhoads, the performer brings the character to life by adding their own “attitudes, emotions, physical expressions, and vocal traits.” (Rhoads, 97) These elements can be highly interpretative, but like other dramatic elements, cues may also be found in the text. As was shown with John 18:28-19:16, the characters are portrayed with very heightened emotions. As the performance goes on, the intensity increases. This intensity is solely brought on by the performers themselves and how they choose to perform their character. Some cues, like the increased shouting between Pilate and the Jews, may be easier to portray. Others may be more difficult.

Rhoads adds four additional elements for consideration when performing: subtext; non-verbal communication; emotional force; humor of the text. Subtext is when the performer decides how a particular line should be said based on the interpreted subtext. An example of this is John 18:38: “Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” While it was argued in chapter 2 that this was likely said as a retort while Pilate exited, the performer will need to determine if this is the proper subtext, or if the line should be said in a different manner.

Non-verbal communication is also key to performance. In this passage, the various “pointing”; the strike of fear in Pilate; and the beatings of Jesus are all examples of how non-verbal communication can impact the performance and needs to be taken seriously.

Perhaps none of these are as important is the emotional force. Rhoads points to the portrayals of Jesus’ death as requiring “powerful emotions” (Rhoads, 98.) John 18:28-19:16 demonstrates a wide range of emotions. Anger, laughter, fear, pain, anxiety. If done well, all of these should be portrayed in a way that the audience feels like they are on an emotional rollercoaster, must like those who originally attended the trial.

The final element, humor, may not find itself much in this passage. Rhoads uses the misunderstanding dialogues of John to illustrate how the Gospels contain irony and humor. While the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate certainly shows misunderstanding, it is hard to imagine a portrayal that elicits much laughter here. Nonetheless, performances of other passages in John would due well to pay attention to this element.

Rhetoric and Audience

Rhoads’ argued for the importance of performing in front of a live audience. This maximizes the rhetorical impact of the performance, allowing the actors to “persuade the audience to embrace a certain viewpoint or take a certain action”. In the case of the fourth Gospel, “John does not just talk about eternal life; he seeks to evoke the experience of it in the audience.” (Rhoads, 99). For an audience of a portrayal of John 18:28-19:16, the goal may very well be to make them feel as if they are not just an observer to a trial, but a part of the crowd screaming to crucify Jesus. In this way they see themselves as the crucifiers, and and their own sin as the reason for the Lord’s death. This ultimately highlights the power of the cross and its necessity. There is hardly a greater call to action for a sermon. And a sermon may be the ideal way to portray the dramatic nature of John’s gospel.

Preaching as Performance