Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John

Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John “This volume brings to Johannine Studies an alternative reading, grounded in postcolonial studies, of the ideological framework as well as of character relations. Instead of the standard view of a dialectical framework signified by numerous oppositions, Lim advances a framework marked by ambiguity, and argues for a broad spectrum of positions within such ambiguity. The result is an approach to the Gospel in a different key, yielding a collapse of the traditional dialectical framework and the liberation of characters from their traditional encasement.” —Fernando F. Segovia, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Vanderbilt University, USA “This is an insightful book. The author persuasively argues that minor characters in John such as Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, and the mother of Jesus are by no means marginal figures but rather major characters who play a pivotal role in radically diminishing the power structures that sustained the Jewish and Roman authorities who dominated the Fourth Gospel. Anybody interested in postcolonial biblical criticism, Johannine writings, and minority hermeneutics will benefit enormously from this thoughtful work.” —R. S. Sugirtharajah, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Hermeneutics, University of Birmingham, UK “Framed by a compelling hermeneutics of otherness and a concluding call for the acceptance of others as part of the formation, performance, and transformation of the identity of the self, this sterling study proffers a sophisticated interpretive framework and a careful series of readings that reveal the major roles of the socalled minor characters in the Fourth Gospel.” —Abraham Smith, Professor of New Testament, Southern Methodist University, USA “How might the complexities of race/ethnicity in the Gospel of John be related to the complexities of race/ethnicity in contemporary cultures? Sung Uk Lim provides a theoretically sophisticated and exegetically resourceful model for connecting these temporally distant yet interconnected realities.” —Stephen D. Moore, Professor of New Testament Studies, Drew University, USA ii “Sung Uk Lim interprets John’s Jesus as a multi-faceted, hybrid character. Jesus is both colonized and colonizing, imperial and anti-imperial, included and excluded, with multiple racial-ethnic and political identities. This book is a welcome addition to Johannine studies in light of recent postcolonial and gender theories.” —Susan E. Hylen, Associate Professor of New Testament, Emory University, USA Sung Uk Lim Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John Sung Uk Lim Yonsei University Seoul, Korea (Republic of) ISBN 978-3-030-60285-7 ISBN 978-3-030-60286-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60286-4 (eBook) © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland In memory of my beloved mother (1943–2019) FOREWORD Who knows what the world will look like when this book reaches your hands? Recent years have witnessed the global rise of authoritarianism, the move away from inclusion and participatory democracy toward a government that serves only a diminishing majority. Largely fueled by narratives of ethnic and national unity, resentment toward refugees and other immigrants, and cultural resentment against LGBTQ persons, the authoritarian wave imagines a glorious past in which “real” Americans, Hungarians, Filipinos, or Russians lived the good old days according to traditional values. Authoritarian regimes reassert a division between those who belong and those who do not. In the United States, the setting where I work, research shows that White Christians are far more likely to hold racist views than are white people in general. The Academy Award winning film Parasite introduced Americans to social rifts present in Korea. The distinction between the center and “others” performs heavy labor these days. This book offers a significant contribution to biblical scholarship: a thorough reworking of long-held opinions. Through close studies of Johannine characters, Sung Uk Lim undermines a common but unstated assumption: that otherness only follows one neat pattern, according to which there are those who belong and those who are “othered.” In so doing, Lim presents a model for engaging the question of otherness in a fragmented world. He opens the space for tolerance and solidarity and destabilizes clean distinctions between “us” and “them.” He demonstrates the multifaceted identities of Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, “the Jews,” and Pilate, and their fraught relationship to the Johannine vii viii FOREWORD audience, challenging us to question our own familiar categories of belonging. Lim likewise complicates the status of idealized insiders such as Jesus’s mother and Beloved Disciple, who are “other” to Jesus in terms of gender and ethnicity. Just as Johannine insiders depend on “others” in constructing their own identity, and just as supposed insiders enjoy their status only imperfectly, so do all who live near the center. Johannine scholarship has generally offered little help in remediating division and marginalization. We place Jesus at the center of John’s story, as he surely belongs, then judge other characters according to their relationship with Jesus. We’ve been reading John in this fashion for so long that it seems self-evident to us. As with most well-established paradigms, a “Jesus and others” model conforms to prominent elements of the narrative. John’s Gospel is known for its dualism: people either believe or reject; they know or do not know; they are of God or of the devil; their perspectives are heavenly or earthly. Thus, people are condemned or not condemned; they live or perish. This long-standing paradigm influences both popular Christian audiences and scholarly commentators. Evangelical youth are trained to understand that they are “in the world but not of it.” They live paradoxically, as if they are insiders in a sacred community but others to society, suspicious of nonbelievers who make up an imaginary majority of outsiders. Every disagreement, however significant or petty, carries infinite weight because it demonstrates whether one lives inside or outside the circle of belonging. When we are socialized to imagine the world in this way, we readily demonize others as enemies of God, traitors to the nation, cultural infiltrators, or outside agitators. If there are only two options, the world amounts to a conflict between us and them. With few exceptions, notably the work of Susan Hylen, Johannine scholarship has largely followed a parallel script. The Johannine community is “sectarian.” The Gospel bears signs of a traumatic breakup with “the Jews,” whoever they are. Nicodemus is or is not a true believer. The Samaritan woman, being a Samaritan and a woman, is doubly “othered.” The Beloved Disciple models the ideal for followers of Jesus, but Thomas never arrives at true understanding—or maybe he does, the debate reduced to either/or categories. Many scholars critique John for its dualistic outlook, but we also ingrain it into the imaginations of our students. I routinely quiz my students as to whether they can recognize “In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” as coming from John. FOREWORD ix Lim models another way. He acknowledges that the Fourth Gospel uses minor characters as counter-examples who model how not to respond to Jesus. In response, Lim takes these characters seriously, reading against John’s narrative grain to bring out their complexity and malleability. In so doing, Lim destabilizes the us/them dichotomy that dominates Johannine studies and far too much of contemporary life. I suspect that’s what will happen whenever we global insiders attend seriously to the stories of supposed outsiders. Lancaster Theological Seminary Lancaster, PA, USA Greg Carey ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to a number of people who have made this book possible. My ineffable appreciation first goes to my Doktorvater, Fernando Segovia, who initially encouraged me to pursue this project in the form of a doctoral dissertation at Vanderbilt University. As an entrepreneur to embody biblical theology designed to recover human dignity through his scholarship, Fernando has vigorously inspired me to engage critically with texts and contexts. Without his lived wisdom, caring love, witty humor, and unflagging support, I would not have been able to put my ideas into print. A special word of thanks is also due to the other committee members of my dissertation, Daniel Patte, Kathy Gaca, Paul Lim, and Tat-siong Benny Liew. Daniel, Kathy, Paul, and Benny did not only sharpen my thinking with their critical comments, but they ceaselessly nurtured me personally and academically. The revisions of my dissertation, for the most part, came out after I joined the faculty at the College of Theology and United Graduate School of Theology, Yonsei University. I am appreciative of the collegial atmosphere facilitated and maintained by all faculty members. I am particularly thankful to my colleagues in the Biblical Studies area—Sang-Hyeon Yoo and Koog-Pyoung Hong—for their kind guidance and tireless support. Yonsei University generously offered a semester of sabbatical that allowed me to see my project in a fresh light. During my sabbatical, Princeton Theological Seminary provided a wonderful resource for further research. I benefited immensely from open conversations with such colleagues as Eric Barreto, Lisa Bowens, Dennis Olson, Afe Adogame, Benjamin Schliesser, and Joshua Mauldin. They reinvigorated my passion for xi xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS theological thinking in pursuit of divine justice and love even in the midst of wretched despair. Permissions to republish “Speak My Name: Anti-colonial Mimicry and the Samaritan Woman in John 4:1–42,” Union Seminary Quarterly Review 62 (2010): 35–51, “The Myth of Origin in Context through the Lens of Deconstruction, Dialogism, and Hybridity,” Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 10 (2011): 112–131, and “Biopolitics in the Trial of Jesus (John 18:28–19:16a),” Expository Times 127 (2016): 209–216 in modified form by Union Theological Seminary, SCIRI and SACRI, and Sage, respectively, are greatly appreciated. This work was munificently funded by the Yonsei University Research Grant of 2020. Last but absolutely not least, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my whole family for their love and care. Seol Young Ryu, my soul mate, has endured this tedious journey together in partnership through tears and laughter. Our two children, Joanne Young Lim and Immanuel Jikang Lim, have always been a tremendous source of joy and happiness in life ever since their birth. I extend my profuse thanks to both my parents-inlaw, Jong Mok Ryu and Ok Sun Kang, and my parents, Byung Sun Lim and Jung Soon Lee. Their unfaltering support and encouragement have thus far paved the way for my theological vocation. My parents-in-law ungrudgingly traveled back and forth between Korea and America numerous times over the past ten years to take care of their little grandchildren. I am indebted to my father, who has fostered my capabilities to imagine everything anew. And finally, to my mother, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, words cannot express my most sincere gratitude for making me the person I am today. Without her prophetic trust and unwavering comfort, I could not have even imagined completing this long-term project. This book is dedicated especially to my beloved mother in memory of her embracing love and embodied wisdom of living together in harmony with others. CONTENTS 1 Introduction: Why Otherness Matters in Biblical Interpretation Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John and Beyond The Social Location of the Reader and Biblical Interpretation A Hermeneutic Formulation of Otherness Organization of the Book 1 1 3 6 13 Interpretive Frameworks for Otherness and Identity in the Johannine Narrative Minor Characters and Jesus in Johannine Studies Deconstruction, Postcolonialism, and Narrative A Deconstructive Postcolonial Construction of Characters 17 18 28 40 3 Reading the Otherness In-Between Nicodemus as an Ambiguous Jew Jesus Becomes a Fluid Character The Implications of Ambiguous Otherness 43 48 63 68 4 Reading the Otherness Within The Samaritan Woman and Subversive Mimicry Debunking the Vulnerability of Jesus The Implications of Internal Otherness 71 78 87 94 2 xiii xiv CONTENTS 5 Reading the Otherness Without Pilate and the Jews in the Uncertain Zone of Ambivalence Constructing Pilate as an Ambivalent Character Constructing the Jews as an Incongruous Character Jesus as a Bare Life The Implications of External Otherness 97 109 109 120 124 131 6 Reading the Otherness Beyond The Mother of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple in Transgression Racial/Ethnic Characterization of the Mother of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple Jesus’ (En)gendering on the Cross The Implications of Transcendent Otherness 133 136 7 Conclusion: Reconfiguring Otherness, Identity, and Solidarity in Biblical Interpretation and Beyond The Otherness of Minor Characters Versus the Identity of Jesus Reconfiguring Jesus and the Others The Art of Otherness in Biblical Interpretation Otherness, Identity, and Solidarity 144 150 161 163 163 164 165 167 Bibliography 169 Index 185