I read with interest a post by @dybmh concerning the Gospel of John and its incompatibility with Judaism. I wanted to discuss this topic further but it was rather 'off-topic' for the original thread (about Mormonism and unifying Abrahamic faiths), so I decided to give the matter its own thread:
In terms of the Gospel of John:
I think there are some relatively close parallels to its 'high christology' in certain of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran, such as (but not limited to): (1) the 'Self-Glorification Hymn' (4Q491) which scholars have dated to the late Hasmonean period (first century BCE) (2) the 'Daniel Apochryphon' (4Q246) dated circa. 100 BCE and (3) the 'Melchizedek Scroll' (11Q13) which has been dated to the late second century BCE.
For the DA and MS, see:
Aramaic Apocalypse I-II: The “Son of God” Text (Martinez)
11Q13 - Wikipedia
The dualism and 'light vs darkness' trope in John is an adaption of earlier Qumranite language (i.e. the eschatological war between the "sons of light" led by Melchizedek and the "sons of Belial" in the Qumran sectarian literature). In 11Q13, for instance, we find one of many references to light:
Compare with Jesus's words in the Gospel of John: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light" (John 12:36); "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:3-4) and in the first Johannine letter: "but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
If you read the composite text of the Self-Glorification Hymn (the pieced together 'composite' of all the fragments with expert interpolations for missing words), in tandem with a good commentary by a dead sea scholar explicating the meaning, context and presuppositions of the text, I reckon it will provide a framework for contextualizing some of the bewilderingly 'bold' Christological statements in John.
In the text of the SGH, an unidentified figure declares his own "self-glorification": boasting about his having been exalted among and above the elim (gods/angels) and seated on a heavenly throne, while simultaneously going through a humiliation in which he is 'despised' by other human beings and somehow bears affliction. It thus has a dual 'deification' / 'humiliating suffering' theme which obviously parallels early Christian beliefs about Jesus's divinity and vicarious suffering, only this is a pre-Christian Hasmonean Jewish text that is referring to some other divinized human (maybe Enoch ascending to heaven?).
A few choice experts from the SGH (Schafer translation):
Consider the language of 'glory' and 'glorification' in John:
And in terms of the 'glorified' person being the 'beloved of God':
Professor James H. Charlesworth (Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Princeton), published a comprehensive book in 2018 addressing a variety of themes in the Gospel of John and the tenth chapter dealt with its possible indebtedness to the SGH (you should be able to view some of it on Googlebooks):
Jesus as Mirrored in John
(continued....)
No matter how I try to look at it, the manner in which Jesus describes himself in The Book of John is incompatible with Judaism. In previous discussions here on RF, some people disavow this book in the Christian Bible as a way to bridge the gap.
In terms of the Gospel of John:
I think there are some relatively close parallels to its 'high christology' in certain of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran, such as (but not limited to): (1) the 'Self-Glorification Hymn' (4Q491) which scholars have dated to the late Hasmonean period (first century BCE) (2) the 'Daniel Apochryphon' (4Q246) dated circa. 100 BCE and (3) the 'Melchizedek Scroll' (11Q13) which has been dated to the late second century BCE.
For the DA and MS, see:
Aramaic Apocalypse I-II: The “Son of God” Text (Martinez)
The so-called Son of God text, an Aramaic apocalypse, provides a vision of Israel’s redemption which terms a messianic figure “son of God,” showing that such a designation existed among Jews in the third or early second century B.C.E...
"II 1 He will be called son of God, and they will call him son of the Most High. Like the
sparks of a vision, so will their kingdom be..."
"II 1 He will be called son of God, and they will call him son of the Most High. Like the
sparks of a vision, so will their kingdom be..."
11Q13 - Wikipedia
11Q13, also 11QMelch or the Melchizedek document, is a fragmentary manuscript among the Dead Sea Scrolls (from Cave 11) which mentions Melchizedek as leader of God's angels in a war in Heaven against the angels of darkness...
In the fragmentary passage the term "Elohim" appears a dozen times, mainly referring to the God of Israel, but in commentary on "who says to Zion "Your Elohim reigns" (Isa. 52;7) 11Q13 states that Zion is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, while Melchizedek is "Your Elohim" who will deliver the sons of righteousness from Belial.[5][6][7][8]
In the fragmentary passage the term "Elohim" appears a dozen times, mainly referring to the God of Israel, but in commentary on "who says to Zion "Your Elohim reigns" (Isa. 52;7) 11Q13 states that Zion is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, while Melchizedek is "Your Elohim" who will deliver the sons of righteousness from Belial.[5][6][7][8]
The dualism and 'light vs darkness' trope in John is an adaption of earlier Qumranite language (i.e. the eschatological war between the "sons of light" led by Melchizedek and the "sons of Belial" in the Qumran sectarian literature). In 11Q13, for instance, we find one of many references to light:
"He [Melchizedek] will proclaim to them the Jubilee, thereby releasing them from the debt of all their sins...Then the Day of Atonement shall follow after the tenth jubilee period, when he shall atone for all the Sons of Light, and the people who are predestined to Melchizedek....
...by the judgment of God, just as it is written concerning him; "who says to Zion "Your God reigns" (Isa. 52;7) "Zion" is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, who uphold the covenant and turn from walking in the way of the people. "Your God" is Melchizedek, who will deliver them from the power of Belial"
...by the judgment of God, just as it is written concerning him; "who says to Zion "Your God reigns" (Isa. 52;7) "Zion" is the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, who uphold the covenant and turn from walking in the way of the people. "Your God" is Melchizedek, who will deliver them from the power of Belial"
Compare with Jesus's words in the Gospel of John: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light" (John 12:36); "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:3-4) and in the first Johannine letter: "but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
If you read the composite text of the Self-Glorification Hymn (the pieced together 'composite' of all the fragments with expert interpolations for missing words), in tandem with a good commentary by a dead sea scholar explicating the meaning, context and presuppositions of the text, I reckon it will provide a framework for contextualizing some of the bewilderingly 'bold' Christological statements in John.
In the text of the SGH, an unidentified figure declares his own "self-glorification": boasting about his having been exalted among and above the elim (gods/angels) and seated on a heavenly throne, while simultaneously going through a humiliation in which he is 'despised' by other human beings and somehow bears affliction. It thus has a dual 'deification' / 'humiliating suffering' theme which obviously parallels early Christian beliefs about Jesus's divinity and vicarious suffering, only this is a pre-Christian Hasmonean Jewish text that is referring to some other divinized human (maybe Enoch ascending to heaven?).
A few choice experts from the SGH (Schafer translation):
....forever a mighty throne in the congregation
of the gods (elim). None of the ancient kings
shall sit in it, and their nobles shall not [
(6) [ ] shall not be like my glory (kevodi), and none shall
be exalted save me...
For I have taken my seat in the throne in the heavens...
I shall be reckoned with the gods (ani ‘im elim ethashev)...
I do not desire as would a man of flesh...
Who has been despised on my account (mi la-vuz nehshav bi)?
And who can be compared with me in my glory (u-mi bi-khvodi yiddameh li)?
...who bears all griefs as I do? And who suffers
evil like me? No one!
I was instructed and (any) teaching (horayah) will not be equal to my teaching.
And who shall measure the flow of my speech, and who shall be my equal, and be like (me) in my judgment?
(11) I am the Beloved of the King, companion of
the holy ones, for I shall be reckoned with the gods (elim),
and my glory (kevodi) with [that of]
the King’s sons (bene ha-melekh).
This language of a human figure having unique divine 'glory' (none shall be exalted like him) and a throne above the angels (a 'mighty throne in the congregation of the gods', reckoned with the elim, the beloved of God), which surpasses any Davidic King and who is possesed of 'unequalled teaching/words' yet endures 'all griefs' and suffers hugely despite being one of God's "sons", bears some similarities to the depiction of Jesus in John. of the gods (elim). None of the ancient kings
shall sit in it, and their nobles shall not [
(6) [ ] shall not be like my glory (kevodi), and none shall
be exalted save me...
For I have taken my seat in the throne in the heavens...
I shall be reckoned with the gods (ani ‘im elim ethashev)...
I do not desire as would a man of flesh...
Who has been despised on my account (mi la-vuz nehshav bi)?
And who can be compared with me in my glory (u-mi bi-khvodi yiddameh li)?
...who bears all griefs as I do? And who suffers
evil like me? No one!
I was instructed and (any) teaching (horayah) will not be equal to my teaching.
And who shall measure the flow of my speech, and who shall be my equal, and be like (me) in my judgment?
(11) I am the Beloved of the King, companion of
the holy ones, for I shall be reckoned with the gods (elim),
and my glory (kevodi) with [that of]
the King’s sons (bene ha-melekh).
Consider the language of 'glory' and 'glorification' in John:
"Who do you claim to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God'....Then the Judeans said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’" (John 8:54-58)
"When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once." (John 13:31-32)
"After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people...So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed...Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world" (John 17)
Note also the similar allusion to Jesus's greater standing among the 'elim' (gods, congregation of the holy ones):"When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once." (John 13:31-32)
"After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people...So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed...Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world" (John 17)
"Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?" (John 10:34-35)
"Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (John 1:49-51)
"When you see the Son of man lifted up, then you shall know I am" (John 8:28)
"Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (John 1:49-51)
"When you see the Son of man lifted up, then you shall know I am" (John 8:28)
And in terms of the 'glorified' person being the 'beloved of God':
"No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known" (John 1:18)
In terms of his 'teaching', 'words' and speech having no equal:
"Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life."" (John 6:68)
Professor James H. Charlesworth (Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Princeton), published a comprehensive book in 2018 addressing a variety of themes in the Gospel of John and the tenth chapter dealt with its possible indebtedness to the SGH (you should be able to view some of it on Googlebooks):
Jesus as Mirrored in John
(continued....)