Jesus, moral regeneration and crime in the Gospel of John
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Date
2010-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
A structural and text-immanent approach to the Gospel of John reveals that Jesus of Nazareth came to earth to do the
will of God his Father and to take away the sins of the world. The author/s makes/make it clear that Jesus taught
Nicodemus that one needs to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. To be born again means that one must
be born out of water and Spirit, that is, through becoming a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ, one’s life has to change.
This change, also called regeneration, is, anthropologically-speaking, according to the rational-choice theory, a deliberate
choice made by man to become a follower or disciple of Jesus and to do his Father’s will. The disciples are not called upon
to be like robbers and thieves, focused on the accumulation of earthly wealth, but to love one another. Although Jesus was
crucified because of an allegation of high treason, a crime against the state, He instructed his followers to forgive others
and to remain in His love. In terms of the explicatio-applicatio model, the intended kerygmatic message of John to his
intended readers is clear: he wants all people, including criminals, to believe in Jesus and to follow Him, because,
according to the Johannine author/s, when one follows Jesus, one does not commit crime, because one has been morally
regenerated.
Description
Peer reviewed article published under Inkanyiso, Volume 2, Issue 2, Jan 2010, p. 115 - 121
Keywords
Jesus,, moral regeneration, gospel of St John, crime, South Africa
Citation
Jesus, moral regeneration and crime in the Gospel of John