The Signs Gospel or the ''semeia'' source is a hypothetical gospel account of the life of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

which some scholars have suggested could have been a primary source document for the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

. This theory has its basis in source criticism. Since the commentary of

Rudolf Bultmann Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; ; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent c ...

was published in 1941, the hypothesis of a ''semeia'' (sign or miracle) source has gained some acceptance.

Internal evidence

One possible construction of the "internal evidence" states that the Beloved Disciple wrote an account of the life of Jesus. However, this disciple died unexpectedly, necessitating that a revised gospel be written. In other words, it may be that John “is the source" of the Johannine tradition but "not the final writer of the tradition." Therefore, scholars are no longer looking for the identity of a single writer but for numerous authors whose authorship has been absorbed into the gospel's development over a period of time and in several stages.

Bultmann

The hypothesis of the ''Gospel of John'' being composed in layers over a period of time originated in the work of

in 1941. Bultmann suggested that the author(s) of John depended in part on an author who wrote an earlier account. This hypothetical "Signs Gospel" listing Christ's miracles was independent of, and not used by, the synoptic gospels. It was believed to have been circulating before the year 70 AD. Bultmann's conclusion was so controversial that

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

proceedings were instituted against him and his writings.

Later scholarship

Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not disappeared. Scholars such as Raymond E. Brown believe the original author of the ''Signs Gospel'' to be the Beloved Disciple. They argue that the disciple who formed this community was both a historical person and a companion of Jesus Christ. Brown also suggests that the Beloved Disciple had been a follower of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

before joining Jesus. It is now widely agreed that the Gospel of John draws upon a tradition of Miracles of Jesus which is substantially independent of the three

synoptic gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

Robert T. Fortna

Robert Fortna, a member of the

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...

, argued that there are at least two distinct writing styles contained in the ''Gospel of John''. The later style contains highly developed and sophisticated

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

and

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

essays attached superficially—even "mechanically" at some points—to the former source. The other—earlier—style is the original 2-part Signs Gospel, consisting of a ''Signs Source'' (SQ) and a ''Passion Source'' (PQ). It is simple, direct and historical in style and can be roughly reconstructed as follows: *

(1:6-7,19-49) * Water into wine (2:1-11) * Healing the royal official's son (2:12a,4:46b-54) * Catch of 153 fish (21:1-14) * Feeding 5000 (6:1-14) * Walking on water (6:15-25) * Raising of Lazarus (11:1-45) * Healing the man blind from birth (9:1-8) *Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (5:2-9) * Plot to kill Jesus (11:47-53) * Temple incident (2:14-19) * Jewish rejection (12:37-40) * Mary anoints Jesus (12:1-8) * Entering Jerusalem (12:12-15) *

Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

(18:1-11) * Before the High Priest (18:12-27) * Before Pilate (18:28-19:16a) *

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

(19:16b-37) *

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...

(19:38-42) *

Empty tomb The empty tomb is the Christian tradition that the tomb of Jesus was found empty after his crucifixion. The canonical gospels each describe the visit of women to Jesus' tomb. Although Jesus' body had been laid out in the tomb after crucifixi ...

(20:1-10) * Do not hold on to me (20:11-18) *

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...

(20:19-22) *Conclusion (20:30-31ab) The order of the signs in the Gospel of John is different from their order in the reconstructed Signs Gospel. In the Signs Gospel, they are presented in a geographically logical order, going from Galilee to Jerusalem. In the Gospel of John, they have been rearranged to reflect Jesus' repeated movements to and from Jerusalem. This would explain some of the geographical difficulties in the Gospel of John, such as the sudden shift from Judaea to Galilee in John 6:1.

References

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External links