The public appearances of Jesus according to the Gospel of John, part 2: The negative experiences and positive outcomes

This is the second article regarding the public appearances of Jesus during his ministry. The first article dealt with the impressive positive events and results during the appearances of Jesus. This second article deals with the shocking negative events and results during the appearances of Jesus, which in the end turns out to result in his crucifixion. In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ persecution is portrayed as a central theme, with Jesus directly warning his followers that they will face similar hatred and persecution from ‘the world’ because they are chosen and not part of it. This article points out how Jesus was persecuted relentlessly during his earthly ministry. Therefore, the primary objective in this article is to focus on the negative experiences of Jesus, although finally culminated in positive outcomes. It became evident that Jesus’ suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are of the central aspects of Christian theology concerning the tremendous amount of detail given throughout the Gospel. By means of divine providence, his ministry resulted in positive outcomes: therefore, the message to the Graeco-Roman world that Jesus is King of the Jews. Finally, his appearances culminate in his resurrection appearances to his disciples. Methodologically, the ‘appearances’ of Jesus will be investigated to discern the negative effect the appearances evoked on the Jewish authorities who met Jesus historically. The article starts firstly with the tabling of all the negative experiences; secondly, it explores the polarity of the dynamic interactions between Jesus and his audiences during his appearances (especially at the feasts); thirdly, the crucifixion of Jesus is interpreted as his appearance to the Graeco-Roman world; and finally, the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples complete his appearances. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article points out how saturated the Gospel is with accusations and prosecutions to get rid of Jesus, which in the end led to the appearance of Jesus to the Graeco-Roman world when crucified. Being interdisciplinary, the article relates to the spectrum of theological disciplines.