Farewell Discourse
In the New Testament, chapters 14–17 of the Gospel of John are known as the Farewell Discourse given by Jesus to eleven of his disciples immediately after the conclusion of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, the night before his crucifixion.[1]
The discourse is generally seen as having distinct components.[2] First, Jesus tells the disciples that he will be going away to the Father, and that he will send the Holy Spirit to guide the disciples.[2] Jesus bestows peace on the disciples and commands them to love one another. The expression of the unity of love between Jesus and his Father, in the Spirit, as it applies to his disciples in the love of Christ, is a key theme in the discourse, manifested by several reiterations of the New Commandment: "love one another as I have loved you".[3]
The next part of the discourse contains the allegory of the True Vine which positions Jesus as the vine (the source of life for the world) and the disciples as the branches, building on the pattern of discipleship in the gospels.[4][5] The Vine again emphasizes the love among the disciples, but Jesus then warns the disciples of upcoming persecutions: "If the world hates you, remember that they hated me before you".[1] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
In the final part of the discourse (John 17:1-26) Jesus prays for his followers. This is the longest prayer of Jesus in any of the gospels, and is known as the Farewell Prayer or the High Priestly Prayer.[6][7] The key themes of the prayer are the glorification of the Father and petitions for the unity of the disciples through love.[2] Jesus prays to the Father that his followers "may all be one as we are one" and that "the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them".[2][6]
Although chapters 13 to 17 of John may be viewed as a larger unit, most of chapter 13 may be viewed as a preparation for the farewell, and the farewell prayer in chapter 17 as its conclusion.[8][9]
The discourse is preceded by 13:31–38 (just after Judas leaves the last supper), in which Jesus gives the remaining eleven disciples the New Commandment to "love one another" and predicts Peter's denial of knowing him during his upcoming crucifixion.
The discourse may be separated into four components:[6][10]
However, this four part structure is not subject to universal agreement among scholars, and at times, the third part is assumed to start at beginning of chapter 16 of John.[2] Some scholars use a three part structure in which chapters 15 and 16 form one unit.[4]
The statement "these things I have spoken to you" occurs several times throughout the discourse, and emphasizes that the words of farewell spoken by Jesus are not to be forgotten.[11] The statement "while I am still with you" then also underscores the importance of the final instructions given.[11]
This discourse is rich with Christological content, e.g. it reiterates the Pre-existence of Christ in John 17:5 when Jesus refers to the glory which he had with the Father "before the world was".[12]
Historicity[edit]
The Jesus Seminar has argued that verses
John 14:30–31 represent a conclusion, and that the next three chapters have been inserted into the text later. This argument considers the Farewell Discourse not to be authentic, and postulates that it was constructed after the death of Jesus.[22] Similarly, Stephen Harris has questioned the authenticity of the discourse because it appears only in the Gospel of John, and not in the Synoptic gospels.[23] However, scholars such as Herman Ridderbos see John 14:30–31 as a "provisional ending" just to that part of the discourse and not an ending to the entire discourse.[11]
Fernando Segovia has argued that the discourse originally consisted of just chapter 14, and the other chapters were added later, but Gary M. Burge opposes that argument given the overall theological and literary unity of the work and that the discourse has much in common with the gospel as a whole, e.g. the themes of Jesus' death and resurrection and his care for his own.[24]
In 2004, Scott Kellum published a detailed analysis of the literary unity of the entire Farewell Discourse and stated that it shows that it was written by a single author, and that its structure and placement within the Gospel of John is consistent with the rest of that gospel.[9][25]