2026/06/08
251. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: Two Forms of Spontaneity
To convey the essence of the priesthood of the New
Covenant, the Gospel of John, from Chapter 5 onwards, depicts Jesus as he
begins to confront "human information" in earnest. Before proceeding,
I would like to reflect on the "human information" we have been
examining thus far.
First, if we look closely at the image above, to Jesus'
right stands Judas Iscariot, who, whilst harbouring evil intentions deep
within, kisses Jesus affectionately. To His left is Peter, driven by good
intentions to protect Jesus, who is about to strike the high priest's servant
with his sword. The reason he was carrying a sword here was that, following the
Passover meal, as they set out for the Mount of Olives to pray, he had
understood from the exchange between Jesus and the disciples that he was to
take a sword with him (cf. Lk 22:35–38). Surrounding them are soldiers, trained
to obey their superiors' orders and faithfully carry out their duties, who are
attempting to apprehend Jesus. Here, people who have assimilated various 'human
information' into their own knowledge surround Jesus, each acting in accordance
with their own virtues and ethics. Amidst them, only Jesus, who seeks to fulfil
the Father's will, stands motionless, gazing straight ahead.
The difference between this Jesus and the others lies
in their spontaneity. All creation was created by the Word of God—who is
existence itself and who says, "I Am."—when He commanded, "Let
there be." Created beings, who exist in response to this, have been
endowed with the spontaneity necessary for existence. Through this spontaneity
manifested by God within creation, all creation embodies the eternity of the
almighty God and the freedom of God, who is Truth, thereby glorifying God.
Among created beings, living creatures respond to
God's command "Let there be" with the spontaneity that perpetuates
their species. Furthermore, animals have been endowed with a spontaneity
appropriate to their nature by God's command to "Be fruitful and
multiply" (cf. Gen 1:22, 28). Through this spontaneity, animals ensure
the survival of their species, and each individual offers praise to God by
living out its finite life. Thus, for all living creatures, leaving offspring
and ensuring the survival of the species is a mission to which they devote
their entire lives. Consequently, the spontaneity of animals, which emerges
from the command "Be fruitful and multiply," drives each
individual with intense purpose towards the survival of their species. It is no
exaggeration to say that the life-sustaining programme of animals is governed
by the workings of their reproductive functions.
Living beings have been endowed with knowledge
commensurate with their nature, stored in their memory, to optimise the
survival of their species. Spontaneity leads to action through its connection
with knowledge. In animals possessing this spontaneity stemming from God's
words, "Be fruitful and multiply," that knowledge is subordinate to
the workings of the reproductive function. To replace this with terms such as
‘instinct’ or ‘sexual desire’ is an overly narrow interpretation. In order to
maintain their species, living beings, when they exist in numbers, share
knowledge between individuals, and thus "information" arises. When
how to optimise this information becomes a critical factor for the survival of
their species, strategies appropriate to that living being begin to be devised.
It is here that natural selection occurs.
The information that arises when living beings exist
in plural is not God's creation, nor is it something God commanded. However, it
reflects the nature of the One who created all things in the relationship of
the Triune God. Through the evolution of knowledge brought about by information
arising between individuals of the same species, living beings are able to
adapt to the world and continue to survive. God looked upon His creation,
including these things, and saw that it was good. Amongst this information,
"human information" evolves extremely rapidly and to a high degree.
This is because God, on the premise that human beings—created in His
image—would manifest "our likeness" (Gen 1:26), endowed them
with knowledge appropriate to their nature. When each individual's spontaneity
strives to optimise the use of information for the sake of future generations,
it unleashes an explosive power. Anticipating this, God, when manifesting
"our likeness" within man, created the first human being as a
single individual.
As Jesus said, "God is spirit, and those who
worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24), to manifest
"our likeness" in man is to bestow the Spirit of God upon him.
Thus, in Genesis chapter 2, unlike chapter 1, which refers to the One who
creates all things in the relationship of the Triune God simply as
"God," from verse 4 onwards, the term is changed to "the Lord
God." That indicates the Father and the Son. In order to bestow the Spirit
upon humanity and to invite humanity into the Trinity, the Father and the Son
preferred a relationship in which they stand face to face with humanity and the
Holy Spirit, who is involved with humanity. And the "Lord God"
breathed the "breath of life" into the nostrils of man. The
"breath of life" is the "spontaneity of God" manifested by
the Father within the person, in a manner befitting that person, through the
breath of the Holy Spirit, so that the person might cooperate with the Holy
Spirit.
In this way, humanity came to possess two forms of
spontaneity, sandwiching knowledge between them. One is the spontaneity of the
flesh, consisting of God's word commanding, "Be fruitful and multiply."
The other is God's spontaneity, breathed into the nostrils to manifest the
likeness of God, who is Spirit. God trained humanity so that knowledge
appropriate to human nature might connect smoothly with God's spontaneity,
enabling humanity to live in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and to partake in
God's reality of eternal life. Jesus also subjected his disciples to the same
training. He was particularly strict with Peter, who would become the head of
the Apostles, instructing him to distinguish "human information" from
himself. As depicted in the image above, "Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it and struck the high priest's slave and cut off his right ear"
(Jn 18:10). The Gospel of Luke states, "Jesus said, 'No more of this!'
And he touched his ear and healed him" (Lk 22:51).
Here, Jesus finally demonstrated to Peter, through his
own actions, the image of a person connected to God’s spontaneity.
Maria K. M.
