Narrative Echoes in John 21: Intertextual Interpretation and Intratextual Connection

Abstract

This article examines John 21 by means of Wayne Booth's reading strategy of 'conduction'. As a later redactional addition, ch. 21 casts a different understanding upon the preceding narrative of chs. 1-20 through the implied author's intertextual interpretation. One of the most obvious ways in which the intertextual interpretation of the implied author is manifest is in the form of narrative echoes, implicit refer ences to earlier parts of the narrative discourse in chs. 1-20. These become intratex tual connections for the implied reader, whereby the interplay between the derivations in chs. 1-20 and their intertextual interpretation in ch. 21 creates new meaning. At least four echoes are extant: (1) the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the resulting scenes surrounding it in 6.1-71; (2) Peter's Three-fold Denial in 18.15- 18, 25-27; (3) Jesus' Washing of the Disciples' Feet in 13.2-5, 36-38; and (4) the Parable of the Good Shepherd in 10.1-18. The interplay that occurs between the implied author and the implied reader prompts the authorial audience to make the following acknowledgments: (1) the Eucharist, as an embodiment of Jesus' contin ued presence, fosters belief in those who celebrate it; (2) restoration for estranged members of the ecclesiastical community occurs in the context of the Eucharist; and (3) Peter is afforded special status as a church leader and his ministry as the Good Shepherd (specifically his activity of bringing in marginalized groups [10.16]) encourages the embrace of Christian communities of differing heritages.