This paper argues that the Johannine community found itself in a socio-political position in which they were forced to negotiate the Roman imperial world. It suggests that John's community was forced into a sociological /conflict situation/ in which they had to deal with the larger Roman world of which they were a part. In order to demonstrate this argument, this paper rejects Martyn's long held thesis and numerous other alternatives and opts instead for theory based on anti-language and hidden transcript to explain the nature of the “expulsion from the synagogues” found in John 9:22, 12:42, and 16:2. The study itself is limited to a discussion of a few of the titles that the Johannine community ascribed to Jesus, titles that were simultaneously ascribed to the emperors of Rome.
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