The Rudolf Steiner Archive

48. The Occult Meaning of the Gospel of John

[ 1 ] Anyone who takes the time to reflect on the four accounts of the events in Palestine will soon discover the difference between the first three Gospels and the fourth, the Gospel of John. In the first three Gospels, the external events are presented to the reader in a more intellectual way; in the Gospel of John, the focus is more on the emotional aspect. An infinite inner depth inspired the author; an empathy and compassion for what he felt toward Christ Jesus are expressed here. The author’s personality felt most intensely what took place in Palestine.

[ 2 ] This sentiment on the part of the author was also a contributing factor to the assertion, made from the critical standpoint of materialist scholarship, that this Gospel was the least faithful in its account. It was therefore regarded not as a historical fact, but as a magnificent poem full of deep poetry, as a hymn to Jesus Christ, this mighty, towering personality. But the prevailing spirit of the age, in the sense of materialistic thinking, also contributed to making the first three—the synoptic—Gospels seem closer to and more natural to the human intellect and sensibility of the present day. The Gospel of John fits poorly into this framework, since its Christ cannot be compared to any other personality.

[ 3 ] This is certainly more feasible with regard to the first three, and how good it was for our time, then, to be able to portray the personality of Christ Jesus as a human being among humans, just like any other—much like Socrates, Plato, and other great men. The “simple man from Nazareth”—how much our time likes this expression, and how it seeks thereby to reduce the personality of Christ to the human level! This judgment of taste is based on the suggestion of critical scholarship.

[ 4 ] In contrast stands theosophy, or spiritual science; it seeks to be nothing more than an instrument for understanding these religious texts. Theosophy is entirely free of preconceptions. Today, science does not hold the same position it did 300 years ago, when Aristotle’s teachings prevailed and there was no observation of nature! [Then] came the great Kepler, and humanity learned to see! On one side now stood the Aristotelians, on the other the scientists free of preconceptions; and telling is the statement made by a student of Aristotle during a dispute over the terminations of the nerve fibers: he believed Aristotle more than nature! At that time, they did not yet have a sense of what lies behind things—something that spiritual science today seeks to emphasize once more, not with physical instruments, but through spiritual faculties. Theosophy follows the path of first “beholding” and then studying the ancient texts, and in doing so it always turns out that both yield the same result: what has been beheld is confirmed by the books!

[ 5 ] This view will gain ground more and more, no matter how much science may resist it. Thus, we will also examine, without any preconceptions, what the Gospel of John is really all about. It is much like Euclid’s geometry: the student listens to the teaching, and through putting it into practice, it eventually becomes his own intellectual property and a complete reality. In the same way, we will see how the Gospel of John agrees with what spiritual science has to say about it.

[ 6 ] What is the theosophical view of human beings? We see that they possess, first of all, a fourfold nature: the physical body, then the etheric body with its principle of growth and reproduction, and its struggle against decay. Furthermore, there is the astral or desire body, the seat of sensations and emotions. When we look at a human being before us, we recognize that he consists of a sum of pleasure and suffering, of joy and pain. But if we go deeper, it becomes clear to us that there is a name that is unique in its designation of the human being. This is the name “I.” Anyone can refer to an object by the same name, but each person can utter the name “I” only when referring to their innermost being, their self, their individuality. In this sense, the “I” cannot reach our ears from the outside.

[ 7 ] How, then, does the spiritual researcher relate to the material world? Everything physical has its origin in the spiritual; all matter is born of spirit—it is condensed spirit, just as ice is condensed water. — So it is with the spiritual realm as well; it is right in the midst of us, and everything is merely the outward expression of the spiritual. The physical human being is born of the spirit. The “I” is the divine spark that has flowed out of the spiritual ocean like a drop and entered into the human being.

[ 8 ] Thus we see how, starting from the physical body, the other bodies take on ever finer and finer forms; we see how the Spirit underlies everything—this Spirit that permeates the world like an infinite being from which the physical is born. Christian Science refers to this Spirit, which underlies all existence, as the Logos or the Word—the divine Word of creation. Just as dust particles on a pure, polished brass plate take on specific shapes when stroked with a violin bow, so too can the Logos be described as the shaper of all things in the visible world. If we go back to primeval times, we will find the Logos at work in all physical bodies, then in the etheric body, then in the astral body, and we will see how human beings will emerge from this light. It is light that makes human beings possible in the first place; without light, there is no knowledge, no spiritual striving. It is the divine Spirit that brings the world realm into being.

[ 9 ] The youngest child of the divine Spirit is the “I” within the human being. At first, this “I” is unaware of its origin, of its divine nature. In the beginning, we do not recognize divine wisdom. Christian wisdom therefore refers to it as darkness. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word was the light of humanity; it shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:1; John 1:4–5)

[ 10 ] This light, which underlies all bodies, is referred to as the life of the Logos. In the very beginning, there was this Logos, from which everything came into being; the life of the Logos becomes light, and the light shines into unconscious human nature.

[ 11 ] We have seen how the fourfold nature of the human being arises from the direct perception of the spiritual world. The author of the Gospel of John was an awakened soul, a great initiate who is referred to nowhere else as “the disciple whom the Lord loved” (John 21:20). The entire inner life of Christ continued to work within him; the full depth of the Christ-manifestation was reflected in this disciple, enabling him to gaze deeply into the spiritual world. He recognized what lay hidden behind the personality of Christ—that in Jesus of Nazareth was embodied the highest being who had ever walked the earth.

[ 12 ] Until Christ came, human beings were unaware of their divine nature; it was Christ alone who gave them the understanding “from his fullness...” (John 1:16). Everything in the Gospel of John is written from a knowledge of the deepest mysteries—for example, the eleventh chapter, the raising of Lazarus. Everyone senses that something profound underlies this event. After this deed had taken place, it was said: “This man is performing great signs.” (John 11:47) Something had happened that made people tremble before the power of the personality of Jesus Christ. This was an act of initiation—the first initiation performed by Christ—as is evident from the words: “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God.” (John 11:4) He wanted to show that He is the life and the light, and this light was also to illuminate Lazarus and lead him to resurrection, since he was a friend of the Master. This was to be demonstrated in the story of Lazarus.

[ 13 ] There have always been people in whom the great event unfolds, in whom the world of light becomes reality; the world of the spirit approaches them, and their spiritual ears and eyes are opened to spiritual things. The method of initiation is demonstrated in the ancient mysteries. It distinguished three degrees. The first degree is that of thinking free from the senses. The senses must be shut off, and only an objective observation of things must take place. Second degree: purification. Astral experiences of feeling and sensation are transformed; with new organs—spiritual ears and eyes—one can look into the astral world.

[ 14 ] The third degree is that of enlightenment. Once the initiate has returned to the physical world after three and a half days, he always has the spiritual world before his eyes; he is reborn. During those three days, the etheric and astral bodies were driven out of the physical body, and thereafter, throughout the rest of his life, the etheric body retained this imprint of the higher worlds.

[ 15 ] The first initiation performed by Christ was the raising of Lazarus. Christ introduced a new form of initiation by impressing upon the initiate the full spiritual truth of Christ. From this, one can see how the event of the raising of Lazarus has a much deeper meaning than is commonly understood. It is only in this sense that Goethe’s words apply: “For as long as you do not have this—this ‘die and become’—you are but a gloomy guest on this dark earth!”

[ 16 ] What took place in the sacred mysteries had to be shrouded in profound silence. Betraying the proceedings of the mysteries resulted in death. Perhaps this also explains the death of Socrates. Aeschylus was able to save himself from death only by taking refuge in the temple. This happened because, at that time, humanity was not considered ready for initiation. Christ performed the initiation publicly out of infinite compassion for humanity. Thus, what has become known as the theosophical view was also derived from the Mysteries.

[ 17 ] The only question is how these initiation abilities are acquired and what the path to them is. In the Christian method of initiation, a person must pass through seven stages, as illustrated in the following discussion.

[ 18 ] First: The plant takes root in dead minerals, in the mineral kingdom; the plant could not be what it is today if the mineral kingdom had not provided the material for its formation. It will therefore bow in gratitude to the mineral, without which it could not exist. In the same way, the animal will bow down to the plant from which it receives nourishment for its own growth. So it is with human beings as well. They must humbly bow down to the natural kingdoms below them, of which they are a product. Those who occupy a higher stage of development must always remember that they, too, were once at all the lower stages. In this way, he will be imbued with universal humility, and thus the image will one day arise before him that John depicted in chapter 13 as Christ washing the disciples’ feet: “The servant is not greater than the master” (John 13:16).

[ 19 ] The second stage is that of purification and cleansing. He perceives everything with the spirit and distinguishes between reality and illusion. He learns to understand what a person’s perceptions actually consist of; one learns to evaluate all factual experiences from the correct perspective. Come what may, always stand upright in life. Image of the scourged Jesus.

[ 20 ] At the third stage, the initiate also learns to control his emotions; he develops the ability not to waver but to persevere, even when that which is most sacred and sublime to him is showered with scorn and ridicule. The Crowning with Thorns. Image of Christ Crowned with Thorns.

[ 21 ] Fourth stage: Christ crucified. One perceives one’s own body as something foreign, as something external. Through this experience, one becomes strong in spirit; one experiences Christ crucified as a real, lived experience. Here, too, the test of Simon Peter comes upon him, as well as the test of blood.

[ 22 ] The fifth stage is mystical death. Everything around him has faded away; a lethargic state sets in, a state of complete stillness. An equanimity of his mental state toward all external things.

[ 23 ] The sixth stage is called “burial”; he feels at one with the earth, and he is reborn in spirit.

[ 24 ] The seventh stage cannot be explained by the physical senses; it is union with the Divine, a purely spiritual process—ascension.

[ 25 ] We see how the entire Christ experience takes place within the initiate, how he inwardly undergoes all the phases of this event in reality. The entire external Christ event, with all its historical details, is internalized; we no longer need external proof, just as we see in the Damascus experience of Paul, who had received the spiritual Christ within himself.

[ 26 ] The eyes are formed by the light for the light; without light, there is no eye; without the historical Christ, there is no inner experience of Christ. Thus, the Christ event is lived through, yet there are initiates of various degrees. Different images arise for the initiates, depending on their point of view. The apostles, too, were such initiates. The higher the spiritual level, the more deeply one could penetrate the mysteries of the Christ event.

[ 27 ] Thus we see John, the apostle whom the Lord loved, as an initiate who had perceived Christ most deeply. Goethe says: “Were the eye not sun-like, it could never behold the sun. Were God’s own power not within us, how could the divine delight us?” One should not merely read the Gospel of John, but truly experience it; then this event of Christ will shine forth for us as well.