The Rudolf Steiner Archive

50. The Deeper Meaning of the Gospel of John

Article in the “Bremer Nachrichten” dated November 9, 1909

[ 1 ] Theosophical Society (Adyar), Bremen Branch. Last Saturday, at the Gewerbehaus, the Secretary-General of the Theosophical Society, Dr. Rudolf Steiner of Berlin, spoke before a large audience on the topic: “The Higher Meaning of the Gospel of John.” The speaker, as we are told, elaborated [among other things] on the following: The two factors on which modern man relies when searching for the sources of his religious concepts are, first, the abstract ideal of Christ that he creates in his heart, and second, the external documents—the Gospels—to both of which he turns when seeking comfort. The early leaders of Christianity approached the Gospels differently than people do today. They were not put off by the contradictions but were glad that their view was opened up in four directions. When one realizes that each evangelist sought to portray a particular aspect of the divine being, the apparent mysteries of the Gospel of John—as an aspect of wisdom—are resolved. Today there is a new tool for exploring the immense problem of Christ: spiritual research. Just as external science uses instruments to examine physical matter, so spiritual research enters the spiritual world using its instrument—the human soul. With this refined instrument, the past can be fathomed without external documents. Of course, not everyone needs to become a spiritual researcher, just as not everyone needs to become a natural scientist. The open-minded person will consult their sound reason to examine the spiritual researcher’s claims. Critical research unravels; spiritual research sheds full light. Not a single word in all four Gospels is superfluous. Anyone who approaches them with a developed sense of truth will have the impression that no more significant document could ever have been created. This is especially true of the Gospel of John, which, because of its opening, seems mysterious to people. The Logos (the Word) was the name given to that which permeates the entire world—namely, the ideas of wisdom. A person can form a certain conception of this wise cause by trying to view their own “I” as a drop and the divine Being as an ocean in which all ideas are contained. “In the beginning was the Logos” (John 1:1) can be translated as: “Before there was a visible world, there was the spiritual world, in which all the ‘I’s’ of humanity are rooted.” A long process of development is necessary before a person can recognize the highest human stage of development of the ‘I,’ which was embodied in Christ Jesus. It was not the power within him that was also a John; rather, it was the ability to fully recognize him, for John means “seer,” or more accurately, “one who senses God within”; because the Forerunner, the Baptist, was such a one, the Evangelist could call upon him as a witness. Human development is based on the law of love, which before Christ was bound to blood ties. With the coming of Christ Jesus, humanity was faced with the task of striving toward the great ideal of universal brotherhood. Soul-to-soul understanding—the interaction of separate “I’s” outside of blood ties—became possible only with the coming of Jesus. At the wedding in Cana, the mother was still bound by blood ties; the Samaritan woman, as one unrelated by blood, proves that the power of the “I” penetrated into a foreign soul. The raising of Lazarus demonstrates the overflowing of his soul into another being. The Mystery of Golgotha becomes comprehensible when one considers the development of humanity. Upon witnessing death, the great Buddha came to the conviction that life is suffering; 600 years later, upon beholding the Christian symbol of Golgotha, the disciples came to the conviction of the victory of life over death. The spiritual world is not closed off as long as a person strives to allow the spirit of Christ Jesus to flow into them. Every sunrise can serve as a metaphor for the dawning of a developed sense of truth. The Gospel of John is a precursor to the understanding of Christ. — The speaker was rewarded with rich applause.