Fr Victor Darlington lectures in Sacred Scripture at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh, and is parish priest and Dean of Camberwell in south London. He completed studies in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and at the Angelicum University in Rome.
Fr Victor visited Gidea Park parish on 29th February 2020 and presented three talks on ‘John among the Gospels’.
In what ways is the Fourth Gospel unique? There are many narratives in John that cannot be traced in the other gospels, and things absent from John, such as the Baptism of Jesus and the Temptations, which one might have considered essential to the gospel story.
Fr Victor compared the synoptic structure of one journey to Jerusalem during the ministry of Jesus with the repeated presence of Jesus there in the Fourth Gospel. The death of Christ on the eve of Passover is a particularly interesting contrast with what the Synoptics say.
Fr Victor spoke too about the sources for the gospel, in particular the ‘signs source’. He explained how the title ‘beloved disciple’ was suggestive of a discipleship which all can imitate.
The style of John has unique features which were also explored, such as lengthy discourses, ‘I am’ sayings, and the so-called ‘Johannine misunderstandings’. The problematic issue of ‘the Jews’, ‘Jewish leaders’, or ‘people of Judaea’ was also raised.