‘Savior’ in the Gospel of John and in the Hellenistic World
John 4:42
Excerpt
The confession of Jesus as “the Savior [sōtēr] of the world” (4:42) is used only once in this Gospel and only once in the Johannine Epistles (1 John 4:14). In the Old Testament the designation of Savior is applied a few times to God as the saving one (e.g., Ps 24:5; Isa 12:2; 43:3, 11; 63:8). It is used in a similar way God in Luke (1:47), 1 Timothy (1:1; 2:3; 4:10), Titus (1:3; 2:10; 3:4), and Jude (25). It is applied to Jesus by Luke (at 2:11; Acts 5:31; 13:23) and in a few other places (Eph 5:23; Phil 3:20; 2 Tim 1:10; Titus 1:4; 2:13; 3:6; 2 Pet 1:1, 11; 2:20;3:2, 18).
For the early Christians, the designation “Savior” was a strategic confession like “Lord.” In the Hellenistic world, there were many gods and persons designated as “lords” and “saviors” including the Roman emperors such as Augustus, who was virtually deified in the sixth Eclogue of Virgil. In contrast, however, the early Christians confessed that Jesus was indeed the Christ, God’s only Son, the Savior. This confession was enshrined in the symbol of the fish (ichthys).
Borchert, Gerald L. John 1–11. Vol. 25A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996. Print. The New American Commentary.
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