even such individualists may have heard about or been attracted to Chris-
tianity through other members of their own family or other social net-
works.
Several sections of the Gospel of John portray the role of social relation-
ships in the growth of Jesus’ following. The “call of the disciples” sequence
in John 1:35–51 presents a series of episodes, most of which follow a com-
mon pattern: a person has a direct encounter with Jesus and then brings
a friend or a relative to meet Jesus. In 1:36, John the Baptist tells two of
his disciples: “Look, here is the Lamb of God”; these two then follow Jesus.
In 1:40–41, one of these two disciples, namely, Andrew, calls his brother,
Simon Peter. Andrew testifies to Simon Peter concerning Jesus’ identity
and then brings Simon Peter to Jesus. In 1:43, Jesus calls Philip, who, in
turn, finds Nathaniel and brings him to Jesus. Similarly, the Samaritan
woman testifies of her encounter with Jesus to her community. The Samar-
itans then invite Jesus to stay with them and become believers themselves
(4:28, 39–42). Towards the end of Jesus’ public ministry, an unspecified
number of Greeks come to Philip. Philip then approaches Andrew, and
both disciples try to arrange for these Greeks to meet Jesus (12:20–22).
Also relevant is John 11:1–44, which portrays the sisters, Mary and
Martha, in mourning after the death of their brother, Lazarus, and concludes
with Lazarus’s resurrection. Though apparently known to be “beloved” of
Jesus and plausibly recognized as Jesus’ followers or even disciples
(Schüssler Fiorenza 1992, 63), these women are comforted in their mourn-
ing by “many of the Jews” (11:19). Not only are the Jews who surround
Mary and Martha behaving as if these women were still part of their com-
munity (although, according to the consensus view, Mary and Martha
would have already been excluded from the synagogue on the basis of their
belief that Jesus is the Messiah; cf. 11:21–27), but they are also curious
about Jesus and his possible identity as the Messiah. John reports that the
chief priests planned to execute Lazarus, “since it was on account of him
that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus” (12:11).
According to these passages, Jews, Samaritans, and possibly also
“Greeks” came to follow Jesus through established kinship or social rela-
tionships. According to a two-level reading of the Gospel of John, the dis-
ciples, the Samaritan woman, the Greeks, and the Bethany siblings
represent individual and group members of the Johannine community.
One could read the Gospel of John, therefore, as supporting Stark’s asser-
tion that adherence to this new movement took place through existing
social networks, and that most (though not all) of these adherents were
Jewish.
nora
(Nora)
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