"That the Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled" Through Perfect Worship: John 19:36-37
"That the Scriptures Might Be Fulfilled" through Perfect Worship: John 19:36-37 The evangelist implicitly attaches an immense importance to the two OT fulfillment citations in John 19:36-37 by placing them as the final scriptural quotations in his Gospel. In offering no explicit guidance for comprehending the fulfillment he acknowledges with 19:36-37 (cf. 12:37-43) after the culmination of Jesus's hour (19:25-30) and the things that took place following his death (19:31-35), John requires his audience to rely entirely on contextual information. This study examines the implications of fundamental aspects of first-century Judaism presumed by John in light of the Gospel's proximate context of early Christian worship to gain greater insight into the fulfillment attested by 19:36-37. The study identifies elements of first-century Jewish worship and the OT that provide valuable contextual information for the Gospel and 19:36-37, in particular. It addresses exegetical methods utilized by ancient author-exegetes that are relevant to John's use of the OT in 19:36-37 and their implications on the fulfillment it attests. The study also provides evidence to substantiate the abovementioned claim that Christian worship is the proximate context for the Gospel and identifies aspects of its theme of worship that are valuable for understanding the fulfillment conveyed by John through his presentation of the Scriptures in 19:36-37. After performing a textual analysis of the passage, it utilizes the external contexts that John presumes (i.e., first-century Judaism and Christian worship) and the literary context he provides to gain greater insight into the fulfillment attested by 19:36-37. This study demonstrates that these final OT fulfillment citations in conjunction with the things that happened following Jesus's death (19:31-34) establish that he offered and enabled the true worship (19:25-30, 34) prefigured in the worship of Israel and collectively foretold by the OT and Jesus himself (4:21-24) as the work given him by the Father (4:34). The recognition of the combined testimony of the OT (19:36-37) and "these things" that happened following Jesus's death (19:32-34) illuminate the culmination of his hour and attest to the fulfillment he accomplished through perfect worship.