Novum

Testamentum
An International Quarterly for
New Testament
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BRILL Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89 www.bnll.nl/nt

Who Gets What?

God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in
John 19:30

David Crump
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Abstract
Interpretations of John 19:30 historically have divided themselves into three categories:
(1) Jesus surrenders his spirit in death (traditional view); (2) Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to
disciples at the cross (E.C. Hoskyns); and (3) a combination of these two, wherein the
explicit description of death also implies the Spirit s future denouement. Here a new inter­
pretation is offered that is more congruent with Johannine theology and vocabulary: Jesus
is actually returning the Holy Spirit to his Father in preparation for the sending of the
Paraclete as promised in John 7:39.

Keywords
John 19:30; E.C. Hoskyns; Holy Spirit; άποδίδωμι; παραδίδωμι

John 19:30 concludes with three simple words, παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα.

Upon closer examination, however, seemingly simple words are not so
simple. First, the absence of an indirect object leaves the action uncertain.
To whom does Jesus "hand over" το πνεύμα? John does not say. Second, it
is unclear how to interpret το πνεύμα. Is John referring to Jesus' surrender
of his human spirit or to his giving up the Holy Spirit? Until now there
have been three schools of thought on how to answer these questions.
However, this article makes a new, fourth proposal: in John 19:30 Jesus
gives the Holy Spirit to his heavenly Father in preparation for the future
sending of the Spirit to the church.1

l)
I suggested this interpretation briefly in my article, "Re-examining the Johannine Trin­
ity: Perichoresis or Deification?," SJT 59 (2006) 400 n. 12.
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2009 DOI: 10.1163/156853608X323064
 Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 79

I. Current Interpretations
1) The most prevalent interpretation of John 19:30, among both ancient
and modern commentators, understands παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα as Johns
description ofJesus' death, which is equivalent to Mark 15:37 (έξέπνευσεν),
Matt 27:50 (άφήκεν το πνεύμα), and Luke 23:46 (παρατίθεμαι το πνεΰμά
μου). In "handing over the spirit," Jesus "expires" surrendering himself to
death in obedience to the Father,2 thereby fulfilling the promise of 10:18,
"No one can take [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."
Augustine was the first to suggest that Jesus bows his head "as in sleep" to
highlight his ultimate control over even these dire circumstances.3 And
M. Wiles notes that ancient commentators uniformly interpreted το
πνεύμα as Jesus' human spirit voluntarily leaving his dead body.4 A few
modern commentators agree, claiming that παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα is a ster­
eotypical reference to human death.5 Thus John 19:30, like the synoptics,
straightforwardly is describing Jesus' physical demise.

2)
F. Lücke, Commentar über das Evangelium des Johannes (2 vols; Bonn: Eduard Weber,
1843) 2.766; EL. Godet, Commentary on Johns Gospel (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 3rd ed.
1886) 949; B.E Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John (London: John Murray, 1908)
278; T. Zahn, Das Evangelium des Johannes (Leipzig: A. Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung,
1908) 650; W Bauer, Das Johannesevangelium (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck],
1933) 225; H. Strathmann, Das Evangelium nach Johannes (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1959) 251; W. de Boor, Das Evangelium des Johannes (Wuppertal: R. Brockhaus,
1970) 2.220; R. Bultmann, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster,
1971) 675 n. 1 (although Bultmann calls the connection to 10:18 "over subtle"); C.K. Bar-
rett, The Gospel According to St. John: An Introduction with Commentary and Notes on the
Greek Text (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1978) 554; J. Schneider, Das Evangelium nach
Johannes (Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2nd ed. 1978) 313; S. Schulz, Das Evangelium
nach Johannes (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1978) 236; J. Becker, Das Evangelium
nach Johannes: Kapitel 11-21 (Gütersloh: Mohn, 1981) 584; R. Schnackenburg, The Gospel
According to St. John (New York: Crossroad, 1982) 3.284-5; D.A. Carson, The GospelAccord-
ing to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1991) 621; D. Senior, The
Passion of Jesus in the Gospel of John (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991) 119; L.
Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 721; G.R. Beasley-
Mmrsy, John (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2nd ed. 1999) 353.
3)
In Jo. cxix 6, cited by R. Brown, The Gospel According to John (xiii-xxi) (New York: Dou-
bleday, 1970) 910.
4)
The Spiritual Gospel: The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel in the Early Church (Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University, 1960) 62, 67; "[I]t is surprising to find that πνεύμα is never
interpreted of the Holy Spirit in John xix.30" (67).
5)
H.A.W. Meyer, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Gospel of John (Edinburgh: T. &
T. Clark, 1875; New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1895) 354; J.H. Bernard, A Critical and
80 D. Crump /Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89

2) E.C. Hoskyns offered a fresh reading of John 19:30 in his commen­

6
tary The Fourth Gospel (1940). He begins by observing that παρέδωκεν το
πνεύμα "is very strange language," implying that such an unusual turn of
phrase must be something other than a conventional euphemism for dying.
Given the Johannine association of Christ's passion with the gift of the
Spirit and the Spirit's coming as an outpouring of water (4:14; 7:37-39;
19:34; 1 John 5:8), Hoskyns suggests that Jesus bowed his head to identify
his followers, including his mother and the beloved disciple standing at the
foot of his cross, in the first half of 19:30. By "handing over the Spirit" in
the second half of the verse, Jesus bestows the Holy Spirit to those witness­
ing his death. Thus the climax of the crucifixion is not the death of the first
Paraclete but the arrival of "another Paraclete" promised to believers (14:16,
26; 15:26; 16:7). Hoskyns says:

This is no fantastic exegesis, since w. 28-30 record the solemn fulfillment of vii. 37-
39. The thirst of the believers is assuaged by the rivers of living water which flow from
the belly of the Lord, the author having already noted that this referred to the giving
of the Spirit. The outpouring of the Spirit here recorded must be understood in close
connection with the outpouring of the water and the blood (v. 34). The similar asso­
ciation of Spirit and Water and Blood in I John v. 8 . . . seems to make this interpreta­
tion not only possible, but necessary.

Hoskyns' remark about the strangeness of John's sentence has been exten­
sively endorsed by commentators, noting that "John's expression is found
nowhere else in all of pre-Johannine Greek literature."7 Nevertheless,

Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1928)
2.641-642.
6)
The Fourth Gospel (London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1947) 532. The first significant
defense and development of Hoskyns argument was made by G. Bampfylde, "John XDC.28,
A Case for a Different Translation," NovT 11 (1969) 247-260. The interpretation is explic-
idy endorsed, albeit with various modifications, by G. Bürge, The Anointed Community: The
Holy Spirit in the Johannine Tradition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987) 134-135; I. de la
Potterie, The Hour of Jesus: The Passion and the Resurrection of Jesus According to John (New
York: Alba House, 1989) 131-132; J. Swetnam, "Bestowal of the Spirit in the Fourth Gos-
pel," Bib 74 (1993) 564-566, 569, 571; B. Malina and R. Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Com-
mentary on the Gospel of John (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998) 270-271; R. Brown, An
Introduction to the Gospel of John (New York: Doubleday, 2003) 310, 314.
7)
I. de la Potterie, Exegesis Novi Testamenti: Passio et Mors Christi: Jo 18-19 (Rome:
Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1964-65) 129, "Locutio Joannis nullibi invenitur in tota lit-
teratura graeca praeioannea," a conclusion reaffirmed by Dauer, Die Passionsgeschichte im
 Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 81

Hoskyns' critics insist that John 20:22 presents an immovable obstacle to

8
his view. If Jesus had already bestowed the Spirit from the cross, why
would he breathe out the Holy Spirit again after his resurrection in 20:22?
Although this criticism initially seems apropos, it fails to grasp Hoskyns'
argument. Hoskyns does indeed read John 20:22 as the Johannine equiva­
9
lent of the Lukan Pentecost. However, he does so while suggesting that
19:30 describes only a partial precursor to Pentecost granted to a select
few. Unfortunately, he never explores why this particular group (Jesus'
mother, the beloved disciple and the two Marys) should have received an
advance deposit of the Spirit for themselves.
3) A third interpretation conflates the previous two views, either delib­
erately or inadvertently. For instance, after endorsing the traditional inter­
pretation of physical death, G.H.C. MacGregor muses that "at Jesus' death
his spirit was set free from the limitations of the body that it might be
bestowed upon the church (7:39; 20:22)." 10 By conflating the human and
the divine spirits in this way, MacGregor manages to serve up two other­
wise different interpretations at once.11 This is especially curious since
MacGregor s commentary was published in 1928, twelve years before
Hoskyns' work. While Hoskyns cites MacGregor in both the authors'
index and the exposition of 21:24, 12 he is never mentioned with reference
to John 19:30 despite the evocative similarity between MacGregor's
conflation of human with holy spirits and Hoskyns' own understanding of
παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα.

Johannesevangelium, 214; F. Porsch, Pneuma und Wort. Ein exegetischer Beitrag zur Pneuma-
tologie des Johannesevangeliums (Frankfurt: Knecht, 1974) 328; Swetnam, "Bestowal of the
Spirit in the Fourth Gospel," 564, 566.1 am indebted to Prof. Kenneth Bratt of the Calvin
College Classics Department for his help in translating the pertinent sections of de la
Potterie.
8)
Barrett, The Gospel According to St. John, 554, 570; Schnackenburg, The Gospel According
to St. John, 285; Senior, The Passion, 119.
9)
"The fourth Evangelist... records the gift of the Spirit on the first Easter Day... What
the Lord will do invisibly from heaven [i.e. in Acts] He here does visibly on earth;" Hoskyns,
The Fourth Gospel, 546-547 [my clarification].
10)
The Gospel of John (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1928) 349.
n )
MacGregor describes the Holy Spirit as a "principle of spiritual living" (365). It is
unclear whether he understands the spirit as personal, and to what extent he distinguishes
the existence of the spirit from the historical Jesus; see The Gospel of John, 31, 207-208,
293-294, 309.
12)
The Fourth Gospel, 602 and 560-561 (respectively).
82 D. Crump /Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89

Post-Hoskyns attempts at blending the two preceding interpretations

of 19:30 are increasingly common. Typically, commentators make their
case by alluding to the Johannine predilection for double entendre. Thus
19:30 explicitly depicts Jesus' death while implicitly symbolizing his
13
impending gift of the Holy Spirit to the church. I. de la Potterie even
goes so far as to insist that the uniqueness of John's phrase, παρέδωκεν το
πνεύμα, demands such a special significance {speciali significatione) for the
passage.14

II. A New Interpretation

There is another possible meaning to John 19:30 that previous commenta­

tors have overlooked. Namely, Jesus is entrusting the Holy Spirit to his
Father. B. Lindars comes tantalizingly close to this insight when he finally
rejects Hoskyns' view by noting that παρέδωκεν requires "an indirect object
(i.e. the disciples). But here, if one must be supplied it must surely be
God himself to whom Jesus entrusts his spirit."15 Lindars, however, fails
to note that deciding whether God or the disciples receive the spirit
from Jesus first depends on the meaning attributed to το πνεύμα. If
παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα refers to Jesus' loss of life, then the indirect object,
the recipient of that life, can only be God. But if το πνεύμα is the
Holy Spirit, then the indirect object remains uncertain. In this latter case,
deciding between God and the disciples, either of which is grammatically
possible, finally depends on which action is most likely within John's theo­
logical thought world. Although Lindars concludes, without explanation,
that the verb requires God as its indirect object, he overlooks the possibil­
ity that Jesus is not handing over his human spirit but is surrendering the
Holy Spirit to heaven. A variety of thematic and textual elements in John's

13)
R.H. Lightfoot, St. Johns Gospel: A Commentary (Oxford: Clarendon, 1956) 319;
R. Brown, The Gospel According to John (xiii-xxi) 931, 1015; G. Johnston, The Spirit-Para­
clete in the Gospel of John (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1970) 11-12, 94; Keener, The
Gospel ojJohn, 2.1149.
14)
Passio et Mors Christi, 129. However, his more recent claim that παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα
has been proven philologically to denote such a double meaning goes well beyond the evi­
dence; see The Hour of Jesus, 131-132.
15)
The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott,
1972) 582-583.
 Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 83

gospel strongly indicate that giving the Spirit to the Father is the action
portrayed.

III. The Gift of the Spirit

Understanding John's view of the relationships between the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit helps to answer the question of what spirit Jesus is sur-
rendering. John makes it clear that, for Jesus as well as for his disciples,
the gift of the Holy Spirit comes only from the Father. John the Baptist is
able to identify Jesus because of a prior, prophetic word explaining the
significance of the Spirit's descent from heaven (1:32-33; also 3:34). Thus
Jesus' ministry is inaugurated by the Father first giving him the Spirit.
Jesus' words from the cross (it is finished) serve as the closing corollary to
the Baptist's opening announcement—1:32-33 and 19:30 are bookends,
so to speak, opening and closing Jesus' earthly work as messiah. With the
words "it is finished" (19:30) his mission is accomplished. What then is
to become of the Spirit?
In presenting Jesus as the eternally préexistent Logos made flesh (1:1-
18), John departs from the synoptic portrait of Jesus as a messiah operat-
ing in the Spirit's power. The Johannine Son of Man, who has himself
"come down from heaven" (1:11-14, 51; 3:13; 6:38, 4 1 , 50-51, 58, 62;
7:28-29; 8:14, 2 1 , 23, 42; 9:39; 13.3, 33; 14:3, 18-23; 16:27-30; 17:8,
18; 18:37), has no need for Spirit empowerment; he requires only the
Spirit's messianic imprimatur. Once Jesus has been "lifted up," remaining
obedient unto death, his messianic identity is definitively established
once and for all (3:14; 7:39; 8:28; 12:16,23,32-34; 13:31-32; 17:1). He
has no more need of the Spirit-as-identity-marker. From his cross the
eternal Son is able to surrender the Spirit to the Father so that his exalta-
tion may precipitate the next step in the Father's plan: disseminating the
Holy Spirit from heaven to the disciples (7:39; 14:16-17, 26-28; 15:26;
16:7, 13-15).
The fact that the Holy Spirit must come from the Father is a vital ingre-
dient prohibiting the Spirit's dissemination from the cross, whether to a
few disciples or to many. The Spirit is not Jesus' alone to give. John consist-
ently declares that the Holy Spirit is given to disciples by the Father (3:34;
14:16-17, 26; 15:26b). Eventually, the ascended Son will share in the
Father's giving (15:26a; 16:7), but the Holy Spirit is never said to come
from the Son alone (whether during his earthly or ascended ministry).
84 D. Crump /Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89

Here is the fatal flaw in Hoskyns' otherwise evocative suggestion. As the

perfectly submissive Son who only does what the Father gives him to do
(5:19, 26-27, 30, 36; 6:37-39; 8:29; 10:29; 17:2, 6-9; 18:11), Jesus must
first hand over the Spirit to the Father before the Father disseminates the
16
Spirit to the disciples through his Son (20:22).

IV. Handing Over

Initially, Jesus' action might be interpreted as "returning" the Spirit to the

Father, the one who gave him the Spirit in the first place. In this case, a
possible objection to this new interpretation could be the occasional claim
that άποδίδωμι is the more appropriate verb for "returning a gift to the
giver," whereas παραδίδωμι merely signifies "handing (something) over to
another." 17 If these definitions are correct, άπέδωκεν το πνεύμα would be
the correct way for John to indicate that Jesus was "giving/returning" the
Spirit to the Father. The fact that John did not do this would actually seem
to lend support to either the traditional interpretation (Jesus gives up his
life-spirit), Hoskyns' proposal (Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to the disciples
gathered at the foot of his cross) or the conflated view (the explicit refer­
ence to Jesus' death also implies the future gift of the Spirit). However, the
aforementioned definitions of these two verbs do not withstand closer
scrutiny for several reasons.
First, άποδίδωμι is not a technical term that has the narrow sense of
"restore to the giver" as some have claimed. This is one possible meaning,
but it is far from dominant in the literature. In fact, throughout the LXX,
Philo, Josephus and the NT, it is actually the least common sense of the
word. 18 Most often, άποδίδωμι is best translated as "give, pay, sell, render;"

16)
Thus whether or not Jesus ascends to heaven between 19:42 and 20:22 is not germane
to this argument.
17)
So Dodd, The Interpretation ofthe Fourth Gospel, 428 n. 3; Bampfylde, "John XIX.28,"
256; Bürge, The Anointed Community, 134.
18)
Of 13 occurrences in the LXX, only 3 (Gen 20:7, 14; Ps 54[55]:21) may possibly mean
"restore (something) to the original giver/possessor." Of 90 occurrences in Philo, there are
only 20 possible instances with this sense {Her 258, 282; Somn 1:92, 93, 100, 101 [twice],
112;/<v 188,195,201,227[twice],255;5^r2:lll, 116; 4:31; Virt % [twice], 117). Of 158
occurrences in Josephus, there are 35 possible instances (Bell 1.257; 4.543; 6.115; Ant 3.283,
284; 4.274,314; 6.17; 7.261,271,319; 11.66; 12.22,144; 13.32,33,40,245,263; 14.18,
73,75,77,249,304,315,317; 15.217; 16.6,281; 19.261,275; 20.244; Vita 130,335). Of
48 occurrences in the NT, only one (Luke 9:42) can conceivably mean "return to the giver."
 Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 85

the sense of "return/restore" is seldom in view. Thus, aside from the fact that
άποδίδωμι never appears anywhere in Johannine literature, its absence from
John 19:30 in particular offers no impediment to the current argument.
Second, in the literature here under review, παραδίδωμι has a more pre­
cise denotation than merely "handing (something) over to another." Typi­
cally, there is an additional element involving the recipient "gaining
authority/power over" the thing received. Thus, as K.H. Rengstorf notes, a
more precise definition is required, such as: surrender, entrust, delegate,
assign to another's charge, consign (for implementation, care, administra­
tion, or for any purpose).19 This sense of "entrusting to another's authority"
predominates throughout the LXX, Philo, and Josephus, becoming the
consistent NT sense of the word. The exact nature of the authority involved
must be determined by the word's context. Consequently, if something is
handed over to someone who is seeking control, the most common trans­
lation is "surrender."20 If someone is handed over for punishment, impris­
onment or destruction, the word is regularly translated as "consign."21 If
something is handed over to be kept or preserved (such as the law or tradi­
tion), it is best translated as "entrust."22 If someone is deceitfully handed
over to an enemy, the appropriate translation is "betray."23

Although Philo, Josephus and the NT commonly use άποδίδωμι to indicate the repayment
of a debt or loan, such financial transactions are different from returning a specific object.
19)
A Complete Concordance to Fkvius Josephus (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1979), 3.285.
20)
Six of eight occurrences in the LXX are more aptly rendered "surrender" as opposed to
"hand on" (Gen 14:20; Exod 21:13; 23:31; Lev 26:25; Num 32:4; Ps 62[63]:11); the same
is true for 35 of 54 occurrences in Philo (Opif7S; Leg3A94; Saar 64[thrice], 133; Det65;
Post 107; Deus 47, 92[twice]; Agr 132; Ehr 120; Conf \44; Migr 16; Fug 45, 53, 65, 93,
168,169,200;^rl08;M*2:ll;%i-1.28,199,254;2.215;3.6,120; Virt\7\;Fkcc96;
Legat 149, 233; Flacc 356); 33 of 118 occurrences in the NT (Matt 5:25; 10:17; 17:22;
20:18,19; 24:9; 27:2,18; Mark 10:33; 15:1,10; Luke 9:44; 18:32; 20:20; 23:25; 24:7,20;
John 18:30, 35; Acts 3:13; 12:4; 21:11; 28:17; Rom 1:24, 26, 28; 8:32; 1 Cor 5:5;
2 Cor 4:11; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:19; 5:2,25); and at least 73% (174 of 239) of the occurrences
in Josephus also denote "surrender."
21)
For examples, see Philo, Spec 1.28 (consigned to oblivion), Spec 1.199, 254 (consigned
to thefire),Josephus, Bell2358 (consigned to thefire),Ant 1.188 (Abraham consigned her
to Sarah for punishment); and Matt 4:12 (consigned the Baptist to prison), Matt 18:34
(consigned him to the jailers).
22)
See Philo, Sacr 64 (arts and rules entrusted to students), Ebr 198 (what the Lord God
entrusted); Josephus, Bell 1.157 (entrusted to Scaurus administration), 1.249 (entrusting
a squadron of horses); and Matt 11:27 (all things are entrusted to me by my Father),
Matt 25:14 (a man entrusted his property to his servants).
23)
For example, see Josephus, Ant 5.131 (if he would betray the city), 6.277 (the men of
Ziph... promise to betray David); and Matt 10:21 (brother will betray brother), Matt 26:15
86 D. Crump /Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89

In keeping with this more precise denotation, John's gospel also employs
παραδίδωμι to designate "entrusting something to another's control" with
its various nuances: surrender (18:30, 35), consign (18:36; 19:16), entrust
(19:11), and betray (6:64, 71; 12:4; 13:2, 11, 21; 18:2, 5; 21:20). Thus
interpreting John 19:30 as Jesus' "surrender, entrusting" of the Spirit to the
Father is not only consistent with the common usage of παραδίδωμι, it is
also consistent with the Johannine understanding of the relationships that
exist between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, wherein the Son submits to
the Father and the Father is the one who sends the Spirit. Thus Jesus is
entrusting the Spirit to his Father in preparation for the next step in God's
plan of salvation.

V. Human Spirit or Holy Spirit?

Two further, possible objections to this newly proposed interpretation are
related to the noun το πνεύμα.
First, in refuting Hoskyns' interpretation some scholars argue that το
πνεύμα most naturally refers to Jesus' own human, life-spirit, as it does in
John 11:33 and 13:21.24 However, these two texts are Johannine exceptions,
not the rule. Elsewhere John strongly prefers using ή ψυχή when referring to
Jesus' life-spirit, having a particular preference for την ψυχήν μου τίθημι
when describing Jesus' death on the cross (see 10:11, 15, 17, 24; 12:25, 27;
13:37, 38; 15:13; 1 John 3:16).25 Aside from these two exceptions, every
other Johannine use of πνεύμα, both with and without the definite article,
refers to the Holy Spirit (1:32,33: 3:5,6, 8, 34; 4:23,24; 6:63; 7:39; 14:17,
26; 15:26; 16:13; 20:22; 1 John 3:24; 4:2, 6, 13; 5:6, 8).26 The majority of
these instances also lack the adjective άγιος (the exceptions are 14:26; 20:22;
and 7:39 van), as does 19:30. Thus when due consideration is given to
Johannine usage, the preponderance of evidence comes downfirmlyin favor
of το πνεύμα in 19:30 designating the Holy Spirit not Jesus' human spirit.

(what will you give me to betray him to you?). The sense of "betray" does not seem to
appear in Philo.
24)
Dauer, Die Passionsgeschichte, 215; cf. Jas 2:26, το σώμα χωρίς πνεύματος νεκρόν
έστιν.
25)
Thus πνεύμα is not obviously synonymous with ψυχή despite claims to the contrary;
contra Bernard, The Gospel According to St. John, 2.393; Porsch, Pneuma und Wort, 330.
26)
Contra Zahn, Das Evangelium, 668 who says that the anarthrous noun proves that John
cannot mean the Holy Spirit.
 Who Gets What? God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 87

Second, the synoptic parallels have obviously figured prominently in

bolstering the traditional interpretation of John 19:30. Each synoptic
writer affirms that Jesus surrendered his life-spirit by using a version of the
common, ancient euphemism for death, "breathing out the spirit."27 How­
ever, in this post-redaction critical era of gospel interpretation, it should
not be controversial to suggest that John not only departs from synoptic
precedent but presents an entirely different perspective while (possibly)
drawing from synoptic vocabulary. For example, J. Bailey suggests that
John 19:30 deliberately echoes Luke's reference to Ps 30:6 (LXX) in order
to align the Johannine Jesus with Luke's portrait of Jesus' confidence in
death.28 Yet, even if a literary connection from Luke to John is affirmed, it
is neither obvious nor necessary for John's παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα to convey
the same sense as Luke's παρατίθεμαι το πνεΰμά μου. Jesus' self-confidence,
even in the face of death, has already been thoroughly established by John
elsewhere (2:13-25; 3:31-36; 5:16-18, 36-47; 6:61-65; 8:23-29, 54-59;
10:14-18; 11:7-16, 40-42; 12:23-33; 13:1-3, 31-33; 17:1-5, 24-26; 18:1-
11, 20-23, 36-37; 19:8-11). There is no reason to assume that John was
compelled to reaffirm Luke's interests at this point. Furthermore, whatever
John's possible relationship to the synoptics, this gospel's consistent use of
το πνεύμα to designate the Holy Spirit must predispose the reader to the
conclusion now offered here. John 19:30 describes Jesus' obedient surren­
der of his messianic Spirit to the Father's control so that the Father may
bestow that same Spirit to the church.

VI. Does it Matter if παρέδωκεν το ττνευμα is a Hapax Legomenon?

A search of the Perseus Digital Library (www.perseus.tufts.edu) confirms
that παρέδωκεν το πνεύμα does not appear in pre-Johannine Greek litera­
ture, whether to describe physical death or anything else. Its commonly
noted appearance in The Acts of John § 115, describing the apostle's own
death, is almost certainly modelled after John 19:30.29 Those who insist

27)
Keener, The Gospel of John, 2.1149 cites additional extra-biblical examples in both Clas­
sical and Hellenistic Greek literature.
28)
The Traditions Common to the GospeL· of Luke and John (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1963) 82.
29)
So Bernard, The Gospel According to St. John, 2.641-2; Porsch, Pneuma und Wort, 328;
Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to St. John, 461 n. 68. Dauer, Die Passionsgeschichte,
215 η. 308 also mentions Acts of Peter and Paul § 83, Acts ofThomas § 168 \Σ], Acts of Philip
88 D. Crump /Novum Testamentum 51 (2009) 78-89

that its singularity demands a particular rendering, whether as double

entendre (R. Brown) or terminus technicus (de la Potterie), fail to convince,
partly because they confuse an assertion for an argument (why must a
unique phrase necessarily be a technical phrase?), but also because the logic
of their case was apparently lost on generations of ancient interpreters who
spoke Greek as their native language and understood John's gospel to be
describing Jesus' death.
On the other hand, Hoskyns and his followers are certainly correct in
suggesting that the peculiarity of the phrase at least warrants further inves-
tigation. An unusual turn of phrase may intimate, even if it does not
require, new interpretive possibilities. Thus it is worthwhile at this point to
survey the cumulative data with respect to each of the options under
review. While the new reading advanced here may not be inescapable, this
study has shown that it is more amenable to both Johannine vocabulary
and theology than are the views of Hoskyns and the tradition.

VII. Summary
Theories convince by their ability to coherently explain as much evidence
as possible; the best theory accounts for the most data. Hoskyns' interpre-
tation finally fails to convince because of what he neglects to take into
account. His view is simultaneously too narrow and not sufficiently
focused. Interpreting John 19:30 stricdy in terms of its connection with
the promise of the Spirit in 7:39 leaves Hoskyns blind to the broader
Johannine themes of (a) Jesus' complete submission to the Father and
(b) the Father's role as Spirit-Giver. Furthermore, even though many of
Hoskyns' critics misrepresent his grasp of the relationship between the giv-
ing of the Spirit in 19:30 and 20:22, his failure to account for the Father's
unique role in Spirit-giving takes on greater significance when he finally
makes no effort to explain why a special group of disciples should receive

§145, Passion of Andrew § 14, Martyrdom of Andrew § 9. Scholars today typically date the
Acts of John from between the later half of the second to the middle of the third century
A.D.; see D.R. MacDonald (ed.), The Apocryphal Acts of Apostles (Decatur, GA: Scholars
Press, 1986) 4, 163; P.G. Schneider, The Mystery of the Acts of John: An Interpretation of the
Hymn and the Dance in Light of the Acts' Theology (San Francisco: Edwin Mellen, 1991) 4-5;
R.F. Stoops, Jr. (ed.), The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in IntertextualPerspectives (Atlanta,
GA: Scholars Press, 1997) 28-32; P.J. Lalleman, The Acts of John: A Two Stage Initiation into
Johannine Gnosticism (Leuven: Peeters, 1998) 268-270.
 Who Gets Whatì God or Disciples, Human Spirit or Holy Spirit in John 19:30 89

an early endowment of the Spirit before all others. In light of these over-
sights, Augustine's suggestion that Jesus bows his head "as if in sleep" begins
to look straightforward in comparison to Hoskyns' claim that Jesus is actu-
ally tipping his head to those receiving his new gift.
The traditional interpretation is rooted in its coherence with the unan-
imous synoptic witness. However, when John 19:30 is revisited in light of
the modern sensibilities accompanying redaction and literary criticism,
serious doubts arise as to whether the traditional reading is an appropri-
ately Johannine reading of the text. John's use of key vocabulary, together
with his consistent views on the Father's work in giving the Spirit and
Jesus' role as messiah, indicate that John 19:30 has too easily been read in
light of—or, better yet, in the shadow of—the synoptic gospels. Jesus'
final words in John 19:30 do not describe Jesus' death, his gift of the
Spirit to a select few, or a double entendre encompassing both. Instead,
Jesus is entrusting the Spirit to his Father as preparation for the next step
in the Father's work of salvation. The scenario is not cyclical (returning
the Spirit) but sequential (entrusting the Spirit). First, the Spirit came
down from heaven to identify Jesus as messiah. Second, Jesus, having
fulfilled his messianic mission on the cross, entrusts the Spirit to his
Father's care so that, third, the Father may fulfill his promise to share the
Holy Spirit with every disciple.
 ^ s
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