{Gospel Circles}[26th March 1987]

[Redbook3:40-41][19870326:1543t]{Gospel Circles}[26^th March 1987]

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I have looked for this pattern in the Gospels. This may seem rather heretical, but given that they were put together after the event, when Gnosticism had connections with Christianity, it is not impossible. It is complicated by the fact that even Matthew, Mark and Luke vary considerably, not only in their treatment and selection of events and teachings, but in the order of them; while John, of course, stands mostly alone. However, the beginnings of Jesus' life and of his mission, and the end of both, are treated reasonably consistently in the larger matters and, of course, place themselves in relative order. Very tentatively, it is possible to hypothesise a (planned?) pattern, giving both circles equal emphasis.

The outer (action) circle starts with ordination of Disciples, and proceeds through healing actions (of which there seem to be more at the beginning) incurring the attention of the authorities and making eventual revolutionary martyrdom and death almost inevitable (the later doctrinal disputes may or may not have been an essential factor in this). The inner (revelation) circle starts with baptism (and in John, water turned to wine, the Bethesda pool, and walking on water), fishermen drawn from the water as Disciples, and revelations in the Sermon on the Mount, and leads to a controlled inner action, harmony and eventual Unity with God at the time of martyrdom, death (and attraction?) on the outer circle. These last stages on the outer circle are marked by the cup symbol (twice) (and a man bearing a water pitcher) where one would expect it, and eventually the Cross itself uniting both circles. The last stages of the Inner Circles are less easily symbolised, particularly as the action is inward, but the idea seems to fit the pattern.

*[Unclear from this why the symbolism of water and cup/pitcher should be treated differently. <08112015>]

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