A popular, up-to-date, comprehensive introduction to the Gospel of John made accessible for the educated lay person.

Christians from diverse cultural, religious, and political contexts have been studying the Gospel of John for almost two thousand years. In this insightful reflection on the Fourth Gospel, Rev Yohanna Katanacho invites us to encounter the text anew, this time from the perspective of a twenty-first century Palestinian Christian. Challenging the claim that Christ belongs to a particular denomination, nation, or race, Katanacho presents the Gospel of John as introducing a new world order. In John’s account of Jesus’s life, the rich history of Judaism is reinterpreted in light of the inclusive Christ, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, teachings, and promises. Walking us through the reinterpretation of holy space, holy time, holy history, holy community, holy land, and life itself, Katanacho demonstrates how John’s gospel establishes a new identity for the people of God – an identity defined not by race or nationality but by suffering and love. Containing questions for reflection designed with preachers in mind, this accessible book will be a great help for Christians seeking to mine the beautiful riches of spiritual truth in this often-complicated gospel.

The essays in Reading the Gospel of John’s Christology as Jewish Messianism: Royal, Prophetic, and Divine Messiahs seek to interpret John’s Jesus as part of Second Temple Jewish messianic expectations. The Fourth Gospel is rarely considered part of the world of early Judaism. While many have noted John’s Jewishness, most have not understood John’s Messiah as a Jewish messiah. The Johannine Jesus, who descends from heaven, is declared the Word made flesh, and claims oneness with the Father, is no less Jewish than other messiahs depicted in early Judaism. John’s Jesus is at home on the spectrum of early Judaism’s royal, prophetic, and divine messiahs

This study of Johannine exegesis in the sixteenth century covers nearly every important commentator on John from the first half of the century, and examines the medieval and patristic traditions on which they drew. But while comprehensive in its scope, this book centers on the John commentary of Wolfgang Musculus (1497- 1563), an influential leader of the Protestant Reformation in the cities of Augsburg and Bern. As a theologian and biblical scholar, he authored a large number of theological and exegetical works which remained popular well into the seventeenth century. Despite his influence, however, Musculus has been virtually ignored by modern scholarship on the Reformation.

In 2008, Samuel was asked to teach an adult Bible study on the Gospel of John. He wanted it to be rich in Bible background and as close as possible to what the Apostle John intended. When the study concluded, he then placed it on his website, TrustinginJesus.com. He has continued to work on this commentary; it has been a work in progress for more than eleven years and is now read by thousands of visitors daily. A Commentary on the Gospel of John has been used by pastors, teachers, missionaries, Bible schools, students, and everyday people from perhaps every country. It is clear and easy to understand and taken directly from the scriptures with no concern for denominational teachings. It does not ramble but goes directly to the point the original writer was making. This commentary is for people of all ages, even the young; and those whose first language is not English will find it informative, entertaining, and of great value. Samuel's prayer is that it will be a blessing to you and your family for many years. About the Author Samuel is the writer and webmaster of TrustinginJesus.com, where he does commentaries, writes Christian articles, conducts Bible studies, and answers questions and prayer requests. His visitors come from every part of the world. He was born again at a very young age. As a teenager, he reaffirmed his salvation and was baptized. He grew up in a Christian family and is forever grateful for his Christian mother and father. In earlier years, he had a regular job, flew airplanes, rode motorcycles, taught Sunday school and Bible studies, and raised three beautiful daughters. In the 1990s, Samuel felt a deep call from the Lord to do a personal in-depth Bible study. Three years later, he closed the Bible and sat quietly with the Holy Spirit welling up within and barely able to contain the tears of joy. Having gotten a foretaste of our awesome God, he simply said, "What a great and wonderful God we have!" He had acquired a life-changing knowledge and love for God's Word that he could have gotten in no other way. It had increased his craving to know more and was the beginning of more Bible research and studies, but more importantly, it had given him a burning desire to share the Lord Jesus with the world. "Our God is unfathomable, His love, knowledge and power are like eternity, it has no limits. No matter your lot in life, with Him every day is a new beginning" (Samuel Mills). Please visit him at www.trustinginjesus.com.

Gospel writing always follows Gospel reading, a complex literary act of reception that interprets the theological significance of Jesus. This volume seek to demonstrate the intricate dynamics of this controversial figure's theological and textual reception through foundational essays on specific texts and themes.

In this work, Brian Philip Dunn focuses on the embodiment theology of the South Indian theologian, A. J. Appasamy (1891-1975). Appasamy developed what he called a 'bhakti' (devotional) approach to Christian theology, bringing his own primary text, the Gospel of John, into comparative interaction with the writings of the Hindu philosopher and theologian, Rāmānuja. Dunn's exposition here is of Appasamy's distinctive adaptation of Rāmānuja's 'Body of God' analogy and its application to a bhakti reading of John's Gospel. He argues throughout for the need to locate and understand theological language as embedded and embodied within the narrative and praxis of tradition and, for Appasamy and Rāmānuja, in their respective Anglican and Śrivaiṣṇava settings. Responding to Appasamy, Dunn proposes that the primary Johannine referent for divine embodiment is the temple and considers recent scholarship on Johannine 'temple Christology' in light of Śrivaiṣṇava conceptions of the temple and the temple deity. He then offers a constructive reading of the text as a temple procession, a heuristic device that can be newly considered in both comparative and devotional contexts today.