John (Baker Exegetical Commentary On The New Testament)

Plot

This commentary represents the culmination of an intensive ten-year study of John’s Gospel, issuing in a monograph on mission in John (Köstenberger 1998b), a basic historical, literary, and theological survey (1999a), and a historical-background commentary (2002c), in addition to several scholarly articles on selected themes (esp. 1995b; 1998a; 2001b: 49–63; 2002b; 2003; 2004).The present work represents an effort to provide a comprehensive (though not exhaustive), balanced treatment of John’s Gospel, both exegetically and theologically, based on the following convictions: John’s Gospel is historically reliable—it stands up well to historical research (Blomberg 2002; Köstenberger 2002c; Riesner 2002) and resists simplistic dichotomizations between history and theology; The Gospel is a product of careful literary composition—though the book is not to be reduced to story, John employs devices of selection, characterization, and plot development (Culpepper 1983; but see the critiques by Carson 1991: 39–40, 63–68; Tovey 1997: 47–52), study of which has the potential of enhancing apprehension of John’s theological message; John’s ultimate concern is tied to theology—the presentation of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God is in order to lead others to place their faith in Jesus the way he himself had done when Jesus called him to discipleship.