Friday, November 23, 2007

Study on the Gospel of John: Day 1

I attended the evening class today on the Study on the Gospel of John led by Allen McClymont. As mentioned before, I have a penchant for chiasms and was delighted to see it here again in John - what more the entire structure of John:

I. ...Prologue (1:1-18)
II. .......Book of Jesus’ Signs (1:19-10:42)
III. ...........Transition from signs to hours (11:1-12:50)
IV. ......Book of Jesus’ Hour (13:1-20:31)
V. ..Epilogue (21:1-25)

Among the features of the Gospel of John are:
1. The 7 signs or miracles are only found in the first half
2. John introduces several themes and then comes back to them ever now and then, e.g. light and darkness
3. The miracles of Jesus are presented in a crescendo, culminating in the resuscitation of Lazarus. The final miracle recorded in John is very pivotal because it form the basis of the Jewish decision to kill Jesus.
4. A transition can be seen in the mention of "the time has not yet come" to "the hour has come"
5. There are a number of extended discourses by Jesus, which is very different from the synoptic
6. There are the “I am” sayings
7. The use of Jewish festivals carrying theological significance as John sees in them fulfillment in Jesus – Feast of the Tabernacles, the Passover, Hanukkah

pearlie

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