The Sheep of the Fold: The Audience and Origin of the Gospel of John

COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 3
SERIES-TITLE......Page 5
TITLE......Page 7
COPYRIGHT......Page 8
CONTENTS......Page 9
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 12
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 13
Introduction......Page 19
Problem to be addressed: its recent development......Page 20
Source criticism: the geographic origin of community......Page 28
Form criticism: the tradition of the community......Page 30
Redaction criticism: the creative depiction of the community......Page 36
Conclusion......Page 41
The fourth Gospel and “community”......Page 42
Methodology......Page 53
The fourth Gospel as a test case......Page 55
The purpose of this study......Page 58
The quest for the early Christian “community”......Page 60
Definition of the early Christian community: its variation and type......Page 65
Models of “community” in the early Christian movement......Page 66
Definition of Gospel “community”: a new proposal......Page 69
Definition of community: conclusion......Page 81
Early Christianity as sectarian......Page 82
Antilanguage: John’s sectarian audience and speech accommodation......Page 92
Symbolic construct and antilanguage: the need for a new proposal......Page 95
Conclusion: a community that is sectarian?......Page 104
Patristic exegesis and the Gospels......Page 105
Audience and origin of the Gospels: the evidence from patristics......Page 106
The function of Gospel narrative traditions in patristic exegesis......Page 114
Patristic exegesis and the endorsement of tradition......Page 118
Conclusion: patristic exegesis and Gospel origins......Page 122
Early Christian community: conclusion......Page 123
3
EARLY CHRISTIAN GOSPEL: GOSPEL
GENRE AND A CRITIQUE OF THE
TWO-LEVEL READING OF THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN......Page 125
Gospel genre and Gospel audience......Page 126
John’s two-level drama: a critique......Page 133
Gospel genre and narrative referentiality......Page 139
John 9:22: the entry point into the two-level reading......Page 145
The reader and an anachronism......Page 146
The expulsion from the synagogue......Page 154
A “literal” reading of the Gospel narrative......Page 165
Conclusion: early Christian Gospel......Page 168
4
EARLY CHRISTIAN READER: AN
EXPLICATION OF THE AUDIENCE OF
THE FOURTH GOSPEL BY INQUIRING
FOR THE IMPLIED READER......Page 170
The quest of the implied reader: method and procedure in John......Page 171
Persons (characters)......Page 175
Places......Page 183
Languages......Page 188
Judaism......Page 190
Events......Page 195
Conclusion: the implied, first-century reader of the Gospel of John......Page 199
Introduction......Page 203
Representative figures in the fourth Gospel......Page 205
Nicodemus and John 3:1–36......Page 209
The Samaritan woman and John 4:4–42......Page 214
The larger narrative function of representative figures......Page 217
The contextual significance of the “expulsion from the synagogue” passages......Page 221
The purpose of the fourth Gospel......Page 231
Mission in the fourth Gospel......Page 238
“Those who are sent”: a Christology of mission......Page 243
“Other sheep”......Page 248
The “world” in the fourth Gospel......Page 250
“Those who believe in me through their word”......Page 255
Early “Christian” relations in the fourth Gospel......Page 256
Conclusion: reading the fourth Gospel......Page 263
6
THE SHEEP OF THE FOLD: SUMMARY
AND CONCLUSION......Page 265
Summary of results......Page 267
Conclusion: the Gospel community debate and the fourth Gospel......Page 268
Implications of this study for future research......Page 270
Conclusion......Page 273
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 275
INDEX......Page 326