Encountering Jesus
Cornelis BennemaPaperback 2009-12-01
Publisher Description
People are interested in people and like to hear their stories. The appeal of?a good novel, movie or biography is that it draws one into the story so that?we identify with one or more of the characters. Some authors write simply?to entertain readers, while others write in order to persuade their readers?of a particular viewpoint. The author of John's gospel falls in the latter?category. John explicitly states his purpose in 20:3031:?Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in?this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,?the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. ?In order to accomplish this purpose John deliberately puts on the stage?various characters that interact with Jesus, producing an array of belief responses.?This book too has a specific purpose: to present the Johannine?characters, especially their responses to Jesus, in order to challenge readers?to evaluate their stance regarding Jesus.?Having studied the Gospel of John in recent years, Bennema recognized the relevance?and universality of John's appeal for his readers on the subject of?Jesus. For John, Jesus is the central figure in human history who came into?the world to provide divine, everlasting life and to reveal God (cf. 1:118).?John 1:4 states that 'in him was life', and the rest of the gospel substantiates?this claim. Jesus is the protagonist in John's story and various characters?interact with him. Since peoples' response to Jesus is crucial we must study?these characters. This book is the first full-length treatment of all the Johannine?characters who encounter Jesus.?There is another important rationale for this book. In the last thirty years?there has been an increased interest in the Bible as literature and story.?Literary methods have been applied to John's gospel mainly in the form of?narrative criticism and reader-response criticism and have proven fruitful.?John's gospel, then, is the story of Jesus Christ a story with a plot
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Publisher Description
People are interested in people and like to hear their stories. The appeal of?a good novel, movie or biography is that it draws one into the story so that?we identify with one or more of the characters. Some authors write simply?to entertain readers, while others write in order to persuade their readers?of a particular viewpoint. The author of John's gospel falls in the latter?category. John explicitly states his purpose in 20:3031:?Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in?this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,?the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. ?In order to accomplish this purpose John deliberately puts on the stage?various characters that interact with Jesus, producing an array of belief responses.?This book too has a specific purpose: to present the Johannine?characters, especially their responses to Jesus, in order to challenge readers?to evaluate their stance regarding Jesus.?Having studied the Gospel of John in recent years, Bennema recognized the relevance?and universality of John's appeal for his readers on the subject of?Jesus. For John, Jesus is the central figure in human history who came into?the world to provide divine, everlasting life and to reveal God (cf. 1:118).?John 1:4 states that 'in him was life', and the rest of the gospel substantiates?this claim. Jesus is the protagonist in John's story and various characters?interact with him. Since peoples' response to Jesus is crucial we must study?these characters. This book is the first full-length treatment of all the Johannine?characters who encounter Jesus.?There is another important rationale for this book. In the last thirty years?there has been an increased interest in the Bible as literature and story.?Literary methods have been applied to John's gospel mainly in the form of?narrative criticism and reader-response criticism and have proven fruitful.?John's gospel, then, is the story of Jesus Christ a story with a plot