Teaching John's Gospel in Jan 2013

I shall be teaching a course on the Gospel of John as part of the Master of Ministry and Master of Divinity programmes. It will be held on Wednesday afternoons beginning the 9th January 2013. A synopsis is provided below:

John’s Gospel remains the favourite Gospel for many Christians since its reception in the Early Church to the present day. The Gospel’s appeal lies in its simplicity in conveying profound truths about God and the knowledge of God through His Son in the Holy Spirit. We will attempt to answer the question addressed by Pilate to Jesus: “What is Truth? (John 18:38). The course will look at the Gospel’s literary and theological aims in presenting Jesus as the Logos made flesh. It will look at how John fulfils his stated purpose that “these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31) through his arrangement of the Gospel narrative, the use of symbolism and multi-layered language and the nuanced use of the Old Testament. We will examine a main concern of John’s Gospel – on how spirituality is developed and sustained for believers through communion with the Father and the Son and living in community with one another in love. We will also discuss how homilies/sermons could be crafted from John’s Gospel.

Textbook: There is no textbook for this course but students are encouraged to purchase at least one commentary recommended below.

Recommended Texts:

1)      Kysar, Robert, Preaching John (Fortress Press, 2012).

2)      Ramsey, Michael J., The Gospel of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010).

3)      Von Wahlde, Urban C., The Gospel and Letters of John Vol. 2 (Commentary on the Gospel of John; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010).

4)      Kostenberger, Andreas, A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009).

5)      Burge, Gary M., John: The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000).

6)      Thompson, Marianne M., The God of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001).

7)      John Painter, R. Alan Culpepper and Fernando F. Segovia (eds.), Word, Theology, and Community in John (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2002).

8)      Koester, Craig R., Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995).

9)      Yee, G.A., Jewish Feasts and the Gospel of John (Wilmington: Michael Glazier, 1983).

 Kostenberger, Andreas J. & Scott R. Swain, Father, Son and Spirit: The Trinity and John’s Gospel (Downers Grove: IVP, 2008).

1Chennattu, Rekha M., Johannine Discipleship as a Covenant Relationship (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2006).

1  Schneiders, Sandra M., Written That You May Believe: Encountering Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (rev. and expanded ed.; New York: Crossway, 2003).

1Origen, John’s commentary (Ancient Church Fathers).

Assessment: 1) Sermon Critique (10%) 2) One homily preached and/or scripted sermon – 15 minutes (30%) and one major essay (3,000 words) [60%].