Reading John through Johannine Lenses

This book will serve teachers and students well as it makes sense of the often-bewildering cacophony of methodologies and interpretations of John. Harstine establishes the prologue as the introductory prism for key themes and terms in the Gospel, then surveys historical, narratological, and rhetorical approaches to the prologue and chapters 5, 12, and 17, carrying the development of John’s major themes through these chapters. The payoff is a heightened appreciation for the complexity of the Gospel and the role of the approaches (lenses) one uses in reading it, yet what emerges is the unity of the Gospel’s authorial voice.

-- R. Alan Culpepper, Mercer University

Stan Harstine has been taken with the intricate details of the Gospel of John for a long time now, which makes him a wonderful scholar and teacher of it. What makes the book unique is the combination of features Harstine has so skillfully woven together: a broad, up-to-date introduction to a variety of interpretive methods; attention to themes that span the Gospel (Life, Word, Receive, Believe); fleshing out methods and themes by focusing upon specific passages (Prologue, John 5, 12, and 17), and offering new insights through his own original exegesis (which additionally showcases the connection between the Prologue and the rest of the Gospel).Taking the oral context of the Gospel’s earliest audiences seriously, Harstine carefully and clearly guides us through a journey through this Gospel that reveals its literary and theological brilliance. All who are interested in John, novices and seasoned readers alike, will learn from this book. I will certainly use it in my own Gospel of John seminar.

-- Jaime Clark-Soles, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

In this wonderful new book, Harstine provides a way through the maze of approaches to the Gospel of John by focusing on the hues the prologue brings to key passages. This book provides an excellent and accessible introduction to the history of interpretation of John while thoughtfully illustrating ways key themes from the prologue shape the narrative, rhetoric, and theology of John. Rather than ending the conversation, Harstine’s analysis invites readers to continue looking back to the story of John, aware of the lenses they bring to the task.

-- Alicia D. Myers, Campbell University Divinity Sc