The Kingship Of Jesus In The Gospel Of John

This book studies kingship with reference to the Johannine Jesus. Postcolonialism leads us to an avenue from which to read this Gospel in the more complex and wider context of the hybridized Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. This provides a new perspective on the kingship of the Johannine Jesus, whose kingly identity is characterized by hybridized christological titles. For the Johannine readers in the first century, who were exploited, oppressed, yet at odds with both the colonizer and the colonized in the Roman Empire, this Gospel was deemed to reveal his identity. Using many christological titles, it presented Jesus as the universal king going beyond the Jewish Messiah(s) and the Roman emperors and also as the decolonizer who came to "his own" world to liberate his people from the darkness. In this respect, the ideology of the Johannine emphasizes that love, peace, freedom, service of the center for the margins, and forgiveness are the ruling forces in the new world where Jesus reigns as king. Raising an awareness of these ideologies, John's gospel asks readers to overcome the conflicting world shrouded in darkness, thenceforth entering the new Johannine world.

The Jewish Gospel of John is not, by any standard, another book on Jesus of Nazareth written from a Jewish perspective. It is an invitation to the reader to put aside their traditional understanding of the Gospel of John and to replace it with another one more faithful to the original text perspective. The Jesus that will emerge will provoke to rethink most of what you knew about this gospel. The book is a well-rounded verse-by-verse illustrated rethinking of the fourth gospel. Here is the catch: instead of reading it, as if it was written for 21 century Gentile Christians, the book interprets it as if it was written for the first-century peoples of ancient Israel. The book proves what Krister Stendahl stated long time ago: "Our vision is often more abstracted by what we think we know than by our lack of knowledge." Other than challenging the long-held interpretations of well-known stories, the author with the skill of an experienced tour guide, takes us to a seat within those who most probably heard this gospel read in the late first century. Such exploration of variety of important contexts allows us to recover for our generation the true riches of this marvelous Judean gospel. "A genuine apologetic is one that is true to the texts and the history, akin to the speeches of a defense attorney with integrity. Using the best of contemporary scholarship in first-century Judaic history and contributing much of his own, Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg has demonstrated that the Gospel of John is not an anti-Jewish, but a thoroughly Jewish book." Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, University of California, Berkeley "Dr. Lizorkin-Eyzenberg places the text of John's Gospel in its authentic context by examining the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, rabbinic literature, and suggesting innovative explanations for the nomenclature, 'the Jews.' His fresh analysis is sure to stir meaningful debate. His creative approach will make an enduring contribution to the discipline of New Testament studies." Brad Young, Professor of Biblical Literature in Judeao-Christian Studies, Oral Roberts University "For some time, research on the Gospels has suffered from stagnation, and there is a feeling that there is not much new that one can say. In light of this, Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg's new commentary on the Gospel of John, with its original outlook on the identity of the original audience and the issues at stake, is extremely refreshing." Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Head of the Talmud and Late Antiquity Department, Tel-Aviv University.

Recent studies of the Christology of John's Gospel have agreed in recognizing the centrality of the concept of messianism, but differ markedly in their interpretation of its character. Alongside the traditional understanding of messiahship in terms of a kingly role related to that of David, there is a newer understanding that is related to the role of Moses and has little or no Davidic background. Despite the broad scholarly consensus regarding the Johannine connection between crucifixion and messianism, little attention has been paid to the role of crucifixion in relation to the nature of messiahship and in particular to the possibility that this may shed light on whether or not John's messianism is decisively shaped by the kingly or royal background. In The Kingship-Cross Interplay in the Gospel of John Mavis Leung contends that the cross motif plays a major role in authenticating the royal character of messiahship in John over against views that deny or play down this element.

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

When we open the New Testament to ask how to live as Christians, we find the story of Jesus calling disciples and training them to collaborate with him. The Gospel of Matthew asks us to join in the ongoing story of the One who fulfills God’s redemptive plan and promises to be with us always. Discipleship is life with Jesus, for Jesus, in partnership with Jesus. Partnering with the King presents thirty-one readings in Matthew to be read by individuals daily for a month or by groups weekly from fall to spring – especially appropriate in the liturgical Year of Matthew. For newcomers to faith, the book can serve as an introduction to the Christian life. For more seasoned Christians, it will be a source of renewal and vision.

With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, N. T. Wright helps us discover the clues John gives in his gospel that we might see even more clearly the reality of who Jesus is, the new creation he inaugurates and the difference that all makes. Includes 26 sessions for group or personal study.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Apostle John deliberately arranges his gospel to reflect the Creation sequence of Genesis. John portrays the character and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth in a sequence of six discrete elements, each blossoming into the spiritual manifestation of its physical counterpart in the natural creation We address three questions: - Does John's Gospel really reflect the Creation pattern? - If so, what do we gain from seeing Jesus this way? - How does this pattern assist someone's discipleship?

Do you know what the image of the antichrist is? Do you know what the symbolism of the number 666 of the antichrist means? When Jesus writes the letters to the churches in Revelation, He is writing to us now. Do you understand what He is expecting in us? Do you know what is His view of an overcomer in Him? Come, learn the great adventure of knowing what the symbolism is in this great book of the Bible. Understand God's ways for us in Jesus Christ so that when the counterfeit spirit shows up, you won't be deceived and fall prey to Satan's dark ways. Learn from the Holy Spirit to see through the darkness with His discernment.