John's Missional Gospel

Sung Chan Kwon

2021  |  100pp  |  ISBN: 978-1-914454-07-3

The Fourth Gospel has contributed to the Church’s thinking on several theological themes. This book studies the missiology of the Gospel by reading the Fourth Gospel from a missional perspective. The author does not seek to find a pre-defined mission within the Gospel, but seeks instead to discover the central message of the Gospel from a missional point of view. Thus, the author reads the whole story of the Gospel from a missional perspective. The author divides the Gospel into four parts: 1:1-2:12 provides a Johannine grand narrative of the missional God as an introduction for the rest of the Gospel; 2:13-12:50 reveals a two-fold ministry of Jesus (his encounters with the Jews demolishing the pride of their natural descent and his interactions with individuals, particularly the marginalized, building a new community through those who believe in him; 13:1-17:26 addresses Jesus’ exclusive interaction with his disciples where Jesus explains what is expected of the discipleship community; 18:1-21:25 includes the achievement of Christ through his crucifixion and resurrection. The implications of these readings for mission, particularly for the concept of missio Dei, form a conclusion.