Saturday, August 11, 2012

Resource Review: The Message of John

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John's Gospel has long been a favourite among Christians. In it the truth of God in Christ is displayed in both childlike simplicity and penetrating depth.

John the disciple of Jesus had known the Word of God incarnate. John the pastor and evangelist had contemplated the meaning of that unique person and event. Through the eyes of faith John retells the story of the Word, drawing out its meaning for his contemporaries so that they "might come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God" and "have life in his name."

John's Gospel has had an incalculable impact on human history. Its pages contain a moral and spiritual potency which, over the centuries, has transformed communities, brought about political change and remade human character on a scale without precedent.

The power remains in the Gospel today. At its centre, as at the centre of his exposition, is Jesus Christ in his glory and grace, majesty and tenderness. Bruce Milne believes that we can experience his presence even today, for the Gospel was 'written that … you may have life in his name'.

The Gospel of John is a witness to the King, as much a tract for our times as for John's. Bruce Milne's exposition focuses on the ministry of Jesus before his incarnation, during his life on earth and after his resurrection. The centrepiece of this Gospel is the cross, and its background the solemnity of God's judgment of the world.

True to his mentor, the Fourth Evangelist, Bruce Milne has a passion for passing on this Word and helping others speak it. As Milne puts it, "The mystery of Jesus Christ is the theme of this gospel; always beyond us, yet always summoning us to explore it more fully."