The Opening of John's Narrative (John 1:19-2:22)

The essays in this volume provide significant insights into both the Gospel and current Johannine scholarship. The beginning of John's narrative presents interpreters with tantalizing issues. The elusive narrator introduces the witness of the Baptist, then leaves the scene. What is the function of the Isaianic quotation? What is the role of purification in John, the identity of the unnamed disciple, the meaning of the title, »the lamb of God,« the »greater things« Jesus promises the disciples will see, the role of the ascending and descending angels, or Jesus' curt response to his mother? Some of the essays ask how scenes in these chapters would have been read in Ephesus: the story of the wedding at Cana, or the story of Jesus' prophetic demonstration in the temple. The latter plays a strategic role in the imagery and theology of the Gospel. These essays also illustrate how, while the Gospel creatively develops and recasts traditional material, it also calls for its readers to actively engage in dialogue with the text.George L. Parsenios: The Testimony of John's Narrative and the Silence of the Johannine Narrator - Christos Karakolis: Recurring Characters in John 1:19-2:11: A Narrative-Critical and Reader-Oriented Approach - Catrin H. Williams: The Voice in the Wilderness and the Way of the Lord: A Scriptural Frame for John's Witness to Jesus - Marianne Meye Thompson: Baptism with Water and with Holy Spirit: Purification in the Gospel of John - Ruben Zimmermann: Jesus - the Lamb of God (John 1:29 and 1:36): Metaphorical Christology in the Fourth Gospel - Udo Schnelle: Der ungenannte Jünger in Joh 1:40 - William Loader: John 1:51 and Johannine Christology - Jan G. van der Watt: Angels in John 1:51 - Jörg Frey: Das prototypische Zeichen (Joh 2:1-11): Eine Kommentar-Studie - Craig R. Koester: The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11): Reading the Text in the Cultural Context of Ephesus - Adele Reinhartz: A Rebellious Son? Jesus and His Mother in John 2:4 - Michael Theobald: Raum- und Zeitkonstruktion im Johannesevangelium. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur expositionellen Funktion der Erzählung von der Tempelreinigung Joh 2,13-22 - Jean Zumstein: Johannes 2,13-22 im Plot und in der Theologie des vierten Evangeliums - R. Alan Culpepper: Temple Violation: Reading John 2:13-22 at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus