Gerald Sloyan utilizes the lectionary approach to offer new insight into understanding the book of John. By doing this, he puts the Fourth Gospel in the Old Testament context within which the early church received the public readings of this Gospel. His emphasis on the use of John within first-century Christianity enables modern readers to grasp the meaning of the Gospel message.
Presupposing the historical and philological work of other scholars, Sloyan focuses rather on the meaning of the Fourth Gospel for the church. He emphasizes the ecumenical demonstrated in his treatment of John 17. Particularly helpful is Sloyan's view of the conflict between Christians and "hoi Joudaioi." Since we do not know who the "hoi Joudaioi" were, Sloyan avoids the rendering "Jews" and thereby corrects any anti-Jewish misreading of this Gospel.
While Sloyan keeps in context both Jesus in his lifetime and the twentieth-century church, he steadfastly concentrates on the work of John's final editor within first-century Christianity. Interpreting John as "a book of the church" gives teachers and preachers valuable perspective on the Fourth Gospel.
