Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes
Overview
Christians from diverse cultural, religious, and political contexts have been studying the Gospel of John for almost two thousand years. In this insightful reflection on the Fourth Gospel, Rev Yohanna Katanacho invites us to encounter the text anew, this time from the perspective of a twenty-first century Palestinian Christian.
Challenging the claim that Christ belongs to a particular denomination, nation, or race, Katanacho presents the Gospel of John as introducing a new world order. In John’s account of Jesus’s life, the rich history of Judaism is reinterpreted in light of the inclusive Christ, the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies, teachings, and promises. Walking us through the reinterpretation of holy space, holy time, holy history, holy community, holy land, and life itself, Katanacho demonstrates how John’s gospel establishes a new identity for the people of God—an identity defined not by race or nationality but by suffering and love. Containing questions for reflection designed with preachers in mind, this accessible book will be a great help for Christians seeking to mine the beautiful riches of spiritual truth in this often-complicated gospel.
- Demonstrates how John’s gospel establishes a new identity for the people of God
- Presents the Gospel of John as introducing a new world order
- Includes reflection questions designed for preachers
- Introduction
- A New Beginning
- The Sign of the Wedding of Cana
- Holy Space
- Holy Time
- Holy History
- The Holy Nation
- The Holy Land
- Better Life
- An Introduction to the Book of the Hour
- The People of Love
- The People of the Spirit
- The Persecuted People
- The People of the Vine
- The People of Unity
- The People of the Cross
- The People of Resurrection
- Conclusion
Dr Yohanna Katanacho’s insightful and accessible commentary on the Gospel of John is a feast of rich theological insight into the apostle’s message for his day and our own. A faithful and careful interpreter of the biblical text, Katanacho reads John’s story against the backdrop of the apostle’s own time and within the setting of the contemporary Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Reading along ancient and contemporary grains, Yohanna Katanacho offers Christians everywhere a fresh vision of the Fourth Gospel’s universal message of hope and reconciliation in the one vine, who is Christ Jesus.
—Gene L. Green, PhD
To the sarcastic question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46), I answer: “Yes, a book on biblical interpretation!” Yohanna Katanacho, a Palestinian Christian, helpfully reminds us that we all read the Bible through perspectives influenced by our respective places and times. Katanacho’s reading is his humble and reasonable offering that both derives from and enriches the whole church, a distinct testimony – that of a Palestinian Christian citizen of Israel – to the Jewish Messiah who is Lord and Savior of every tribe and nation.
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer
- Title: Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes
- Author: Yohanna Katanacho
- Publisher: Langham
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2021
- Pages: 137
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. John › Criticism, interpretation, etc
- ISBNs: 9781783687800, 9781783687930, 9781783687947, 9781783687954, 1783687800, 1783687932, 1783687940, 1783687959
- Resource ID: LLS:RDNGGSPLPLSTNYS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:36:30Z