NT221 The Wisdom of John: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Johannine Literature
Overview
Why is the Johannine literature—Gospel of John, 1–3 John, and Revelation—so different from the other books in the New Testament? What does the style of these books tell us about Jesus and his message to the church? Dr. Ben Witherington III—one the world’s top evangelical scholars—walks through one-third of the New Testament and covers several genres so you will encounter these familiar books with fresh eyes. He examines these books not only as a group, but also individually with an emphasis on the social and historical context of each one. Dr. Witherington packed the last three decades of his research on Johannine literature into this course, designed specifically for the Mobile Education format. Read the Johannine literature as you never have before—through the lens of Jewish wisdom literature—and deepen your understanding of God’s Word.
Top Highlights
“So, a fourfold structure: prologue, book of signs, book of glory, epilogue.” (source)
“One of the major themes of this Gospel is that salvation is for everyone, and that this light or revelation of God is for everyone.” (source)
“What happens when you have this kind of presentation of the gospel is that Jesus Himself is presented—not only as a sage who conveys wisdom, but He’s presented as the wisdom of God come in the flesh. He is God’s wisdom incarnate: the logos, the Word; i.e., the wisdom, the mind of God come in person. The whole of this Gospel is suffused with the recognition that that’s who He is—the incarnate Word, or [the] wisdom of God come in person.” (source)
“the structuring of this Gospel is very schematic, and it’s more theological than it is chronological.” (source)
“The Gospel of John takes the form of an ancient biography—not a modern one, but an ancient one. First John is not a letter; it’s a sermon, it’s a homily on major ethical topics like love and sin. Second and Third John are, however, prototypical letters that are like other ancient letters.” (source)
- Title: NT221 The Wisdom of John: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Johannine Literature
- Author: Ben Witherington III
- Series: Logos Mobile Education
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Courseware
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Epistles of John › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. John › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Revelation › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Education › Bible. N.T. Epistles of John--Criticism, interpretation, etc; Education › Bible. N.T. John--Criticism, interpretation, etc; Education › Bible. N.T. Revelation--Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Resource ID: LLS:NT221WITHERINGTON
- Resource Type: Courseware Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T04:49:17Z
Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. A prominent evangelical scholar, he is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His other works include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth and commentaries on the entire New Testament. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications and is a frequent contributor to Patheos and Beliefnet. Witherington is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He is a John Wesley Fellow for Life, a research fellow at Cambridge University and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, Society for the Study of the New Testament and the Institute for Biblical Research. He previously taught at institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and a popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings around the world. He has led numerous study tours through the lands of the Bible and is known for bringing the text to life through incisive historical and cultural analysis. Along with many interviews on radio and television networks across the country, Witherington has been seen in programs such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul—The Word and the Witness