The Missions of Jesus and the Disciples according to the Fourth Gospel: With Implications for the Fourth Gospel’s Purpose and the Mission of the Contemporary Church
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
This important work explores the relationship between the mission of Jesus and of the disciples as presented in the Gospel of John, and explores the implications of these findings for the contemporary church. Based on a comprehensive semantic field of study that integrates biblical studies, theology, and missiology, this volume represents the first time such an approach has been used for the study of mission in John.
Andreas J. Köstenberger begins by surveying the state of research on mission in the fourth Gospel, then covers foundational linguistic, definitional, and literary matters. The succeeding two chapters contain the actual study of the missions of Jesus and of the disciples. In discussing the disciples’ mission, special attention is given to how later generations of disciples should be related to Jesus’ original followers.
The volume concludes with a chapter on the implications of Kostenberger’s findings for the fourth Gospel’s purpose and for the mission of the contemporary church. Kostenberger engages recent missiological constructs based on the fourth Gospel, most notably the so-called “incarnational model” of mission, and concludes that this model is seriously flawed and should be replaced by a “representational model” that views Jesus’ followers as his representatives, who do not share in the theologically unique aspects of his incarnation.
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- Examines the missions of Jesus and his disciples
- Analyzes the purpose of the Gospel of John
- Integrates biblical studies, theology, and missiology into a comprehensive work
- The Subject in Recent Scholarship
- Foundations
- The Mission of Jesus According to the Fourth Gospel
- The Mission of the Disciples According to the Fourth Gospel
- Implications
Top Highlights
“How are the missions of Jesus and of the disciples related?” (Page 3)
“First, Jesus’ performance of signs pervades John’s presentation of Jesus’ mission in the first part of the Gospel (1–12).” (Page 53)
“mission theology is that the church’s mission is not to be carried out as an individualistic enterprise” (Page 211)
“Therefore a truly complete picture must cluster semantically related terms and phrases.” (Page 20)
This very interesting contribution to Johannine research shows convincingly the importance of the sending motif for the Fourth Evangelist and the interrelation between the sending of the Son into the world by the Father and the sending of the disciples as preachers of faith and salvation for humankind. . . . A thorough exegetical investigation that leads to practical consequences.
—Martin Hengel, University of Tübingen
An interestingly nuanced, in-depth, and balanced study with important theological as well as missiological implications for the contemporary church. This important study is of particular value to biblical interpreters, theological professors, missiologists, missionaries, mission leaders, and parish pastors and should be in their school and church libraries.
—Missiology
Köstenberger’s study has many strengths. It is well written and a number of important issues are resolved with clarity and conviction. Careful scholarship makes this book another valuable contribution to scholarly reflection upon the theme of mission in the fourth Gospel.
—Pacifica
Andreas J. Köstenberger is an associate professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is the author of numerous books, including A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters and John in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (BECNT) (17 vols.).