The Glory of the Crucified One

Jörg Frey has devoted decades of his scholarly career to exploring the rich landscape of John's Gospel. He chronicles the results of this work in this volume, demonstrating how the Gospel sits at the very heart of the New Testament witness. The author begins by locating his approach to the Gospel in relation to five classic ways John has been interpreted (Part 1) and by offering a summary of the results of his own interpretation, in which Jörg Frey argues that the Gospel forms the apex of New Testament theology (Part 5). In between, he first untangles several problems, such as questions of anti-Judaism, dualism, and docetism, that are characteristic of any discussion of John's Gospel (Part 2). From there, he focuses attention on the weighty events that, for John, form the crucial „hour“ of Jesus—the death, resurrection, and glorification of Christ (Part 3). The author then builds on this central theme to explore the Christology and theology of John (Part 4). This volume underscores the central message Jörg Frey sees in the Gospel: John's post-Easter memory (anamnesis) of the Jesus story aims at communicating that Jesus, who was crucified, has actually been glorified and is present in the realm of God, and in spite of his apparent absence from this world he is present in the community of believers through the Spirit. For John, according to Jörg Frey, there is no concealment of the cruel reality of Jesus' death on the cross. The narrative of Jesus' trial and his crucifixion deliberately shapes its readers' perception of the truth of faith visualized in John's narration. In the end, readers should contemplate the „pierced,“ crucified one as the source of their life and their communion with God. Published in the US by Baylor University Press, Waco.