John’s Gospel is radically different from the Synoptic Gospels. So much so that the Jesus presented here is unrelated to the others. It’s difficult to conclude they are the same person. Why does John depart so much from the earlier depictions of Jesus? The answer is that John is not interested in the human side of Jesus as were the Synoptics. He wants us to get to know the interior Jesus.
John uses the theme of the incarnation to develop this. We trace the history of the Hebraic and Greek Wisdom idea and compare it to John’s version of Jesus. The results are startling and revealing. We also look at the problems facing John’s congregation that require not only wisdom to surmount but the example set by Jesus as Wisdom incarnate.
AVAILABLE March 29, 2023