The Gospel of John and the Future of Israel reviewed for Themelios by Prof. Cory M. Marsh
Christopher M. Blumhofer (PhD, Duke University) is currently visiting assistant professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary and ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA). A former employee of Christianity Today, Blumhofer has published in New Testament Studies, Review of Biblical Literature, and Cambridge Companion to the Gospels (forthcoming). Originally his dissertation under Richard B. Hays, The Gospel of John and the Future of Israel is Blumhofer’s first full-length monograph.
The volume’s aim is to demonstrate that John’s Gospel frames a narrative creatively manifesting a commitment to the future of Israel. Written against Bultmann’s imposing interpretive challenges over John’s debated history and theology, Blumhofer’s solution is to synthesize various stands relating to John’s view of first-century Judaism. The linchpin is Christ—the king of Israel and exemplary Jew (John 1:49; 4:24)—who connects Israel’s past to her future. The Fourth Gospel, then, presents a “theological vision of Israel” as a basic element of its gospel message, with Christ holding together both its past and future (pp. 1–3). See More…