The Sheep of the Fold
The Audience and Origin of the Gospel of John

Klink challenges a scholarly consensus concerning the audience and origin of the Gospel of John.

Edward W. Klink III (Author)

9780521130448, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 February 2010

336 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.9 cm, 0.43 kg

Review of the hardback: 'This splendid volume is an important contribution to the new discussion of the audiences of the New Testament Gospels, and the first lengthy treatment of the audience of the Fourth Gospel from the vantage point of that discussion.' Biblica

The last generation of gospel scholarship has considered the reconstruction and analysis of the audience behind the gospels as paradigmatic. The key hermeneutical template for reading the gospels has been the quest for the community that each gospel represents. This scholarly consensus regarding the audience of the gospels has been reconsidered. Using as a test case one of the most entrenched gospels, Edward Klink explores the evidence for the audience behind the Gospel of John. This study challenges the prevailing gospel paradigm by examining the community construct and its functional potential in early Christianity, the appropriation of a gospel text and J. L. Martyn's two-level reading of John, and the implied reader located within the narrative. The study concludes by proposing a more appropriate audience model for reading John, as well as some implications for the function of the gospel in early Christianity.

1. The audience and origin of the Gospels: introduction and method
2. Early Christian community: a study of the community construct and its functional potential in early Christianity
3. Early Christian Gospel genre and a critique of the two-level reading of the Gospel of John
4. Early Christian reader: an explication of the audience of the Fourth Gospel by inquiring for the implied reader
5. Reading the Fourth Gospel: the function of the Gospel of John in the light of the gospel community debate
6. The sheep of the fold: summary and conclusion.

Subject Areas: Sociology [JHB], History of religion [HRAX], History: earliest times to present day [HBL]