Abstract
By an ancient and widespread habit, we are accustomed to think of the gospel of John as the “spiritual gospel.” In contrast to the Synoptics, John is held to present a more inward or theologically profound side of the early church’s interpretation of Jesus, or even of the teaching of Jesus himself. Hence this gospel is regarded by many as either the best introduction to or the most sublime meditation on what Christians believe about Jesus. As such its role is often seen to be that of leading individuals to faith in Christ, or deepening their understanding of Christ’s significance or their communion with him. What it may have to say about social relations among individuals, much less among classes of people, will be relegated to a rather remote subsection of a late chapter of one’s thinking about John, under the rubric “Love one another.”