Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

I. Introduction -- The social location of the author -- Characters -- Role and status -- Revealing and concealing: Language and the strategies of secrecy -- Cultural scenarios: Insights from the social sciences -- Other significant cultural concepts -- II. Suggested reading on the Gospel of John -- Commentaries -- Literary, rhetorical, symbolic, and ironic studies -- Sociological and anthropological approaches -- Background: Israelite and Greco-Roman -- History of interpretation -- Theology -- Noteworthy monographs and collections of essays -- Journal articles and chapters in collections of essays -- III. Commentary -- John 1:1-18 -- beginning, middle, and end -- John1:19-28 -- Questions and answers: The testimony of John -- Questions as weapons -- Knowing and not knowing -- John 1:29-34 -- "Not in the know" then "in the know" -- The Lamb of God -- John 1:35-51 -- Progressive revelation and membership -- How gossip functions in the Gospel -- Jesus, the appearing deity of the Scriptures -- John 2:1-12 -- The first sign -- Calendar versus ideological time -- Signs, wonders, and honor -- John 2:13-22 -- The first Jerusalem appearance -- John 2:23-25 -- Jesus, knower of all secrets -- John 3:1-21 -- Coming to Jesus at night -- Uniqueness of the rhetoric of praise -- John 3:22-30 -- He must increase, I must decrease -- Limited good and envy -- John 3:31-36 -- Summary and conclusion -- John 4:1-3 -- Bridge to Samaria -- John 4:4-26 -- What's wrong with this picture? -- Greater than our father Jacob? -- John 4:16, 27-30 -- An apostle? Pubic voice? -- John 4:31-38 -- Instructing the disciples on their role as apostles -- John 4:39-42 -- Stages in belief -- John 4:43-52 -- The second sign -- John 5:1-16 -- A healing becomes a controversy -- Typical form of a miracle -- John 5:17-29 -- The enemies really get angry -- God's two powers and God's two names -- Jesus: "God," "equal to God," "I AM" -- John 5:30-47 -- Defense for the first charge: Lawbreaking -- John 6:1-15 -- Another sign: Bread at Passover -- John 6:16-21 -- Mysterious presence -- John 6:22-29 -- Chipping away at ambiguity -- John 6:30-58 -- He gave them bread from heaven to eat -- "Sacraments" -- John 6:59-65 -- Turning away, dropping out -- John 6:66-71 -- Schism, internal chaos -- John 7:1-9 -- So much for blood relatives! -- John 7:10-24 -- The trial resumes: Verdict and sentence -- John 7:25-36 -- The trial continues -- John 7:37-39 -- The libation on the last day of the feast.

John 7:40-44 -- New testimony about Jesus -- John 7:45-52 -- The prosecution rests -- John 7:53 -- John 8:11 -- A judicious judgment -- John 8:12-20 -- The trial that never ends -- John 8:21-30 -- Two different worlds -- John 8:31-37 -- Abraham testifies against his sons -- John 8:38-40 -- Abraham and chips off the old block -- John 8:41-44 -- Fathers everywhere: God, Abraham, and the devil -- John 8:45-58 -- New claims about Abraham -- John 9:1-12: Another sign: From darkness to light -- John 9:13-17 -- Forensic proceedings yet again -- John 9:18-23 -- The trial continues -- John 9:24-34 -- Tried in absentia -- John 9:35-41 -- The blind man's complete transformation -- Excommunication -- John 10:1-6 -- The revealer speaks in riddles -- John 10:7-10 -- The "door" to the sheepfold and the kingdom -- John 10:11-18 -- The "noble" shepherd -- Noble death in John 10:11-18 -- John 10:19-21 -- Coming with a sword to cause division -- John 10:22-33 -- Tell us plainly: who are you? -- John 10:34-42 -- Who else is called "God," and why? -- Midrash on Psalm 82 in John 10:34 -- John 11:1-16 -- An elegant overture -- John 11:17-27 -- Revelation, not resurrection -- John 11:28-33 -- Gathering all the cast -- John 11;34-44 -- A tomb with a view -- Demonstration of eschatological power -- John 11:45-52 -- Council of irony: Causing what you don't want to happen -- The revealer keeps secrets -- John 11:53-57 -- Playing cat and mouse -- John 12:1-11 -- The beloved disciples once more -- Anointings compared: Mark 14:3-9 and John 12:1-8 -- John 12:12-19 -- Your king comes, riding on a donkey -- John 12:20-26 -- Greek and grains -- John 12:27-36 -- Jesus' public prayers -- Give God the glory -- John 12:37-43 -- Some get it, most don't -- John 12:44-50: Having the last word -- "Conclusion" to the book of signs -- John 13:1-3 -- A second prologue -- John 13:4-20 -- Footwashing and its interpretations -- Symbolic meaning of footwashing -- John 13:21-30 -- Who knows what? -- John 13:31-35 -- Now glory -- John 13:36-38 -- Peter: "Have part with me" or deny me? -- Peter's perpetual misunderstandings -- John 14:1-6 -- Going away and coming back -- Johannine geography: Space = relationships -- John 14:7-12 -- Knowing, showing, and seeing -- John 14:13-24 -- patron-God, Broker-Jesus, and clients-disciples -- Jesus, the broker -- Justice, duty, and love -- John 14:25-31 -- Peace, crisis, and departure -- Types of spirits in John -- John 15:1-8 -- Abiding in the vine -- John 15:9-17 -- Love and friends -- Deliberative rhetoric: "Abide" (15:1-8) and "Love" (15:9-17) -- Comparisons: "Greater than" and "true" -- John 15:18-37 -- Enemies and hate -- John 16:1-15 -- Still another role for the advocate -- John 16:16-24 -- Not knowing and knowing -- John 16:25-33 -- Figures and plain speech -- John 17:1-5 -- Jesus at prayer -- John 17:6-12 -- New focus of prayer: The disciples -- The meaning of names -- John 17:13-26 -- Prayer for future disciples -- John 18:1-11 -- I lay down my life ... no one takes it from me -- John 18:12-27 -- Bold public speech inside the high priest's house -- John 18:28-40 -- Jesus faces the "friend of Caesar" -- John 19:1-5 -- Irony: Shame leads to glory -- John 19:6-16 -- When will this trial end? -- What kind of character is Pilate? -- John 19:17-30 -- It is accomplished -- Shame and the cross -- John 19:31-42 -- The body of Jesus: Mutilation? Or respect? -- John 20:1-10 -- Many witnesses to an empty tomb -- John 20:11-18 -- Now she knows "where" -- How information/news travels in a nonliterate culture -- John 20:19-23 -- Appearances as commissionings -- John 20:24-31 -- Demands, demands, demands -- John 21:1-8 -- Gone fishing -- John 21:9-14 -- Breakfast on the beach -- John 21:15-19 -- Finally, another "noble" shepherd -- John 21:20-23 -- Controversy ends even the epilogue -- John 21:24-25 -- The last ending.

This commentary differs from most others in that it does not attempt to repeat all the critical materials which can be found in the larger, major series. Rather it brings to the interpretation of John, materials more literary and rhetorical in nature. It presents full paragraphs on passages, key terms and major motifs. One might say that the 'big picture' is more important here than exacting detail. Readers will be invited into the gospel by noting its typical literary patterns (chiasms, topic statements and development, patterns of double-meaning words), rhetorical commonplaces and discourse (e.g., 'the 'noble' shepherd'; forensic trials: accusations, defense, verdict and sentence). In particular this commentary brings readers into the cultural world of the gospel by presenting materials such as honor and shame, challenge and riposte, gossip, secrecy, and sectarian character of the group.