For reasons unique to our church’s schedule, I preached the book in two series. Last spring and summer, I preached a series on John 1-12 titled "The Jesus You Need to Know." It coincided with the release of The Da Vinci Code movie. Then, I returned to John in January and preached a series on chapters 13-21 titled "Jesus’ Mission in High Definition." I timed it to arrived at the resurrection narrative (John 20) on Easter Sunday.

Preaching John’s gospel well requires and understanding of the literary dimension of the text, the theological emphases of John, and the historical-cultural background. For example, in John 1-12, Jesus interacts with the institutions of Judaism (ritual purification, the temple, a rabbi, and a well) and then shows up at the festivals of Judaism (Sabbath, Passover, Tabernacles, and Dedication, that is, Hanukkah!). You’ll see the theology in high definition when you understand the water ceremony and the light show at the Feast of Tabernacles (behind Jesus’ words in John 7:37-39 and 8;12 respectively). What Jesus says at Hanukkah in John 10 hits home with more force when you realize that Hanukkah was a time for reflecting on failed leadership.

Where can you find help on these issues? Good commentaries! I received the most help from Burge, Carson, and Keener. The NIV Application Commentary by Gary Burge is the most concise of the three and shows an exceptional understanding of the literary dimension of the text as well as the world in which Jesus lived. Burge’s diagram of the book’s structure is outstanding (page 56). The Gospel According to John by D. A. Carson contains outstanding exegesis and theological synthesis. Carson is very aware of allusions to the Old Testament. Craig Keener’s two-volume work, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, shows stunning insight into the world of first-century Judaism which served as the backdrop for what Jesus did and taught. You won’t have time (or the need!) to read anything else after these three commentaries! Andreas Kostenberger’s recent volume in ‘The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament’ is excellent, but I’m not sure it adds many new insights. Of course, the commentaries by C. K. Barrett and Raymond Brown are classics. But you’ll find their major insights discussed in Burge, Carson, and Keener. I have not used Andrew Lincoln’s most recent contribution.

Also, you may want to get The Gospel of John film available in three DVDs. The Passion of the Christ, which came out at about the same time, eclipsed this film. But its script follows the Good News Bible word for word. I showed the clip of John 2:1-12 to give my congregation the flavor of a Jewish wedding.