Jesus' Death and the Gathering of True Israel

Book excerpt: Taking seriously the Gospel as a unified narrative and the Gospel's late first-century Jewish setting, John Dennis investigates the Fourth Gospel's appropriation of Jewish restoration theology. Employing John 11.47-52 as the starting point, the author argues that one of the primary functions of restoration theology in John is to interpret Jesus' death in the light of Jewish restoration expectations. A new angle on Jesus' death in the Fourth Gospel emerges from this study: Jesus' death effects the restoration of Israel, the restoration that was engendered by the Prophets and expected by many Jews of the Second Temple period. In the course of the study it is also argued that John was primarily concerned with Israel's restoration and not with a mission to the Gentiles. In this light, a fresh interpretation of the children of God (11.52) is offered.