Wounded Lord: Reading John Through the Eyes of Thomas

A Pastoral and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel

Robert H. Smith, Donna Duensing, Duensing

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9781606086605
  9781498211826
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498270205
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

John's gospel does not record "Thomas's doubt," as later generations of Christians have branded the story. Rather, John presents Thomas's faith. In this work, Robert H. Smith approaches Thomas as one who believes in the reality of incarnation: God has a body. Too often, Smith argues, Christians read John's gospel for its lyrical discourses. The resulting portrait of Jesus is a "cross-less Christ," a portrait that contributes powerfully to Christian triumphalism. In contrast, Smith finds that the evangelist always has the cross in view. Smith reads John "backwards," through the eyes of Thomas. In so doing, he demonstrates the centrality of a wounded Lord in the theology of the gospel. But this book does not end with hermeneutics. Smith advances his discussion into the life of discipleship. Anyone dwelling in Christ's body will be similarly marked. What does it mean to live in the world as the marked body of Christ? Everyone who poses the question will want to read this book. Martha E. Stortz Professor of Historical Theology and Ethics Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary/The Graduate Theological Union Berkeley, California

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Reading John through the Eyes of Thomas
• John 1:1-18: The Word Became Flesh
• John 1:19–51: Sin, Seeking, and Seeing
• John 2:1–25: Jesus’ First Public Actions
• John 3:1–21: Nicodemus by Night
• John 4:1–42: The Samaritan Woman
• John 5:1–47: In Jerusalem at the Pool of Bethzatha
• John 6:1–65: Five Loaves, Two Fish, and the Bread of Life
• John 7:1–52: Words of Conflict: Teaching and Response
• John 8:12–59: I AM
• John 9:1–41: Treatise on Sin
• John 10:1–39: The Good Shepherd
• John 11:1–52: Lazarus
• John 12:1–43: The Glory of God
• John 13:1–38: Beginning a Farewell
• John 14:1–31: Beginning a Farewell Discourse
• John 15:1–27: I AM the Vine
• John 16:1–15: The Spirit Will Guide You into All Truth
• John 17:1–26: Jesus Prays on the Eve of His Crucifixion
• John 18:1—19:15: From a Garden to Gabbatha
• John 19:17–42: They Crucified Him
• John 20:1–31: On the First Day of the Week
• John 21:1–25: By the Sea of Tiberias