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Revelation in the Fourth Gospel: Narrative Mode and Theological Claim
Book by O'Day, Gail R.
143 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 22, 2017
First published in 1946, this is O'Day's commentary on sections of John's Gospel.
She explains how irony is this Gospel's mode of revelatory language. It reveals by asking the reader to make judgments and decisions, drawing her into its vision so that when the reader finally understands she is drawn in, she becomes a member of a community. The text can't be reduced to abstractions, but must be read in its literary form. The text itself is revelatory.
It is not about the content, but about encountering a presence. The narrative itself does not mediate the revelation, but it is the revelation.
One of the sections she uses it the dialog of the Samaritan woman and Jesus at the well. Jesus doesn't tell the woman who he is, he lets her discover it. The tension created by the narrative, between what it says and what it means, forces the reader to decide.
Another is the dialog of Pilate and Jesus at his trial.
This work aims to show where and how the presence of God is to be found today.
O'Day does a good job of it.
She explains how irony is this Gospel's mode of revelatory language. It reveals by asking the reader to make judgments and decisions, drawing her into its vision so that when the reader finally understands she is drawn in, she becomes a member of a community. The text can't be reduced to abstractions, but must be read in its literary form. The text itself is revelatory.
It is not about the content, but about encountering a presence. The narrative itself does not mediate the revelation, but it is the revelation.
One of the sections she uses it the dialog of the Samaritan woman and Jesus at the well. Jesus doesn't tell the woman who he is, he lets her discover it. The tension created by the narrative, between what it says and what it means, forces the reader to decide.
Another is the dialog of Pilate and Jesus at his trial.
This work aims to show where and how the presence of God is to be found today.
O'Day does a good job of it.
Read
October 14, 2025This book builds upon the foundations laid by R. Alan Culpepper in Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel. Two things really stood out to me.
What I found most interesting is that on page 9, the author refers to Oscar Cullmann’s analysis of double-meaning expressions—specifically the word hupsoo, which means both “to lift up” and “to exalt.” This word appears three times in John’s Gospel (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32), each time referring to Jesus’ crucifixion and exaltation. I find it especially compelling that it’s mentioned three times, given the symbolic significance of the number three.
Second, pages 91 and 95 spoke to me deeply. In my own words: “The more we seek Him, the more He reveals Himself to us.” These pages illustrate that beautifully:
- Page 91: “Instead, his implicit, often indirect, responses leave room for the woman’s personal movement to Jesus. Yet as her unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Jesus indicate, if she wants to understand him, she must make this movement.” (This refers to the Samaritan woman sharing her experience with Jesus to the Samaritans.)
- Page 95: “The Fourth Evangelist does not simply present Jesus as revealer to his readers but constructs the Gospel text in such a way as to allow his readers to enter into the revelatory dynamic themselves.”
What I found most interesting is that on page 9, the author refers to Oscar Cullmann’s analysis of double-meaning expressions—specifically the word hupsoo, which means both “to lift up” and “to exalt.” This word appears three times in John’s Gospel (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32), each time referring to Jesus’ crucifixion and exaltation. I find it especially compelling that it’s mentioned three times, given the symbolic significance of the number three.
Second, pages 91 and 95 spoke to me deeply. In my own words: “The more we seek Him, the more He reveals Himself to us.” These pages illustrate that beautifully:
- Page 91: “Instead, his implicit, often indirect, responses leave room for the woman’s personal movement to Jesus. Yet as her unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Jesus indicate, if she wants to understand him, she must make this movement.” (This refers to the Samaritan woman sharing her experience with Jesus to the Samaritans.)
- Page 95: “The Fourth Evangelist does not simply present Jesus as revealer to his readers but constructs the Gospel text in such a way as to allow his readers to enter into the revelatory dynamic themselves.”
Read
March 21, 2016Take-away quote from this book:
"Our analysis of John 4:4-42 has focused on the ways in which John's portrait of Jesus as revealer and his theology of revelation are reflected in his literary technique. John does not merely present the story of John 4 to the reader but instead narrates it in such a way that the reader participates in the narrative and the revelatory experience communicated by it. The reader encounters Jesus and his revelation, but, in contrast to Bultmann, he or she does so through the narrative itself. The narrative is therefore not expendable but is a central element of the revelatory experience. "
"Our analysis of John 4:4-42 has focused on the ways in which John's portrait of Jesus as revealer and his theology of revelation are reflected in his literary technique. John does not merely present the story of John 4 to the reader but instead narrates it in such a way that the reader participates in the narrative and the revelatory experience communicated by it. The reader encounters Jesus and his revelation, but, in contrast to Bultmann, he or she does so through the narrative itself. The narrative is therefore not expendable but is a central element of the revelatory experience. "
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews