the gospel of John presents the viewpoint of a radically sectarian group alienated from the Jewish community because they have been turned out of their home synagogues for claiming that Jesus is the Messiah. Like the Essenes, John speaks eloquently of the love among those who belong to God (John 10:14); and yet John’s fierce polemic against those he sometimes calls simply “the Jews” at times matches in bitterness that of the Essenes.
