Affirming the Resurrection of the Incarnate Christ: A Reading of 1 John

by Matthew D. Jensen

The first letter of John is commonly understood to contain no reference to Jesus's resurrection. Matthew D. Jensen argues that, far from this being absent from the theology of 1 John, the opening verses contain a key reference to the resurrection which undergirds the rest of the text and is bolstered by other explicit references to the resurrection. The book goes on to suggest that the author and the readers of this epistle understand themselves to be the authentic Israel from which faithless Jews had apostatized when they denied that Jesus was 'the Christ' and left the community. Jensen's interpretation calls for a new understanding of the historical context in which 1 John was written, particularly the question of Jesus' identity from the perspective of his fellow Jews. An innovative and provocative study, of interest to scholars and advanced students of New Testament studies, Johannine theology and Jewish history.

236 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2012

Reviews

[Douglas Fyfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. It's really nice to have a scholarly work that's accessible and answers the questions you want answered. I didn't really care that much about the question at hand (whether 1 John was primarily describing Jesus' resurrection in particular rather than his incarnation in general), but it provided a great way of opening the book up.

The "gaps for interpretation" sections were were some important interpretative questions were answered, with copious references for further reading.

I'm not sure I'm convinced by his structural logic, and I felt he argued against it at times (for instance he argued for linking 5:14-15 with 16-17 right after he decided they belong in separate sections), but that's ultimately neither here nor there in a book so hard to structure as 1 John.

Great read, highly recommended for anyone studying or preaching through the book.

[Will Cunningham-Batt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about as dry as they come for an academic monograph, but I thought Jensen's thesis that 1 John speaks about the resurrection and resurrection life to be very compelling, and a key building block for understanding the letter. Glad to have read this.

[Philip Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially, this is the author’s PhD thesis. It’s very good in my opinion and seems to be a solid and sane walk through 1 John. Goes for a mid 1st century date and a Jewish audience.