Jacek Oniszczuk, Incontri con il Risorto in Giovanni (Gv 20–21). Seconda edizione, RBSem 13, Peeters, Leuven 2018 (226 p.)
In John, the appearances of the Risen One occupy chapters 20 and 21. The last is sometimes considered an appendix or addition. How do they create a well-composed whole? This book addresses the challenge of presenting the composition of John 20-21 as a well-composed whole. The application of biblical rhetorical analysis illustrates how composition provides the key to open the door to the text’s message.
The study is organized under four headings: Text, Composition, Context, and Interpretation. In the first, issues of textual criticism, grammar, and lexicography are considered. The second highlights the composition of the text with its internal relationships. The third contemplates the external relationships with other similar texts that illuminate the text studied. The exegetical journey completes the interpretation, the fruit of the previous stages.
How are the last two chapters of John related? One of the red threads in the plot of the text is that of believing. If the key issue of Jn 20 is the disciples’ faith in the resurrection of the Master, that is, Brother (cf. 20:17), necessary to receive the mission, the key issue of Jn 21 is faith in the Son who returned to the Father but remained in his Spirit, to accompany their mission. If Jn 20 recounts the sunset of Jesus’ earthly history, Jn 21 already marks the dawn of the Church’s history. The two stories are different, like two days separated by a night, but very similar, because they are equally illuminated by the same divine light which, if seen from above, never ceases to shine.
