The Word from the Beginning

The other day I saw a passing reference of praise about Dr. Bruce G. Schuchard’s book, The Word from the Beginning: The Person and Work of Jesus in the Gospel of John. It released last fall. I haven’t seen it, but it surely sounds interesting and worth mentioning. 🙂

You may recognize Dr. Schuchard’s name from the Concordia Commentary, 1-3 John, or from his years of service, teaching at Concordia Seminary St. Louis. (He’s the chair for the exegetical department.)

Here’s the Amazon description:

“And the Word became flesh”

John’s Gospel famously opens with a poetic prologue about the Word. However, after these initial verses, the theme of God’s Word incarnate seems to fade.

The silence is only apparent. In The Word from the Beginning, Bruce G. Schuchard reunites John’s prologue with the rest of his Gospel. What Jesus does in the Gospel embodies who Jesus is in the prologue. Jesus’s words and actions reveal and unfold his unique identity as the Word. Jesus is indeed God’s Word enfleshed.

This theological reading of John’s Gospel unifies Jesus’s identity, words, and work, opening up implications for Johannine Christology.