Unity and Diversity in Torah Practices A Johannine Vision for Contemporary Christian Communities

Abstract

Against the grain of much Johannine scholarship, this article offers a sustained argument against the notion that John’s Jesus replaces sacred Jewish institutions and practices such as ritual purification, the temple, the Sabbath, and the Jewish festivals. Instead, I argue that John promotes a deeply appreciative and contextually sensitive vision of the Mosaic torah in which significant torah practices and institutions are retained, whilst also being reinterpreted, diversified, and sometimes relativised. This vision, in turn, has beneficial implications for Jewish-Christian dialogues and can provide wisdom in contemporary debates about the role of Jewish institutions and practices in Christian communities.