jesus and nicodemus: a literary and narrative exegesis of jn. 2,23-3,36

The conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus belongs not only to the theologically important but also to the exegetically controversial pericopes of the fourth gospel. Scholars have named it Summe des Evangeliums and Evangelium en miniature (cf. Jürgen Becker). Jn. 2,23-3,36, structured as a diptych of parallel and complementary scenes (2,23-3,21 & 3,22-36), each having a similar tripartite structure, contains the synthesis of the fourth evangelist’s Christology and soteriology and serves as a key to understand the scheme of the whole gospel. Using the current tools of literary and narrative criticism (characterisation, chiasmus, double entendre, dualism, irony, misunderstanding, parallelism, plot, symbolism, etc.), the author examines minutely the network of Jn. 1,19-4,54, subjects Jn. 3 to a thorough exegesis, defends the integrity and unity of Jn. 3 and analyses the heart beat of the gospel, viz. its double and parallel Christology of the Son of Man and Son of God, which complement each other. Being at home in French and German besides English, through a wide consideration of literature and multi-disciplinary methodology, he contributes substantially to the understanding of a central text of the fourth gospel.

The author: Paul Julian was born in 1954 in Chennai, India. After the completion of his bachelor’s in mathematics at Loyola College (Chennai), he pursued his philosophical and theological studies at the local Sacred Heart Seminary and was ordained priest in 1982. From 1989-1991 he did his master’s and canonical licence in liturgy and sacramental theology at Institut Supérieur de Liturgie of the Institut Catholique de Paris. Having taught liturgy and sacraments at the above seminary from 1991-1994, he joined the University of Würzburg, Germany and obtained in July 2000 his doctorate in NT exegesis. Since then he is back on the staff of the same seminary.