CAST OUT OF THE COVENANT

The Gospel of John presents its readers listeners and interpreters with a serious problem how can we reconcile the Gospel39s exalted spirituality and deep knowledge of Judaism with its portrayal of the Jews as the children of the devil John 844 who persecuted Christ and his followers One widespread solution to this problem is the socalled expulsion hypothesis According to this view the Fourth Gospel was addressed to a Jewish group of believers in Christ that had been expelled from the synagogue due to their faith The antiJewish elements express their natural resentment of how they had been treated the Jewish elements of the Gospel on the other hand reflect the Jewishness of this group and also soften the force of the Gospel39s antiJewish comments In Cast out of the Covenant this book Adele Reinhartz presents a detailed critique of the expulsion hypothesis on literary and historical grounds She argues that far from softening the Gospel39s antiJewishness the Gospel39s Jewish elements in fact contribute to it Focusing on the Gospel39s persuasive language and intentions Reinhartz shows that the Gospel39s antiJewishness is evident not only in the Gospel39s hostile comments about the Jews but also in its appropriation of Torah Temple and Covenant that were so central to firstcentury Jewish identity Through its skillful use of rhetoric the Gospel attempts to convince its audience that God39s favor had turned away from the Jews to the Gentiles that there is a deep rift between the synagogue and those who confess Christ as Messiah and that in the Gospel39s view this rift was initiated in Jesus39 own lifetime The Fourth Gospel Reinhartz argues appropriates Jewishness at the same time as it repudiates Jews In doing so it also promotes a parting of the ways between those who believe that Jesus is the messiah the Son of God and those who do not that is the Jews This rhetorical program she suggests may have been used to promote outreach or even an organized mission to the Gentil