John’s Gospel can be divided into two parts: the book of signs (chs. 1–12) and the book of glory (chs. 13–21). It may sound strange to call Jesus’ passion narrative a book of glory, but that’s how Jesus referred to his death—it was the moment of his glorification. In He Loved Them Until the End, John Christopher Thomas provides a brief narrative analysis of the book of glory.

This book is small, weighing in at only 51 pages. It is a transcription of the Stanley Lectures which Thomas gave at Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in 1997. While much of the content is something you might read in the introduction to a commentary on the Gospel, a few points stand out.

First, acknowledging the chiastic structure of the farewell materials, Thomas clearly itemizes the main points of key sections including teaching on the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. This is a great resource for teaching or preaching on these sections.

Second, Thomas’ analysis of footwashing is rich. He argues that early believers would have understood this practice as “far more than an example. ‘It is a definite prototype’” (23). This made me question why we in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (perhaps arbitrarily?) view baptism and the Lord’s supper sacramentally but not footwashing.

He Loved Them Until the End packs a significant amount of literary reflection into a tiny package.

Thomas, John Christopher. He Loved Them Until the End: The Farewell Materials in the Gospel According to John. Cleveland: CPT Press, 2015.