Johannine Portrayal of Jesus

This book introduces a new methodological framework based on the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics which can examine the linguistic features of the New Testament text. By applying a two-step discourse analysis model that includes a functional-semantic analysis and a rhetorical-relational analysis, this book argues that the twenty-eight occurrences of "I am" in Jesus's utterances throughout the Gospel of John reinforce John's portrayal of Jesus's divinity. In the light of John's construing of Jesus's divinity, this new analysis of the Johannine "I am" phrases demonstrates how Johannine Christology is expressed through the narrative of John's Gospel with various textual characteristics.