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Product Description
Audio: EWTN's Bookmark Interview on Steve's book St. John's Gospel
The first extensive, easy to use and thoroughly Catholic Bible Study guide
As Catholics in ever-growing numbers are taking part in Bible studies, many questions arise. How do I study the Bible? Where do I begin? Is it OK to interpret the Bible for ourselves? What Bible should I use? How can I understand such a deep book as the Gospel of St, John?
This book has the answer to these and many other such questions. Stephen Ray takes the difficult and makes it easy; he takes the confusion and makes things clear. It gives a simple start for a beginner while providing the depth and profundity for the scholar. This book is one of a kind. It is the first extensive, easy to use and thoroughly Catholic study guide available.
This Bible study provides extensive "text boxes" with detailed information that helps students discover the cultural, religious, historical and other information on the specific passage they are studying. It utilizes quotes for a wide range of scholars, historians and specialists to instruct the student and give valuable insights into the background and meaning of the text. This book can serve as a basic Bible study guide for working through the Gospel of John, helping the student plumb the depths of St. John's marvelous and deeply spiritual Gospel. It is excellent for use by individuals or groups, for families or schools.
Special Highlights
- The first extensive, easy-to-use Catholic Bible study guide available
- Written in a way that is usable by both the beginner and the scholar
- Coincides very well with the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Provides extensive "text-boxes" with detailed information on specific Bible passages being studied
New Bible study guide for Catholics explores John's Gospel
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Ignatius Press has released "St. John's Gospel: A Bible Study Guide and Commentary," which it describes as the first extensive and easy-to-use Bible study guide for Catholics to help them understand the Gospel of St. John. Written by Stephen K. Ray, the 461-page study guide features numerous "text boxes" with relevant cultural, religious, historical and other information pertinent to specific passages, as well as quotes from a wide range of scholars, historians and specialists to enhance students' understanding and insight. Ignatius Press, based in San Francisco, calls the book "more than a study aid: it's a scriptural commentary, study of church teaching, handbook of Catholic apologetics, introduction to the church fathers, and a survey of history and culture at the time of Christ." Ray, a convert to Catholicism, is the author of "Crossing the Tiber" and "Upon This Rock" and hosts the 10-part film series, "Footprints of God," covering more than 2,000 years of Jewish and Christian history.
Endorsements
Scott Hahn is currently using your book on John as the text for his class at St. Vincent Seminary. The seminarians love your book. Scott does, too.—Mike Aquilina
There is no greater guide to St. John's Gospel than this utterly outstanding offering from the heart of one of the most gifted converts to the Church in recent years. This is simply the best, most thorough, practical, and intensely Catholic Bible study I've seen.Rosalind Moss
Stephen Ray presents a readable and intelligent interpretation of the Gospel of John. His approach is simple, clear, yet profound and discerning. For those who seek the truth and understanding of St. John's Gospel, this book is a must reading.Cardinal Ricardo Vidal
Archbishop of Cebu, Philippines
Steve Ray's St. John's Gospel is a welcome addition to the blossoming field of Scripture studies written by and for faithful lay Catholics. His research is sound, his style accessible, and his insights are solidly Catholic and biblical. May he write many more!Mark Shea, Author
Making Senses Out of Scripture
Steve Ray's teaching of the Bible has inspired many in the parish we both belong to. I'm happy to hear that these teachings will now be available in book form so that many-more can benefit.Ralph Martin, Author
Renewal Ministries
After they had been Protestants for three decades, Steve Ray and his wife, Janet, were converted to Catholicism in 1994. He now spends much of his time in research, writing, and teaching. He serves on the Board of Directors of Ave Maria College. His “thoroughly Catholic” commentary on John's Gospel features archaeological, theological, cultural, religious, and historical information, and quotations from a wide range of scholars. He includes a bibliography and two indexesTheology Digest Book Survey
Summer 2003, pg. 181
As for St. John's Gospel, I'm still on the second chapter but have taken so many notes that I am awe struck. I would have never correlated these things. As a "Revert" to the faith, you have made me realize just how true our faith really is. I can't thank you enough.Cyndi Buckley
We used your commentary on the Gospel of St. John and it was the best commentary I have ever seen on John!!!!! I have them all - and the best of the best - until I became Catholic - and then I found yours. We used it in our class 4 years ago when we began CSS.Terry
"The Scripture," said Pope St. Gregory the Great, "is a stream in which the elephant may swim and the lamb may wade" Perhaps no biblical book illustrates that paradox more beautifully than St. John's Gospel. At once it is utterly simple and astonishingly profound.
Some truths in its pages any child can readily grasp: "I am the Good Shepherd" (10:11). Yet the Church has for centuries pondered some mysteries in this Gospel without ever plumbing their full depths: "The Word became flesh" (1:14).
For help in understanding both sorts of passages, Stephen Ray's study guide and commentary is indispensable. In one rather compact volume he has assembled the insights of biblical scholars and historians, Fathers of the Church and Doctors of the Church, papal documents and the Catechism. These are interwoven with his own penetrating questions about the text and its practical implications for Christian faith and life.
Thoroughly Catholic, Ray's approach encourages a slow-paced, deep reflection. He provides the reader ample tools for placing each Gospel passage in its larger' context: biblical, theological, historical, moral and liturgical. The result is a useful, intriguing guide for "elephants" and "lambs" alike.The Catholic Answer
Our Sunday Visitor, May-June 2004
1) Table of Contents
Dedication
Table of Contents
Introduction
Simple Guidelines for Studying the Bible
Which Translation to Use?
How to Use This Study Guide
Who Wrote the Gospel of St. John?
The Apostle John
John’s Audience and Purpose in Writing
John 1a: The “Overture”: The Word Becomes Flesh
John 1:1-2: In the Beginning was the Word
John 1:1–5: All Things Came into Being through Him
John 1:6–13: True Light and Children of God
John 1:14–18: The Incarnation—the Word Became Flesh
John 1b: John the Baptist; Choosing the Disciples
John 1:19–34: Testimony of John the Baptist
John 1:35–51: Jesus Chooses Disciples
John 2:Jesus, Mary and the Wedding in Cana—Cleansing the Remple in Jerusalem
John 2:1–5: The Wedding in Cana: Mary and Jesus
John 2:6–11: The Wedding in Cana: Water into Wine, Old Transformed into the New
John 2:12–21: The Temple in Jerusalem, the Resurrection Proclaimed
John 2:22–25: Belief and the Heart of Man
John 3: “You Must Be Born Again”—”For God So Loved the World”
John 3:1-21: Jesus and Nicodemus
John 3:22–36: John the Baptizer
John 4: The Samaritan Woman, the Gentile Official: Conversion and Faith
John 4:1–42: The Samaritan Woman is Offered Living Water
John 4:43–54: Jesus’ Second Sign; He Heals a Gentile’s Son
John 5: Infirm Man Healed at the Pools of Bethesda—Jesus Calls Four Witnesses
John 5:1–9: Healing at the Pool on the Sabbath
John 5:10–18: The Jews React to the “Sabbath Violation”
John 5:18–47: Jesus Defends and Explains His Equality with God
John 6a: Miraculous Bread to Feed the People—Jesus Walks on the Water
John 6:1–21: Multiplication of Loaves, the Eucharist Foreshadowed
John 6:16–21: Jesus Walks on the Water: The Fifth Sign
John 6b: “Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood”—The Eucharist
John 6:22–51: Jesus, the Bread of Life
John 6:60–70: Many Disciples Abandon the Words of Eternal Life
John 7:1–13: Jesus Goes up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths
John 7:14–24: Jesus Teaches at the Feast
John 7:25–44: Is Jesus the Christ?
John 7:45–53: Unbelief of Jewish Leaders
John 8: The Adulterous Woman; More Debates: Who Is Christ? The True I AM
John 8:1–13: The Woman Caught in Adultery
John 8:12–30: Jesus Is the Light of the World
John 8:31–59: The Truth Will Make You Free
John 9: The Blind Mans Sees—The Seeing Men are Blind; More Debates, Who is Jesus?
John 9:1–12: Jesus Heals The Blind Beggar
John 9:13–34: Dispute over the Healed Man
John 9:35–41: Jesus Reaffirms His Deity
John 10: The Good Shepherd Makes Himself out to Be God! Who Is Jesus?
John 10:1–21: The Bad Shepherds Oppose the Good Shepherd
John 10:22–42: The Feast of Dedication: Are You the Messiah? Are You God?
John 11: Lazarus Raised from the Dead: “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”
John 11:1–16: The Setting for the Seventh Sign
John 11:17–33: Jesus Goes to Bethany
John 11:34–44: Jesus Raises Lazarus
John 11:45–57: The Sanhedrin Condemns Jesus
John 12: Anointing Jesus—the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
John 12:1–11: Jesus Anointed at Bethany
John 12:12–19: Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
John 12:20–36: Greeks Seek Jesus; His Death Foretold
John 12:37–50: The Disbelief of the Jews
John 13: The Humble, Compassionate King; the Foolish, Treacherous Servant
John 13:1–17: Maundy Thursday: Jesus Washes Feet
John 13:18–38: The Betrayal and Glory
John 14: The Way to Heaven—The Gift of the Holy Spirit
John 14:1–14: Heaven and the Way to Get There
John 14:15–31: Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
John 15: The Vine and Branches—In the World, but Not of the World
John 15:1–17: Abide Fruitfully in Christ or Burn
John 15:18–27: In the World, but not of the World
John 16: Jesus Prepares to Leave and Return; The Action of the Holy Spirit
John 16:1–6: Christians and persecution
John 16:7–15: The Action of the Holy Spirit
John 16:16–22: Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection Foretold
John 16:25–33: Jesus’ Last Consolations
John 17: Our High Priest Prays—The Visible Unity of the Church
John 17:1–5: Jesus Prays for Himself
John 17:6–19: Jesus Prays for His Disciples
John 17:20–26: Jesus Prays for the Church—Those Believing the Apostles’ Word
John 18: The Betrayal, Arrest, and Trials of Jesus—”King of the Jews?”
John 18:1–11: Jesus is Betrayed and Arrested
John 18:12–23: Trial Before Annas
John 18:23–27: Trial Before Caiaphas
John 18:28–40: Trial Before Pilate
John Chapter 19a: Jesus Condemned—The Pain of the Crucifixion
John 19:1–16: Jesus Abused Before Pilate
John 19:17–24: The Crucifixion Begins
John 19b: The Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus—The Birth of the Church
John 19:25–27: Mary and John at the Cross
John 19:28–37: Jesus Dies on the Cross
John 19:38–42: The Burial of Jesus
John 20: Death Could Not Hold Him—“My Lord and My God”
John 20:1–10: The Empty Tomb
John 20:11–18: Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalen
John 20:19–31: Jesus Appears to the Disciples
John 20:24–31: Jesus and ‘Doubting Thomas’
John 21: The Grand Finale: Jesus Meets the Apostles—The Pope and the Church
Appendix: St. John’s Grand “Finale”!
John 21:1–14: Jesus Appears in Galilee
John 21:15–17: Peter Appointed as Shepherd
John 21:18–23: The Future of Peter and John
Concluding Thoughts
Bibliography
2) Excerpt
John 6b: “Unless You Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood” —The Eucharist
John 6:22–51: Jesus, the Bread of Life
Introductory Comments: We now embark on one of the most profound and deeply spiritual passages in the whole New Testament. Keeping with John’s expertise at revealing deeper spiritual truths through the vehicle of historical events, dialogues, and stories of Jesus’ life, it is our duty here to discover the levels of meaning John has carefully embedded in chapter six. John’s is a “spiritual Gospel” and in this chapter he intends to provide readers with the fundamental truths and mysteries of the Eucharist.
The other three Gospels give careful accounts of the institution of the Eucharist (CCC 1334)—John does not. What John does give is the theology behind it, and he recalls the promise that Christ made of the sacred food and drink—his Body and Blood—the Eucharist, that would be offered by the “nations” (Gentiles) from “east to west”, a “pure offering” on the “table of the Lord” (Mal 1:11, 12; CCC 1330).
1. The day before this discourse on the Bread of Life, Jesus had just performed two more “signs”: feeding up to twenty-thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish and then walking on water and instantly causing the boat to reach shore. He then walked across the Sea of Galilee and joined the disciples in their boat on their way back, in the dark, to Capernaum. The crowds stayed on the opposite side of the sea, waiting to see Jesus at daybreak, not knowing he had left for Capernaum. What did they do when they realized Jesus had slipped away in the night (Jn 6:24)? Why did they assume Jesus was back in Capernaum (Mk 2:1)? We see the word “sign” used again in verse 26. Were the crowds interested in the signs Jesus was providing (cf. Jn 2:11, 23; 4:53–54; 6:2)? What preoccupied their minds (vv. 24, 26)? Is seeking Jesus always commendable? Do we seek Jesus for himself or for what he can do for us (CCC 305, 428, 2709)?
2. By the end of the first century (at the time John wrote this Gospel), the “breaking of bread” was already commonly called the Eucharist (e.g., St. Ignatius of Antioch, cf. CCC 1369), which means “blessing” or “thanks”. Read verse 23. Considering John’s audience, why do you think he uses the word “thanks” (eucharistia)? What context do you think he is establishing for the discourse that follows? What would have been the first readers’ immediate association?
Textual Note: Referring to John 6, Baptist theologian George Beasley-Murray writes, “It is evident that neither the Evangelist nor the Christian readers could have written or read the saying without conscious reference to the Eucharist; to say the least, they would have acknowledged it as supremely fulfilled in the worship event” (Beasley-Murray, Word Biblical Commentary: John, 95). W. Leonard writes, “[John] does use euvcaristhvsa~ instead of the euvloghvsa~ of the Synoptists. This verb deliberately repeated in 23 should be regarded as a distinct allusion to the Eucharistic significance of the miracle. . . . Let us take St Augustine’s advice and not merely look at the outside of the miracle, like a man who admires calligraphy which he cannot read. Mental comprehension, not mere ocular or imaginative apprehension, should be our endeavour, when we read this miracle on LaetareSunday. The same Word, ‘by whom are all things’, feeds the world from a few grains of corn, and the same also multiplies himself Incarnate on thousands of altars” (Orchard, A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, 991).
