In this volume James H. Charlesworth analyzes how John is a vital resource in understanding both the origin of Christianity and Jesus' position in history. Charlesworth begins from a burgeoning point of scholarly consensus - that more and more scholars are coming to recognize that John's gospel is much more historically complex and valuable than previously thought (even if this is itself complex and contested).

Charlesworth outlines the two historical horizons within John: on the one hand the Jewish background to the text (complete with extensive evidence of the evangelist's knowledge of Palestinian geography and Jewish customs) which Charlesworth sees as offering a window on pre-70 Palestinian Judaism; on the other hand a world post-70 in which non-believing Jews, with more unity, begin to part definitively with those who identified Jesus as the messiah. Charlesworth's work is split into four areas. The first examines the origins of the gospel, its evolution in several editions, and its setting in Judea and Galilee. The second looks specifically at the figure of Jesus and issues of history. The third considers the gospel alongside contemporaneous Jewish literature, most notably the Dead Sea Scrolls. The final section engages with John's symbolism and language, looking closely at key aspects in which John differs from the synoptic gospels, and also raising such provocative questions as whether or not it is possible that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.