Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 68:3 (Sep 2025)
Article: The Chiastic Structure Of John’s Gospel
Author: James M. Hamilton, Jr.

JETS 68:3 (September 2025) p. 509

The Chiastic Structure Of John’s Gospel

James M. Hamilton Jr.

James M. Hamilton Jr. is Professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2825 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40280. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: This essay seeks to sharpen the widely accepted “Book of Signs” and “Book of Glory” structural outline of the Gospel of John by showing that these features contribute to its chiastic structure. Having defined chiasmus, described its widespread use as a compositional strategy, and suggested that the major exegetical benefit of recognizing these structures is the way they enable us to establish context, I state my working assumptions, invite skeptics to provide a better explanation of the details and architecture of the text, and lay out a step-by-step process of examining texts that seeks to use rigorous, objective standards in the service of verifiable claims. I then apply the method to John’s Gospel. By highlighting wide-angle inclusios formed by parallel events, repeated language, and thematic repetitions, the wide-angle sections of the Gospel are discussed in relationship to each other. The medium is the message, and this essay shows that understanding an author’s intended literary structure is crucial to understanding the message he intended to communicate.

Key words: chiastic structure, literary structure, John’s Gospel, Fourth Gospel, chiasmus, authorial intent, New Testament use of the Old Testament

According to John, Jesus teaches that eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3). We want to know God, and he has revealed himself in the writings of human authors—writings that have been recognized as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

In my baseball playing days, my goal was to go to the plate and make good solid contact with the ball. If I hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat, whether it was a line drive or a home run, I was happy. The best outcome was both: a line drive that left the yard. In this presentation, my goal is to make good solid contact. If I get a line drive base hit, I will have convinced you to consider the possibility that John’s Gospel is chiastically structured. If that line drive carries over the wall, you will recognize the intrinsic connections between the message intended by the human authors of the biblical texts and the way those authors intended to structure their message.

If it turns out that the bases were loaded and I have hit a grand slam, you will arrive at two further points that are implied but beyond the scope of what can be argued in the space of this article: first, that understanding literary structure a...