Book excerpt: John's Gospel is best known for its presentation of Jesus as the Word of God made flesh. But as the narrative unfolds, readers discover that the identity of Jesus is surprisingly complex. He is depicted as a teacher, a healer, a prophet, and Messiah. He is Jewish and Galilean, a human being who is Son of Man and Son of God. Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John considers each of these roles in detail, showing how each makes a distinctive contribution to the Gospel's rich mosaic of images for Jesus. John's multifaceted portrait of Jesus draws on a broad spectrum of early Christian traditions, and the contributors to this collection of essays explore the ways in which these traditions are both preserved and transformed in the Fourth Gospel. The writers draw us more deeply into the questions of the way in which traditions about Jesus developed in the early church and how the Gospel of John might contribute to our understanding of that dynamic process.