understanding the Gospel and Letters. Because the Gospel is a composite of three editions, these features are best discussed, not with respect to the Gospel as a whole, but in relation to the individual strata of the Gospel. Consequently, such topics as literary genre, religious background, worldview, and the relation of the material to that of the Synoptics will not be discussed until after the analysis of the various editions is complete. Then these questions will be posed and answered in the light