enthusiastic response to God’s presence in the person of Jesus (see Kysar 2005, 214). The purpose of the Gospel is, therefore, not to bring its audience to faith but to stir up or express that faith. Consequently, this commentary treats the Gospel’s overall rhetorical strategy as epideictic. The action of the Gospel, Jesus’s verbal duels, and the representation of his death all place the Gospel in the tradition of commemoration. The story of the loved one serves to comfort the community as it grieves