How does the Evangelist utilize the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif to shape
the telling of Jesus’ story, and what is he conveying by incorporating
this round trip language? The argument of this book is that the
Descent/Ascent Leitmotif, which includes the language of not only
descending and ascending, but also coming, going, and being sent,
performs a significant literary and christological function in the
Gospel of John. The Evangelist’s Descent/Ascent Leitmotif becomes the
Gospel’s organizing principle, drawing together this constellation of
verbs and a number of christological themes, including Jesus’ origin,
identity, relationship to God, authority, signs and works, life, and
glory. Using a thematic structural method, this book illustrates the
transforming influence of the Leitmotif on these themes from which
John’s Christology emerges. Additionally, this book examines the spatial
dimensions and christological importance of the vertical and horizontal
depictions of Jesus’ divine round trip.