This is a detailed and elegantly written commentary on the church's most revered Gospel. J. Ramsey Michaels gives primary attention to the Gospel of Belief motif in the text as it stands rather than to the sources or traditions that may lie behind it, examining John's literary character and construction alongside its theological significance and its message for the Christian community in its own time and since.

The volume reflects the increased attention to literary quality that has marked recent NICNT volumes, and Michaels writes with a readability unusual at this level of detail. Like the rest of the series it works from the English text with the Greek handled in notes, which keeps the exposition continuous for the preacher while leaving the technical work available to anyone who wants it.