---
product_id: 5905743
title: "The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic"
price: "€ 19.01"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/5905743-the-fourth-gospel-tales-of-a-jewish-mystic
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic

**Price:** € 19.01
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic
- **How much does it cost?** € 19.01 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ie](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/5905743-the-fourth-gospel-tales-of-a-jewish-mystic)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic [Spong, John Shelby] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic

Review: Key Insights Revitalize the Mystical Gospel of John - This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it for anyone who is ready to grow beyond overly literal interpretations of the New Testament. I too agree John's gospel was never intended to be a literal account. John is not speaking of dates and facts; John is speaking to the deepest *meaning* of what Jesus reveals to us in the experience with God. This is far, far more important than thinking of the New Testament as a historical account of events surrounding the life of Jesus (which is far too limiting). For me, +Spong has taken a gospel I didn't really know what to do with, and has transformed it from a late account of the story of Jesus (circa 95 ce) and one which emphasises blood sacrifice (blood of the lamb: Jesus' crucifixion being moved to take place at the same time the lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple for Passover), into a mystical understanding of the *meaning* of Jesus' life and ministry. (It is not at all about blood sacrifice!) Mysticism? A scary proposition for some. For good reason. Mystics write to convey an experience that cannot really be put into words; doing so greatly diminishes their experience, yet it is the best they can do to point us toward finding our own experience of which they write and have experienced. Thus, mystical accounts are difficult to grasp. They require a lot of work, in that we must learn to see with new eyes and hear with new ears. This is challenging and sometimes frightening. The unknown provokes fear, and mystics ask us to step with them into the unknown. But if one reads the Gospel of John through the lens of mysticism, and specifically Jewish mysticism of the 1st century, it really does reveal a great depth of meaning to the text. For modern Christians, this too is difficult, because few of us have any understanding of that perspective. +Spong helps us acquire this lens. And I find it extremely useful. The point really is "I am." That the Father is in Jesus, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus in us; thus, we are in the Father too. This is speaking to what the late Prof. Ron Miller called Unity Consciousness, and living on the rooftop garden of consciousness. The second coming is available to us, the breath of life, is available to us; these are transformative experiences which will change who we are, how we behave, and how we interact with others. +Spong offers a beautiful interpretation of the meaning of Jesus' life, as bringing the in-dwelling spirit into our consciousness, and into our lives. We need only learn to overcome our fear and survival-mentality, and walk though the door Jesus opens to us. And then we are to live our lives in such a manner as to help others take this same step, into the in-dwelling I AM. While +Spong never uses the term, those familiar with the Eastern Orthodox teaching of Theosis will find a lot of common ground in this book. Jesus showed us how to live in such a manner as to bring forth the in-dwelling spirit -I AM- and this is the Light we are being shown. Theosis is what the authors of the Gospel of John are trying to reveal to us. I'm sure this sounds all fuzzy and misty to some. I suppose it is. This is mysticism, after all. Words pale. That said, +Spong has provided me a number of key insights which I sincerely believe will help me advance my spiritual maturity. And I now have a way of reading the Gospel of John that will advance my spiritual maturity.
Review: A compelling treatise!! - No matter what your opinion about John Shelby Spong's ideas and theology, he sure writes in such a compelling and entertaining way that it's hard to put the book down! This book gives a brand new and fresh insight into the Gospel of John that will be especially attractive to those who have given up on Christianity. Spong's insights offer a new way to interpret the Christian story that will be compelling to many of us in the "Church Alumni Association, and give us a way to believe in the transformative message of the Christian story again. Spong goes way beyond his primary thesis that the Gospel of John is not to be read literally, but symbolically. He supports his arguments with excellent Biblical scholarship that also incorporates ideas from his earlier books into this treatise. He not only presents many of the characters in John as symbolic literary creations or developments, but also finds new insights into history and theology by doing so. This book is compelling reading which will inspire those who have left the church because of the Church's adherence to dogmatic literalism. But the book will also disturb those who base their faith on the literal historical reading of the text. Either way, the book is never boring! I have only one criticism. Spong makes a clear argument in favor of the resurrection of Jesus as a non-literal, non-physical event. But he also implies an objective reality to resurrection that is clearly more than the disciples subjective experience. But he does not elaborate too much on what that objective event could be. He mentions that resurrection "means something" but does not speculate further on what that "something" is. He does mention entering into a "universal consciousness" or "entering into the life of God" and I would have loved to hear his personal speculation about this. I know it would be speculative, but I hope he addresses this more in his other writings. But this criticism does not diminish the profound insights found in the rest of the book. Some pages of this book dazzled me with insights that I have never even thought of before. He also offers new ideas about traditional biblical characters that create whole new meanings for the Biblical text. For that alone, I recommend this book.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #801,937 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,111 in New Testament Criticism & Interpretation #1,157 in Religion & Philosophy (Books) #2,014 in New Testament Commentaries |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (481) |
| Dimensions  | 5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 0062011316 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0062011312 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 368 pages |
| Publication date  | September 2, 2014 |
| Publisher  | HarperOne |

## Images

![The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/717i0WZrvvL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Key Insights Revitalize the Mystical Gospel of John
*by E***R on July 5, 2014*

This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it for anyone who is ready to grow beyond overly literal interpretations of the New Testament. I too agree John's gospel was never intended to be a literal account. John is not speaking of dates and facts; John is speaking to the deepest *meaning* of what Jesus reveals to us in the experience with God. This is far, far more important than thinking of the New Testament as a historical account of events surrounding the life of Jesus (which is far too limiting). For me, +Spong has taken a gospel I didn't really know what to do with, and has transformed it from a late account of the story of Jesus (circa 95 ce) and one which emphasises blood sacrifice (blood of the lamb: Jesus' crucifixion being moved to take place at the same time the lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple for Passover), into a mystical understanding of the *meaning* of Jesus' life and ministry. (It is not at all about blood sacrifice!) Mysticism? A scary proposition for some. For good reason. Mystics write to convey an experience that cannot really be put into words; doing so greatly diminishes their experience, yet it is the best they can do to point us toward finding our own experience of which they write and have experienced. Thus, mystical accounts are difficult to grasp. They require a lot of work, in that we must learn to see with new eyes and hear with new ears. This is challenging and sometimes frightening. The unknown provokes fear, and mystics ask us to step with them into the unknown. But if one reads the Gospel of John through the lens of mysticism, and specifically Jewish mysticism of the 1st century, it really does reveal a great depth of meaning to the text. For modern Christians, this too is difficult, because few of us have any understanding of that perspective. +Spong helps us acquire this lens. And I find it extremely useful. The point really is "I am." That the Father is in Jesus, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus in us; thus, we are in the Father too. This is speaking to what the late Prof. Ron Miller called Unity Consciousness, and living on the rooftop garden of consciousness. The second coming is available to us, the breath of life, is available to us; these are transformative experiences which will change who we are, how we behave, and how we interact with others. +Spong offers a beautiful interpretation of the meaning of Jesus' life, as bringing the in-dwelling spirit into our consciousness, and into our lives. We need only learn to overcome our fear and survival-mentality, and walk though the door Jesus opens to us. And then we are to live our lives in such a manner as to help others take this same step, into the in-dwelling I AM. While +Spong never uses the term, those familiar with the Eastern Orthodox teaching of Theosis will find a lot of common ground in this book. Jesus showed us how to live in such a manner as to bring forth the in-dwelling spirit -I AM- and this is the Light we are being shown. Theosis is what the authors of the Gospel of John are trying to reveal to us. I'm sure this sounds all fuzzy and misty to some. I suppose it is. This is mysticism, after all. Words pale. That said, +Spong has provided me a number of key insights which I sincerely believe will help me advance my spiritual maturity. And I now have a way of reading the Gospel of John that will advance my spiritual maturity.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A compelling treatise!!
*by F***H on June 15, 2013*

No matter what your opinion about John Shelby Spong's ideas and theology, he sure writes in such a compelling and entertaining way that it's hard to put the book down! This book gives a brand new and fresh insight into the Gospel of John that will be especially attractive to those who have given up on Christianity. Spong's insights offer a new way to interpret the Christian story that will be compelling to many of us in the "Church Alumni Association, and give us a way to believe in the transformative message of the Christian story again. Spong goes way beyond his primary thesis that the Gospel of John is not to be read literally, but symbolically. He supports his arguments with excellent Biblical scholarship that also incorporates ideas from his earlier books into this treatise. He not only presents many of the characters in John as symbolic literary creations or developments, but also finds new insights into history and theology by doing so. This book is compelling reading which will inspire those who have left the church because of the Church's adherence to dogmatic literalism. But the book will also disturb those who base their faith on the literal historical reading of the text. Either way, the book is never boring! I have only one criticism. Spong makes a clear argument in favor of the resurrection of Jesus as a non-literal, non-physical event. But he also implies an objective reality to resurrection that is clearly more than the disciples subjective experience. But he does not elaborate too much on what that objective event could be. He mentions that resurrection "means something" but does not speculate further on what that "something" is. He does mention entering into a "universal consciousness" or "entering into the life of God" and I would have loved to hear his personal speculation about this. I know it would be speculative, but I hope he addresses this more in his other writings. But this criticism does not diminish the profound insights found in the rest of the book. Some pages of this book dazzled me with insights that I have never even thought of before. He also offers new ideas about traditional biblical characters that create whole new meanings for the Biblical text. For that alone, I recommend this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review
*by P***L on February 2, 2015*

Very well written, I love every thing he writes and highly re come t to others

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ie/products/5905743-the-fourth-gospel-tales-of-a-jewish-mystic](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/5905743-the-fourth-gospel-tales-of-a-jewish-mystic)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Ireland*
*Store origin: IE*
*Last updated: 2026-03-18*