Het Romeinse rijk in Johanneïsche studies: Kritische herlezing van het zogenaamde verband tussen Johannes 6 en de Romeinse wereld.

An assessment of the survey of scholarship reveals that the 'Bread of Life Discourse' (John 6) is as arule interpreted by scholars against the Jewish, Hellenistic or Synoptic contexts. This study aims to go beyond these three options in order to assess the alleged Roman Imperial background, as proposed by Warren Carter in his book John and Empire. Therefore the first part will be a critical examination of the position of Carter that Jesus' miracles inJohn 6 are to be read in connection with the image of the Roman emperor as a healer, a benefactor and a ruler of natural disasters. In the second part of the study, we shall critically analyze Carter's contribution to the discussion of the Christological titles and the father image in the bread of life discourse. The final part of this study will be a critical examination of Carter's comparative analysisbetween eternal Rome and the theme of eternal life which is the purpose of John 6 and the whole gospel of John.The final part of this study will be a critical examination of Carter's comparativeanalysis between eternal Rome and the theme of eternal life which is understood as the purpose of John 6 and the whole gospel of John. In its critical dialogue with the claims of Carter, this study will try to work out what the assumption of a Roman imperial background, in the ways suggested by Carter and others and beyond, can contribute to a more accurate understanding of John 6.