Gospel of John

i'm in a bible study at church based on the Gospel of John. I've found the reading of the gospel very interesting. On the one hand the book has all these wonderfully evocotive passages and stories that Christians hold dear- the woman at the well, Nicodemus, passages 3:16 and 3:17, Lazarus... but on the other hand the book is filled with a lot of passages that are viciously critical of the Jewish people. much of chapters 5-10 is filled with Jesus coming to an area, the Jews listening and being amazed, and then hunting him down to kill him. Jesus is able to use his super-secret ninja skills to avoid the mob, and the cycle starts over.

I was surprised by the viturpation that John uses towards the "jews" as a people. it is clear that the priestly leadership is leading the charge, but there is also no doubt that John wants to indict the whole community as complicit. It is the sort of thing that I think is only noticeable when the book is read as a whole- when heard in church, amidst other readings, etc... the anger and hatred that John evokes tend to get lost. It is easy to see how European Christians were able to use this Gospel to justify their treatment of the Jewish population of Europe.