HISTORICAL RELIABILITY
of
JOHN’S GOSPEL
CRAIG L. BLOMBERG
38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, England
Email: ivp@uccf.org.uk
Website: www.ivpbooks.com
© Craig L. Blomberg 2001
Craig L. Blomberg has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. First published in Great Britain 1979. Inclusive language version 1995, 1996. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved, ‘niv’ is a trademark of International Bible Society.
UK trademark number 1448790.
First published 2001
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-85111-484-9
Inter-Varsity Press is the publishing division of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (formerly the Inter-Varsity Fellowship), a student movement linking Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For more information about local and national activities write to UCCF, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LEI 7GP, email us at email@uccf.org.uk, or visit the UCCF website at www.uccf.org.uk.
in gratitude for both his scholarship and his godliness
for both his mentoring and his friendship
PART ONE: Introductory Considerations
Interlocking between John and the Synoptics
The outlines of the four Gospels
Other indications of historicity
John’s unique audience and purposes
The burden of proof and the criteria of authenticity
The Baptist’s testimony (1:19–34)
The first followers of Jesus (1:35–51)
The Baptist gives way to Jesus (3:22–36)
Jesus and the Samaritan woman (4:1–42)
Healing an official’s son (4:43–54)
Healing the invalid by the Bethesda pool (5:1–18)
Feeding the five thousand (6:1–15)
The bread of life discourse (6:22–59)
A turning point in Jesus’ ministry (6:60–71)
Jesus leaves for the Tabernacles festival (7:1–13)
Jesus begins teaching at Tabernacles (7:14–36)
[The woman caught in adultery (7:53–8:11)]
|
About The Historical Reliability of John’s GospelThroughout much of the twentieth century the Fourth Gospel took a back seat to the Synoptics when it came to historical reliability. Consequently, the contemporary quest of the historical Jesus discounted or excluded evidence from the Fourth Gospel. The question of the historical reliability of John’s Gospel is well overdue for a thorough reinvestigation and reassessment. In this foundational study, Craig L. Blomberg sheds new light on persistent questions. He presents his conclusions largely in commentary form, following the principal scenes of the Gospel. His introduction frames the pathway into the discussion, taking up critical issues such as • authorship, date and provenance of the Fourth Gospel • sources and omissions of the Fourth Gospel • points where John’s Gospel interlocks with the Synoptics • general indications of historicity • literary genre and unique audience of this Gospel • burden of proof and criteria of authenticity In his commentary examining the text of the Fourth Gospel, Blomberg asks two essential questions. First, using the recently nuanced criteria of authenticity, “What positive evidence do we have that the actions or words of the characters in John’s narratives are indeed historical?” Second, “Is there anything in the text … that is implausible within the historical context to which it is attributed, particularly if we assume the general historical trustworthiness of the Synoptics?” The result is a seminal work for the present day—one that affirms the historical reliability of John’s Gospel with intelligence and sure-footed care. |
| Support Info | hstrclrlbltycmm |