The Reliability Of History In John’s Gospel -- By: Thomas D. Lea

Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 38:3 (Sep 1995)
Article: The Reliability Of History In John’s Gospel
Author: Thomas D. Lea


The Reliability Of History
In John’s Gospel

Thomas D. Lea*

A “new look” has emerged in the study of John’s gospel. Its advent has been celebrated and welcomed by no less a critical scholar than J. A. T. Robinson, whose scholarly viewpoints have sometimes provided a theological shock to the Christian world. Robinson 1 lists five presuppositions of critical orthodoxy about John that have come under heavy suspicion: (1) Earlier scholars insisted that all four evangelists used sources including one or more synoptics. Robinson points out that present studies on John emphasize that John’s material shows signs of independence in its sources with the firm stamp of the author on its content. (2) In recent generations it has been popular to suggest that the background of the author of the fourth gospel is other than the events he records. Robinson suggests that the “new look” urges that the author was from southern Palestine in an era between the crucifixion of Jesus and the fall of Jerusalem. (3) Earlier scholars emphasized that the writer of the fourth gospel was a witness to the Christ of faith. Robinson suggests that the present emphasis is that the author is a witness not only to the Christ of faith but also to the Jesus of history. (4) Recent generations of scholars have suggested that the fourth evangelist appeared at the end of theological development in first-century Christianity. Robinson suggests that the author represented the alpha of the tradition as much as the omega. (5) Previous generations of scholars suggested that the author of the fourth gospel was not the apostle nor a direct eyewitness. The “new look” emphasizes that the tradition in John has contact with a developing community that enjoyed links to the earliest days of Christianity.

Robinson’s position does not represent a complete trust in the reliability of all of the historical material in the fourth gospel. Nevertheless his evaluation of the trustworthiness of the material is much more positive than that of many of his colleagues in the scholarly community. 2 His position stands in contrast, for example, with the views of the influential C. K. Barrett, who says, “It is hardly possible to use the Gospel for a direct

* Thomas Lea is professor of New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, P. O. Box 22000, Fort Worth, TX 76122.

reconstruction of the words and deeds of Jesus.” 3 Somewhat less skeptical, but still hesitant to express full confidence in the historical reliability of John’s writings, is Raymond Brown: “Al...

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