13 - Johannine Literature

Summary

Finally, the Johannine literature. In this category I include John's Gospel (including John 21) and the Johannine epistles, but I regard Revelation as a separate writing and shall treat it separately at the end of this chapter.

On the Gospel I will argue for a view that is at odds with much recent scholarship. I think that it is fairly Gentile, or at least not very Jewish, and dependent on Mark and Luke. I think that it is late (130–40 CE) and adds almost nothing of historical value that is not found in the Synoptics.

The view that John knows the Synoptic tradition in general, and not any Synoptic Gospel in particular, I am sure is a defensive aberration of British New Testament scholarship. I would follow Barrett for the case that John knows and depends on both Mark and Luke, although I will not formally state the case for this. John is theologically much more advanced than the other Gospels. The view that it is the product of the conversion of a Jewish sect only partly explains its peculiarities. I would be happier about this if there were other evidence of a sect that believes in the Son as well as the Father and talks of a Paraclete. I am sure that in any event it remains a sound instinct that wants to put John as late as possible.

John's Gospel

John's Gospel is a retelling of the story of Jesus. In form, it is like the Synoptic Gospels.