The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues & Commentary [Hardcover]

Craig L. Blomberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

Throughout 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a book with extraordinary strengths. In form it harks back to the approach of Sanday in 1872: Blomberg not only tackles many topical questions but works through the Gospel itself, chapter by chapter, asking pertinent historical questions. The evenhandedness of the evaluation, the eminent good sense of so many of the judgments and the clarity of the exposition (not to mention the excellent bibliography) conspire to make this an outstandingly useful book." (D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Illinois )

"There has been no full-length defense of the historicity of John's Gospel for some years. Blomberg fills that void, taking us through the text and interacting intelligently with more skeptical scholars. I warmly welcome his sane contribution to the discussion and hope it will be given the attention it deserves by scholars and students alike." (David Wenham, lecturer in New Testament, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, England )

"Not since John A. T. Robinson's work has there been such a 'tour de force' argument about this Gospel and its origins and historical substance. Highly recommended." (Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary )

"The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel accomplishes exactly what is needed at this juncture in Johannine scholarship: a decisive vindication of the integrity of John's Gospel in matters of history." (Andreas Köstenberger, assistant professor of New Testament, Southeastern Baptist Seminary )

"A challenge to those who in the past have too easily dismissed the historical significance of John's Gospel and an encouragement to those who have felt that this dismissal has been arbitrary and premature. This is a prodigious piece of work and one for which a new generation of readers will be profoundly grateful." (Colin Kruse, lecturer in New Testament, Bible College of Victoria, Australia )

"Craig Blomberg's highly acclaimed volume The Historical Reliability of the Gospels is now matched by an equally persuasive and compelling treatment of John's Gospel. . . . This is an exceedingly valuable book that will serve students and academics alike." (Gary M. Burge, professor of New Testament, Wheaton College & Graduate School )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 346 pages
• Publisher: IVP Academic (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830826858
• ISBN-13: 978-0830826858
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,102,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Craig L. Blomberg is distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. A recurring topic of interest in his writings is the historical reliability of the Scriptures. Craig and his wife Fran have two daughters and reside in Centennial, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling Defense of the 4th Gospel, July 27, 2004

By 

Lamont S (Lexington, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues & Commentary (Hardcover)

Craig Blomberg, a scholar that specializes in the studies of the historical reliability of the Gospels, has written a volume that is an essential-read for those seeking a solid, in-depth defense of this Gospel's historicity and for those wishing to collect and become familiar with material (positive or negative) that deals with this subject.

The reviewer below has given the basic outline of the book so I'll just elaborate briefly on the most important section. The meat of the book, which is the commentary section, moves through each chapter analyzing all of the events and discourses, discussing positive indicators of historicity and interacting with typical objections to it.

The major objection to the Gospel of John is how different the book is, theologically, from the Synoptic Tradition. Why is there so much of a difference in outline? Why is Jesus portrayed as being more explicit about his divinity in this book? Another major problem scholars face when approaching this book is differentiating the actual words of Jesus (that John is quoting) from the author's own theological reflections. Scholars, evangelical and critical, as a whole, are not nearly as optimistic about the historicity of this Gospel in comparison with the Synoptics.

Nevertheless, I find that Blomberg makes a great case for the overall reliability of John. The commentary section starts off with a discussion of the crucial question of authorship. If indeed the disciple John is the author of this Gospel, then the probability that the Gospel is generally historically reliable becomes very likely. After all, John, as a disciple that accompanied Jesus during his ministry, would have certainly been in a great position to record accurate history regarding these events, which in most cases he was an eyewitness. Not surprisingly, the majority of scholars reject traditional authorship. However, Blomberg manages to piece together a very solid case for Johannine authorship, beginning with the very important data of the testimony of the early church on this issue.

As far as the actual commentary is concerned, one aspect that is particularly helpful, and very revealing I might add, is how Blomberg constantly demonstrates that the concepts in John can be gleaned from references to the Synoptic Tradition as well. It may be somewhat surprising to the reader to discover that certain phrases and concepts propounded by Jesus in John's Gospel can be found, though usually in less explicit form, in the Synoptics themselves.

The discussions of the various miracles, including the turning of water into wine, the raising of Lazarus, the feeding of the 5,000, and Christ's resurrection also prove to be helpful as each passage is broken down, arguments against historicity are countered, and favorable indications of historicity are given.

While more could be said, hopefully this will suffice. A more detailed review that may be more helpful to the reader can be accessed from tektonics.org. I'll conclude by stating emphatically that Blomberg has written a volume that demands consideration from the scholarly world, particularly those that are the most critical of John's Gospel.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incorrect ISBN for this book, August 24, 2010

By 

Andrew Shermer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues and Commentary (Hardcover)

Unfortunately Amazon has listed this book under the wrong ISBN:

ISBN-10: 0830826750
ISBN-13: 978-0830826759

Hopefully Amazon will remove the wrong listing at some point.

The CORRECT ISBN's are:

ISBN-10: 0830826858
ISBN-13: 978-0830826858

Sorry this review seems to be automatically listing under both the correct and incorrect ISBN, it was only posted under the incorrect listing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, critical commentary, November 1, 2010

By 

Zachary Jacob Games "ZJG" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel: Issues & Commentary (Hardcover)

Blomberg's book is a superb synopsis of the historical issues surrounding John's gospel. Blomberg is a master in the gospels and Jesus, so this will come in handy if you are looking for a critical look into the date, authorship and reliability of John's gospel. I would definitely recommend buying this book.