Jesus in Johannine perspective: Inviting a fourth quest for Jesus

Abstract

Despite the fact that the Fourth Gospel has been a puzzlement to modern scholars seeking to construct a solid, bare-minimum understanding of Jesus and his ministry, a parsimonious approach cannot suffice critically. If all worthy sources are to be utilized, the Gospel of John cannot be neglected. The question is how to do so. Bolstered by three paradigms within an overall Johannine theory (John’s Dialogical Autonomy), the Fourth Gospel can be seen as developing over at least two editions, with the first edition augmenting and modestly correcting Mark. The later material functions to harmonize with the Synoptics, added by the author of the Epistles after the death of the Beloved Disciple, the evangelist. As the first three Quests of Jesus have excluded the Gospel of John, improved criteria for determining historicity are here advanced: corroborative impression, primitivity, critical realism, and open coherence. Within such an approach, the Johannine witness provides an independent corroboration of the Synoptic accounts. Additionally, the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John make distinctive contributions of their own. This calls for a Fourth Quest for Jesus—an inclusive Quest—at the dawn of the new millennium.