Philipp F. Bartholomä, «John 5,31-47 and the Teaching of Jesus in the Synoptics. A Comparative Approach.»
Within Johannine scholarship, the assumed differences between Jesus’ teaching in John and in the Synoptics have frequently led to a negative judgment about Johannine authenticity. This article proposes a comparative approach that distinguishes between different levels of similarity in wording and content and applies it to John 5,31-47. What we find in this discourse section corresponds conceptually to a significant degree with the picture offered in the Synoptics, though couched in a very different idiom. Thus, the comparative evidence does not preclude us from accepting this particular part of Johannine speech material as an authentic representation of the actual content of Jesus’words.
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376 PHILIPP F. BARTHOLOMÄ
“testified to the truth†is implicit in Jesus’ synoptic characterization
of the Baptist as “more than a prophet†(Matt 11,9 par.; cf. also on
5,35 below; [0/1-level of closeness]), while the narrative comments
in Luke 3,15-18 par. point in the same direction.
Jesus goes on to say in John 5,34 that he himself does not depend
on human testimony (cf. our comments on 5,41), rather “I say these
things so that you may be savedâ€. The purpose of pointing to the
Baptist is not to provide necessary confirmation but “to direct the
attention of his hearers to that which might put them out on the path
that leads to salvation†13. That salvation is the ultimate goal of his
mission is likewise clearly pronounced in Jesus’ summary statement
in Luke 19,10 par.: “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to
save [swzw] the lost†[1/2-level of closeness] 14.
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Regarding the witness of John the Baptist, in John 5,35 Jesus calls
him “a burning and shining lampâ€. His additional statement that “you
were willing to rejoice for a while in his light†reflects the Jewish peo-
ple’s respect for John and at least a temporary disposition to receive
his message. In Matt 11,7-9 par., Jesus supposes that the crowds ac-
tually aspired to spend time in the Baptist’s light: “What did you go
out into the wilderness to look at? (…) What then did you go out to
see?†In the same context, John is clearly presented as a “shining
lampâ€, i.e., a prominent godly messenger, as Jesus states in Matt 11,11
par. that “among those born of women no one has arisen greater than
John the Baptist†[0/2-level of closeness] 15. The fact that the Baptist
was held in high regard as a prophet is likewise used by the Synoptic
Jesus in his dispute with the Jewish leadership in Mark 11,30-33 par.
[0/1-level of closeness; cf. the narrative remarks in Matt 3,5-6] 16.
13
L. MORRIS, The Gospel According to John (NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI
1995) 289.
14
For this parallel cf. also C. BLOMBERG, The Historical Reliability of
John’s Gospel. Issues & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL 2001) 116.
15
Matt 11,7-11 is referenced as a parallel by 27NA, CARSON, John, 260; H.
RIDDERBOS, The Gospel of John. A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids,
MI 1997) 203; also BLOMBERG, Historical Reliability, 116 (Matt 11,11-12).
16
That Mark 11,30-33 likewise expresses that the Jews were being attracted to
John has been noted by BLOMBERG, Historical Reliability, 116; BROWN, John (i-
xii), 227; R. SCHNACKENBURG, Das Johannesevangelium (HTKNT 4; Freiburg
1971) II, 173, and (for the Matthean parallel) RIDDERBOS, John, 203; pace J. R.
MICHAELS, The Gospel of John (NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI 2010) 327, who argues,
rather undifferentiated, that Jesus’ picture of the Jewish authorities’ reception of
John here in the Fourth Gospel is quite different from what we find in the Synoptics.
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