Bauckham: Jesus beyond the text
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by the retired NT professor, Richard Bauckham, on "The Johannine Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels". Bauckham is guest lecturing this week at Trinity Theological College (Singapore). His presentation was based on a new commentary he is writing. Though I dare not call myself a New Testament scholar (having lost my fervor for rabbinical debate some time ago), I do preach and teach often enough on the Gospel of John to know that it takes me into a very different space than do the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). In fact, I admit that I frequently shy away from preaching on John.
Dr Bauckham, who brings a historian's eye to the narratives, clearly acknowledges the diversity of the gospels, though in this lecture he seemed reluctant to jump into etiological speculations, but rather to point out that there are many different ways to do historiography. He may have spoken more about this at other lectures, but I only attended one session. John's is clearly an "interpretive gospel" which may explain why it is often difficult to distinguish between the voice of the narrator and the voice of Jesus. Rather than seeing that as a deficit in relation to the synoptics he follows a more canonical approach, looking to see where John's differences complement the other gospels when held in tension. He did note textual evidence that this gospel presumed knowledge at least of Mark if not other sources of the life and sayings of Jesus. Beyond that he observed how the diversity of the gospels pushes the reader/hearer to move beyond the text. "We must always be open to the full diversity of the gospels," he said, adding that "the real Jesus is always more than what the gospels portray." This is where John's interpretive account is a more "spiritual" account, though that should not be equated with docetic. Jesus is not just God walking the earth. In fact, the many references to "glory" in John, rather than denying the human suffering of Jesus, redefines God's glory as actualized in human experience and suffering.
What struck me most about Dr Bauckham's lecture was his emphasis on the Jesus who is more than the text. "For Christians who believe in Jesus," he said, "we must believe that there's more to him than we find in each of the gospels." This is an interpersonal truism, for no one narrative or description can fully account for the fullness of, or the relationship with, any person, let alone the person of Jesus.
I sensed that some hearing Dr Bauckham took exception to this notion of Jesus beyond the text, as though he were diminishing the Word of God. Though I'm not a New Testament scholar, I was more in agreement with this lecture. The sacredness of Scripture is the capacity to direct people toward a sacred reality, as we hear Jesus telling religious leaders of his day: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40). Unfortunately there is a tendency among many evangelicals to limit the Triune God by giving allegiance to a textual representation, rather than the one who inspired the text, as we hear Jesus saying in John 14: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
Of course, it would be orthodox to observe that the Spirit reminds us of the truth in Scripture, which is the canonical witness to God's mighty acts of salvation. But that truth is ultimately relational, with the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ, and with the community that continues to embody his mission on earth.
Dr Bauckham, who brings a historian's eye to the narratives, clearly acknowledges the diversity of the gospels, though in this lecture he seemed reluctant to jump into etiological speculations, but rather to point out that there are many different ways to do historiography. He may have spoken more about this at other lectures, but I only attended one session. John's is clearly an "interpretive gospel" which may explain why it is often difficult to distinguish between the voice of the narrator and the voice of Jesus. Rather than seeing that as a deficit in relation to the synoptics he follows a more canonical approach, looking to see where John's differences complement the other gospels when held in tension. He did note textual evidence that this gospel presumed knowledge at least of Mark if not other sources of the life and sayings of Jesus. Beyond that he observed how the diversity of the gospels pushes the reader/hearer to move beyond the text. "We must always be open to the full diversity of the gospels," he said, adding that "the real Jesus is always more than what the gospels portray." This is where John's interpretive account is a more "spiritual" account, though that should not be equated with docetic. Jesus is not just God walking the earth. In fact, the many references to "glory" in John, rather than denying the human suffering of Jesus, redefines God's glory as actualized in human experience and suffering.
What struck me most about Dr Bauckham's lecture was his emphasis on the Jesus who is more than the text. "For Christians who believe in Jesus," he said, "we must believe that there's more to him than we find in each of the gospels." This is an interpersonal truism, for no one narrative or description can fully account for the fullness of, or the relationship with, any person, let alone the person of Jesus.
I sensed that some hearing Dr Bauckham took exception to this notion of Jesus beyond the text, as though he were diminishing the Word of God. Though I'm not a New Testament scholar, I was more in agreement with this lecture. The sacredness of Scripture is the capacity to direct people toward a sacred reality, as we hear Jesus telling religious leaders of his day: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40). Unfortunately there is a tendency among many evangelicals to limit the Triune God by giving allegiance to a textual representation, rather than the one who inspired the text, as we hear Jesus saying in John 14: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
Of course, it would be orthodox to observe that the Spirit reminds us of the truth in Scripture, which is the canonical witness to God's mighty acts of salvation. But that truth is ultimately relational, with the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ, and with the community that continues to embody his mission on earth.
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