The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel: An Introduction to John

Summation of Part 2

171 Summation of Part 2 W hile attempts to address the riddles of the Fourth Gospel have been rigorous and sustained, not all paradigms have fared equally well. Most have addressed some riddles but neglected others. Likewise, addressing one set of problems critically often leads to a new set of critical problems, which scholars have sometimes then ignored. Interestingly, traditional and critical approaches to John’s origin and development have often been driven by a conviction as to who the author must, or must not, have been. Such a delimiting of options then forces other issues and choices, which sometimes occasion other, unforeseen sets of problems. Therefore, I have argued that the best way forward is to examine the literary character of the material, independent of questions of the author’s identity, and to proceed from there toward plausible approaches to addressing the Johannine riddles. On that basis, I believe a view of John’s dialogical autonomy poses the best way forward. A two-edition theory of composition makes sense of most of John’s literary perplexities; a three-phase theory of the history of the Johannine situation in longitudinal perspective accounts for six or seven dialogical engagements over seven decades; and a Bi-Optic Hypothesis builds a larger theory of Johannine-Synoptic relations based on particular contacts (including similarities and differences) between these traditions. In this way, a more detailed and exacting set of inferences assist the interpreter in understanding the Johannine rendering of Jesus’ ministry as an alternative perspective within the emerging history of the early church. In the light of John’s dialogical autonomy, we can better understand the origin and character of the Gospel’s riddles, and this assists further interpretation. Regarding the Fourth Evangelist as a dialectical thinker helps us to understand why his 172 The Riddles of the Fourth Gospel approaches to most theological issues involve tensions. He thought in both-and, conjunctive ways instead of either-or, disjunctive ways. In addition, the Mosaic agency schema allows us to understand many of John’s theological emphases as factors of God’s initiative and human responses to it. As these themes were played out within the evolving Johannine situation, the literary artistry of the Evangelist also becomes an interesting feature to consider, as we see points being made with rhetorical thrust and nuance. But this point moves us toward the interpretation of the riddles, the subject of Part 3. ...