Truth on Trial: The Lawsuit Motif in the Fourth Gospel

by Andrew Lincoln

Religious truth has always been in dispute, but there are certain times and places in which the debate has been more intense. One such period was the first century C.E., when the rapid spread of Christianity with its claims about Jesus produced considerable ferment. The Gospel of John, written late in that century, presents that dispute with greater clarity than any other document of the time. John presents a Jesus who claims not only to tell the truth but also to be the truth. And yet, as the Roman magistrate asks Jesus in John's gospel, what is truth? Two millennia later in the Western world, pluralism and postmodernism radically challenge traditional notions of truth. Is there any truth beyond the formal logic of merely analytical propositions? And if there is, do humans have any way of knowing it? Many who have a postmodern perspective deny that either rationality or imagination can give us access to the truth. Instead they adopt a thoroughgoing incredulity toward metanarratives. Truth is again on trial. In Truth on The Lawsuit Motif in John's Gospel, Andrew T. Lincoln links reflection on contemporary issues with careful study of the Fourth Gospel. Exegetical chapters discern the shape of John's narrative and the function of the lawsuit motif within it, describe antecedent uses of the motif in Jewish Scripture, and set John's use of the motif in theological, historical, and social perspective. Closing chapters on contemporary application explore the pervasive power of the trial metaphor in Western literature in relation to recent hermeneutical thought. Over against modern and post modern views, Lincoln argues that Christians can simultaneously exercise critical judgement and accept John's testimony that Christ is the truth.

Genres: Catholic

527 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Andrew T. Lincoln is the Portland Professor of New Testament at the University of Gloucestershire.

Reviews

[Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half: Outstanding. Five stars.

Second half: Highly problematic. One star.

Average: Three stars.

[Andrew Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew T. Lincoln’s “Truth on Trial” offers a convincing case that the narrative of the Gospel of John is governed by the motif of a trial (albeit a double trial or, as Lincoln calls it, “a two story-ed story”). The world places Jesus on trial, yes, but it is ultimately Jesus who has been sent by the Father to try the world (and offer, at least largely, the verdict of life).

Lincoln’s intertextual work is excellent. I found the connections he drew between trial language Isaiah 40-55 (e.g., “Deutero-Isaiah”) and John’s narrative to be the most compelling portion of his argument. The biblical continuities are difficult to dispute.

This is a useful book for preachers of the Gospel of John to consult with. To be sure, it’s a book written by a scholar for other scholars (which raises criticisms of the academy that I won’t make here), so there are large swaths of the book that you don’t need to feel bad skimming unless you’re researching for your thesis/dissertation.

Frustrations with scholarly scuttlebutt notwithstanding, I’m glad I read this book. I’m currently preaching through the Gospel of John and have found Lincoln’s work not only to be beneficial, but something I’ll return to for reference.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I have been researching the Gospel of John I have ran across Andrew Lincoln's name a few times and thought I would pick up a copy of this work to get a sense of his thoughts on the central motif of John. I was not sure what to expect but found myself pleasantly surprised and refreshed by Lincoln's assessment of the fourth Gospel.

The main premise of the book is that Isaiah 40-55 is a picture of God's dealings with the nation of Israel. By bringing out the wording and sense of the original Hebrew Lincoln effectively shows that Isaiah characterizes God's dealings with the nations as a lawsuit. God was pressing a suit against the world so that he might prove to them that he is God and there is no other. This lawsuit was not one of condemnation but one is which God intended to offer salvation. He compares the language of Isaiah with the language of John to show that it is quite likely that John was using this piece of Isaiah as a way to understand the events which happened with Jesus' life and ministry. The Gospel of John shows God pressing a lawsuit and man pressing a counter-suit against God.

He demonstrates that John uses quite a bit of legal language such as "witness," "testimony," "judgment," "paraclete," and even the double "amen" (truly, truly). Over and again he connects these passages with those in Isaiah and with some in other Old Testament books to show that the truth was presented in John in the form of a trial. It is not merely a trial that was faced by Jesus but a continuous cosmic trial which in many ways continues in the present. He tackles key issues in the narrative itself by analyzing the literary style of the book and suggested key points in the plot as intersections for the lawsuit theme. He examines aspects of Jewish-Christian relations at the time of the book's authorship to find issues that may give insights into the importance it would have served for it's original audience. He ends the book talking about contemporary issues that interact with the Gospel and suggests ways in which we can use this book to address those realities.

There were a few things that I found a little hard to swallow and would definitely disagree with. First of all, his idea of historical truth I did not find compelling. Lincoln is unsure whether John as a story is actually true in the "forensic" sense of the word. In fact, he seems unsure if any of the gospels are entirely true and has this basic approach to historical record in general. In one place he suggest that Thucydides for example rewrote a lot of speeches and political orations in his words and then attributes them to others. As a historian myself I studied some Greek history and know that this is in fact highly controversial. We have every reason to believe that Thucydides may have faithfully recorded the speeches of Pericles word for word. My point in bringing this out is that he feels that all history from this period is likely contaminated and yet somehow he talks his way through it so as to label it as "truth" even though it may not be accurate facts. I had a difficulty with this part of the work itself. Second of all, I really do not like his "Johannine Community" theory. This is a very common idea from Bultmann down but it is falling into disrepute and being renounced by scholars who are now realizing this model as proposed by Brown and Bultmann is not necessary.

There were minor issue like those listed above but overall I found the work to be stimulating and thought provoking, and as you can see despite my disagreements with the work I am still giving it a 5 star. The other ideas in this book are so intriguing that these small disagreements are really a minor issue and should not detour one from purchasing this book. It is very accessible to general audiences and if you intend to study the Gospel of John I think that this book is an absolute must for your library. I will definitely be reading some of Lincoln's other works in the future.