The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John

by Richard Bauckham

How do historical and literary details contribute to a coherent theological witness to Jesus in the Gospel of John? A leading British evangelical New Testament scholar answers that question with studies on themes from messianism to monotheism, symbolic actions from foot-washing to fish-catching, literary contexts from Qumran to the Hellenistic historians, and figures from Nicodemus to "the beloved disciple" to Papias. Originally published in various journals and collections, these essays are now available for the first time in one affordable volume with a substantial new introduction that ties them all together. A must-have for serious students of the Fourth Gospel.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Christianity, New Testament

314 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Richard Bauckham (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England, where he teaches for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is also a visiting professor at St. Mellitus College, London, and emeritus professor of New Testament at the University of St. Andrews. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the author of numerous books.

Reviews

[Daniel MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible collection of essays for the fourth Gospel, followed by an incredible index which will be useful for any academic. Bauckham also sprinkles several groundbreaking concepts that should be explored further (such as his work on the Lazarus narrative). This book is the answer to decades of uncertainty regarding the validity of the fourth Gospel. This, in combination with some of NT Wright’s work in JVG, easily places John on the pedestal that Papias believed it deserves to be on.

[cindy]

Read introduction, chapters 3 "The Beloved Disciple as Ideal Author", and 6 "The Qumran Community and the Gospel of John" for Re-Reading John.

[PJ Wenzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reference book, period. And - for now, about 50% through, I'm shelving this. I guess I just need to come back to it later because I just don't have much favorable to say at this junction. My main thing with this book is that its a lot of details about something that I'm unsure most people would really benefit from. I'm a bit of a theology nerd, so perhaps I'd fit into that 1% that MIGHT benefit, but yet I was getting a little exhausted by the 30th page on what whether John the Elder wrote the gospel of John, or whether John of Apostle (one of the twelve) wrote the gospel. Spoiler, Bauckham thinks is the former.

[Matthew Prydden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Bauckham's main argument is that the beloved disciple of John's Gospel was a disciple of Jesus called John, but not the Apostle John the son of Zebedee. This was a pretty significant drawback for me. However, it was really interesting to see how Bauckham argued for his theory (most of which would also have argued for John the son of Zebedee in fairness). This was a fascinating read though and I was able to take away a lot of good lessons from it that have added to my appreciation and understanding of John's Gospel.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Especially the last chapter.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Bauckham, but I didn’t find this book as useful as I’d hoped

[Alana Amunrud-Sharp]

Read portions for my study on the Gospel of John.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some essays were great, some were not as convincing, and others deserve another read. Worth reading overall.

[Rob Dalrymple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book and something that must be considered