Giving John a Fair Go: Christology in John and the Synoptics

Abstract

In agreement with recent argument that the earliest Christians affirmed the divine identity of Jesus, this essay argues that differences between Christology in the Synoptics and John are too seldom assessed with sufficient care. First, the implications of the differing narrative styles of the Gospels are analysed and considered, showing how failures in this area lead to such problems as treating differences that are complementary as divisions, or differences of degree as differences of kind—thus confusing a greater presentation of Christology with a presentation of a greater Christology. Secondly, it is argued that the major Christological difference between the Gospels lies not in their content but in the way they present it. It does so by showing how the same divine Christology that is explicit in John’s prologue is implicit in Mark’s introduction and Matthew’s conclusion.