Christian Worship
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 66, No. 1 - Fall 2023
Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Craig L. Blomberg. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023, 394 pp., $49.99.
Craig L. Blomberg is distinguished professor emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary. The author of numerous books, he has distinguished himself in Johannine studies with The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel (2011) and Jesus and the Gospels (3rd ed., 2022).
Three Quests or Not?
The first five chapters (58 percent) of Jesus the Purifier is an excellent overview of almost 250 years of the quests for the historical Jesus: scholarly attempts to find what is historical in the Synoptic Gospels, often ignoring the Fourth Gospel. Although most scholars classify them as three quests, Blomberg effectively argues they could be viewed as “three phases of one quest” (xviii). Part of his argument shows the “no quest” period followed by a “new quest” (the second quest) was an interrupted period of scholarly productivity (43-46).
The Fourth Gospel: Now Ready for Prime Time
The sixth chapter covers research on the Fourth Gospel in the last sixty years, and Blomberg demonstrates the usual lack of interest in the Fourth Gospel by most scholars involved in the quests for the historical Jesus (180). He seeks to correct that lacuna in the current beginning of the fourth quest. As an example of what ought to be done, he inspects the motif of Jesus and purity.
Jesus the Purifier
The remainder of the book is an examination of material in the Fourth Gospel dealing with Jesus the purifier (xix). He seeks to make a good case for the authenticity of this material; thus, helping to encourage scholars involved in the “fledgling fourth quest” (xviii) for the historical Jesus to give parity to the Fourth Gospel with the Synoptic Gospels (220-21).
Strengths
Blomberg is an excellent scholar and an effective writer. His research is well written, very organized, and thoroughly documented. Here are some strengths of the book in order of importance. First, Blomberg gives an innovative approach in chapters 7-9 of how to incorporate the Fourth Gospel in the fourth quest by using the criterion of “cutting against the grain” (227-30). Second, his proposal of an underlying motif of Jesus the purifier in the Fourth Gospel is creative and provides a good model for affirming historical accuracy in the Fourth Gospel (223-332). Third, he lists and explains fourteen differences in John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels that point to the historical trustworthiness of all four Gospels despite their differences. Fourth, he gives good correctives and additions to the typical categories of the first three quests (9-19, 43-46). Fifth, his evaluation of the Jesus Seminar is on target, including his colorful critique (123-25). Sixth, his touches of humor are welcome when, for example, he uses many clever heading titles, such as “A Webb of Key Events: Taking Us Bock to Jesus the Messiah” (153), a pun involving Darrell Bock and Robert Webb’s book Key Events in the Life of the Historical Jesus (2009). “Jesus in a Funk” (125) headlines the section describing the bizarre picture of Jesus by Robert Funk in Honest to Jesus (1996). Seventh, Blomberg gives helpful applications to the current church from his Johannine study (380-82) while admitting this is an area he needs to grow in as well (xxi).
Minor Issues
Here are some minor issues/questions this writer has about this excellent book. First, although Blomberg used a tried-and-true criterion for the authenticity of material in the Fourth Gospel, one wishes he developed new criteria or interacted with new ones, such as the ones developed by Paul Anderson (208). Second, an appendix of terms would be helpful. For instance, a student may wish to see where Blomberg describes source, form, and redaction criticisms. For instance, this reader does not recall him specifically defining source criticism, although he did describe the period of its use (2-9; see 34, 50). Third, it seems preferable to say a person can let Jesus be Lord of his or her life rather than “make him Lord” (80), since He is Lord regardless of what anyone else does. Fourth, this reviewer is uncomfortable with the thought of John putting words in Jesus’s mouth that he never actually said but implicitly claimed (380); rather, Jesus actually said the words. Fifth, it seems better to consider John the Baptist’s baptism as preparatory rather than equivalent to believer’s baptism (249, 340).
Conclusion
Those who, such as Blomberg and this reviewer, accept the accuracy of the historical details in the four Gospels might be inclined to ignore the quests for the historical Jesus. However, this disregard would be a mistake, and biblically conservative voices such as that of Blomberg are invaluable in this ongoing scholarly endeavor. Jesus the Purifier is helpful for students and scholars in its case for parity of the Fourth Gospel with the Synoptic Gospels in the fourth quest for the historical Jesus.
