Ep 162: John’s Gospel and the Historical Jesus with Craig Blomberg

Ep 162: John’s Gospel and the Historical Jesus with Craig Blomberg

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Craig Blomberg about his brand-new book ‘Jesus the Purifier: John’s Gospel and the Fourth Quest for the Historical Jesus’, out now on Baker Academic. Blomberg reviews the history of the first three ‘Quests’ for the historical Jesus, explaining how historical Jesus research has developed over time. He explains why, from the beginnings of modern Jesus research, the gospel of John was almost universally rejected as an historical source for reconstructing the life of Jesus. He then demonstrates that many advances have been made in studies of John over the last 40 years, and argues that John is indeed a viable historical source, offering us insight into the life of Jesus that is missing in synoptic-oriented research. He explores the theme of ‘purity’ in the gospel of John and explains how it must go back to the historical Jesus himself. He then explains how a fourth quest needs to incorporate John as a historical source and why the proposed ‘Next Quest’ will be incomplete without a reevaluation of John.

Additional Resources

Jesus the Purifier: https://a.co/d/ifeRf8d

Craig Blomberg Bio: https://denverseminary.edu/directory/blomberg-phd-craig/

Blomberg Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Craig-Blomberg/author/B001HCY7S6?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true