A Christology Too Far? Some Thoughts on Andrew Lincoln’s Commentary on John
Wendy E.S. North: 4 Trinity Road, Darlington, DL3 7AS, UK; james.north2@ntlworld.com
Outline:
>Introduction
>Points of Interest
>Lincoln’s Stands
>Aspects of Lincoln’s Study
>John’s Perspectives
>Proofs of Lincoln’s Contribution to Johannine Studies
Review
This article of Wendy North’s article about the Commentary of Andrew Lincoln on John has given a profound study on this dimension of the Gospel. Although the author did not give sub-titles or sub-topics on it, it described thoroughly the way how Lincoln commented on the book of John, which I have just made my own outline of it…
In her introduction, North has given the outline of the order of Lincoln’s Commentary on John, which has given the readers of this article insight on what is all about this commentary. As the author continues, she gave some points of interest on the commentary. First, Lincoln has given the form of John which has three stages: “the version of the gospel, revised version from the evangelist’s hand and, additional materials composed by a later editor.” (344) The second point of interest that the author has given is that Lincoln convinced that the ancient biography best suits the gospel of John that is about the historicity of it. The third point of interest is about the conversion and conviction of Lincoln as he writes the commentary. And the last point of interest is Lincoln’s empathy on John’s gospel. Moreover, the commentary has also appendix, bibliography and indexes for more information to get by the reader. Hence, this article also signifies that “Lincoln’s skills are such as to make this commentary indispensable to beginners and professionals alike; bringing fresh perspectives to the continuing endeavor to understand this extraordinary Gospel” (344).
North has also given the three points on Lincoln’s stands on the Gospel of John, regarding the context with the Judeans, the historical reliability, and the detail of the commentary’s reliability… Moreover, Lincoln has also given “acute literary awareness… and some remarkable insights both in terms of the craftsmanship that has gone into the Gospel…” (345), some aspects of Lincoln’s Study on the Book of John is also discussed by the author: the gospel’s relation to the epistles, and the discussion on John’s Christology. However, as the author has also written, Lincoln has also put in his commentary the perspectives of John in his gospel. First is “the significance of Jesus’ life, which is interwoven with theology, this book as Gospel’s Sitz im Leben, and finally, the question whether John’s presentation of Jesus has stretched and transformed Jewish categories…” (348 )
The last part of this article then has given the proofs of Lincoln’s commentary’s “invaluable contribution to Johannine studies… These are the facts that Lincoln is an excellent communicator, and his argumentations are accessible to all, which gives commentaries that are as literal as possible… (350).
North, Wendy E.S. “A Christology too Far? Some Thoughts on Andrew Lincoln’s Commentary on John:” In Journal for the Study of the New Testament 29.3 (2007) 343-351. London: Sage Publications, 2007.
