The Unreliability of the 4th Gospel – Part 4: “I Am the…” Statements by Jesus

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WHERE WE ARE

Because the Gospel of Mark was probably written about three decades before the Gospel of John (the 4th Gospel), we should give preference to the information in the Gospel of Mark about Jesus over the information about Jesus in the Gospel of John when there is a conflict between these Gospels (see Part 1 of this series for more details on the dating of the Gospels). That is to say, when there is a conflict between the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John, we should infer that the information in the Gospel of Mark is more likely to be historically correct than the conflicting information in the Gospel of John, other things being equal.

In Part 2 of this series, I showed that there was a significant conflict between the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John over this question:

Was “the kingdom of God” a central focus of the teachings of Jesus?

Because “the kingdom of God” was probably a central focus of the teachings of the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Mark is probably correct and accurate on this important point about the historical Jesus, and the Gospel of John is probably incorrect and inaccurate on this important point about the historical Jesus.

In Part 3 of this series, I showed that there was a significant conflict between the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John over this question:

Was casting out demons a key focus of the ministry of Jesus?

Because casting out demons (exorcism) was probably a central focus of the ministry of the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Mark is probably correct and accurate on this important point about the historical Jesus, and the Gospel of John is probably incorrect and inaccurate on this important point about the historical Jesus.

In this current post, I will argue that there is another significant conflict between the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John concerning this question:

Were religious statements by Jesus of the form “I am the …” a key focus of his teachings?

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus often made religious statements of the form “I am the…” and thus these claims were allegedly a key focus of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus makes such religious statements about himself fourteen times in the Gospel of John, and these alleged statements by Jesus are found in seven different chapters (out of 21 chapters) in the Gospel of John:

  1. I am the bread of life. – 2 times
    John 6:35
    Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
    John 6:48
    I am the bread of life.
  2. I am the bread that came down from heaven.
    John 6:41
    Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
  3. I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
    John 6:51
    I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
  4. I am the light of the world. – 2 times
    John 8:12
    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
    John 9:5
    As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
  5. I am the gate for the sheep.
    John 10:7
    So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
  6. I am the gate.
    John 10:9
    I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.
  7. I am the good shepherd.– 2 times
    John 10:11
    “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
    John 10:14
    I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me,
  8. I am the resurrection and the life.
    John 11:25
    Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,
  9. I am the way and the truth and the life.
    John 14:6
    Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
  10. I am the true vine.
    John 15:1
    “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
  11. I am the vine.
    John 15:5
    I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

But Jesus makes NONE of the above statements in the Gospel of Mark, nor does Jesus make any other religious statement of the form “I am the …” in the Gospel of Mark:

Clearly, according to the Gospel of John, religious statements by Jesus of the form “I am the …” were a key focus of the teachings of Jesus, but NOT according to the Gospel of Mark.

Because the Gospel of Mark was probably written about three decades before the Gospel of John was written, we should give preference to the view of the Gospel of Mark on this question. Thus, it is probable that religious statements by Jesus of the form “I am the …” were NOT a key focus of the teachings of Jesus, and the Gospel of Mark is probably correct on this important point about the historical Jesus, and the Gospel of John is probably incorrect on this important point about the historical Jesus.

THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW & LUKE AGREE WITH THE GOSPEL OF MARK

Jesus makes NONE of the above religious statements quoted above from the Gospel of John in the Gospel of Matthew or in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus also does not make any other religious statement of the form “I am the …” in the Gospel of Matthew or in the Gospel of Luke:

Like the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke were probably written before the Gospel of John, so when there is a conflict between the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke on the one hand, with the Gospel of John on the other hand, we should infer that the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke are more likely to be correct than the Gospel of John, other things being equal.

Thus, the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke both provide additional evidence supporting the view of the Gospel of Mark that making religious statements of the form “I am the …” was NOT a key focus of the teachings of Jesus.

CONCLUSION

Because it is probably the case that the teachings of the historical Jesus did NOT have a key focus on religious statements by Jesus of the form “I am the …”, it is probable that the Gospel of Mark is correct on this important point about the historical Jesus, and it is probable that the Gospel of John is incorrect on this important point about the historical Jesus.