Biblica_1:Layout 1 21-11-2011 12:59 Pagina 391 391 JOHN 5,31-47 AND THE TEACHING OF JESUS IN THE SYNOPTICS statement to be true. And while it is true that the parallels at large point toward a considerable degree of development or redaction of speech material on the part of the Fourth Evangelist 38, this is far from saying — as scholars of the Fourth Gospel have frequently done — that the differences in terms of content are insurmountable. Rather, we should not lose sight of the fact that the general thrust of Jesus’ teaching is consistently reproduced in both major strands of gospel tradition despite the existing distinctions in the way the Fourth Evangelist has handled his discourse material. Therefore, we conclude, at least as far as John 5,31-47 is concerned, that on the basis of such detailed comparison with the Synoptics no strong ev- idence can be produced against this Johannine discourse as an au- thentic representation of the actual content of Jesus’ teaching. Freie Theologische Hochschule Gießen Philipp F. BARTHOLOMÄ Giessen School of Theology Rathenaustr. 5-7 35394 Gießen, Germany SUMMARY Within Johannine scholarship, the assumed differences between Jesus’ teaching in John and in the Synoptics have frequently led to a negative judgment about Johannine authenticity. This article proposes a comparative approach that distinguishes between different levels of similarity in wording and content and applies it to John 5,31-47. What we find in this discourse section corresponds conceptually to a significant de- gree with the picture offered in the Synoptics, though couched in a very different idiom. Thus, the comparative evidence does not preclude us from accepting this particular part of Johannine speech material as an authentic representation of the actual content of Jesus’words. 38 Cf. chapter 7 “The Johannine Discourses and the Teaching of Jesus in the Synoptics: A Tentative Characterization”, BARTHOLOMÄ, The Johannine Discourses, 249-276.