At the end of the first century, the scattered Christian communities had no common creed, and anxiety about the waning link with the historical Jesus was inspiring many to grope for bedrock by searching for information about the historical Jesus. In other words, those at the turn of the first century ran the risk of falling into the trap into which many modern biblical scholars have fallen, namely, of hunting for scraps of evidence about the historical Jesus. In response to this dire possibility, the author of John’s Gospel told his community of the cosmic meaning of Jesus’ life. John understood perhaps at a deeper level than the other evangelists — and at a level comparable to that of Paul — the truly radical revolution that the gospels were announcing to the world.
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