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Book Review: The Challenge of Jesus' Parables

end, this book is 'more the biography of a legend than a life of the apostle' (p. 6). That legend, which according to Professor CUlpepper took shape even during the period when the Gospels and Acts were being written, is traced from the New Testament reports of John as fisherman, through patristic witnesses, early apocryphal writing and medieval sources, to Victorian poets and later historians of primitive Christianity. Rightly, the investigation begins with the evidence provided by all five documents within the Johannine corpus, including Revelation. The result is a fascinating and exhaustive account of the life, exploits and death of the apostle. As the author justly claims, so much of the tradition about John has never before been collected and made available in English (p. 2). Culpepper writes in a delightfully accessible style. His study is scholarly and detailed; it evinces balance and caution, together with a breathtaking knowledge of the relevant literature. Full notes at the end of each chapter provide a comprehensive means of further research. Indeed, Dr Culpepper provides us with a secure basis on which to make up our own minds about the identity of John, and his relationship to the writings in the New Testament which bear his name. For the conclusions in this volume are at times elusive as the shadowy figure pursued in it. Nevertheless, we have here a masterly enquiry, which should become a standard work of reference for all serious students of the Johannine literature.