{"id":13867,"date":"2020-09-01T09:08:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=13867"},"modified":"2020-09-13T22:17:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T02:17:44","slug":"jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What do Jesus and the gospels mean according to Craig Blomberg? Can the gospels offer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/evidence-that-jesus-existed\/\">evidence that Jesus existed<\/a>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg says, show a sort of biography about Jesus&#8217;s life. Blomberg, a Christian and a scholar, has closely studied objections to Jesus and the gospels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg&#8217;s studies, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jesus and the Gospels According to Craig Blomberg<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Strobel begins his investigation by interviewing Dr. Craig Blomberg, a renowned biblical scholar and author of the book <em>The Historical Reliability of the Gospels<\/em>. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-four-gospels\/\">The four gospels<\/a> are, in essence, biographies of Jesus.) Strobel picks Blomberg because, although he\u2019s a man of faith, he can be trusted not to paper over gaps in the historical record: <strong>He is known to have grappled with the objections to Christianity and nevertheless maintained his belief<\/strong>. And when it comes to Jesus and the gospels, Craig Blomberg is an expert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Gospel<\/strong>s<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Matthew<\/li><li>Mark<\/li><li>Luke<\/li><li>John<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Synoptic Gospels<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus and the gospels, Craig Blomberg says, can offer key insights on whether or not Jesus is real. One of the primary points of controversy surrounding the first three gospels (also known as the \u201cSynoptic\u201d gospels) is their authorship: Did Matthew, Mark, and Luke truly write the gospels to which their names are attached? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The answer is yes.<strong> <\/strong>Although scholars don\u2019t know <em>for certain<\/em> who wrote each gospel, <strong>early church testimony is uniform on the subject of the authorship of the first three gospels<\/strong>. According to writings by Papias (125 AD) and Irenaeus (180 AD), Matthew, a tax collector also known as Levi, was the author of the first gospel; John Mark, a disciple of Peter, was the author of the second gospel; and Luke, Paul\u2019s companion and physician, was the author of \u201cThe Gospel of Luke\u201d and \u201cActs.\u201d It is unlikely that commentators like Papias and Irenaeus would lie about the authorship of these texts: As a tax collector, Matthew was probably not much favored during Jesus&#8217;s time, and Mark and Luke weren\u2019t even among Jesus&#8217;s twelve apostles. When later writers created apocryphal (in other words, fictitious) gospels, they used more famous figures like Philip, Peter, and Mary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is some debate, however, when it comes to the authorship of John\u2019s gospel, the fourth gospel. An early Christian writer named Papias refers to the author both as John the apostle and John the elder, and it\u2019s unclear whether they\u2019re two different people or the same person; there\u2019s also evidence of an \u201ceditor\u201d modifying the very end of John\u2019s gospel. <strong>Papias\u2019s writings notwithstanding, the testimony unanimously points to John the apostle as author<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Incompleteness of the Synoptic Gospels<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>When we pick up a biography in a bookstore, we expect the story to begin with the subject\u2019s birth\u2014or even <em>before <\/em>it\u2014and proceed to the subject\u2019s death (if the subject of the biography is already deceased). <strong>But the biographies offer only a partial account of Jesus\u2019s life<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to remember that ancient biographies are quite different from the biographies we might buy in our local bookstore. In the ancient world, <strong>biographies had a didactic function<\/strong>: that is, they were meant to teach readers lessons rather than depict their subject\u2019s entire life. So Mark, for example, felt no compunction about minimizing Jesus&#8217;s early years in favor of the events leading up to Jesus&#8217;s crucifixion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also a theological reason for the gospels\u2019 selective approach to Jesus&#8217;s life. Jesus&#8217;s teachings derive their authority from his divinity\u2014his death and resurrection, which provided atonement for the sins of humanity. <strong>Because this event is the most important part of Jesus&#8217;s story, it stands to reason his biographers would concentrate on it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Question of Q<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cQ\u201d is scholars\u2019 shorthand for \u201c<em>Quelle<\/em>,\u201d German for \u201csource.\u201d Analysts of the first three gospels have determined that Mark\u2019s gospel was written prior to Matthew\u2019s and Luke\u2019s, and that Matthew\u2019s and Luke\u2019s gospels not only draw on Mark\u2019s, but also include material from an anonymous text, \u201cQ.\u201d <strong>Q comprises a compilation of Jesus&#8217;s sayings without any narrative to connect them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some skeptics have claimed that the existence of \u201cQ\u201d undermines the gospels\u2019 accounts of Jesus\u2019s life because it doesn\u2019t feature miracles. But, though there\u2019s no <em>narration<\/em> of miracles in Q, Jesus does <em>speak<\/em> of miracles he\u2019s performed. <strong>Because Q predates the Synoptic Gospels, these references provide strong evidence of Jesus&#8217;s divinity<\/strong>. Jesus and the gospels, Craig Blomberg claims, shows this evidence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Another curiosity is why Matthew and Luke, who were eyewitnesses to Jesus&#8217;s works, would rely on Mark\u2019s gospel, which was a second-hand account based on the recollections of Peter. Why would this be the case for Jesus and the gospels? Blomberg responds that Peter was closer to Jesus than Matthew or Luke, and so Mark\u2019s gospel, as a representation of Peter\u2019s account, contained information neither Matthew nor Luke could know.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Gospel of John<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scholars and skeptics alike have noted the differences between the gospel of John and the three gospels that precede it. At one time, the scholarly consensus was that the linguistic and theological differences one finds in John were<strong> due to the fact it was written last<\/strong>\u2014in other words, John felt no need to repeat the stories told in the prior three gospels. More recently, scholars have opined that John\u2019s gospel was written largely <em>independently <\/em>of the other three and so reflects John\u2019s own personal emphases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>John\u2019s Christology<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most obvious differences between the Jesus described in John and the Jesus of the Synoptic gospels is Jesus\u2019s divinity\u2014John\u2019s Jesus is much more emphatic about his status as the Son of God and God himself. Skeptics have latched onto this disparity to argue that John\u2019s account is influenced by legend and likely a fabrication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although references to Jesus&#8217;s divinity are more pronounced in the gospel of John, they are very much present in the Synoptics as well (see Matthew 14:22\u201333 and Mark 6:45\u201352, wherein Jesus walks on water). Another example is Jesus&#8217;s reference to himself as \u201cSon of Man\u201d in the Synoptics. Whereas many commentators take this moniker to signify Jesus&#8217;s humanity or mortality, it\u2019s actually a reference to Daniel 7:13\u201314, wherein the Messiah was \u201cone like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.\u201d <strong>In other words, \u201cSon of Man\u201d actually signifies <\/strong><strong><em>deity<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short,<strong> John\u2019s theological emphasis doesn\u2019t compromise the factuality of his account<\/strong>. Although John is more overtly theological than the Synoptic authors, the Synoptics too have theologies: Luke, for example, emphasizes the moral obligation to care for the poor, while Matthew contemplates the relation between Christianity and Judaism.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Effect of Time<\/strong> on Jesus and the Gospels: Theories of Craig Blomberg<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We all know that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/distorted-memories\/\">memory is unreliable<\/a>; sometimes it\u2019s hard to remember what we had for dinner last night. <strong>Can the gospel accounts be trusted given how long after Jesus\u2019s life and death they were written?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her book <em>A History of God<\/em>, former nun Karen Armstrong notes that Mark\u2019s gospel, the earliest gospel to be written, wasn\u2019t written until 70 AD, approximately forty years after Jesus\u2019s death. She argues that by that time, the events of Jesus\u2019s life had become so overladen with myth that it\u2019s impossible to treat Mark\u2019s gospel\u2014or any of the gospels\u2014as factual accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Jesus and the gospels, Craig Blomberg offers two corrections to this account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Even if one accepts the standard scholarly dating\u2014Mark\u2019s gospel in 70s AD, Matthew and Luke sometime in the 80s AD\u2014there would have still been living eyewitnesses to Jesus\u2019s death. (For example, if a twenty-year-old saw Jesus crucified and resurrected, he or she could still be living by the time the gospels were written.)<\/li><li>There is ample evidence that suggests the gospels were written <em>earlier <\/em>than the scholarly consensus dates. For example, Acts, which was written by Luke, ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome. Why doesn\u2019t the book end with Paul being put to death (as he eventually was)? <strong>Because, potentially, Acts was written <\/strong><strong><em>before <\/em><\/strong><strong>Paul was executed<\/strong>. Since Paul was put to death in 62 AD, Acts would have to have been written <em>before<\/em> that date. And because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/luke-as-a-historian\/\">gospel of Luke<\/a> was written before Acts\u2014and the gospel of Mark even earlier than that\u2014you wind up with Mark\u2019s gospel being written in, approximately, the <em>60s <\/em>AD. That increases the likelihood that there were eyewitnesses around to corroborate or correct the record the gospel writers were creating.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Earliest Account<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s worth remembering that the books of the New Testament don\u2019t appear in the order in which they were written. For Jesus and the gospels, Craig Blomberg explains why. In fact, the earliest sections of the New Testament to be composed are Paul\u2019s letters (written between 40\u201350 AD), <strong>which themselves feature elements from an oral tradition dating back to within a few years of Jesus\u2019s death<\/strong>. A key example appears in 1 Corinthians 15. This passage finds Paul repeating the creed of Jesus\u2019s death, resurrection, and appearance to his apostles and followers. If Paul was told of these events shortly after his conversion to Christianity\u2014which took place in the mid-30s AD\u2014that means that Jesus\u2019s divinity was accepted fact in the immediate aftermath of his death. In other words, <strong>the earliest accounts of Jesus in the New Testament support the theology of the gospels.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do Jesus and the gospels mean according to Craig Blomberg? Can the gospels offer evidence that Jesus existed? Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg says, show a sort of biography about Jesus&#8217;s life. Blomberg, a Christian and a scholar, has closely studied objections to Jesus and the gospels. Read more about Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg&#8217;s studies, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,33,6],"tags":[125],"class_list":["post-13867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-people","category-spiritual","tag-the-case-for-christ","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\"},\"headline\":\"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\"},\"wordCount\":1627,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Case for Christ\"],\"articleSection\":[\"History\",\"People\",\"Spiritual\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\",\"name\":\"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00\",\"description\":\"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\",\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carrie Cabral\"},\"description\":\"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels - Shortform Books","description":"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels","og_description":"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Carrie Cabral","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carrie Cabral","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/"},"author":{"name":"Carrie Cabral","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56"},"headline":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels","datePublished":"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/"},"wordCount":1627,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","keywords":["The Case for Christ"],"articleSection":["History","People","Spiritual"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/","name":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-01T13:08:29+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-14T02:17:44+00:00","description":"When it comes to Jesus and the Gospels, Craig Blomberg is the expert. Here are his views on why the gospels prove that Jesus existed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/jesus-and-the-gospels-craig-blomberg\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Craig Blomberg: Expert on Jesus and the Gospels"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56","name":"Carrie Cabral","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carrie Cabral"},"description":"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/bible-3-case-for-christ-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13867"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14711,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13867\/revisions\/14711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}