The Competitive Textualization of the Jesus Tradition in John 20:30-31 and 21:24-25

This essay argues that the Johannine “colophons” of John 20:30–31 and 21:24–25 support the argument that the author of John’s Gospel was aware of one or more of the Synoptic Gospels. Although these passages do not prove that theory, they demonstrate that John’s Gospel participates in a competitive textualization of the Jesus tradition, emphasizing its superiority to prior textualized Jesus books. This observation raises the question of what prior textualized Jesus traditions the author could have known. Although they are not the only options, it is here argued that the Synoptics are by far the most likely candidates.