Preface
Four Portraits (pVIII)
Somewhat traditionalist: John an eyewitness; Mark from Peter; some later modification of Gospel texts but gospels are: "reliable access to the history of what Jesus said, did, and suffered" (pVIII). "The masterpiece, which is the Fourth Gospel, brings out what was to some extent implicit in the life of Jesus and displays ... the deep truth about him" (pIX).
Three Stages (pX)
Three stages: a) witness and conversation, early interpretation; b) 'notebooks'; c) authorial work (pX).
Eyewitness Testimony (pX)
Accepts the Bauckham thesis of hardly any time lapse between stages one and three with Gospels made up largely of eyewitness material (Bauckham, Richard: Jesus and The Eyewitnesses: The Gospels As Eyewitness Testimony, Grand Rapids, Erdmann's, 2006) (Px-xi)..
Paradoxically, then, the later account of John is less of an eyewitness account than the other three who allowed themselves only: "... a small degree of freshly created interpretation" (PXII).
Experience and Interpretation (pXII)
Like the rest of us, interpretation is entwined with experience (pXII).
The Mystery of Jesus' Person (pXIII)
Nobody's "total reality" is available for impartial inspection (pXIV).
Mystery and Problem (pXV)
Gabriel Marcel on problem and mystery; Jesus is a mystery not a problem (pXV).
Testimony and Its Interpretation (pXV)
We have to trust the witnesses (pXVI).