GOSPEL OF JOHN AND ANCIENT BIOGRAPHIES 2

Similarities Between Gospel of John and Ancient Biographies
In his book “What are the Gospels?: A Comparison With Greco-Roman Biography”,
Richard Burridge argues that the four Gospels were written in the genre similar to that of
Greco-Roman biography (Burridge, 2004). This ancient form of biography is different from
the modern one in many respects. For instance, while modern biographies examine the
development of a character over a lifetime, ancient Greco-Roman biographies simply focused
on recording the deeds and words of great men in order to preserve their memory and reveal
their greatness.
To prove that the Gospels were written in the genre of ancient biography, Burridge
uses the Gospel of John. Features of ancient biography identified in the Gospel of John include
allocation of space (external features) and deeds as topics, use of continuous prose, and strict
focus on the subject (internal features) (Burridge, 2004). The story of Jesus raising Lazarus
from death in John 11 and small portions of John 12 shows that indeed the Gospel of John is
written in the style of Greco-Roman biography.
One characteristic that Burridge notes about ancient Greco-Roman biographies is that
single incidents often took up disproportionately large amount of space (Burridge, 2004). This
characteristic is shared in the Gospel of John. The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from death
takes up almost the whole of John 11 and even spills over to John 12.
Another characteristic of ancient biographies that Burridge notes in the Gospel of John
and which is revealed in the story of raising Lazarus from death is the use of continuous prose.
The stories are written in continuous sequence with dialogues and narratives inserted into
them (Burridge, 2004). In the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from death, dialogues between
Jesus and Philip, Andrew, Martha, and Mary have been inserted in the narrative to reveal

GOSPEL OF JOHN AND ANCIENT BIOGRAPHIES 3
important teachings of Jesus. For instance, in the dialogue between Jesus and Martha after he
had arrived in Bethany, Jesus reveals important teachings such as the meaning of resurrection
and life to Christians.
The narrative of Jesus raising Lazarus from death is, therefore, a clear example of how
the Gospel of John was written using the style of Greco-Roman biographies. The story tells of
a major deed or Sign of Jesus, uses continuous prose with dialogues inserted into it, and
focuses entirely on Jesus (the subject of the story).

GOSPEL OF JOHN AND ANCIENT BIOGRAPHIES 4

References

Burridge, R. A. (2004). What are the Gospels?: A comparison with Graeco-Roman
biography. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.