AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
I. AUTHOR: THE APOSTLE JOHN, SON OF ZEBEDEE
A. Strictly speaking, the Gospel of John does not name its
author--it is anonymous. But there is evidence which
can lead to the conclusion that is was the Apostle John
B. External Evidence: Early church tradition is unanimous
in ascribing the fourth gospel to John
1. Ireneus (c. A.D. 130-202) was the first to name
the gospel of John and said that it was written
after the other gospels from Ephesus1
2. John was either cited or named as authentic during
the first four centuries by the following2
a. Clement of Rome (c. 95-97)
b. Polycarp (c. 110-150)
c. Papias (c. 130-40)
d. Irenaeus (c. 130-202)
e. Justin Martyr (c. 150-155)
f. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)
g. Tertullian (c. 150-220)
h. The Muratorian Fragment (c. 170-200)
i. The Latin Marcionite Prologue (c. 200)
j. Origen (c. 185-254)
k. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386)
l. Eusebius (c. 325-340)
m. Jerome (c. 340-420)
n. Augustine (c. 400)
3. Eusebius specifically identified John with the
Gospel which bares his name when he writes, "of
all those who had been with the Lord only Matthew
and John have left us their recollections...."3
C. Internal Evidence: The information from within the
Gospel itself supports the universal tradition of the
early church fathers who assigned the work to the
Apostle John:
1. The author was a Jew:
a. He understood and quoted from the OT (12:40;
13:18; 19:37)
b. He knew and understood Jewish customs:
1) Wedding feasts 2:1-10
2) Ceremonial purification 3:25; 11:55
3) The manner of burial 11:38,44; 19:40
c. He knew and understood the Jewish expectation
of the coming Messiah 1:19-18
d. He perceived the religious differences
between the Jew and the Samaritan 4:9,20
2. The author was a Jew from Palestine:
a. He knew the pool of Bethesda had five porches
5:2
b. He knew that Bethany was only fifteen
furlongs away from Jerusalem 11:18
c. He knew that Ephraim was near the wilderness
11:54
d. He knew that the Garden of Gethsemane was on
the other side of the brook Kidron 18:1
e. He knew that there was a paved area outside
of the praetorium 19:13
f. He was aware of the region of Samaria and
that Jacob's well was located in Sychar (4:5-
6), and that it was deep 4:11
g. He knew about the sacred mountain of
Samaritan worship 4:20-21
h. He was aware of Galilee 1:44,46; 2:1,2
3. The author was an eye-witness of what happened
a. He does not state his name, but there are
traces of his own hand in the Gospel
b. "We beheld his glory" 1:14
c. He knew the number of pots used at the
wedding at Cana 2:6
d. He knew the value of the anointing perfume
12:5
e. He was at the crucifixion 19:33-35
f. He knew the distance from the shore of the
apostles boat and the number of fish caught
21:8,11
g. "This is the disciple who is bearing witness
to these things, and who has written these
things; and we know that his testimony is
true" 21:24
4. The author was an Apostle, probably John:
a. He refers to himself often as the disciple
whom Jesus loved 13:23; 19:26; 20:2 21:7,20
b. The identity of this "one whom Jesus loved"
is narrowed down to be John through the
following correlations:
1) From 21:7 the "disciple" may be
identified as one of the seven persons
mentioned in 21:2
a) Simon Peter
b) Thomas called the Twin
c) Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee
d) The sons of Zebedee
e) Two others
2) He must be one of the Twelve since only
they were with the Lord at the last
supper (Jn. 13:23-24; cf. Mk. 14:17; Lk.
22:14)
3) He is not Peter:
a) He sat next to the Lord at the Last
Supper, and Peter motioned to him
13:23-24
b) His future is distinguished from
Peter's 21:20ff
4) He is closely related to Peter and thus
seems to be one of the inner three
(James, John and Peter ) [20:2-10; cf.
Mk. 5:37-38; 9:2-3; 14:33)
5) James (John's brother) died in AD 44,
therefore, he was not the author (Acts
12:2)
6) Therefore, if it is true that he was an
apostle, and one of the inner three, and
he was not Peter, or James, then he must
have been the Apostle John, the son of
Zebedee
c. Raymond Brown discusses the possible
candidates of Lazarus and John Mark as the
"disciple whom Jesus loved"4
II. DATE: PROBABLY BETWEEN AD 85 AND 95
A. The Gospel of John provides no explicit evidence
regarding its date. This conclusion is arrived at
through external and internal considerations
B. External Evidence: Allows for a date between 90-98
1. Extant manuscripts argue for around the turn of
the century:
a. The earliest evidence is in the Rylands
Papyrus 457 (p52), an Egyptian fragment of
John 18:31-33,37-38, dated in the first half
of the second century (c. 98-150)5
b. Other papyri (p66, p75 c. AD 175-225) offer
significant sections of John
c. The Egyptian witness, Papyrus Egerton 2,
supplies a composite work from c. AD 150
d. The above evidence suggests copies of the
gospel circulating around Egypt in the first
and second halves of the second century.
This suggests a date for John to be at least
around the turn of the century
2. Ireneaus stated that John remained in Ephesus
until the time of Trajan (AD 98-117). This would
place John's writing during the last decades of
the first century
3. Therefore, if John is the author of the Gospel,
then a date between 90-98 seems to be possible
C. Internal Evidence: may argue for an early date (pre-AD
70)
1. The present tense in John 5:2 "there is" suggests
a time when the gate is still standing, unlike
after the destruction by Titus (But this could be
a part of an earlier writing wherein John
expresses its existence at the time and then
edited it into his gospel account). This is a
strong argument
2. The correct tradition of Palestinian places,
situations, and customs argues for a time before
or shortly after AD 70 when the scenes could be
remembered as they were (but the author could tap
his own memory without tying his writing to that
period)
3. John 21:18-23 imply the passing of time until the
later death of Peter (especially 21:19). This
would argue for a later date rather than an
earlier one
D. Conclusions:
1. It is possible that the Gospel was written just
before or just after AD 706
2. It is also possible that the Gospel was written in
the latter part of the first century--around the
turn of the century (AD 80-98) which allows for
the writing of the three epistles and Revelation
by John (external evidence)
3. Eusebius identifies John as the last Gospel
written after Matthew, Mark and Luke: "The three
gospels which had been written down before were
distributed to all including himself."7 This
would support a later time for John more than an
earlier one
4. Therefore, it seems best to date John along with
many scholars between 80-98
III. PLACE OF ORIGIN AND DESTINATION: EPHESUS TO EPHESIAN
GENTILES
A. There is no explicit evidence for the place of origin
or for the destination of the Gospel of John
B. Irenaeus8 and Eusebius9 affirm that John wrote from
Ephesus where he had settled after the Roman war under
Titus (AD 66-70)
C. Ephesus was not far from Phrygia, the center of the
Montanist movement which made early use of John's
Gospel
D. The primary audience may have been Ephesian Gentiles:
1. The various Jewish feasts are identified for the
readers
2. The geographical locations are identified for the
readers
3. Jewish names are translated for the readers
4. Jewish usages are explained for the reader
5. The introduction of the "Greeks" in chapter 12 may
also reveal the author's interest in the Gentiles
E. Other considerations are Antioch and Alexandria, but
with less evidence
IV. PURPOSES OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN:
A. John 20:30-32 states the purpose for the "book:""Many
other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the
presence of the disciples, which are not written in
this book: but these have been written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and
that believing you may have life in his name"
1. Chapter 21 need not be considered a portion later
added to the original conclusion of the Gospel.
While 20:30-31 relay the purpose of the book,
chapter 21 is then presented as an epilogue
illustrating the result of faith -- restoration
into life abundant
2. The two pronged purpose statement for the book
relates to the two pronged thrust of the book10
a. The first half of the book of the seven signs
(chapters 1--12) are given so that all people
"might believe" or come to faith (assuming
the aorist subjunctive tense in the textual
problem)11 in Jesus as Messiah
b. The second portion of the purpose statement
["you may have life in his name"] correlates
with chapters 13--20 where believers are
exhorted to close fellowship--eternal life
which is not only a quantity of life but also
a quality of life (cf. 5:24 with 17:2-3)
B. Gospel of John also was written to reveal who Jesus
was:
1. Unlike the synoptics which reveal Jesus
inductively (from the ground up), John reveals
Jesus deductively (from heaven down)
2. Jesus is also revealed as the "Logos," "Messiah,"
"Son of God," "God," and "Man" fighting the
incipient gnostic views of Cerinthus and the
Ebionites (that Jesus was only a man upon whom the
Spirit visited and then left thus affirming no pre-
existence), and fighting Docitism (emphasizing
Jesus' deity over his humanity)
V. THE RELATION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN TO THE SYNOPTICS
A. There are similarities between John and the synoptics
(e.g., the movement from "birth" to crucifixion and
resurrection)
B. The significance of relationship lies in the
differences:
1. Material is in the synoptics but not in John
2. Material is in John but not in the synoptics
3. John is less narrative and more discourse
oriented. John is philosophical and Rabbinic
4. There are differences of historical and
chronological items such as the dating of the
cleansing of the temple, the duration of the
ministry of Jesus, and the dating of the Last
Supper
C. John is explained in four possible ways in relation to
the synoptics:
1. It was a supplement to the synoptics
2. It was independent of the synoptics
3. It was interpretive of the synoptics
4. It was a substitute for the synoptics12
___________________________
1 Adv. Haer. (Against Heresies) ii.22. 5, iii.3.4 cited in
Eusebius, HE (The Ecclesiastical History), iii.23.3; Also Adv.
Haer. iii.1.1 cited in Eusebius HE, v.20.4-8.
Eusebius reports that Irenaeus' authority was Polycarp who
claimed to know the Apostles and John in particular at Ephesus
(HE, iv.14.3-8).
See the discussion in Raymond Brown, The Gospel According to
John I-XII, pp. LXXXVIII-XCII for objections to Ireneus'
evidence.
2 Geisler, A General Introduction, p. 193.
3 HE 3.24.3-8.
4 The Gospel According to John, I:XCIV-XCVIII.
5 Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, pp. 38-39. This
strongly disproves Delafosse's thesis of AD 170 and A. Loisy's
thesis of AD 150-160. Egypt is a long way from Ephesus, thus it
would have taken time for the gospel to reach this land after its
composition.
6 Internal evidence; see Tenny, "John" in EBC, 9:9-10.
7 HE iii.24.7.
8 Adv. Haer. 3:1.
9 HE 3:1.
10 NB--John's reference is to "this book" (20:30) and not
only to the immediate context.
11 NB--even if the textual problem supports the present
subjunctive tense ("go on believing"), this does not necessarily
mean that John's Gospel is only for the "believer" because the
unbeliever also needs to consider a continuing attitude of faith
as they consider Jesus.
12 NB--While it need not be an either/or solution, the first
two explanations are the most accepted (Guthrie, p. 287-300). It
seems that John did know of the synoptics (allowing for number 2
above), and yet wrote from other sources, and with a different
purpose (allowing for number 1 above) [cf. Tenny, "John" in EBC
9:20].
1996 David Malick, http://www.bible.org. Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's consent.