The official record of the life, ministry,
and teachings of Jesus Christ is preserved in the accounts of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John. While each is written by a different author, to a different audience,
for a different purpose, the first three are linked together as the Synoptic
Gospels because of their similarities in content, vocabulary, and arrangement. The
fourth, however, stands on its own as a unique witness.
Authorship
Authorship of the Fourth Gospel has historically
been attributed to John the apostle, although the writer does not explicitly
identify himself in the text. The evidence confirms that the author was a
Palestinian Jew, exhibiting detailed knowledge of local topography (cf. 1:44;
2:1; 9:7; 4:5-6, 21; 11:18; 18:1). He reflects personal acquaintance with
conservative Judaism and Jewish tradition (e.g. 1:19-28; 4:9, 20). He was accustomed
to thinking in Aramaic, as Aramaic terms are frequently used and then explained
(cf. 1:42; 5:2; 19:13, 17, 20; 20:16). Old Testament quotations are closer in
form to the Hebrew than to the Greek (cf. 12:40; 13:18; 19:37).
He was an eyewitness (1:14; 19:35; cf.
2:6; 4:6; 12:3, 5; chaps. 18–19) and one of the twelve apostles. He is self-described
as “the disciple” (21:24) and “the beloved disciple” (13:23; 18:15-16;
19:26-27; 20:2-9),1 near Jesus at the last supper where only the twelve
were present (Matt. 26:20; Mark 14:17; Luke 22:14). The author is not to be
identified as any of the apostles mentioned by name in the Fourth Gospel, and
neither John nor his brother James is named. James dies fairly early in the
history of the church (Acts 12:2), whereas our author lived long enough to add
weight to the rumor that he would not die (John 21:23).
The “beloved disciple” is regularly in the
company of Simon Peter, and elsewhere in the New Testament this is the apostle John
(Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33; Acts 3:1–4:23; 8:15–25; Gal. 2:9). The most obvious
candidate for authorship of the Fourth Gospel is John the son of Zebedee, further
confirmed by the consistent testimony of the early church.2
Date of writing
John’s Gospel was probably written near
the close of the first century, sometime between 80-95.3 According
to ancient testimony, the apostle John lived into the reign of Trajan (who reigned 98-117) and
was the last of the New Testament writers to compose a Gospel.4 The
fact that no mention is made of the temple’s destruction would argue against a
date shortly after 70 but could be explained by a date considerably later, especially if written for a non-Jewish audience far away from Palestine. John
makes no mention of the Sadducees, who dwindled to the point of insignificance
after 70. The John Rylands Fragment (P52), containing a portion of John 18,
dates around 125, which gives plenty of time for the document to have been
copied and circulated as far as Egypt, where the fragment was discovered.
Audience and Destination
The Gospel seems to have been written with
a Gentile audience in mind, since Jewish conventions are explained apparently
for the benefit of those who were unfamiliar with them (e.g. 19:31). Certain
feasts are particularly identified as Jewish: “the Passover of the Jews” (2:13;
6:4; 11:55); “the Tabernacles, the feast of the Jews” (7:2). Jewish customs are
noted and clarified: purification (2:6; cf. 11:55), ethnic exclusivism (4:9),
and the Sabbath (19:31). Aramaic words are both transliterated and translated
into Greek: Kēphas (1:42), Bēthzatha (5:2), Silōam (9:7), Gabbatha
(19:13), Golgotha (19:17), and rabbouni (20:16). Palestinian
geographical features are carefully described: “Bethany … across the Jordan”
(1:28), “Cana of Galilee” (2:1, 11; 4:46; 21:2), “Aenon near Salem” (3:23), “Bethany
near Jerusalem” (11:18), and “Bethsaida of Galilee” (12:21). Further, the Sea
of Galilee is identified as “the Sea of Tiberias” (6:1; 21:1), the name used in
the latter part of the first century and employed in Greco-Roman texts.
Early
tradition places the origin and destination of the Gospel in Asia Minor,
particularly Ephesus.5 The writing was reportedly at the request of
area congregations, as a summary of John’s teaching about the life of Jesus, to
meet a need that was affecting the church near the close of the first century.
Distinctive Features
Despite a number of similarities between
John and the other Gospels, John omits several things that are characteristic
of the others6 and records a great deal of material not found in them.7
John recounts much more of Jesus’ ministry in Judea than in Galilee, whereas
the focus of the other Gospels is the opposite. There is more of Jesus’
teaching about the Holy Spirit than in any other Gospel. The teaching in John
tends to expound abstract themes like phōs
(‘light’ 23x), zōē (‘life’ 36x), agapē/agapaō (‘love’ 34x), and alētheia
(‘truth’ 25x). John presents large amounts of discourse material and records
seven statements of Christ in which the emphatic egō eimi (“I am”) expression is employed (6:35; 8:12; 10:9, 11;
11:25; 14:6; 15:5). The designation “son of man” is less prolific in John than
in the Synoptics, while “Son of God” appears more often. In John’s Gospel Jesus
is explicitly identified as “God” (1:1-3; 5:18; 10:33; 20:28; cf. 8:58).
Purpose and Structure
John clearly states his objective in
20:30-31 as follows: “Indeed therefore Jesus also did many other signs in the
presence of his disciples which are not written in this document, but these
have been written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you might have life in his name.” The Gospel is
arranged to achieve this goal.
The prologue (1:1-18) provides an
introduction to the Gospel, identifying Jesus as the preexistent, embodied Logos (Word) of God who reveals the heavenly
Father to mankind. Next is an overview of the Lord’s public ministry (1:19–11:45),
focusing on just seven of his miracles (2:1-11; 4:43-54; 5:1-9; 6:1-5, 16-25;
9:1-41; 11:1-44) and calling them sēmeiōn
(“signs”). This so-called “book of signs” emphasizes that which points to and
authenticates the Lord’s identity and role. The story then moves toward
Christ’s glorification through his death and resurrection (11:46–20:31), and
the section ends with a statement of the Gospel’s purpose. Finally, the
epilogue (21:1-25) concludes the writing by recounting another
post-resurrection appearance of Jesus and the recommissioning of his disciples.
Conclusion
Every testimony is to be confirmed by two
or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1). While Matthew, Mark, and Luke offer
sufficient evidence, John serves as a fourth witness, providing an even sturdier
foundation upon which to build our faith.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 Unless otherwise indicated,
scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
2 The earliest
extant reference to John’s authorship is that of Irenaeus of Lyons (ca.
115-202), whose testimony is based on the corroboration of Polycarp, a
contemporary of the apostle John (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 4.14.3-8;
5.20.5-6; 20.4-8). Other testimonies include the Muratorian Canon (ca. 170),
Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215), Theophilus of Antioch (ca. 181),
Hippolytus of Rome (ca. 170-235), Origen of Alexandria (ca. 185-254), and
Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 263-339). Historically there were no attempts to differentiate among the “Johns” in the respective titles of the canonical Johannine documents, presumably because readers already knew who was intended (see D. Trobisch, First Edition of the NT 55).
3 Some scholars (e.g. J. A. T.
Robinson, Redating the NT 254-311)
propose an earlier (pre-70) date, and their strongest argument rests on the
statement in John 5:2, “now there is
(estin = present tense) in Jerusalem
at the sheep gate a pool … Bethesda.” The most natural inference is that the
area John is describing is still standing at the time of writing, thus prior to
the destruction of the city in 70. However, in response one might argue that
(a) at the time of writing the ruins of Bethesda were still visible or had been
rebuilt; (b) John is naturally speaking of the place as he remembers it; or (c)
John is using a historic present, as in 10:8 and 19:40.
4 Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 2.22.5; 3.1.1; 3.3.4; Clement
of Alexandria (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist.
6.14.7); Eusebius, Eccl. Hist.
2.24.7; Jerome, De vir. ill. 9. John's death is marked at the year 98 by Jerome.
5 Clement of Alexandria (Eusebius, Eccl.
Hist. 6.14), the Muratorian Fragment, the Anti-Marcionite Prologue, Jerome
(Comm. Matt. Prol.), Epiphanius (Haer. 41.12), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3:1.2), and Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 3.1.1; 3.24).
6 These include narrative
parables, the baptism of Jesus, the transfiguration, the institution of the
Lord’s Supper, the “kingdom of God” theme, and many of Jesus’ sayings. John may
have been familiar with the other Gospels and chose to augment their accounts
rather than reproduce them.
7 Unique to John are the
prologue (1:1-18), Jesus’ encounters with Nicodemus (chap. 3) and the Samaritan
woman (chap. 4), the adulteress narrative (chap. 8), the raising of Lazarus
(chap. 11), the washing of the disciples’ feet (chap. 13), several
post-resurrection episodes (chaps. 20-21); discourses about eternal life (chap.
3), living water (chap. 4), manna from heaven (chap. 6), the good shepherd
(chap. 10), the resurrection and the life (chap. 11), the farewell discourse
(chaps. 14-17); the “I am” declarations (6:35, 41; 8:58; etc.).
*Prepared
for the 2016 Spanish-English Workshop at North Jackson Church of Christ in
Jackson, TN.
Related Posts: John the Apostle, Authorship of NT Gospels, John's Audience, Introducing the Johannine Epistles
Related articles: Richard Mansel's Understanding the Gospel of John
Image credit: https://tabernaclefortoday.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/main.jpg
Image credit: https://tabernaclefortoday.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/main.jpg
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