John
The Gospel According to John (Κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγέλιον, τὸ
εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, kata Iōannēn euangelion, to
euangelion kata Iōannēn), commonly referred to as The Gospel
of John, is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of
Nazareth. It details the story of Jesus from his Baptism to
his Resurrection. In the standard order of the canonical
gospels, it appears fourth, after the synoptic gospels
Matthew, Mark and Luke.
The Gospel's authorship is anonymous. However, in chapter 21
it is stated that it derives from the testimony of the
'Disciple whom Jesus loved', identified by Early Church
tradition with John the Apostle, one of Jesus' Twelve
Apostles. It is closely related in style and content to the
three surviving Epistles of John such that most commentators
routinely treat the four books together.[1]:p.63 Scholarly
opinion is divided as to whether these epistles are the work
of the evangelist himself or of his followers writing in his
name. The epistles are addressed to a particular but unnamed
church community. Most scholars presume that the Gospel,
too, is addressed to the specific circumstances of that
community. The evangelist urges his church to beware of
internal factions and to reject false teaching. He seeks to
strengthen the church community's resolution in the face of
hostility and persecution from the Jewish leadership of the
synagogue. It is now widely accepted that the discourses are
concerned with the actual issues of the church and synagogue
debate at the time when the Gospel was written."[1]:p.53 It
is notable that, in the gospel, the community still appears
to define itself primarily against Judaism, rather than as
part of a wider Christian church. Lindars points out that
Christianity started as a movement within Judaism, but he
says that gradually Christians and Jews became bitterly
opposed to one another...
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Jo...
LITERATURE
I. Introductory.
1. Scope of Gospel:
The Fourth Gospel has a form peculiar to itself, as well as
a characteristic style and attitude, which mark it as a
unique document among the books of the New Testament. (1)
There is a prologue, consisting of Jn 1:1-18, of which
something will be said later on. (2) There is a series of
scenes and discourses from the life of Jesus, descriptive of
Himself and His work, and marking the gradual development of
faith and unbelief in His hearers and in the nation (1:19
through 12:50). (3) There is a more detailed account of the
closing events of the Passion Week--of His farewell
intercourse with His disciples (Jn 13 through 17), of His
arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, and burial (Jn 18
through 19). (4) There are the resurrection, and the
manifestations of the risen Lord to His disciples on the
resurrection day, and on another occasion eight days after
(20:1-29). This is followed by a paragraph which describes
the purpose of the Gospel, and the reason why it was written
(Jn 20:30,31). (5) Finally, there is a supplementary chapter
(21), which has all the characteristic marks of the Gospel
as a whole, and which probably, therefore, proceeds from the
same pen (thus Lightfoot, Meyer, Alford, etc.; some, as
Zahn, prefer to take the chapter as the work of a disciple
of John). The concluding verses (21:24,25) read: "This is
the disciple that beareth witness of these things, and wrote
these things: and we know that his witness is true. And
there are also many other things which Jesus did," etc. "We
know that his witness is true" seems to be a testimony on
the part of those who knew as to the identity of the
disciple, and the trustworthiness of his witness. Nor has
this earliest testimony been discredited by the attacks made
on it, and the natural meaning has been vindicated by many
competent writers. The present tense, "beareth witness,"
indicates that the " disciple" who wrote the Gospel was
still alive when the testimony was given...
Link: https://bible-history.com/isbe/J/JOHN,+G...
JOHN, THE APOSTLE
Sources of the Life of John:
The sources for the life of the apostle John are of various
kinds, and of different degrees of trustworthiness. There
are the references in the Synoptic Gospels, which may be
used simply and easily without any preliminary critical
inquiry into their worth as sources; for these Gospels
contain the common tradition of the early church, and for
the present purpose may be accepted as trustworthy. Further,
there are the statements in Acts and in Galatians, which we
may use without discussion as a source for the life of John.
There is next the universal tradition of the 2nd century,
which we may use, if we can show that the John of Ephesus,
who bulks so largely in the Christian literature of the 2nd
and 3rd centuries, is identical with the son of Zebedee.
Further, on the supposition that the son of Zebedee is the
author of the Johannine writings of the New Testament, there
is another source of unequaled value for the estimate of the
life and character of the son of Zebedee in these writings.
Finally, there is the considerable volume of tradition which
gathered around the name of John of Ephesus, of which,
picturesque and interesting though the traditions be, only
sparing use can be made.
I. Witness of the New Testament.
Addressing ourselves first to the Synoptic Gospels, to Acts
and to Galatians, we ask, What, from these sources, can we
know of the apostle John? A glance only need be taken at the
Johannine writings, more fully discussed elsewhere in
relation to their author...
Link: https://bible-history.com/isbe/J/JOHN,+T...
This Gospel was probably written at Ephesus about A.D. 78.
(Canon Cook places it toward the close of John's life, A.D.
90-100. --ED.) The Gospel was obviously addressed primarily
to Christians, not to heathen. There can be little doubt
that the main object of St. John, who wrote after the other
evangelists, is to supplement their narratives, which were
almost confined to our Lord's life in Galilee. (It was the
Gospel for the Church, to cultivate and cherish the
spiritual life of Christians, and bring them into the
closest relations to the divine Saviour. It gives the inner
life and teachings of Christ as revealed to his disciples.
Nearly two-thirds of the whole book belong to the last six
months of our Lord's life, and one-third is the record of
the last week. --ED.) The following is an abridgment of its
contents: A. The Prologue. ch. Joh 1:1-18 B. The History,
ch. Joh 1:19 ... Joh 20:29 (a) Various events relating to
our Lord's ministry, narrated in connection with seven
journeys, ch. Joh 1:19 ... Joh 12:50
1. First journey, into Judea, and beginning of his
ministry, ch. Joh 1:19 ... Joh 2:12
2. Second journey, at the passover in the first year
of his ministry, ch. Joh 2:13 ... Joh 4:1
3. Third journey, in the second year of his
ministry, about the passover, ch. (5:1).
4. Fourth journey, about the passover, in the third
year of his ministry, beyond Jordan, ch. Joh 6:1
5. Fifth journey, six months before his death, begun
at the feast of tabernacles, chs. Joh 7:1 ... Joh 10:21
6. Sixth journey, about the feast of dedication, ch.
Joh 10:22-42
7. Seventh journey, in Judea towards Bethany, ch.
Joh 11:1-54
8. Eighth journey, before his last passover, chs.
Joh 11:55 ... Joh 12:1 (b) History of the death of Christ,
chs. Joh 12:1 ... Joh 20:29
1. Preparation for his passion, chs. John 13:1 ...
John 17:1
2. The circumstances of his passion and death, chs.
Joh 18:1; 19:1
3. His resurrection, and the proofs of it, ch. Joh
20:1-29 C. The Conclusion, ch. Joh 20:30 ... 21:1
1. Scope of the foregoing history, ch. Joh 20:30,31
2. Confirmation of the authority of the evangelist
by additional historical facts, and by the testimony of the
elders of the Church, ch. Joh 21:1-24
3. Reason of the termination of the history, ch. Joh
21:25
Link: https://bible-history.com/smiths/J/John,...
was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee,
and of Salome, and brother of James, also an apostle. Peter
and James and John come within the innermost circle of their
Lord's friends; but to John belongs the distinction of being
the disciple whom Jesus loved. He hardly sustains the
popular notion, fostered by the received types of Christian
art, of a nature gentle, yielding, feminine. The name
Boanerges, Mr 3:17 implies a vehemence, zeal, intensity,
which gave to those who had it the might of sons of thunder.
[JAMES] The three are with our Lord when none else are, in
the chamber of death,
Mr 5:37 in the glory of the transfiguration, Mt 17:1
when he forewarns them of the destruction of the holy city,
Mr 13:3 in the agony of Gethsemane. When the betrayal is
accomplished, Peter and John follow afar off. Joh 18:15 The
personal acquaintance which exited between John and Caiaphas
enables him to gain access to the council chamber,
praetorium of the Roman procurator. Joh 18:16,19,28 Thence
he follows to the place of crucifixion, and the Teacher
leaves to him the duty of becoming a son to the mother who
is left desolate. Joh 19:26,27 It is to Peter and John that
Mary Magdalene first runs with the tidings of the emptied
sepulchre, Joh 20:2 they are the first to go together to see
what the strange words meant, John running on most eagerly
to the rock-tomb; Peter, the least restrained by awe, the
first to enter in and look. Joh 20:4-6 For at least eight
days they continue in Jerusalem. Joh 20:26 Later, on the Sea
of Galilee, John is the first to recognize in the dim form
seen in the morning twilight the presence of his risen Lord;
Peter the first to plunge into the water and swim toward the
shore where he stood calling to them. Joh 21:7 The last
words of John's Gospel reveal to us the deep affection which
united the two friends. The history of the Acts shows the
same union. They are together at the ascension on the day of
Pentecost. Together they enter the temple as worshippers, Ac
3:1 and protest against the threats of the Sanhedrin. ch Ac
4:13 The persecution which was pushed on by Saul of Tarsus
did not drive John from his post. ch. Ac 8:1 Fifteen years
after St. Paul's first visit he was still at Jerusalem, and
helped to take part in the settlement of the great
controversy between the Jewish and the Gentile Christians.
Ac 15:6 His subsequent history we know only by tradition.
There can be no doubt that he removed from jerusalem and
settled at Ephesus, though at what time is uncertain.
Tradition goes on to relate that in the persecution under
Domitian he is taken to Rome, and there, by his boldness,
though not by death, gains the crown of martyrdom. The
boiling oil into which he is thrown has no power to hurt
him. He is then sent to labor in the mines, and Patmost is
the place of his exile. The accession of Nerva frees him
from danger, and he returns to Ephesus. Heresies continue to
show themselves, but he meets them with the strongest
possible protest. The very time of his death lies within the
region of conjecture rather than of history, and the dates
that have been assigned for it range from A.D. 89 to A.D.
120.
Link: https://bible-history.com/smiths/J/John+...
The genuineness of this Gospel, i.e., the fact that the
apostle
John was its author, is beyond all reasonable doubt.
In recent
times, from about 1820, many attempts have been made
to impugn
its genuineness, but without success.
The design of John in writing this Gospel is stated
by himself
(John 20:31). It was at one time supposed that he
wrote for the
purpose of supplying the omissions of the
synoptical, i.e., of
the first three, Gospels, but there is no evidence
for this.
"There is here no history of Jesus and his teaching
after the
manner of the other evangelists. But there is in
historical form
a representation of the Christian faith in relation
to the
person of Christ as its central point; and in this
representation there is a picture on the one hand of
the
antagonism of the world to the truth revealed in
him, and on the
other of the spiritual blessedness of the few who
yield
themselves to him as the Light of life" (Reuss).
After the prologue (1:1-5), the historical part of
the book
begins with verse 6, and consists of two parts. The
first part
(1:6-ch. 12) contains the history of our Lord's
public ministry
from the time of his introduction to it by John the
Baptist to
its close. The second part (ch. 13-21) presents our
Lord in the
retirement of private life and in his intercourse
with his
immediate followers (13-17), and gives an account of
his
sufferings and of his appearances to the disciples
after his
resurrection (18-21).
The peculiarities of this Gospel are the place it
gives (1) to
the mystical relation of the Son to the Father, and
(2) of the
Redeemer to believers; (3) the announcement of the
Holy Ghost as
the Comforter; (4) the prominence given to love as
an element in
the Christian character. It was obviously addressed
primarily to
Christians.
It was probably written at Ephesus, which, after the
destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), became the
centre of
Christian life and activity in the East, about A.D.
90.
Link: https://bible-history.com/eastons/J/John...
