Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information
38-40. Joseph of Arimathea--"a rich man"
(Mt 27:57),
thus fulfilling
Isa 53:9;
"an honorable counsellor," a member of the Sanhedrim, and of good
condition, "which also waited for the kingdom of God"
(Mr 15:43),
a devout expectant of Messiah's kingdom; "a good man and a just, the
same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them"
(Lu 23:50, 51
--he had gone the length, perhaps, of dissenting and protesting in open
council against the condemnation of our Lord); "who also himself was
Jesus' disciple,"
(Mt 27:57).
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews--"He
went in boldly unto Pilate"
(Mr 15:43)
--literally, "having taken courage went in," or "had the boldness to go
in." Mark alone, as his manner is, notices the boldness which
this required. The act would without doubt identify him for the
first time with the disciples of Christ. Marvellous it certainly
is, that one who while Jesus was yet alive merely refrained from
condemning Him, not having the courage to espouse His cause by one
positive act, should, now that He was dead, and His cause apparently
dead with Him, summon up courage to go in personally to the Roman
governor and ask permission to take down and inter the body. But if
this be the first instance, it is not the last, that a seemingly
dead Christ has wakened a sympathy which a living one had failed to
evoke. The heroism of faith is usually kindled by desperate
circumstances, and is not seldom displayed by those who before were the
most timid, and scarce known as disciples at all. "And Pilate
marvelled if he were already dead"
(Mr 15:44)
--rather "wondered that he was already dead." "And calling the
centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead"
(Mr 15:44)
--Pilate could hardly credit what Joseph had told him, that He had been
dead "some time," and, before giving up the body to His friends, would
learn how the fact stood from the centurion, whose business it was to
oversee the execution. "And when he knew it of the centurion"
(Mr 15:45),
that it was as Joseph had said, "he gave"--rather "made a gift of"--"the
body to Joseph"; struck, possibly, with the rank of the petitioner and
the dignified boldness of the petition, in contrast with the spirit of
the other party and the low rank to which he had been led to believe all
the followers of Christ belonged. Nor would he be unwilling to Show that
he was not going to carry this black affair any farther. But, whatever
were Pilate's motives, two most blessed objects were thus secured: (1)
The reality of our Lords death was attested by the party of all
others most competent to decide on it, and certainly free from all
bias--the officer in attendance--in full reliance on whose testimony
Pilate surrendered the body: (2) The dead Redeemer, thus delivered out
of the hands of His enemies, and committed by the supreme political
authority to the care of His friends, was thereby protected from all
further indignities; a thing most befitting indeed, now that His work
was done, but impossible, so far as we can see, if His enemies had been
at liberty to do with Him as they pleased. How wonderful are even the
minutest features of this matchless History!
JFB.
The Book of John
John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 20:31 - But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview
Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620
Introduction to The Gospel of John
The Word Gospel. The fourth book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John. John is the fourth of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.
Summary of The Book of John
Brief Summary. Jesus was Jehovah God, the eternal Word made flesh. He came to His home, Israel, and He was rejected. He came to this world, and the world rejected Him, but anyone who would believe and receive Him would have life through His name, and be given authority to call themselves a "son of god."
Purpose. John makes one thing clear in John 20:30, 31 - "these ( things) are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye may have life in his name." John sought to lead men to eternal life by first convincing them of His deity, the miracles were actually recorded as "signs" to confirm His deity, that He was Jehovah God, the incarnate Word made flesh. John called Jesus the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way the truth and the life, the true vine, all clearly pointing to the deity of Jesus. In fact John points to everything in His life and teachings as a sign that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Eternal Word of God who "became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14).
John Compared to the Other Gospel Accounts. The "Synoptic Gospels" - Matthew, Mark and Luke all have their unique perspective of the life of Jesus Christ, as well as John's approach. John is always emphasizing the deity of Jesus as well as His divine miracles. John also gives us a bit more information about Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem, where Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on His Galilean ministry. There is also a difference regarding the chronology of the last week (Passion Week) of Christ's life. It is important to note that the Gospel accounts do not necessarily place their focus on chronology and orderly biography of the ministry of Jesus with names, places, and dates, but rather a full perspective of their unique portrayal of Jesus Christ.
Authorship. The author of the Gospel of John is identified in John 21:20 as "The disciple whom Jesus loved" who leaned on Jesus' breast. It is clear that John was that disciple and he did not wish to use his own name directly as the author, possibly for reasons of humility. Early church historical writings from early second century AD recognize the Gospel of John as a sacred book. Theophilus of Antioch (170 AD) was the first to write the name John as the author. Shortly after this Irenaeus identified John as the disciple who had leaned on Jesus' breast. This is especially important because Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who had known the man John personally. Clement of Alexandria mentions John as having composed a "spiritual gospel."
Critics of John as the Author. There is a statement that was made by Papias that there were actually two men named John in Ephesus at the same time, and John the Apostle was referred to as "John the Elder". Many opponents of the apostle John's authorship give credit to the other John as the writer of the fourth Gospel. Although the answer cannot be positively determined by history, tradition and internal evidence definitely point to John the apostle as the author.
Date. It is worthy to consider the words of the most famous archaeologist of all time that according to archaeological evidence there is "no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80." Most scholars conclude that the book of John was written around 85 or 90 AD probably before the exile to Patmos. It is also important to consider John 5:2 when it mentions "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches." This verse would indicate that this existed at the current time that the Gospel of John was written. This would place the written work before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is also no evidence as to whether John wrote the Gospel before or after his return to Ephesus from the Island of Patmos.
The Man John. John's book attributes the work to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This say a lot about the man John, and the fact that Jesus left his mother Mary in John's care, having spoken the words from the cross, is very significant. Another indicator of John's character is found in the book of 1 John, he continually talks about love, loving one another, and that God is love, etc. It is also safe to say that John was a Jew, this can be clearly seen by his accuracy about Jewish customs, Jewish way of thinking, and by his quotations from the Hebrew Old Testament. He knew the topography of the land of Israel from a Jewish perspective quite well. It is easy to see in his writings that he was a close disciple of Jesus, an eyewitness of the events surrounding Jesus' ministry. One can determine by process of elimination, that the author is not just any John but John the apostle, the son of Zebedee, who is prominently mentioned in the Gospel accounts.
John and Church History. Church tradition records that John came to Ephesus after Paul's work was finished there. Later, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, he was banished to the Island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Shortly thereafter he was released and returned to the city of Ephesus.
Archaeology. The Rylands Papyrus Fragment was discovered in 1920 in Egypt containing a few verses from John 18 dating back to about 120-135 AD.
Outline of the Book of John
The Word of God - Chapter 1:1-51
His Public Ministry - Chapters 2:1-12:50
His Private Ministry - Chapters 13:1-17:26
His Death and Resurrection - Chapters 18:1-20:31
John's Conclusion - Chapter 21:1-25
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus"
would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or
consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A).
Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means
"The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".
John Resources
Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of
Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire