The Gospel according to John is perhaps the most extraordinary and perhaps the most precious member of the quartet of the canonical Gospels. Although it covers the same broad sequence of events found on the pages of the others, it differs considerably from them in structure and style. It contains no parables and mentions only seven miracles, five of which are recorded nowhere else. The words of Jesus in it are directed chiefly toward His own Person rather than toward the ethical principles of the kingdom. Personal conversations are multiplied, and Jesus’ relationships with individual people are more prominent than His contact with the crowd as a whole. The Gospel has a pronounced theological character and gives special attention to the nature of Christ’s Person and to the meaning of faith in Him.
I. The Author
The Gospel itself is our only witness to who wrote it.
1. The author is a Jew, accustomed to thinking in Aramaic, even though the Gospel is written in Greek.
Subordinate clauses appear very rarely in the text, while Hebrew and Aramaic words are used frequently, together with their interpretation. The author was familiar with Jewish traditions, which he explains at length. In 1:19-28 he mentions the Jewish expectation of the coming Messiah:
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:19-28)
He is familiar with the Jews’ hostility toward the Samaritans (4:9) and with their narrowness regarding worship (4:20). He knew the Jewish feasts, which he explains at length.
2. The author is closely acquainted with Palestine, Jerusalem, and its surroundings.
He knew where the “Pool of Siloam” was (9:7), how far Bethany lay from Jerusalem (11:18), and the location of the garden across the Kidron Valley (18:1). He was well acquainted with the towns of Galilee — Bethsaida (1:44); Cana of Galilee (2:1). He also knew the region of Samaria — he speaks of Sychar, Jacob’s well, and the hill on which the Samaritans worshiped (4:5-6, 21). Everything indicates that he felt at home in the country he describes.
3. The author is an eyewitness of the events he describes.
As in 1:14, “We have seen his glory…,” so also in 19:35, where he speaks in the third person singular, “The man who saw it has given testimony,” John claims to be affirming what he personally experienced. This impression is confirmed by the many small details scattered throughout the Gospel. The hour at which Jesus sat by Jacob’s well (4:6), the number and size of the jars at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (2:6), the quantity and value of the perfume with which Mary anointed the Master, the details of Jesus’ trial (chs. 18, 19) — all of these are facts that testify to the observant eye of the narrator.
4. Evidently the author was with Jesus from the very beginning of His ministry.
He mentions incidents that precede in time the start of the account of Jesus given by the Synoptics. He must have belonged to the group of disciples mentioned in the narrative. According to the final chapter, he is to be identified as the “beloved disciple,” a close friend of Peter, who was very near to Jesus during:
- the Last Supper (13:23)
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. (John 13:23)
- the trial (18:15-16)
15 Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16 but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. (John 18:15-16)
- at the cross (19:26-27)
26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. (John 19:26-27)
Only one of Jesus’ closest men fits all these circumstances. The apostle James was put to death very early in the history of the church (Acts 12:2). Peter, Thomas, and Philip are mentioned so often in the third person singular that none of them could be the author. Although this last one does not name himself, he takes for granted that his readers know who he is and would accept his authority on the matters of which he writes. John the son of Zebedee is the most probable remaining possibility.
The biography of John is incomplete, as it is with all the other biblical figures. He was one of the sons of Zebedee (Mark 1:19-20), who was a fisherman from Galilee, and of Salome, who was probably the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We find evidence for this in the comparison of the following verses:
- Matthew 27:55-56
55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:55-56)
- Mark 15:40
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. (Mark 15:40)
- John 19:25
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25)
John grew up in Galilee and was a partner of his brother James and of Peter and Andrew in the fishing business. He may originally have belonged to the disciples of John the Baptist, and it is entirely possible that he was that friend of Andrew mentioned in 1:40:
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. (John 1:35-40)
If John was one of these two disciples of John who first followed Jesus, then it is quite possible that he accompanied Jesus even during His first tour of Galilee (John 2:2), and that later he, together with the others, left the fishing trade in order to follow Him (Matt. 4:18-22):
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
Evidently John was one of the innermost apostolic circle and accompanied Jesus from the beginning to the end of His earthly ministry. He remained together with Peter through the distressing days of the crucifixion and burial of Christ, and together with him he was one of the first visitors to the empty tomb. There he saw the wrappings of the empty shroud and believed (20:1-8):
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (John 20:1-8)
The epilogue of the Gospel hints that John lived a long time after the beginning of the Christian era, for otherwise the explanation of his long life would hardly have been necessary. The letters show that he rose to an influential position in the church and became a powerful interpreter of God’s love as it is revealed in Christ. John most probably died a natural death at the end of the first century.
II. Date and Place of Writing
The fourth Gospel could not be dated later than Tatian’s “Diatessaron,” in which it was included around the middle of the second century. The discovery of the fragment of the Rylands manuscript, a preserved excerpt from John 18:31-33, 37-38, dating from A.D. 135 and found in Egypt, shows that the Gospel according to John was already in use at the beginning of the second century. Goodenough allowed that it might already have been written around A.D. 40, but this dating is accepted by very few scholars. The most plausible theory is the one according to which the Gospel was written in Asia Minor, probably in Ephesus, toward the end of the first century, most likely around the year 85, when the church had already reached a certain degree of maturity and needed a further advance in the teaching about the nature of faith. Evidently it was written in a Gentile setting, since the Jewish feasts and customs are explained for the convenience of those who are unfamiliar with them (2:13; 4:9; 19:31).
III. Content
The key to the content of the Gospel according to John is given in the author’s formal statement of his purpose in John 20:30-31:
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
Three words stand out in this brief passage: “signs,” “believe,” and “life.”
1. Signs
The first of these words contains an indication that the structure of the Gospel is organized around a certain number of miracles, which, generally speaking, are similar to those recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, but are called signs because of their special significance in this Gospel. For John the signs are material evidences that serve to underscore a definite, exceptionally important spiritual truth. Apart from the resurrection and the miraculous catch of fish in chapter 21, seven such signs are performed by Jesus publicly upon other people or for the good of other people. They illustrate different aspects of His authority, and all together they contribute to building up the central teaching of the Gospel — the divinity of Christ. They may be classified as follows:
|
Name |
Passage |
Realm of authority |
|
Turning water into wine |
John 2:1-11 |
matter |
|
Healing the son of the royal official |
John 4:46-54 |
space |
|
Healing the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda |
John 5:1-18 |
time |
|
Feeding the five thousand |
John 6:1-14 |
quantity |
|
Jesus walking on the water |
John 6:16-21 |
natural laws |
|
Healing the man born blind at the Pool of Siloam |
John 9:1-41 |
misfortune |
|
The raising of Lazarus |
John 11:1-46 |
death |
These seven miracles are performed precisely in the realms in which man is unable to bring about any change whatever in the laws or conditions that influence his life. In those areas where man proves powerless and with which he cannot cope, Jesus proves powerful. The miracles He performs testify to His supernatural abilities and His transcendent control over the factors that determine human life.
2. Faith
The second word — “faith” — is the key word in the Gospel. It is used ninety-eight times. Most often it is translated as “believe,” although sometimes it appears as “trust” or “entrust” (cf. 2:24). Usually it means the acknowledgment of a particular personal claim, or else a full commitment of a person to Christ. In it is hidden the full meaning of the entire Christian life, because the tense in which the verb is most often used implies a continuous process of believing, which also includes progress and development. John sets an equals sign between believing in Christ and receiving Him (1:12), which means that a person makes Jesus a part of his life:
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (John 1:12)
Convinced by the signs, which are proofs of the authority of the Person of Jesus, the believer moves logically toward a stable, constant, and settled faith.
3. Life
The third important word in the Gospel is “life.” In John’s vocabulary it includes everything that the believer receives together with salvation. This “life” is the highest experience of which man is capable. In John 17:3 Jesus said:
3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)
According to John, life is not merely an animal vitality or the length of a human lifespan. It presupposes consciousness, for there can be no knowledge without a conscious existence. Moreover, it means contact or communion, interaction with the environment around us, for we cannot grasp things or come to know persons with whom we have had neither direct nor indirect contact. It also includes continuity or duration, for the knowledge of God presupposes a shared existence with Him, and He is eternal. And finally, development, for our knowledge of God must increase; it cannot be static.
Christ is presented as the model of such a life, which is at once both God’s gift and God’s purpose for the Christian.
These three words — signs, faith, and life — create the logical organization of the Gospel. Around the signs are grouped the teachings that interpret them in order to present certain spiritual truths. In faith, or in its opposite — unbelief — are seen the positive or negative reactions to the truths demonstrated. And life or death are the eternal consequences that are determined by faith and unbelief. In short, the signs give us the revelation of God, faith is the reaction they are meant to produce, and life is the result that faith brings.