The author is primarily interested in the significance of these deeds, and so interprets them for the reader by various reflections, narratives, and discourses. The Gospel of John begins with a magnificent prologue, which states many of the major themes and motifs of the gospel, much as an overture does for a musical work. To a much greater degree, it is the product of a developed theological reflection and grows out of a different circle and tradition. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”
Episode 16: Can You Trust the Bible?
The Quran also speaks of Jesus’s disciples but does not mention their names, instead referring to them as “supporters for the cause of Allah”. A church (San Giovanni a Porta Latina) dedicated to him was built near the Latin gate of Rome, the traditional site of this event. It is traditionally believed that John was the youngest of the apostles and survived all of them. John was banished by the Roman authorities to the Greek island of Patmos, where, according to tradition, he wrote the Book of Revelation. They were disciples of John the Baptist and were converted by Aquila and Priscilla.
9 The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) 7 He came as a witness to testify(K) john joseph kelly and amy carter concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 5 The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcomea it.(I)
John the Apostle
Supported by historical accounts from Irenaeus, Eusebius, and others, the case for the apostle John’s authorship is a strong one. It highlights His role as the Word made flesh, offering eternal life through belief in Him. John begins with the profound announcement that Jesus is the “in the beginning” creative Word of God who had become embodied (incarnated) as a human being to be the light of life for the world. 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. He was not a dissembler, nor dishonest; he was a sound character, a really upright, godly man.
Bible:
After the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, only Peter and the “other disciple” (according to tradition, John) followed him into the palace of the high-priest. Many traditions identify the “disciple whom Jesus loved” in the Gospel of John as the Apostle John, but this identification is debated. On this basis some traditions believe that John was first a disciple of John the Baptist, even though he is not named in this episode. Also according to some traditions, Salome was the sister of Mary, Jesus’ mother, making Salome Jesus’ aunt, and her sons John the Apostle and James were Jesus’ cousins. The Church Fathers identify him as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Disciple, and claim that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes, although modern scholars are divided on the veracity of these claims. 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Summary of the Gospel of John
- The Gospel according to John differs considerably from the Synoptic Gospels, which were likely written decades earlier.
- John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.”
- Regarding whether the author of the Gospel of John was an eyewitness, according to Paul N. Anderson, the gospel “contains more direct claims to eyewitness origins than any of the other Gospel traditions.” F.
- 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,(AL) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”d(AM)
Caroline Madison is a freelance editor and writer with a passion for the written word and a special interest in telling and reading stories that present biblical truths in fresh ways. And Bible scholars continue to debate whether this gospel was written later than AD 70. Like the synoptic gospels, John is a detailed account of the life of Jesus Christ. John owes its unique popularity to two highly revered saints, John the Baptist (forerunner of Jesus Christ) and the apostle John (traditionally considered the author of the Gospel of John);citation needed the name has since been chosen as the regnal or religious name of many emperors, kings, popes and patriarchs. 35 The next day John(AZ) was there again with two of his disciples.
- Modern, mainstream Bible scholars generally assert that the Gospel of John has been written by an anonymous author and not written by an eyewitness.
- 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
- 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
The Word Became Flesh
He came in the spirit and power of Elias, but he was not the person of Elias. Our receivings by Christ are all summed up in this one word, grace; we have received “even grace,” a gift so great, so rich, so invaluable; the good will of God towards us, and the good work of God in us. By his Spirit and grace he enlightens all that are enlightened to salvation; and those that are not enlightened by him, perish in darkness. (29-36) Andrew and another disciple follow Jesus. He was especially favoured with our Lord’s regard and confidence, so as to be spoken of as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
Extrabiblical traditions
The bishops of Asia Minor supposedly requested him to write his gospel to deal with the heresy of the Ebionites, who asserted that Christ did not exist before Mary. The Gospel according to John differs considerably from the Synoptic Gospels, which were likely written decades earlier. Eusebius also goes to some length to establish with the reader that there is no general consensus regarding the revelation of John. However, Eusebius mentions that the consensus is that the second and third epistles of John are not his but were written by some other John.
John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.” Irenaeus writes of “the church of Ephesus, founded by Paul, with John continuing with them until the times of Trajan.” From Ephesus he wrote the three epistles attributed to him. According to tradition, John and the other Apostles remained some 12 years in this first field of labour. The author of Revelation identifies himself as “John” several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself directly. These scholars assert that John of Patmos wrote Revelation but neither the Gospel of John nor the Epistles of John. Some modern critical scholars have raised the possibility that John the Apostle, John the Evangelist, and John of Patmos were three separate individuals.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. However, the accuracy of much of the detail of the fourth gospel constitutes a strong argument that the Johannine tradition rests upon the testimony of an eyewitness. Other difficulties for any theory of eyewitness authorship of the gospel in its present form are presented by its highly developed theology and by certain elements of its literary style. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.”
Jn 21 seems to have been added after the gospel was completed; it exhibits a Greek style somewhat different from that of the rest of the work. After the account of the seven signs, the “hour” of Jesus arrives, and the author passes from sign to reality, as he moves into the discourses in the upper room that interpret the meaning of the passion, death, and resurrection narratives that follow. Lazarus is presented as a token of the real life that Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, who will now ironically be put to death because of his gift of life to Lazarus, will give to all who believe in him once he has been raised from the dead. This is a narrative illustration of the theme of conflict in the preceding two chapters; it proclaims the triumph of light over darkness, as Jesus is presented as the Light of the world. After a series of dialogues reflecting Jesus’ debates with the Jewish authorities at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jn 7; 8, the sixth sign is presented in Jn 9, the sign of the young man born blind.
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The final editing of the gospel and arrangement in its present form probably dates from between A.D. Among them are the opposition to the synagogue of the day and to John the Baptist’s followers, who tried to exalt their master at Jesus’ expense, the desire to show that Jesus was the Messiah, and the desire to convince Christians that their religious belief and practice must be rooted in Jesus. The fourth gospel is not simply history; the narrative has been organized and adapted to serve the evangelist’s theological purposes as well. To solve these problems, scholars have proposed various rearrangements that would produce a smoother order.
The gospel of John contains less narrative and far more dialogue than the other gospels. Whatever the specific date of authorship, John probably wrote from Ephesus to an audience of both Jews and Gentiles as indicated by his focus on Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament promises and descriptions of Jewish tradition. It’s unclear whether John wrote independently of the other gospels (AD 50-70) or with their already existing content in mind. This fourth gospel supplements the synoptics, focusing on details about Christ’s work and words that reveal a longer span of ministry (at least three years as indicated by three Passovers). The book of John is an eyewitness account of Jesus’ ministry (AD 29-33) enriched by the author’s understanding of Jewish traditions and accurate geographical knowledge of Palestine.
The feast day of Saint John in the Roman Catholic Church, which calls him “Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist”, and in the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Calendars, which call him “Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist”, is on 27 December. It contains strong docetic themes, but is not considered in modern scholarship to be Gnostic. Most Johannine scholars doubt the reliability of its ascription to Papias, but a minority, including B.W. He is said to have lived to old age, dying of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of Trajan, thus becoming the only apostle who did not die as a martyr.
Although the authorship of the Johannine works has traditionally been attributed to John the Apostle, only a minority of contemporary scholars believe he wrote the gospel, and most conclude that he wrote none of them. The light of reason, as well as the life of sense, is derived from him, and depends upon him. As he was traditionally identified with the beloved apostle, the evangelist, and the author of the Revelation and several Epistles, John played an extremely prominent role in art from the early Christian period onward. Some Catholic scholars state that “vocabulary, grammar, and style make it doubtful that the book could have been put into its present form by the same person(s) responsible for the fourth gospel.” Modern, mainstream Bible scholars generally assert that the Gospel of John has been written by an anonymous author and not written by an eyewitness.
This summary of the Gospel of John provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Gospel of John. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, operated by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, 501 Nelson Pl, Nashville, TN USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(BH) 45 Philip found Nathanael(BI) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(BJ) and about whom the prophets also wrote(BK)—Jesus of Nazareth,(BL) the son of Joseph.”(BM) 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John.