Chapter thirteen now the gospel of john tells us of the last supper where jesus washes the disciples feet and of his betrayal by judas escariot. Ignatiuss quotation of the fourth gospel illustrates. John was part of three men who made up the inner circle of companions of jesus mark 5. Some scholars still defend the idea that john the apostle wrote, at least, the gospel of john. Clearly the most widespread alternative to authorship of 1 john by john the apostle is authorship by a second person whose name is john, usually designated john the elder or presbyter, from the greek word.
He would have also had a decent familiarity with palestine before the destruction of the temple in ad 70, and would have been familiar with the jewish way of life. There are two options as to the overall purpose of the letter, tests of life popularized by robert law and tests of fellowship popularized by john mitchell and zane hodges. The gospel of john reached its final form around ad 90110. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society. The letters of john, particularly the first letter, bear a remarkable similarity to the gospel of john. The author of the book of john was an eyewitness of the events he describes. Jude, written by jude, the brother of jesus and james, not the apostle jude 17 prophecy. It has also been argued that the seemingly more developed theology. The book of the revelation of jesus christ was written by john probably close to the same time he wrote the epistles which bear his name.
Who wrote the bible book of revelation churches middle. History of the bible who wrote the bible why its reliable. The author of johns gospel tells us that he has chosen not to record. The author of the gospel of john is john the beloved disciple, the apostle and the one who was imprisoned on the island of patmos. According to scholars, the gospel of john was written by the beloved disciple john. Moses genesis exodus leviticus numbers deuteronomy psalms moses is the prophet who. Date in general, two views of the dating of this gospel have been advocated. John s testimony is preserved while serving in ephesus in asia minor. That john was the last evangelist to write is also well attested, mentioned by irenaeus adv. This is the same john who also wrote the letter known as 1 john. Matt slick is the president and founder of the christian apologetics.
He was a fisherman, one of jesus inner circle together with james and peter, and the disciple whom jesus loved jn. Who wrote the gospel of john learn about the author of this biblical book and study his call to jesus. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. The bible was written over a span of 1500 years, by 40 writers. Recently there has been a growing consensus whether john the apostle actually wrote the gospel of john or any of the other books. The following dates are not always exact but are very good estimates. Included are the writings of moses, the apostles paul and john. The book of the revelation was written about the vision that john saw while banished to the greek island of patmos on the aegean sea. Irenaeus, writing at about ad 200, says that the beloved disciple was john, the disciple of jesus, and that john originated the gospel at ephesus. The old testament also calls genesis through deuteronomy the book of the law joshua 8. Early writers such as irenaeus and tertullian say that john wrote this gospel, and all other evidence agrees see introduction to 1 john. In the book of john, jesus talks about himself and proclaims who he is.
Jesus and the hidden contradictions of the gospels. John is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples the other being andrew recounted in john 1. The closest the gospel comes to identifying its author is john 21. Originally an evangelical christian, ehrman believed that the bible was the. Even so, john had much to add to the record of jesus life and ministry. Revelation is unlike all the other books of the new testament. Daniel, peter, paul, jonah, isaiah, solomon and david. Here the gospel of john bible study tells the story of mary anointing jesus feet followed by the prophetic triumphal entry of jesus christ into jerusalem, where the story seemingly finishes. Unlike other religious writings, the bible reads as a factual news account of real events, places, people, and dialogue. One of the projects i remember from bible college that came up often was to do research to show why it is believed that certain men wrote.
Evidence suggests that john s gospel was the last to be written at some point after 70 ad. Using the writers own writing styles and personalities, god shows us who he is and. How could john the baptist have written the gospel of john. The closest it comes to identifying its author is john 21. The gospels of matthew, mark, and luke had been circulating for over 30 years when john wrote his account. He may have been a first cousin of jesus his mother may have been salome, possibly a. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. First of all, the author had to have been an eyewitness of the ministry of jesus 1. Patristic evidence seems to confirm that john wrote the gospel. Is john the baptist the same person that is in the bible in the new.
Christ had chosen to show his people the things that must happen in the future. But that john wrote as a very old man is an inference which only appears later and combined with other statements which cast considerable doubt on its. Isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel, hosea, joel, amos, obadiah, jonah, micah, nahum, habakkuk, zephaniah, haggai, zechariah and malachi were all prophets god used to also record the books of the bible that bear their names. The gospel of john, the fourth of the gospels, gives a highly schematic account of the ministry. The key personalities of this book are jesus christ, his twelve disciples, mary magdalene, john the baptist, lazarus, his sisters mary and martha, jewish religious leaders. Who wrote the gospel of john and was it the same person.
This collection of five works in the bible is commonly referred to as the johannine literature. Moses was the first person to write portions of scripture while john, the disciple of jesus, was the last. The first view may be supported by reference to the statement of clement of alexandria died between 211 and 216 that john wrote to supplement the accounts found in the other gospels eusebius, ecclesiastical history, 6. He is traditionally considered the author of the gospel of john, the three letters attributed to john in the new testament, and the book of revelation. The purpose of john s gospel jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. Of the eight miracles recorded in this book, six are unique, among the gospels, to john, as is the upper room discourse john 1417. It is believed that origen, an alexandrian christian scholar and theologian, wrote his gospel of john commentary while in alexandria at some point after 218 a. Daniel, ezra and nehemiah wrote the books bearing their names. John the apostle was the son of zebedee and the younger brother of james, son of zebedee james the greater. It was written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. The first five books of the bible are known by various names. The apostle john is usually credited with the authorship of the fourth gospel. Thus, the correlation between the gospel and the letters demonstrate a high probability that john the apostle also authored the letters along with the gospel. Scholars writing gospel of john commentary often grapple with the.
He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ. A letter typically described as apocalyptic literature, it was likely written by the apostle john the same john purported to have written the gospel of john and the letters of 1, 2, and 3 john. John who wrote the bible book of revelation that everything in his book came from christ. According to church tradition, their mother was salome he was first a disciple of john the baptist. Historians and archaeologists have repeatedly confirmed its authenticity.
These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95. Bart ehrman, the author of jesus, interrupted, says they are at odds with. Whereas the gospel of john was written to unbelievers john 20. The book of john is a gospel that contains narrative history, sermons, parables, and a few prophetic oracles. When you consider the wide agreement among biblical scholars about who wrote every other book of the new testament, its a little mysterious that we dont know who wrote hebrews. It makes a significant difference if the author particularly of 1 john was in fact an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of jesus christ as he appears to claim in 1 john 1. Books of the bible list with the name of each book, the writer, place written, and time covered. John niv the word became flesh in the bible gateway. According to the biblical historians at the jesus seminar, john likely had a larger presence in the public mind than jesus. It appears that john may have been written in the mid80s to early 90s as he may have served as pastor of the church of ephesus. Such identifications were not made in any of the other three biblical gospels either. It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters.
Augustinea famous fourth century church fathercontributed no fewer than 124 tractates in his gospel of john commentary, while st. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. After they had further proclaimed the word of the lord and testified about jesus, peter and john returned to jerusalem, preaching the gospel in. The evidence for apostolic authorship of the fourth gospel is quite strong.
The original readers of the book were the 7 churches in chapters 2 and 3. The book of john was written after the destruction of jerusalem, in a. Authorship the apostle john is usually credited with the authorship of the fourth gospel. Not surprisingly, the gospel of john never provides the name of its author. Those who wrote the bible lived at different times, some.
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