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Introduction to the Book of John
I.
Writer
The
Gospel of John is the fourth book among the four gospels. In this book
there is
no record of the author’s name
but only a brief mention at the end of the
whole book. (21:24) “The disciple” is “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and is also
the disciple who “leaned on His breast at the supper
and said
‘Lord
who is the one who betrays You?’”(21:20) The ecclesiastical tradition
and most Bible scholars believed that the disciple who leaned on the Lord’s
breast was the apostle John.
The
content of this book can prove the authorship of Apostle John:
1)
The author of this book must be a Jew:
a) Who
had a deep-rooted Messianic conception (1:21; 4:25; 6:14; 7:40; 10:34).
b) Who
knew well about the thoughts of the Jews (4:9-27; 7:15
35
49; 9:2).
c) Who
knew well about the Jewish customs and ceremonies. (2:1-10; 7:37-38; 18:28).
d) Who
knew well about the Old Testament (2:17; 3:14; 7:22; 10:34 etc.).
2)
The author of
this book must be a native of Palestine:
a) Who
was very familiar with the environment of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple
(2:14-16; 5:2; 8:20; 9:7 10:22; 18:1; 19:13
17
20
41 ).
b) Who
was very familiar with the geography of Palestine(1:28; 2:1
11; 4:4
6;
11:18
54; 21:1
2).
3)
The author of this book must be an eyewitness:
a) Who
had personally seen the things he described (1:14; 19:35; 21:24).
b) Who
gave elaborate description of many places
characters
times and actions (4:46;
5:14; 6:59; 12:3
21; 13:1; 14:5
8; 18:6; 19:31).
c) (Especially he is the one) who
pointed out the exact times of
the events happened
e.g.: “the seventh hour”
(4:52)
“the third” (2:1)
“two days” (11:6)
“six days” (12:1).
4)
The author of this book must be an apostle:
a) Who
were deeply acquainted with the thoughts of
the disciples (2:11
17; 4:27; 6:19 etc.)
b) Who
were deeply acquainted with the secret talks of the
disciples (4:33; 16:17; 20:25; 21:3-5).
c) Who
were deeply acquainted with the secret whereabouts of the disciples (11:54;
18:2; 20:19).
d) Who
were deeply acquainted with the faults of
the disciples (2:21-22; 11:13; 12:16).
e) Who
were deeply acquainted with the thoughts of
the Lord (2:24; 4:1; 6:60-61; 6:19).
5)
The author of this book is the apostle John whom Jesus loved:
a) The three apostles the
Lord loved most were Peter
James and John (cf: 17:1; 26:37 ;Mark9:2;
Luke9:28).
b) It is plainly indicated
in the book that Peter was not “the
disciple” (21:20)
and James was an early martyr (see Acts12:2). Therefore the author can be none other than John.
c) While the book accurately
mentioned the names of other disciples
it intentionally ignored the name of
Apostle John
and used “the disciple”
“the disciple whom Jesus loved” and “the
son of Zebedee” (see13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:2
7
etc. ). Although the author tried to conceal his name in this book
it is still
not difficult to find the deliberately hidden name----Apostle John
if the
readers search the book carefully.
Besides
the foregoing internal proofs
there’re also some external proofs which prove
John’s authorship of this gospel:
1.
It was unanimously acknowledged among the ancient churches
especially the
seven churches in Asia Minor (see Revelation
1:4
11) that
the author of this gospel was the disciple whom
Jesus loved. In his old age
Apostle John had been working in Asia Minor
so
the churches there were familiar with John. No one among them raised any
objection that somebody else pretended to be Apostle John to write this book
when it was circulated among them.Polycarp (the elder of the church in Smyrna
and the disciple of Apostle John) often in his letters quoted from “the first
Epistle of John” and “the Gospel of John”.
2.
Papias (the elder of the church in Hierapolis
and a
fellow-workman of Apostle John in John’s old age) often cited from “the first
Epistle of John”
which was truly the further development of “the Gospel of
John”. They both agree in the tone
the literary style and the outline.
3.
Valentinus (another fellow-workman of Apostle John in his old age) admitted the
validity of all the books in the New Testament
among which his favorite one
was the gospel written by John.
4.
Irenaeus
a godfather in the history of the church
was the first one to point out the authorship of John. He said “John
the
disciple of the Lord
was the disciple who leaned on his breast”
and again
“To refer to the true source of all things
John the
disciple of the Lord said ‘in the beginning was the Word…”
The points above-mentioned are only a few among the many external
proofs
and yet are sufficient to verify John’s authorship of this book.
II.
The Apostle John
The
apostle John was the son of Zebedee
(Matthew10:2)
the brother of James. His mother Salome (Matthew 27:56; cf: Mark15:40;
16:1)
one of the sisters who followed and served Jesus from Galilee (Matthew
27:55)
was possibly the sister of the Lord. John and his brother James were
therefore possibly the Lord’s cousins(Matthew 27:56; cf: John19:25). No wonder
that the two brothers asked their mother to seek favor in the face of the Lord
so that they could sit in His kingdom
one on His right hand and one on His
left (Matthew 20:20-21).
Probably
John was born in a wealthy family: his father
possessing boats and hired servants
(Mark1:20)
was a great fisherman. And John also knew the high priest (18:15).
Apart from his house in Galilee
it appears that he had another house in
Jerusalem (19:27).
Originally
he was the disciple of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist testified to his
disciples: “Behold
the Lamb of God”
two of the disciples followed Jesus and
abode with him. One of them is Andrew
and the other unnamed is Apostle John
(1:35-40)
for he had never mentioned his own name in the gospel written by
himself.
It
seems that he had been called by the Lord more than once. In the first time
the Lord said to them: “Come and see.”(1:39) But after following the Lord for a
time
he returned to his fishing business. Later
the Lord called him the second
time by the Sea of Galilee and he left his father
partners and the boat
thus
becoming a fisher of man (Matthew4:18-22). Still later on
the Lord called him
out of the disciples to be one of the twelve apostles (Luke 6:13-14).
Of
the twelve disciples
there were three who were especially intimate with the
Lord----Peter
James and John (Luke 8:51; 9:28; Mark 14:33). Of these three
John was the one nearest to the Lord. John had leaned on the breast of Jesus
(13:25); he was the one whom Jesus loved(13:23); he was the only disciple
witnessing the Lord’s suffering below the cross(19:26); and he was the one who
was entrusted by the Lord with the responsibility to take home the Lord’s
mother (19:27).
John
and his brother were called Boanerges
which is
the son of the thunder
(Mark3:17). It was therefore imaginable that John was an irritable man. When he
saw someone casting out demons in the Lord’s name
who did not follow together
with them
John was provoked to jealousy for the Lord and forbade his work
(Luke 9:49). When the people in Samaria refused to receive the Lord
John and
James asked the Lord to permit them to replay the story of Elijah----to command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them (Luke 9:54). However
his
disposition as son of thunder was melted by Lord’s love and gradually became an
apostle of love (or “an apostle who specialized in preaching love”).
After
the Lord’s ascension
he left and dwelt in Jerusalem. Knowing that the Lord had
given Peter the key of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:18-19)
John held his
proper position and assisted Peter to build the churches under the guidance of
the Holy Spirit. He cooperated with Peter closely: they prayed with one accord
in that upper room; they stood up on the Day of Pentecost to announce the gospel
they healed the born lame at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful
and testified the Lord’s resurrection to the people. They were both put in
custody by the rulers afterwards
and both preached Jesus of Nazareth before
them
and they had been fellow-workers in Samaria (Acts1:13-14; 2:14; 3:1-4:22;
8:14).
Before
the fall of Jerusalem
Apostle John had moved westward to minister the Lord in
the churches in Asia Minor (Paul was martyred in that days.). He abode in
Ephesus
from which he was exiled
in the reign of the Roman despot Domitian
to the island of Patmos----a desolate island in the Aegean Sea----where he saw
the vision of the Lord of the glory and wrote the book of Revelation.
John lived a long
life of almost 100 years on earth. It was then spread among the disciples that
John would not die
but John himself clarified the rumor (21:23). We knew from
his disciple Polycrates that Apostle John was martyred for his Lord in his old
age.
III.
The Time and Location the Book was Wrote
John
wrote this book around 85-90 AD
when the first three gospels had already
circulated throughout all the assemblies. It is said by the godfathers in the
early church history that John in his old age shepherded assemblies at Ephesus
in Asia Minor. The assumption that the book was accomplished at the end of the
first century is quiet rational. Many scholars agreed with Irenaeus
Clement
and Jerome
that this gospel was completed later than the other three gospels
for John seemed to have made some supplement of the Synoptic Gospels. As to why
the destruction of Jerusalem was not mentioned in this book
it was possibly
because the book was finished 15-20 years after the event
when the
repercussion of the city’s destruction had already fainted.
Irenaeus
mentioned in his book that when John died
Trajan was the Roman Caesar (He was enthroned
in 98 AD.)
so the Gospel of John should have been completed not long before
his reign. The use of the words “the Jews” in this book also supports that this gospel was accomplished later. For in later
period
the enmity of the Jews towards the faith of Christ had intensified and
they even began to persecute Christians.
IV.
The Background and the Recipients
Owing
to the urgent need of the assemblies
Apostle John started to write the fourth
gospel in his old age. The disciples of his times had either been martyred for
the Lord
or slept in the Lord. John was the only one remained. Earlier on
heresies had already emerged in assemblies (see Colossian 2:8)
but they hadn’t
gone so far to threaten the testimony of the assemblies. But till the last
years of the first century
the churches were confronted with external
persecution from the government of Rome and internal damages from the heresies
(see 1John 4:1-3)
particularly from those who doubted the Lord’s divinity
(1John 2:18-27; 5:20; 2John: 7-11). From John’s epistles
we can easily
perceive the chaos in that age. Someone held that Jesus was only a man but not God;
some held that Jesus was a common person
and turned to be a vessel of God
after his baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon him; and some held that one
can not obtain the eternal life by believing into Jesus for he was a creature
etc. Therefore
overseers of many local assemblies then asked John to write a gospel
after the other three gospels to testify the divinity and works of the Lord
Jesus. John alone
as the only remaining apostle who had ever seen the Lord and
His works and heard the Lord’s truth personally (21:24; 1John1:1-4)
could bear
the witness.
To
sum up
the recipients of this book are mainly churches effected by heresies
and the book was written to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ.
V.
Features of Literature Style
Of
the four gospels
the first three ones are roughly similar in respect of the synopsis
the
arrangement of the content
as well as the views about the life of the Lord
Jesus
so the Bible scholars called them “the Synoptic Gospels”. The Book of
John
however
was distinct from the other three gospels in time
environment
and the urgency of its mission. Therefore
it has originality of its own in the
arrangement of the materials
the content and the literature style.
Although
this gospel is unsophisticated in form and simple in wording
the houghts
therein are deep
lofty
direct and powerful
touching
the depth of spiritual mystery and stirring the bottom of one’s heart. With
only a small part of its material overlapped with other gospels
this book employs
a great deal of new substance. In the selection of material
the author chose
them purposefully instead of taking everything in.
Ⅵ. General
Description
The author clearly stated
the main purpose of this book: But
these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ
the Son of God
and that believing you may have life in
His name(20:31). This book
is intended to convince us that Christ is the mysterious Son of God who came
down from heaven and is in heaven. He exists from the very beginning
and He is
God himself. As long as we believe into his name
we will obtain the divine
life which carries all the fullness of Godhead. Believers can receive from his
fullness
and grace for grace
unto the fullness ultimately.
VI.
Special Points
There
are many special points in this book and stated below are the major ones:
1)
The book starts from “the beginning” in the past eternity and points out that
the Lord (the Word) exists before His creation
abiding with God
and He is
God. Note that the book omits the Lord’s birth
His genealogy and His being
tempted by Satan
denoting that Christ Jesus is God.
2)
The book
from chapter two to eleven
depicts the person and works of Christ
Jesus from various aspects
employing seven signs to form the main structure
with adequate teachings inserted in each sign. Note that the word “miracles” in
this book does not mean wonders or works of power in Greek
but means “signs”
instead. This indicates that the signs enumerated in this book have special
significance
from which we can know about the being and works of Christ Jesus.
3)
It is also called the Gospel of Testimony
for
it contains the seven great testimonies: (1) the testimony of the Father (5:34
37; 8:18); (2)
the testimony of the Son Himself (8:14; 18:37); (3) the testimony of Son’s work
(5:36; 10:25) (4) the testimony of the Holy Spirit (15:26;16:14); (5) the
testimony of the Holy Bible (5:39-46); (6) the testimony of the forerunner
(1:7
29-34; 3:27-30; 5:35); (7) the testimony of the disciples (15:27; 19:35;
21:24).
4)
This book especially emphasized the relation of Christ Jesus to God the Father;
as the Son of God
He came to do the will of the Father who sent Him (4:34;
5:19
30; 6:38).
5)
This book includes the seven well-known sentences beginning with “I am”: ‘I am the bread of life.’ (6:35
41
48
51); ‘I am the light of the world.’ (8:12); ‘I am the door of the sheep.’ (10:7); ‘I am the good shepherd.’ (10:11); ‘I am the resurrection
and the life’ (11:
6)
“Believe” is a vital word in this book. One can only receive and experience
Christ as his all by believing. “Believing” means none other than “receiving
Him (1:12)”; To believe into Jesus means to eat His
flesh
and to drink His blood (6:53)
that is
to
receive the accomplished redemption by the Lord Jesus. By believing
people
receive Christ into their heart and are united to Christ.
7)
In what way can we “believe into” Christ? In none other way than His manifestation
of “grace and truth” among us (1:14-17). Grace is Christ becoming one’s
enjoyment
and truth is Christ becoming one’s reality.
8)
To receive grace and truth is to receive life
light and love. These three
words starting with “L” are three important words. The more one enjoys Christ
the richer he will become in life
light and love. And these three will grow
together.
VII.
Its Relations with Other Books in the Bible
The
Gospel of John
like other three gospels
depicts Jesus Christ. But the four
books depict Him from different aspects: the Lord in the Book of Matthew is
presented as the king
in Mark as the bondman
in Luke as the son of man and in
John as the Son of God. The four living creatures in chapter four of the
Revelation resemble the four aspects of the Lord in the four gospels. In
Matthew the Lord is like a lion
in Mark a calf----firstly sowing and then
being sacafised as an offering on the alter
in Luke a man
and in John an
eagle. (see Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11).
The
Book of Matthew regards Jesus as the “Branch of righteousness to grow up to
David” (Jeremiah 33:15)
coming to be king on earth
so he was called the son
of Abraham (the Father of nations) and the Son of David (the first king of
Israel) (Matthew 1:1). A king must have his genealogy on account of his royal
pedigree (Matthew1:1-17). The Book of Mark presents Jesus as “my servant the
BRANCH” (Zechariah 3:8)
Jehovah’s “righteous servant” (Isaiah 53:11)
“but made himself of no reputation
and
took upon him the form of a bondservant
and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death
even the death of the cross.” (Philippians2:7-8); A bondman’s birth is
too insignificant to be recorded
so there is no mention of the genealogy of
Jesus. The Book of Luke shows us that Jesus is the son of man (a perfect man)
so it traces back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38)
the patriarch of mankind. The Book of
John refers to Jesus as the Son of God (the perfect God)
who has neither
beginning of days nor end of life. Therefore
John dates back to the beginning
(John 1:1)----the eternity without beginning.
Note
that the Gospel of Matthew ends in the Lord’s resurrection
Mark in His
ascension
Luke in the promise of the descent of the Holy Spirit and John in His
second coming.
VIII.
Key Verses
And
the Word became 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. (1:14)
For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but
have everlasting life. (3:16)
I
have come that they may have
life
and that they may have it more abundantly. (10:10)
But
these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ
the Son of God
and that believing you may have life in
His name. (20:31)
IX.
Key Words
“the
Father” (118times)
“believe” (100times)
“the world” (78times)
“love” (45times)
“testimony”
(47times)
“life” (37times)
“light” (24times).
X.
Outlines of the Book
1.
Preface: the word----the Son of God----became flesh (1:1-18)
2.
The manifestation of the Son of God----His ministry in the first
year(1:19-4:54)
3.
The rejection against the Son of God---- His ministry in the second and third years
(5:1-11:57)
4.
The anointing and the triumphal entry of the Son of God into Jerusalem
(12:1-22)
5.
The final teaching in public of the Son of God (12:23-50)
6.
The final exhortation to the disciples of the Son of God (13:1-16:33)
7.
The prayer of the Son of God before His departure (17:1-26)
8.
The suffering
death and burial of the Son of God (18:1-19:42)
9.
The resurrection and manifestation of the Son of God (20:1-21:25)
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou