John: An Introduction to His Gospel
Though remarkably different from the first three Gospels, the Gospel of John – the last Gospel to be penned – provides an important part of the story of Jesus. John is often described as an eagle, for “so high does he soar, and so clearly does he see into divine and heavenly things.”[1]
Background
Though never stated directly, the internal and external evidence makes it clear that John the Apostle penned this book. John is mentioned frequently in the story of Jesus, as one of the three disciples (with Peter and James) who made up the ‘inner circle’ of Jesus’ confidants. This allowed John to experience some of the most intimate and important events of Jesus’ life, and John recounts these events as a ‘witness’ who tells others of the events that he experienced.
Early church history indicates that John lived in the city of Ephesus in later life. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, John was (reputedly) boiled in oil but survived; he was then banished to the island of Patmos, until returning to Ephesus in his final years. He was perhaps the only disciple to not experience martyrdom.
The early church was convinced that John wrote this book; Irenaeus says that “John the disciple of the Lord, who leaned back on his breast, published the Gospel while he was resident at Ephesus in Asia.” Clement of Alexandria states that “John, last of all…composed a spiritual Gospel.”
It wasn’t until the modern period that serious objections arose about John’s authorship. An alternate view, known as the Johannine community hypothesis believes that an anonymous individual or group of individuals crafted the gospel. Others refer to a statement by the church father Papias, who refers to ‘John the Elder’ and wonder if this is not a different John from John the Apostle. Despite these objections, the evidence of the book, and the testimony of the early church, strongly support the view that John, the apostle, was indeed the author.
The Rylands Library Papyrus P52 is an ancient manuscript fragment that contains John 18:31-33. It was penned around 125 – 175 AD, indicating the early date of John’s Gospel. Even earlier, the church father Ignatius made a clear illusion to John in one of his writings around the year 110 AD. These early dates are consistent with the historical opinion that John wrote his Gospel near the end of his life, probably between 80-96 AD.
Outline and Purpose
There are several theories as to why John wrote his gospel. The supplementary theory says that the book supplements the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The polemical theory says that John wrote to refute the errors of heretics. The irenic theory says that John intended to synthesize various truths that were debated. Despite these theories, we don’t have to look far to know why John wrote – he tells us!
The theme of witness is important throughout John. The word occurs around 45 times in its noun and verb forms. With his unique position in Jesus’ inner circle, John views himself as a witness who tells others what he has seen and heard about Jesus. The reason why John bears witness is stated in John 20:31 – “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John mentions this belief nearly 100 times in his Gospel. For John, ‘belief’ refers to commitment to the person of Jesus Christ. It is more than a term of assenting to the truth – it involves a lifestyle choice against the world and for the teachings of Jesus.
The book of John has four natural sections. Chapter 1:1-18 contains a prologue that describes Jesus as the Logos, or divine Word, that entered the world. The section from 1:19-12:50 contains an account of Jesus’ revealing of himself to the world, including his public ministry and signs that confirm his identity. In 13:1-20:31, Jesus prepares his followers to form a new community, then undergoes his own death and resurrection. Finally, chapter 21 contains an epilogue to the story.
Style and Themes
Undoubtedly, the Gospel of John is quite different from the other ‘synoptic’ Gospels. It includes less emphasis on Jesus’ miracles and less of his controversy with the religious establishment. Instead, it focuses on His nature, His teachings, His community of followers, and His ministry in Judea, rather than Galilee. John seems aware of the other Gospels, and he assumes that his readers know about them.[2]
John emphasizes the unique, divine character of Jesus. As Kostenberger says, “John skillfully interweaves three portraits that complement one another: (1) Jesus is the one who came into the world and returned to the place from where he came…this aspect of John’s Christology focuses on the otherworldly origin and divinity of Jesus; (2) Jesus is the sent Son: here the emphasis lies on the closeness and uniqueness of relationship sustained by Jesus and God the Father; (3) Jesus is the eschatological (end-time) shepherd-teacher: the Old Testament…predicted that Yahweh (one of the names for God in the Old Testament) would visit, care for, and teach his people; in fact, he would send his servant David (the Son of David) to accomplish this mission; as it turns out, this eschatological shepherd-teacher is Jesus.”
John’s style is simple, plain, and unpolished. He often stops to reflect on a scene, describing the details and adding his own comments. He refers to Old Testament ideas and often uses short, contrasting, parallel sentences to describe forceful ideas. John’s words are easy to understand, but they are pregnant with meaning. As Augustine said, “John’s Gospel is deep enough for an elephant to swim and shallow enough for a child not to drown.”
For John, the main question is not ‘what must I do?’ but ‘what does He do?’ John wants to know and understand Jesus and his teaching. Throughout his Gospel, he often “traces people’s response to Jesus’ claims by featuring characters in his Gospel asking representative questions or confessing Jesus as Messiah.”[3] This comes to a pinnacle in John 20:28, where Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!”
Conclusion
John’s gospel is unique in many ways. He calls us to observe, learn from, and ultimately believe in Jesus as the divine Christ. “Some of the ancient observe that the other evangelists wrote more of…the bodily things of Christ; but John writes of…the spiritual things of the gospel, the life and soul of it…”[4] No wonder John is often described as an eagle, soaring into the heavens!
[1] Matthew Henry
[2] See 1:40, 3:24, 4:44, and 6:67, where John mentions things that he assumes his readers are familiar with.
[3] Kostenberger
[4] Matthew Henry
