Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church. John the apostle was the son of zebedee and the younger brother of james, son of zebedee james the greater. According to church tradition, their mother was salome he was first a disciple of john the baptist. Since the statement was made to peter by the author of the fourth gospel, peter is ruled out as a candidate for the authorship. The bible book of john with full chapters, footnotes and bible commentary to aid your bible search, reading, and study. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. John was part of jesus inner circle and, along with peter and james, john was given the privilege of witnessing jesus. The holy spirit himself is the source of the scriptures. Who wrote the gospels evidence for john come reasons. John the baptist did not write any of the books of the bible. First, only the gospel of john mentions the disciple whom jesus. What these verses are telling us is that one of the two disciples was andrew.
This could have been john the apostle or, quite possibly, someone pretending to be. He did that because he believed it was the lords most important commandment. Again in the gospels last chapter, it states that the very book itself is based on the written testimony of the disciple whom jesus loved. Lightfoot remarked, if we could only recover letters that ordinary people wrote to each other without any thought of being literary, we should have the greatest possible help for the understanding of the language of the new testament generally. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. What books in the bible did the apostle john write. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. Most of the books of the new testament were written by apostles, but not all.
Because this is a literal translation of the gospel of john, there are a few scenarios and characters missing that are familiar to many people who have read the other gospels. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. John bible book with full chapters king james version. 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. War of the jews, book 6, chapter 9, section 4, 433434. The author of the fourth gospel has, again, refrained from naming himself, but has called himself that disciple whom jesus loved. He wrote the gospel of john, three epistles, and the book of revelation. In our previous articles, we looked at evidence for mark and matthews authorship as well as lukes. Who wrote the book of revelation and the fourth gospel. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. John the baptist wasnt the author of the gospel of john.
Its easy to imagine why these books were written and why they have always. The apostle john is known to us because of his proximity to jesus christ in the gospel accounts. These books are called matthew, mark, luke, and john because they were traditionally thought to have been written by matthew, a disciple. It is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels. The disciple james was johns brother he seems to refer to himself as the disciple jesus loved, which term has confused scholars ever since. He was one of jesus 12 disciples, and therefore was an eyewitness to the events he recorded. Later he received a call to be a disciple of jesus christ matt. Referring to himself as the disciple whom jesus loved, john tells us that he.
Jesus and the hidden contradictions of the gospels. Was the beloved disciple the author of the fourth gospel. It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters. How could john the baptist have written the gospel of john. In an 1863 essay the conservative scholar joseph b. Within the gospel itself, an individual referred to as the disciple whom jesus loved is credited as an author of at least some of the gospels content john 21. Most scholars conclude that the apostle john wrote none of these works. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. John the apostle, the beloved disciple of jesus, there has been considerable discussion of the actual identity of.
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. He begged the romans for their right hand for his security. The gospel of john, 1, 2 and 3 john and revelation were all written by john the apostle, who is not the same as john the baptist. They decided that the beloved disciple must be john.
While our modern bibles attach johns name to the beginning of the gospel, john just like the other gospel authors never documented his name within the book. An introduction to the gospel of john by raymond e. In the case of the fourth gospel, the church fathers noticed that it never mentioned the apostle john, but that it did mention a disciple whom jesus loved. Why did the apostle john call himself, the disciple whom.
John and his brother james, another disciple of jesus, were fishermen on the sea of galilee when jesus called them to follow him. Matthew, mark, and luke, each contain a list of 12 disciples. If revelation was not written by the disciple john, son of zebedee, this opens up questions for. They sometimes differ in order, but this is not a problem since listing people in a different order still demonstrates that the people were the same. Some hold the apostle to be behind at least some of these works, in particular the gospel. The apostle john had the distinction of being a beloved friend of jesus christ, writer of five books of the new testament, and a pillar in the early christian church. But many modern scholars doubt that the apostle should be identified with the beloved disciple, and very few believe that the apostle wrote the fourth gospel in its current form. 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. We get the vast majority of our information about john from the pages of the four gospels. The disciple whom jesus loved is john, the son of zebedee and brother of james. So how can we know that the apostle john wrote the fourth gospel. Matthew matthew 60 65 ad disciple 1 mark john mark 55 65 ad he was not one of the 12 disciples. Studies in his life and writings classic reprint w.
It contains a variety of statements and information about jesus not contained in the synoptic gospels. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. Near the end of his life, it is said that he constantly repeated the phrase, little children, love one another. Use the word blank to fill in the blanks and learn about lazarus. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. We know that john was the younger brother of james and the son of zebedee mark 10. Speaking of the apocalypse from the previous post giving that odd video. There is a long span of time between the event the writing of the book. John was one of jesus disciples, perhaps john the son of zebedee.
In one of his letters he wrote, we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard 1 john 1. John is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples the other being andrew recounted in john 1. This would mean that the person who wrote the gospel of john would not have been a contemporary of jesus, and therefore would not have been an eyewitness as the author claims. The the disciple whom jesus loved was at the last supper. The church fathers looked for clues that might help them decide who probably wrote each of the gospels.
Book of john overview insight for living ministries. Thank you very much for your recent post about whether the apostle john was the author of the gospel of john. What books of the bible did john the apostle write answers. The disciple by stephen coonts plot the iranian effort to develop nuclear weapons was the inspiration for this tale of spies, assassination, skullduggery, military action and political intrigue. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. Iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is the devils disciple, and he has a plan. Daniel, ezra and nehemiah wrote the books bearing their names. This has been a question at the back of my mind for some time and its great to hear your reasons for believing john to be the author. Though not directly stated, we know that john was called the beloved disciple, or the disciple whom jesus loved john 21. Traditionally, the the disciple whom jesus loved is john, the son of zebedee. This explicit claim of authorship in verse 24 of the last chapter of the fourth gospel, this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things. The author is the apostle john, the disciple whom jesus loved. Someone recently asked me if the same author could have written both the book of revelation and the gospel of john. Since the roman era, christians and historians have considered the book of revelations writer to be the apostle john john the evangelist, author of the.
John wrote the book of john and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd book of john and the book of revelation. This places the the disciple whom jesus loved within the inner circle of the twelve. This disciple is never specifically identified, but the identity of the disciple whom jesus loved is clear. Whoever wrote the book appeared to have wanted to remain anonymous, because the only reference he gave to himself was disciple whom jesus loved. Another holds that john was written last, by someone who knew about the other three gospels, but who wished to write a spiritual gospel instead of an historical one. Studies in his life and writings this volume is intended to help those who are called upon to preach and teach. The apostle john is the author of five new testament books. This gospel was authored by john, the disciple whom jesus loved. When the gospel of john refers to simon peter dying but john living, it is a reference to two of the leading zealots who revolted against rome 6673 c. The gospel of john is the fourth gospel in the new testament. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. John, the disciple jesus loved answer the questions about john the beloved disciple and then find the answers in the hidden words. We have to remember these books were inspired by god. While johns content may be unique, he presents a different side of jesus that is complimentary to the other three gospels and helps provide its readers with a clearer understanding of his divinity.
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