The Gospel of John begins like an action movie. It starts intensely, wasting no time setting forth Jesus was the Word of God, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, and the Messiah (or Christ). There is no greeting or genealogy to prepare one for such a profound introduction. It just slams into you from the outset. Jesus is presented as the “God/Man” who existed before all things and created all things. He also took part in the creation itself by taking on flesh for the salvation of mankind. Indeed, this gospel comes at the reader quick, fast, and in a hurry!

 

Matthew starts his gospel by tracing the Lord’s lineage back to Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Luke traces it back even further to Adam (Luke 3:38). Yet John has them both beat. He traces the Lord’s lineage to the period before creation (John 1:1). He states that “in the beginning” Jesus was already in existence. He was there before the material universe came about. Hence, He is without beginning. He is uncreated and eternal.

 

The Gospel of John was written to produce faith. It clearly states that these things were recorded “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in nis name” (John 20:31). Thus, this gospel is evangelistic and apologetic in its approach. The writer wants to convince his readers that there is substantial evidence to believe in Jesus Christ.   

 

To produce faith, the writer includes eight miraculous stories (called “signs”): water into wine (2:1-11), official’s son healed (4:46-54), invalid healed (5:1-17), multitude fed (6:1-17), walking on water (6:16-21), blind man healed (9:1-41), Lazarus raised (11:1-44), and the post-resurrection catch of fish (21:6-11). This list does not include the most convincing sign of all — the Lord’s resurrection (20:1-29). The writer firmly believes that these signs substantiate the claims and credentials of Christ.

 

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptics (meaning “to see together”) because of their similarities. They follow the same general outline of the Lord’s life and include much of the same content and wording. John’s gospel is different. It does not record the birth of Christ, the baptism of Christ, the temptations of Christ, the transfiguration of Christ, or the ascension of Christ. Moreover, there is no list of the Twelve, no exorcisms, and no parables. Most of John’s material is not found in the Synoptics, which is great for Bible students as it provides distinct insights and perspectives. For instance, John records the seven “I AM” statements and five unique miracles of Christ. It also has the Lord’s longest recorded prayer (John 17) and the scripture’s shortest verse (John 11:35). John’s gospel has more to say about the Holy Spirit than any other gospel writer and contains the most popular verse in the whole Bible — John 3:16! [1]   

 

Writer

 

The writer of the Gospel of John is not named. However, the early church fathers consistently attributed the book to John the apostle. For instance, Irenaeus says “John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia” (Against Heresies, 3:1:1). This is especially noteworthy since Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp who had been a disciple of John. Thus, we have a direct line connecting Irenaeus to the apostle. Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius, and Eusebius all affirm that John the apostle was the author.

 

In addition to the external evidence, there are internal indicators of John’s authorship as well. For instance, the writer was obviously Jewish for he was very familiar with the Hebrew scriptures and customs, he claimed to have been an eyewitness of the events described (1:14; 19:35; 21:24), and he recalled things that were said among the apostles privately (4:33; 16:17; 21:3). Thus, he must have been one of the apostles. Moreover, he sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper (13:23), was at the foot of cross (19:26), and was at the empty tomb (20:1-10). All of this points to an apostle who was particularly close to Jesus. We know that it cannot be Peter, however, for he is clearly distinguished from the writer in several passages. Finally, the fact that John is frequently mentioned in the Synoptics but is never named in this gospel, is significant. Surely no other writer would omit such a prominent apostle’s name unless he was the writer. This all leads to the conclusion that John was the author.

 

John authored five books in the Bible. He wrote the Gospel of John, three epistles that bear his name, and the book of Revelation. Aside from Luke and Paul, he wrote more of the New Testament than any other person.   

 

John

 

“John” means “Yahweh is gracious.” [2] There are at least five men named John in the New Testament. He was the son of a Jewish fisherman named Zebedee. Zebedee was apparently quite successful since he owned his own boat and had hired servants (Mark 1:20). John’s mother was named Salome. She was likely the sister of Mary, thus making John and Jesus first cousins. [3] This might add insight into why Jesus entrusted his mother’s care to John at the cross (John 19:26-27) and why Salome felt comfortable enough to make such a bold request to Jesus about her sons (Matthew 20:20-21). They were family. John also had an older brother named James. We conclude that he was older since he is always listed first of the two. James was the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:2).

 

John was initially a disciple of John the Baptist. He then became an apostle of Jesus along with his brother. In fact, they were especially close to Jesus along with Peter, forming an inner circle within the apostleship. These three were the only ones permitted to see the raising of Jarius’ daughter, the transfiguration, and the Lord praying in Gethsemane.  

 

John is often called the “apostle of love” today, but it took a lot of time with Jesus for him to reach that point. Initially, John was a rugged fisherman who could be harsh (Luke 9:49), intolerant (Mark 9:38), and overly competitive (Mark 10:35-41). In fact, he and his brother were nicknamed “sons of thunder” by Jesus because of their fiery temperament (Mark 3:17). [4] Thankfully, however, John aged well. He would go on to emphasize the importance of love more than any other writer in the New Testament.

 

Though John grew to be more loving, that does not mean he lost his tenacity when it came to truth. For instance, Irenaeus records the story of an encounter John had with a prominent false teacher named Cerinthus:

 

John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bathhouse without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bathhouse fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within" (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3:3:4).   

 

If this militant side to John surprises you, it shouldn’t. In his third epistle, he calls out a man named Diotrephes who was disparaging the apostle and did not recognize his authority. Therefore, John promised to deal with him. As The Message says, “If I come, you can be sure I’ll hold him to account…” (v. 10).  Hence, John was no wimp!

 

The fact that John never mentions his own name in the Gospel of John is noteworthy. He does not seek the limelight but is perfectly content clinging to Jesus. Perhaps the “apostle of love” could also be called the “apostle of lowliness.”

 

The apostle John refuses to speak of himself in reference to himself. Instead, he speaks of himself in reference to Jesus. He never paints himself in the foreground as a hero, but uses every reference to himself to honor Christ (John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men, pp. 110-111).

 

At first glance, John referring to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20) may sound arrogant. However, this seems to be coming from a place of humility. John knew his own shortcomings and was apparently in awe of the Lord’s love for him.

 

John was the first apostle at the tomb and the last apostle to die. According to tradition, John spent the last decades of his life in Ephesus. It was while living there that he wrote his three epistles. At some point, he was banished to the island of Patmos by the emperor Domitian where he wrote Revelation. John died sometime around A.D. 100 while Trajan was emperor. He was the last living apostle.  

 

That You May Believe

 

As noted, the Gospel of John was written to produce faith. It is no wonder then that John uses the verb “believe” and its variants 98 times, which is more than all the Synoptics combined. In fact, his gospel contains almost 1/3 of all the biblical occurrences of believe (belief, believes). It is apparent, however, that he is referring to much more than mental assent. To John, belief was an action word conjoining trust with obedience (John 3:21). Interestingly, the word “faith” does not occur in the book.

 

John firmly states that eternal life comes through belief in Jesus Christ and presents testimony to bring about faith. The reader is asked to weigh the evidence and make a choice — either Jesus is Lord of all or not Lord at all. There is no middle ground. Everyone must decide for themselves. The apostle concludes by confidently affirming that his testimony is “true” (John 21:24).    

 

The Seven “I AM” Statements

 

The seven “I AM” statements metaphorically reveal some aspect of the Lord’s identity and mission. They also carry divine overtones which would have been obvious to any Jew since God was called “I AM” in Exodus 3:14.

 

I AM… the bread of life (6:35, 48)

I AM… the light of the world (8:12; 9:5)

I AM… the door of the sheep (10:7, 9)

I AM… the good shepherd (10:11, 14)

I AM… the resurrection and the life (11:25)

I AM… the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)

I AM… the true vine (15:1, 5).

 

Word Became Flesh

 

While John tries to produce faith in the reader by recording various signs He performed, the gospel also underscores the Lord’s humanity. Indeed, He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. John begins with the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us, of which he was an eyewitness. We also see that Jesus got tired (John 4:6), wept (John 11:35), thirst (John 19:28), and died (John 19:30). This was necessary because the first heresy in the early church was not a denial of the Lord’s deity but of His humanity. A group later known as the Gnostics denied that Jesus had a real body. John refutes this idea in his gospel and in the epistles he wrote.

 

Interestingly, the earliest extant portion of any New Testament book is a tiny fragment with verses from John 18, dating back to around A.D. 130.

 

[1] When Tim Tebow wore “John 3:16” on his eye black during the 2009 Championship Game, over 92 million people looked that verse up on Google.

 

[2] It is estimated that about five percent of males were named John during this period of Jewish history.

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[3] This is based on a comparison of the women standing near the cross. Matthew mentions “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” (27:56) and Mark mentions “Salome” (15:40), referring to the same lady. John does not mention her be name but does include “his mother’s sister” (19:25). This has led many to conclude that Mary’s sister was John’s mother. 

 

[4]  Like Elijah in 2 Kings 1, John and his brother wanted to consume the Samaritans with fire (Luke 9:49).