Introduction to John

What Is a Gospel?

• The term “gospel” comes from the Greek word euangellion, which means “good news.”
• The original concept of this term was that of an announcement of a great victory or event that would benefit all of the people.
• When used in theological writing, the concept of this term was that of a prophecy of God’s deliverance.
• In early Christian theology, then, euangellion refers to the story of who Jesus was and what He did while here on Earth.
• No one account of Jesus’ life exhausts all the meanings of the events of His life or of His teachings.
• Is it possible that Jesus did and said more than what is recorded in the Gospels (cf. 2 Cor. 9:7)?
• Ancient biographies were not written in the same way as they are today (“This person did this great thing at this place, and there was much rejoicing.”).
• Ancient biographies were more akin to hero epics like Beowulf or Homer’s The Odyssey than Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln—stories of great people doing great things (that may have been a little embellished).
• Although Ralph Martin’s argument that the Gospels were not written in the literary style of ancient biographies was the main approach for many years, scholars like Richard Burridge are now showing that the Gospel writers were in fact sharing a story that they hoped would affect their audiences in some way (i.e., conversion to Christianity, acceptance of Christian morality, or settling doctrinal and ecclesiological disputes).
• The Gospels found in the New Testament are ancient apologetic biographies, meaning they were “written to prove a point.”
• The Gospels were not intended to be objective, factual reports of how Jesus spent His days. The intent was to address issues and problems facing the early Church by retelling the story of Jesus. Yet the accounts are “factual” because eyewitnesses could have disputed any errors.

Not a "Synoptic" Gospel!

• The term “synoptic” comes from a Greek word that means “similar.”
• Although they each emphasize different aspects of Jesus’ personality and ministry, Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell a similar story about Jesus, using similar episodes, characters, and sayings: (handout from Robin Griffith-Jones' book provided).
• Whereas the Synoptic Gospels appear to have been written using multiple, interdependent streams of tradition and the testimony of several eyewitnesses, The Fourth Gospel (a.k.a., the Gospel of John) appears to come from a single stream of material, given by a single eyewitness, and is independent from the other Gospels.
• This has led scholars to refer to John as a “spiritual” or “maverick” Gospel.

Similarities Between Synoptics and John

1. Feeding a crowd.
2. Walking on water.
3. Peter's confession.
4. His anointing at Bethany.
5. Triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
6. Cleansing the Temple.
7. Passover and Last Supper.
8. His arrest in Gethsemane.
9. Peter's betrayal.
10. His resurrection.

Differences Between Synoptics and John

Unique Events to John
1. Wedding at Cana.
2. Raising Lazarus.
3. Jesus and disciples baptizing followers.
4. Washing the disciples’ feet.
5. Conversation with Nicodemus.

Events “Missing”
1. No explicit reference to Jesus’ baptism or temptation.
2. No Transfiguration.
3. No official institution of the Eucharist.
4. No cry from Cross.
5. No genealogy or birth narrative.

Chronological Differences
1. Jesus’ ministry appears to last longer as the Passover is mentioned 3 times (2:13, 6:4, 11:55).
2. Jesus is in Judea more than Galiliee.
3. Jesus cleanses the Temple early in ministry.
4. Jesus’ ministry overlaps John the Baptizer’s ministry.
5. Jesus’ death in John is on the day before the Passover.

• The Synoptic Gospels portray Jesus as one who preaches about forgiveness and God’s Kingdom, exorcises demons, performs miracles, and tells parables. However, this is not the portrayal of Jesus in John.
• John 20:22-23: Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit onto the Apostolic band.

Authorship

Early History

• The author is not named, although we assume it is the “Beloved Disciple” (John 21:20-24).
• By AD 170, the Gospel was being attributed to John, although it was in circulation long before.
• Irenaeus (ca. AD 180) said that John wrote it while in Ephesus.

Who Was the “Beloved Disciple?”

• We assume that the “Beloved Disciple” is John (13:23-26, 19:25-27, 21:7). He is also the “other disciple” in John 18:15-16 and 20:2-10.
• He sat next to Jesus during the Last Supper.
• A rumor began that he would never die.
• He was a witness to the Crucifixion.
• Some say that the “Beloved Disciple” was a symbolic presence in the background who represents the picture of the perfect disciple (cf. theory about “young man” in Mark; Dart, p. 31-32).

Objections to John’s Authorship

• There is no internal evidence to support John as the author.
• Two important eyewitness accounts—the Transfiguration and Jesus praying in Gethsemane—are missing from the narrative.
• John was from Galilee, but the primary focus of Jesus’ ministry is in Jerusalem.
• John was uneducated, but the composition and language is smoothly written (cf., Acts 4:13).
• The Synoptic Gospels imply that none of the Apostles were at the Cross.
• Would Jesus commit the care of His mother to one called to be an apostle?

• Floyd Filson and Joseph Sanders say that Lazarus was the “Beloved Disciple”:
  a. 11:5—This is an explicit declaration of Jesus’ love for Lazarus.
  b. Lazarus certainly believed in resurrection.
  c. He could have easily cared for Mary from his home in Bethany.

“No theory so far put forward is without difficulties. It is a matter of choosing that view which presents us with the fewest. Many recent scholars make telling criticisms of the view that John the Apostle was the author. But when we turn to their own views we find little to inspire. The suggested reconstructions are often difficult to follow, sometimes bordering on the bizarre. There is certainly none that is free from serious objection. It is a matter, then, of accepting that solution which best accounts for the facts and which has the fewest difficulties in its way. It is for this reason that I accept the view that John the Apostle was the author of this Gospel. I agree that this view does not account for all the evidence. But then neither does any other known to me. This one seems to account for the facts best.”--Leon Morris (p. 24)

Intent of the Gospel

1. John 20:30-31-"so that you may come to believe."
2. To convert non-believers, especially Hellenes.
3. To engage in polemics (the practice of theological controversy to refute errors of doctrine), especially against the Jewish religious leadership. When John uses the term "Jews," he is referring to the leaders and not the general crowd.
4. To exhort Jewish Christians who have not yet severed their synagogue connections (cf., John 9:22).
5. To combat internal errors.
6. To correct misunderstandings about John the Baptizer (cf., John 1:19-20).
7. John 1:39-"Come and see."
   a. Seeing means comprehending, but we cannot comprehend unless we come to Jesus. But what if we cannot?
   b. For those who come to Jesus, they will find the Truth.
   c. 21:12—“Come and eat”—The resurrected Christ directs the mission and forms the faith of the Church.

Redaction Questions

• 1:1-18—Logos and “grace” are only used here in the Gospel. Was the Prologue added later?
• 4:1-2—Only Jesus’ disciples are baptizing, although 3:22 says that Jesus was baptizing. So, which one is it?
• 14:31—“Rise, let us be on our way” begins the three-chapter Farewell Discourse that ends in 18:1. Was Jesus giving this as He walked through the darkened streets of Jerusalem?

Theology of Composition

• 2:17 and 22; cf. 12:16, 14:25-26—These texts remind us that it was only after Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples understood this.
• What we have is a community downstream from Jesus’ time that is grappling with the meaning of who Jesus is and what He wants from His disciples.
• It is not a chronology of what happened, but what happened during the chronology.
• 2:23-25—Was the Gospel written during a time when miracles were misunderstood, when Jesus was seen only as a “miracle-worker” or magician and not as the Messiah?
• 9:22, 12:42, 16:2—There is a real fear of being put out of the synagogue for following Jesus. In a time when the Church is being divided and persecuted, John reminds his community of who they are, where they came from, and what God has called them to be.

Resources

Richard A. Burridge, What Are the Gospels?: A Comparison with Graeco-Roman Biography, 2nd ed., Biblical Resource Series (Grand Rapids, MI/Dearborn, MI: Eerdmans/Dove Booksellers, 2004).

John Dart, “Mark’s Enigmatic Ending,” Christian Century 123 (April 18, 2006): 28-32.

Floyd V. Filson, “Who Was the Beloved Disciple?”, Journal of Biblical Literature 68 (1949): 83-88.

Robin Griffith-Jones, The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic (New York: HarperCollins, 2000).

Robert Kysar, John’s Story of Jesus (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984).

Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev. ed., New International Commentary on the New Testament 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

Joseph N. Sanders, “Who Was the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved?”, in Studies in the Fourth Gospel, ed. Frank L. Cross (London: Mowbray, 1957), 72-82.

Charles H. Talbert, “Biography, Ancient,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1:745- 749.

Charles H. Talbert, Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, rev. ed., Reading the New Testament (Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2005).