The Gospel According to John - PART 1: Introduction

Introduction

Hello my brothers and sisters in Christ! I am so blessed and honored to be able to walk with you through the Gospel according to John.

Throughout this series I will refer to this Gospel as the Gospel according to John, According to John, or simply John. The original title of this book was ‘According to John’, ‘The Gospel’ was added at a later date. 1

I have often asked myself, if there were only two books that I could keep out of the Bible what would they be? Without hesitation I can say that one of those books would be the Gospel according to John. If I could have only one other it would have to be Genesis because Genesis describes the fall of man and mans fallen condition whereas John describes man’s salvation through the perfect work of Christ. Then if I might choose another, it would most certainly be Romans - Paul’s Epistle to the Church in Rome.

The reason that I would chose John over the other three Gospel accounts is primarily due to the rich theology in John and the Apostles focus on Christ and his teachings. In Martin Luther’s introduction to the German New Testament, Luther wrote:

If I had to do without one or the other, either the works or the preaching of Christ, I would rather do without His works. For the works do not help me, but His words give life, as He Himself says [John 6:63]. Now John writes little about the works of Christ but very much about His preaching, while other evangelists write much about His works and little about His preaching. Therefore John’s Gospel is the one, fine, true, and chief gospel, and is far to be preferred over the other three and placed far above them.2

I tend to agree with Luther. Certainly all of Scripture is precious and, as Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, ‘God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness [2 Timothy 3:16]. But John is especially satisfying to both the spirit and the mind.

In this introduction I will discuss the Major Themes of the Gospel, who it is believed to have been written by, when it is believed to have been written, where it was written, and to whom it was written for. If you are using this video as a supplement to a personal or group Bible Study please feel free to download and print the associated Notes template to follow along.

Context

WRITTEN BY

The author never refers to himself by name, but rather as a disciple whom Jesus loves. This lack of explicit authorship however is offset by numerous implicit and historical indicators of the Gospels rightful author. The Gospel according to John is believed to have been written by the Apostle John, brother of James, and the son of Zebedee. You may recall that Jesus referred to John and his older brother James as the Sons of Thunder in the Gospel According to Mark [Mark 3:17] when Jesus appoints the twelve apostles. The authorship of John’s Gospel is affirmed by the early church fathers to include Clement of Alexandria and Irenaeus. Irenaeus was in a direct line of discipleship to John because he was a disciple of Polycarp, and Polycarp was a disciple of John himself. 3 Other indicators that John is the author of this Gospel come from the fact that John is not mentioned in the Gospel whereas several other Apostles and disciples are. Had John not been the author of this Gospel he would have almost certainly been mentioned by name.

WHEN

There is some debate as to when the Gospel According to John was written, but the best evidence seems to suggest some time between 80 and 90 A.D. towards the later years of John’s life. This time period makes the Gospel According to John the youngest of the four Gospel accounts and the only Gospel to be written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The writings of Clement support John being a later Gospel. Clement wrote that John, aware of the facts set forth in the other Gospels and being moved by the Holy Spirit, composed a ‘spiritual Gospel’. 4 ABC

WHERE

John most likely penned his Gospel account while residing in Ephesus. It is believed that John lived in Ephesus for several decades, between the death and resurrection of Jesus (33 A.D.) and his exile to Patmos (90-96 A.D.). Ephesus was a bustling metropolis during this time with an estimated population of 250,000 making it one of the largest and most prominent cities in the world. Population percentage-wise Ephesus would have been the size of Chicago, IL or Paris, France. A city that rivaled places like Antioch and Constantinople. Ephesus was not only large in population but was also the home to massive buildings to include the Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. John would have constantly been surrounded by an incredibly diverse culture, perhaps similar to major U.S. cities. The Ephesians worshiped many different god’s, but the most prominent was the goddess Artemis, the Greek representation of the Roman goddess Diana.

In Ephesus worshiping other god’s, even if that God was Jesus would have been acceptable, as long as you also accepted the state religion and did not proselytize another religion. These rules are not coherent with mandates put on disciples of Christ and this is likely what let to Paul’s arrest and exile.

WRITTEN FOR

References

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, ESV, Introduction to John.

Martin Luther, [1522] Preface to the German Translation of the New Testament

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, ESV, Introduction to John.

John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, ESV, Introduction to John.

*Music:

After the Rain (first 20 seconds)