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September 6, 2017
This weekend we are beginning a new Sermon Series on one of the most famous and beloved books of the Bible, the Gospel of John. This blog post will serve as a brief introduction to the book.
Author
The traditional author of the Gospel of John is the Apostle John, the son of Zebedee. Although he never identifies himself explicitly as the author, it can be deduced that he wrote it through a process of elimination based on various internal references to the disciple whom Jesus loved and passages that explicitly identify the author as an eye witness of Jesus. (See John 1:14; 13:23; 19:26, 35; 20:2; 21:7, 20, 24) In addition there are many parallels between the Gospel of John and John’s Apocalypse (Revelation).
Date
John’s Gospel is the last of the canonical Gospels. It was written late in John’s life, perhaps in the 80’s or 90’s AD. It was certainly written after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.
Provenance
John probably wrote his gospel from the city of Ephesus, which is the traditional location of his ministry.
Genre
The Gospel of John fits well within the genre of Ancient Biography, just as the other gospels do. However, the Gospel of John is unique in that it is much more intentionally written and perhaps a bit more interpretive of the life and ministry of Jesus. John’s Gospel also crosses into the genre of the Letter. As a letter John’s Gospel rather intentionally addresses the problems of living as a Christian in 1st century Asia-minor.
Purpose
John states his purpose in writing his Gospel very clearly. “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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 20:30–31 ESV)
Bibliography
Garland, David E. Colossians and Philemon: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
