Gospel of John
The Gospel of John

Date of Writing:
Traditional view – 85 AD to 175 AD
 John’s highly developed theology
 A response to late Gnosticism
Its difference from the Synoptic Gospels
The Gospel of John

 Issues with the Traditional view – 85 AD to
175 AD
 Early fragment of John 18 dated to 125
AD. Found in Egypt - 1920
Dead Sea Scrolls – 1947 – War Scroll
Difference from the Synoptic Gospels
 John’s Gospel is a Literary Masterpiece
Literary Masterpiece

A literary masterpiece is a piece of work
that can withstand the test of time. It finds
relevance despite the changing mindsets,
practices, governance structures and
peoples thought patterns. In addition, its
theme remains to be thought provoking
beyond daily changes and dynamism of the
world.
The Gospel of John

 Early Date – no later than 70 AD.
Destruction of the temple and Jerusalem
Rejection of the Messiah by the Jews
John 1:9-13

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming
into the world. He was in the world, and the world was
made through him, yet the world did not know him. He
came to his own, and his own people did not
receive him. But to all who did receive him, who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Gospel of John

 Early Date – no later than 70 AD.
 Destruction of the temple and Jerusalem
Rejection of the Messiah by the Jews
The temple is replaced by Christ
John 2:18-22

So the Jews said to him, What sign do you show us for
doing these things? Jesus answered them, Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then
said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and
will you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking
about the temple of his body. When therefore he was
raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he
had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the
word that Jesus had spoken.
The Gospel of John

 Early Date – no later than 70 AD.
 Destruction of the temple and Jerusalem
Rejection of the Messiah by the Jews
The temple is replaced by Christ
The pool of Bethesda reference
John 5:2-6

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a
pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five
roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of
invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man
was there who had been an invalid for thirtyeight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and
knew that he had already been there a long time,
he said to him, Do you want to be healed?
The Gospel of John

 Early Date – no later than 70 AD.
 Destruction of the temple and Jerusalem
Rejection of the Messiah by the Jews
The temple is replaced by Christ
The pool of Bethesda reference
Most likely composed in two or three stages
 John 21 – the appendix - written by someone
else, explaining beliefs about John’s life/death
John 21

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom
Jesus loved following them…. When Peter
saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about
him? Jesus answered, “If I want him to
remain until I return, what is that to you?”
You must follow me! Because of this the
rumor spread among the brothers that this
disciple was not to die.
John 21

But Jesus did not say that he would not to die;
he only said, “If I want him to remain alive
until I come, what is that to you?” This is the
disciple who testifies to these things, and who
wrote them down, we know that his testimony
is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If
every one of them were written down, I
suppose that even the whole world would not
have room for the books that would be
written.
The Gospel of John

Author – Apostle John, son of Zebedee
“the disciple whom Jesus loved”
First cousin to Jesus – Salome was Mary’s
sister
Fishing partner with his brother James, and
possibly Peter and Andrew.
A disciple of John the Baptist with Andrew
Part of the inner circle, close to Jesus
Differences between Synoptics
and the Gospel of John

Matthew, Mark and Luke are written
from a 1st person point of view
 John is written with a 3rd person point of
view
 Written as a participant and eyewitness,
but as if seeing from a distance.
 A post resurrection point of view.
Differences between Synoptics
and the Gospel of John

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples
recalled what he had said. Then they believed the
Scriptures and the words that Jesus had spoken.
John 2:22
At first his disciples did not understand all this.
Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that
these things had been written about him and that
they had done these things to him. John 2:16
Gospel of John

90% of John is unique to his Gospel
 Very little repetition from other Gospels
John provide interlocking truths, clarifying
what is recorded in the other Gospels.
John’s main point

“These are written 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 20:31
7 Signs
1.Turning water into wine in Cana
2. Healing an official’s son in Capernaum
John 2:1-11
John 4:46-54
3. Healing an invalid at the Pool of Bethesda
John 5:1-18
4. Feeding the 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee
John 6:5-14
5. Walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee
John 6:16-21
6. Healing a blind man in Jerusalem
John 9:1-7
7. Raising dead Lazarus in Bethany
John 11:1-45
7 Witnesses
1. John the Baptist
John 1:34
“This is the Chosen One of God”
2. Nathaniel
John 1:49
“You are the Son of God”
3. Peter
John 6:69
“You are the Holy One of God”
4. Martha
John 11:27
“You are the Christ, the Son of God”
5. Thomas
John 20:28
“My Lord and my God”
6. John
John 20:31
“Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”
7. Jesus
John 10:36
“I am the Son of God”
7 “I AM” Statements
1. “I am the bread of life”
John 6:35
2. “I am the light of the world”
John 8:12
3. “I am the door for the sheep”
John 10:7, 9
4. “I am the good shepherd”
John 10:11, 14
5. “I am the resurrection and the life” John11:25
6. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”
John 14:6
7. “I am the true vine”
John 15:1, 5
