Of the eight miracles recorded in this book, six are unique, among the gospels, to john, as is the upper room discourse john 1417. Evidence suggests that johns gospel was the last to be written at some point after 70 ad. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. In one of his letters he wrote, we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard 1 john 1. Here are 20 inspiring verses from the book of john in the order they appear in the book. John of patmos also called john the revelator, john the divine, john the theologian, and possibly john the apostle. Even so, john had much to add to the record of jesus life and ministry.
A papyrus fragment of john 18, dated about 140 ce, now at manchester in the rylands library, is the oldest ms of the nt in existence. The books of the bible are organized according to the topic rather than in the order in which they were written. There is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of the johannine works. Eusebius argued that john wrote in order to complement the synoptics where they were lacking, while the muratorian canon suggested that his fellow disciples in asia minor urged him to write an account. The gospels of matthew, mark, and luke had been circulating for over 30 years when john wrote his account. Under nerva, john returned to ephesus, and there composed the gospel of john, the 4th book of the new testament, and three epistles, called john 1, john 2, john 3. The key personalities of this book are jesus christ, his twelve disciples, mary magdalene, john the baptist, lazarus, his sisters mary and martha, jewish religious leaders, and pilate. There is also a hypothesis that the gospel of john and other books referencing john could have been written by more than one person.
He was a leader in the early church, and he probably wrote his documents after most of the other new testament books were already written. The gospel of john is called such because it is the account of john s experience with. Most scholars believe the three johannine epistles have the same author, but there is no consensus if this. Revelation is unlike all the other books of the new testament. These books tell about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of jesus. Interesting facts about john barnes bible charts meaning. Yes, john wrote the book of revelation before writing the letters we know as john 1 and 2. Thus, at the end of the 19th century scholar ernest dewitt burton wrote that there could be no reasonable doubt that 1 john and the gospel were written by the same author. This collection of five works in the bible is commonly referred to as the johannine literature. Learn more about the gospel of john by signing up for gary burge s online course.
And peter, knowing that jesus would tell john what he meant, prompted john to ask jesus who would betray him. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. May 02, 2020 however, all the evidence points to the author as john the beloved disciple who also wrote the gospel of john. He was the son of zebedee, brother of james and called a son of thunder. According to tradition, the book of john was written by the disciple john. These books tell of the miracles jesus performed while on earth. After they had further proclaimed the word of the lord and testified about jesus, peter and john returned to jerusalem, preaching the gospel in. The claim that apostle john was the author is made by irenaeus, who tied it to the epistles of john and the book of revelation. His own book may have been written by him, or by a man named baruch ben neriah, whom he mentions as one of his scribes. He is also believed to be the only disciple who died of old age the others were allegedly martyred. King solomon also wrote proverbs, ecclesiastes and the song of solomon. These factors suggest that john wrote the book between ad 85 and ad 95. He was prominent in the early church but is not mentioned by name in this gospel which would be natural if he wrote it, but hard to explain otherwise.
It appears that john may have been written in the mid80s to early 90s as he may have served as pastor of the church of ephesus. These bible writers wrote as they were inspired by the holy spirit see 2 timothy 3. The author of the fourth gospel was the apostle john. A letter typically described as apocalyptic literature, it was likely written by the apostle john the same john purported to have written the gospel of john and the letters of 1, 2, and 3 john. The author of the first epistle is termed john the evangelist, who most scholars believe is not the same as john the apostle. The book of john was written after the destruction of jerusalem, in a. It is possible that john used an amanuensis to write the gospel and the first letter and wrote 2 and 3 john with his own hands. The last book of the old testament, malachi, was written about 443 b. It is usually assumed that john was a young man, perhaps the youngest of the apostles when the lord called him to follow him.
John was the author of five books in scripture, the gospel of john, the three epistles of john and the revelation. How many books of the bible did john write answers. In who wrote the bible by richard elliott friedman some of the texts date to 400 ad or later, such as the second half of matthew, the whole of john and the whole of revelation. Hindi the books of 2 and 3 john are believed to be written by the same author and most scholars believe the author is john the evangelist linguistically there is evidence that 2 and 3 john are similar to the other johannine works by the apostle john. There is no evidence that anyone other than john, the beloved disciple, wrote the gospel of john.
John was a companion of simon peter, and was a fisherman by trade before jesus called him. Are the books of the bible in the order they were written. This disciple is mentioned by this title twice in the passion narrative. Unlike other religious writings, the bible reads as a factual news account of real events, places, people, and dialogue. Linguistically there is evidence that 2 and 3 john are similar to the other johannine works by the apostle john. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. Moses is a hebrew born in egypt and raised in pharaohs house.
Recent challenges as to who wrote the book of john. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. In light of the strong ancient evidence, one can claim with confidence that john wrote the letters attributed to him in ephesus. That john was the last evangelist to write is also well attested, mentioned by irenaeus adv. Almost all of the biblical information about the earthly ministry of jesus is contained in the four gospels of mark, matthew, luke and john. It was written to encourage all christians not to lose focus of jesus christ and to warn against persistent heresy. Tradition tells us that john was the longest living disciple.
In this context, the reference is to john, son of zeberdee. It was written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. The authorship of his book remains relatively unclear, even compared with other discussions as to who wrote the bible. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Others portions of that book were written by moses, hezekiah, solomon and others.
He was one of jesus 12 disciples, and therefore was an eyewitness to the events he recorded. John wrote this gospel, as inspired by god, after the gospels of matthew, mark and luke already had been written, and assumes the readers familiarity with some of the details e. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. Gospel of john commentary is easy to findsome of the most famous theologians in history have closely examined the text and underscored its importance from as early as the beginning of the third century. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of john in the bible king james version. Who wrote the bible by richard elliott friedman the question, after all, is not only who wrote the bible, but who reads it. John the baptist wasnt the author of the gospel of john. Therefore the purpose of john s gospel is to confirm and secure christians in the faith. The bible was written over a span of 1500 years, by 40 writers. John s testimony is preserved while serving in ephesus in asia minor. John the baptist son of zechariah, figures prominently in the beginning of each of the four gospels matthew 3. While church tradition has attributed the gospel of john, the letters of john, and the book of revelation to the same authorjohn the apostle and son of zebedeeinternal and external evidence may require us to attribute them to other individuals who may or may not have also been named john.
John 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. If like me you are interested in the origins of the bible then this book is an extremely good place to start. The epistles content, language and conceptual style are very similar to the gospel of john, 2 john, and 3 john. Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around ad 5 require the gospel of john to have been written, copied, and. Bethabara john testifies to christs messiahship, and baptizes at john 1. The book of the revelation was written about the vision that john saw while banished to the greek island of patmos on the aegean sea. Clearly the most widespread alternative to authorship of 1 john by john the apostle is authorship by a second person whose name is john, usually designated john the elder or presbyter, from the greek word. The book of 2 john would most likely have been written at about the same time as johns other letters, 1 and 3 john, between a.
The first epistle of john is the sixtysecond book in the christian bible, and the twentythird in the new testament this book is believed to a letter from john. All of his books were written later in life and after all the other books in the bible were recorded. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels. It makes a significant difference if the author particularly of 1 john was in fact an eyewitness to the earthly ministry of jesus christ as he appears to claim in 1 john 1. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. This bible study draws from those gospels, as well as from the other books of the bible. Evidence suggests that john s gospel was the last to be written at some point after 70 ad. It is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its. Which books of the bible did the apostle john write exactly. The following dates are not always exact but are very good estimates. Who wrote the gospels evidence for john come reasons. John, son of zebedee was one of the twelve apostles, along with his brother james. John 1 niv bible in the beginning was the word, and the.
He was the son of joseph, a construction worker who originally lived in nazareth in galilee. In the end, the most likely scenario is that the gospel of john was written by john son of zebedee. The author then wrote, this is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things fourth gospel 21. Jude, written by jude, the brother of jesus and james, not the apostle jude 17 prophecy. The purpose of john s gospel jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. Of all the old testament prophets, nobodys like moses dt 34. But that john wrote as a very old man is an inference which only appears later and combined with other statements which cast considerable doubt on its.
He was a fisherman, one of jesus inner circle together with james and peter, and the disciple whom jesus loved jn. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. The books of the hebrew scriptures were organized slightly differently than our king james old testament. Forty men shared in the writing of the bible over a span of about 1,600 years from the time of moses to the last book written by john.
Nov 08, 2017 and the approach by the author that moses was not the author or more precisely the final scribe of the books we have now in the bible maybe true, however, what was noticeably absent from the book was that moses was and is the first original scribe the author is god of course from which these bible scribes obtained their texts from. The gospel of john has many touches that appear to reflect the recollections of an eyewitnesssuch as the house at bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar see12. It is written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. The first epistle of john, often referred to as first john and written 1 john or i john, is the first of the johannine epistles of the new testament, and the fourth of the catholic epistles. The three books share the same writing style, however, and so are likely from the same hand. Intro to john biblica the international bible society. Using the writers own writing styles and personalities, god shows us who he is and. Johns testimony is preserved while serving in ephesus in asia minor.
The first book of the new testament, matthew, was written about 40 a. Tradition credits him with having written five books. He may have been a first cousin of jesus his mother may have been salome. The gospel of john author question, who wrote the gospel of john. It is important to begin with a discussion of authorship, in light of the christological controversy which permeates the three johannine letters. John is traditionally regarded as the author of five books of the bible. The book is easy to read due to the authors straightforward writing style. John bible book with full chapters king james version. First epistle of john simple english wikipedia, the free. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. Matt slick is the president and founder of the christian apologetics.
Johns next two letters, however, are written to specific audiences. Intro to 1 john biblica the international bible society. The elder, the seer, and the apostle bible odyssey. Allowing time for the book to travel in the ancient world, the gospel must have been written by 120 ce.
He wrote the gospel according to john, first, second and third john, and he was the penman of the book of the revelation of jesus christ. When you consider the wide agreement among biblical scholars about who wrote every other book of the new testament, its a little mysterious that we dont know who wrote hebrews. The books of 2 and 3 john are believed to be written by the same author and most scholars believe the author is john the evangelist. The context reveals he is the one called that disciple in verse 23 and the disciple whom jesus loved in verse 20. He may have been one of the deuteronomist writers, or he may have been one of the earliest j authors. These three books are often referred to as letters, though only 1 and 2 john truly fit that description. Moses was the first person to write portions of scripture while john, the disciple of jesus, was the last. One of the projects i remember from bible college that came up often was to do research to show why it is believed that certain men wrote each book. The book of 2 nd john is a general epistle apostolic letter.
Early writers such as irenaeus and tertullian say that john wrote this gospel, and all other evidence agrees see introduction to 1 john. The book of the revelation of jesus christ was written by john probably close to the same time he wrote the epistles which bear his name. There is some disagreement over whether the john who wrote the letters of john, the john who wrote the gospel of john, and the john who wrote the book of revelation are the same person. The book of john is a gospel that contains narrative history, sermons, parables, and a few prophetic oracles. Gospel of john commentary is easy to findsome of the most famous theologians in history have closely examined the text and underscored its importance from as. This is not a sensational book out to denigrate the bible, but a rational explanation of the structure of the old testament. How could john the baptist have written the gospel of john.
To the ends of the world dear theophilus, in the first volume of this book i wrote on everything that jesus began to do and teach until the day he said goodbye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the holy spirit, and was taken up to heaven. The gospel of john has many touches that appear to reflect the recollections of an eyewitness such as the house at bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar see 12. Nonetheless, john is clearly the author of all four documents. What apostle wrote the book of john in the holy bible. It was there that he wrote the book of revelation, which is the 27th book of the new testament. Moses is the prophet who leads israel from slavery in egypt to the edge of the promised land. The text of revelation states that john was on patmos, a greek island where. The author is the apostle john, the disciple whom jesus loved. Introduction to the gospel of john study resources.
In addition to this one, john wrote two other new testament letters, a gospel, and possibly the prophetic book of revelation. History of the bible who wrote the bible why its reliable. He is always named next after jesus in lists of jesus brothers, so he was presumably considered to be. The topic i intend to speak on this weekend is the life and writings of the apostle john. Historians and archaeologists have repeatedly confirmed its authenticity.