The Apostle John

Introduction:  Let us consider the life of the author of the book of John.  The information about the Apostle John might appear relatively meager.  Yet, there is enough information for us to formulate an impression of the man named John.

I.  Background information.

          A.  The son of Zebedee and the brother of James the Apostle (Matt. 4:21).

          B.  John’s family were fisherman by occupation (Mark 1:19-20).  In fact, it was while John was fishing that Christ called John and his brother James to the Work.

          C.  His brother James was beheaded by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2).

          D.  John is named among the 12 Apostles (Matt. 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-19).  It is in Mark’s account that Jesus names John and his brother James as “Son’s of Thunder.”  Perhaps this is a reference to their temperament.

II. Scriptures where we find John in the Gospels.  (These are references not including those found in the book of John.)

          A.  John was the only one of 5 people who witnessed Jesus raising the ruler of the synagogue’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49-56).

          B.  Interestingly, John was one of three to witness the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36).

          C.  John was with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42).

          D.  It was John who was concerned that someone else was casting out demons in Christ’s name (Mark 9:38-41; Luke 9:49-50).

          E.  When a Samaritan village would not allow them to pass through, John and James wanted to wipe them out (Luke 9:54-56).

          F.  John and his brother displayed their ambition by asking Christ for a place of honor in the here after (Mark 10:35-45).

          G.  John was one of the 12 that were present when Jesus explains the signs of the times and the end of the age (Mark 13:3-4).

          H.  John with Peter went to prepare the Passover for Christ (Luke 22:8).           

III. After Christ’s death, John is found ...

          A.  John was with Peter when the Sanhedrin throws them in jail for speaking about Christ and healing a lame man (Acts 4:1-22).

          B.  John was with Peter when they traveled into Samaria to give the Holy Ghost to the newly converted (Acts 8:14-17).

          C.  The only other mention other than as the author of the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:1, 4, 9) in the Bible is in Galatians (Gal. 2:9).  It is here that John is identified as being in Jerusalem when Paul came there concerning the issue over circumcision (Acts 15).

IV. In the book of John

          A.  There are 7 references to the person we believe is John in the book of John.  The problem with finding references to John is the fact John is never named in the book.  However, John seems to be consistently identified as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  It is from that title that we find John in 5 of these references.  There is one reference to the “sons of Zebedee” and one reference to “that disciple.”  There is one other vague reference to John (John 1:35-36).  We believe this unidentified disciple to be John as we attribute the writing of the book to John and it makes sense he was a witness to all he wrote.

          B.  How do we know John wrote the book of John?  Through a process of elimination we can determine John wrote the book that bears his name.  At the conclusion of the book of John, the author gives us clues to his identity (John 21:20-24).  We know the only ones present at the last supper were the twelve Apostles (Matt. 26:20).  Further, the author identifies himself with a smaller named group of men in the same chapter  (John 21:2, 7).

                   1.  The author could not be Peter as he speaks with Peter.

                   2.  Nathanael in not an Apostle; therefore he was not present at the last supper.  However, some believe Nathanael is Bartholomew’s surname.

                   3. The author specifically names Peter, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, and Judas, Thaddaeus (known as Judas the greater) and Bartholomew if indeed his surname is Nathanael.

                   4.  The Apostle James (John’s brother) was dead at the time the book was written.

                   5.  According to history (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs) Simon the Zealot was crucified in 74 A.D. which is before the book of John was written.

                   6.  Matthew wrote his own account of the life of Christ.

                   7.  That leaves James the son of Alphaeus and John.  Both of these men have writings in the New Testament.  When the literature is compared with the book of John, only John’s writings are similar to what we know as the book of John.  Therefore, the book of John must have been written by John the Apostle.

          C.  Given that conclusion, the book of John is actually a wealth of information concerning John himself.  As noted in John 21:24-25, he only recorded the events to which he could testify.  That means John primarily had first hand information of everything recorded in the book of John.  Thereby, we know where he was and many of the events he saw and witnessed.

Conclusion:  We do not have the time to study the whole book of John. Besides, our time together has expired.  However, I hope this information might help in your own study of the book of John.

Last modified: 05/02/08