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"The Gospel According to John" is traditionally thought to be the work of the Apostle John, also commonly believed to have authored the three surviving letters of John, and the Book of Revelation. There is no direct attribution by the Apostle, but the authorship may be deduced by a process of elimination. The Gospel refers to "the disciple whom Jesus loved" or "beloved disciple" (John 20:2), a phrase used five times in John's Gospel. |
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We understand that Jesus only ate with the twelve disciples at the last supper (Mark 14:17-25). In John's Gospel, the beloved disciple is mentioned as being present, and there is no mention of the name of John (John 13:23-25). Yet we know that John was one of the disciples (in fact, he was part of the inner circle around Jesus comprised of Peter, James and John). John's Gospel also mentions that these records are eye witness accounts.
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Many modern day scholars dispute the assertation that John authored the Gospel, arguing that John was an uneducated fisherman and would not have been capable of writing such a scholarly work. However, other contemporary theologians contest that John may well have provided the source for majority of the Gospel material, even if he did not actually write it (a view argued by Rudolf Schnackenburg, amongst others). |
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| John's Gospel Summary |
John's Gospel can be divided into four sections:-
1. A prologue, asserting that Jesus is the "Logos" of God (John 1:1-5) - a phrase adapted from the Jewish Hellenistic teacher Philo. Indentifying Jesus as the Word (Logos) of God places him above all other prophets and angels.
2. The seven signs - John's Gospel develops the theme of Christ being the "Word" by documenting seven miracles performed by Christ (refered to as "signs" in the Gospel, from John 1:6 to John 12:50), and recording Jesus refering to himself as "I am" (a phrase associated with the God of the Old Testament - Exodus 3:14). For example "I am the gate", (John 10:7) "I am the shepherd" (John 10:11) etc.
3. The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ (John 13 to 20), Here we have the last few days of Jesus's life - beginning at the Last Supper, followed by his arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.
4. An epilogue, recounting an encounter with the resurrected Jesus by the sea of Galilee (John 21).
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| Commentary on John's Gospel |
Looking down the left-hand side of the page navigation, there are a number of commentaries about the Book of John. The introduction to John provided by Matthew Henry argues the traditional view that John, the disciple of Christ, was the author of this work. John Calvin, in his commentary preface to John, considers the meaning of the word "gospel", which is, the "glad and delightful message of the grace" revealed to us in Christ. Adam Clarke writes about what can be gleaned from scripture about the Apostle John, and charts his life as recorded in the new testament. He also shows how John asserts Christ as the Word of God, refuting gnostic belief. Also in this is section is a preface to John's Gospel by Albert Barnes, and a summary of the book of John by the American theologian Cyrus Scofield.
There's also two sermons by Charles Spurgeon on John's Gospel, and the introductory bible notes on John by the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley.
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