Author and
Date
Although the author’s name does not appear in the gospel,
early church tradition strongly and consistently identified him as the
Apostle John. The early church father Irenaeus (ca.
a.d. 130–200) was a disciple
of Polycarp (ca. a.d.
70–160), who was a disciple of the Apostle John, and he testified on
Polycarp’s authority that John wrote the gospel during his residence at
Ephesus in Asia Minor when he was advanced in age (Against
Heresies 2.22.5; 3.1.1). Subsequent to
Irenaeus, all the church fathers assumed John to be the gospel’s author.
Clement of Alexandria (ca. a.d.
150–215) wrote that John, aware of the facts set forth in the other gospels
and being moved by the Holy Spirit, composed a “spiritual gospel” (see
Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History
6.14.7).<--ag e fuue for EFC-->
Reinforcing early church tradition are significant
internal characteristics of the gospel. While the synoptic gospels (Matthew,
Mark, Luke) identify the Apostle John by name approximately 20 times
(including parallels), he is not directly mentioned by name in the Gospel of
John. Instead, the author prefers to identify himself as the disciple “whom
Jesus loved” (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). The absence of any mention of
John’s name directly is remarkable when one considers the important part
played by other named disciples in this gospel. Yet, the recurring
designation of himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” a deliberate
avoidance by John of his personal name, reflects his humility and celebrates
his relation to his Lord Jesus. No mention of his name was necessary since
his original readers clearly understood that he was the gospel’s author.
Also, through a process of elimination based primarily on analyzing the
material in chaps. 20, 21, this disciple “whom Jesus loved” narrows down to
the Apostle John (e.g., 21:24; cf. 21:2). Since the gospel’s author is
exacting in mentioning the names of other characters in the book, if the
author had been someone other than John the apostle, he would not have
omitted John’s name.
The gospel’s anonymity strongly reinforces the arguments
favoring John’s authorship, for only someone of his well known and
preeminent authority as an apostle would be able to write a gospel that
differed so markedly in form and substance from the other gospels and have
it receive unanimous acceptance in the early church. In contrast, apocryphal
gospels produced from the mid-second century onward were falsely ascribed to
apostles or other famous persons closely associated with Jesus, yet
universally rejected by the church.
John and James, his older brother (Acts 12:2), were known
as “the sons of Zebedee” (Matt. 10:2–4), and Jesus gave them the name “Sons
of Thunder” (Mark 3:17). John was an apostle (Luke 6:12–16) and one of the 3
most intimate associates of Jesus (along with Peter and James—cf. Matt.
17:1; 26:37), being an eyewitness to and participant in Jesus’ earthly
ministry (1 John 1:1–4). After Christ’s ascension, John became a “pillar” in
the Jerusalem church (Gal. 2:9). He ministered with Peter (Acts 3:1; 4:13;
8:14) until he went to Ephesus (tradition says before the destruction of
Jerusalem), from where he wrote this gospel and from where the Romans exiled
him to Patmos (Rev. 1:9). Besides the gospel that bears his name, John also
authored 1–3 John and the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:1).
Because the writings of some church fathers indicate that
John was actively writing in his old age and that he was already aware of
the synoptic gospels, many date the gospel sometime after their composition,
but prior to John’s writing of 1–3 John or Revelation. John wrote his gospel
ca. a.d. 80–90, about 50
years after he witnessed Jesus’ earthly ministry.
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur
Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997,
S. Jn 1:1