March 15, 2003, Vol.3, No.6.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "Introduction
to John" (see below)
and "Introduction to Luke"
Overview of the Bible:
Introduction to John
by Keith Sharp
Author
The writer of the fourth gospel account, though not expressly
named in the book, so plainly identifies himself as to leave
no reasonable doubt of his identity. The author was an eye witness
of the events he describes (1:14; 19:35; 21:24). He is the disciple,
one of the twelve apostles, "whom Jesus loved"  and
"who also leaned on his breast at the supper" (21:20-24;
cf. 13:21-25). Since he was so close to the Lord, he appears
to be one of the inner three disciples to whom Jesus appeared
on the mount of transfiguration: Peter, James or John (Matthew
17:1-2). But the writer plainly distinguishes himself from Peter
(1:41-42; 13:6,8; etc.). James had been dead many years before
this book was penned (Acts 12:1-2). Ancient writers uniformly,
from the early second century on, name John as the author. Without
doubt, the apostle John wrote the fourth account of Christ.
John was a son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle James,
and they were all rather well-to-do fishermen by trade, having
hired servants (Mark 1:19-20). Jesus called James and John "Sons
of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). They wanted to call down fire from
heaven to destroy a Samaritan village that rejected them (Luke
9:54). They had carnal ambition for rule and thought the kingdom
would be of an earthly nature (Matthew 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-41).
John was intensely loyal to Christ. He followed Jesus into
the high priest's palace after the Lord's arrest (18:15) and
was present at the crucifixion (19:25-27). It was to John Jesus
entrusted the care of His mother (Ibid). When Mary Magdalene
brought word of the empty tomb, he outran Peter to the sepulcher,
and, seeing the evidence of the resurrection, believed (20:1-9).
He was a witness of the raised Lord, eminently qualified to testify
(1 John 1:1-3).
After Pentecost, John often accompanied Peter (Acts 3:1; 4:19;
8:14). He was in Jerusalem when Paul and Barnabas came there
about the question of circumcision (Acts 15:6) and was a pillar
in the church (Galatians 2:9).
Ancient, uninspired writers say John later went to Ephesus,
from whence he was exiled to the island of Patmos in the latter
part of the first century, where he wrote the book of Revelation
(Revelation 1:9). These writers aver that, after his release
from Patmos, he returned to Ephesus, where, in the last decade
of the first century, he wrote the fourth gospel account and
then First, Second and Third John.
Years of following Christ mellowed John, so that he became
known as the apostle of love (cf. 13:34-35; 15:12).
Purpose
John leaves no question about the purpose of his record of
Jesus.
"And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence
of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."
(20:30-31).
John is the gospel of belief. It was written to convince people
to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Though the
noun "faith" is never found in the book, the verb "believe"
occurs ninety-nine times. John records both disobedient faith,
which will not save (8:31-44; 12:42-43), and obedient faith,
which will (3:16; 8:31-32).
Audience
John is the universal gospel. It is so written as to appeal
to any honest person in any age. He writes as a Jew but explains
so a Gentile audience will understand (cf. 6:4; 18:28; 19:17).
Plan
John is the gospel of evidence. John does not write a "life
of Christ" as the synoptic writers do. Rather, he selects
just a few events and conversations from the life of Jesus and
presents them as evidence of the Lord's deity. Out of more than
one thousand days in Jesus' ministry, John selects events from
no more than twenty. Of 879 verses in the book, 237 (chapters
13-19) tell of just one day. The synoptic writers objectively
narrate events, leaving us to draw our own conclusions. John
interprets the life of Christ. John records not a single parable
of the Master, but he relates in detail verbal exchanges Jesus
had with the Jewish rulers. Since John presents Jesus as God,
he tells nothing of his genealogy, birth, childhood, baptism,
temptation, transfiguration or ascension. As Luke most strongly
emphasizes Jesus' humanity, John most emphatically asserts His
deity (e.g., 1:1-3,14; 5:18; 8:58). He presents seven relationships
Jesus as God sustains (1:1-18).
John records seven claims of Jesus, the seven "I Ams"
(6:35; 8:12,58; 9:5; 10:7-9,11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1-8). They
all pertain to His divine nature. To prove the seven claims,
John records seven miracles Jesus wrought (2:1-11; 4:46-54; 5:1-9;
6:1-14 16-21; 9:1-12; 11:1-46). The ultimate proof is the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead (cf. 20:1-9,19-29; 21:24).
John is the gospel of conflict. As Jesus, the light of the
world, came in conflict with the darkness of Satan, manifested
in the rulers of the Jews, they ultimately killed Him. Darkness
seemed to have triumphed. But Jesus came forth from the grave
victorious!
~ ~ ~
|
|
