Noted as one of the best starting places in the Bible, the Gospel of John is a first-hand account of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from one of his most trusted friends and disciples. This book is necessary reading for the believer as it's detail and insight is beyond anything one might cross as they seek out knowledge of this good Word. For this reason, I have decided to embark on a multi-part study on the Gospel of John to give not only in-depth analysis of the entire book; but, also background on it's creation and the man that wrote it. Today we will start with a short introduction before moving into the text itself.
John the Apostle
The book of John was written by John the Apostle. John was not only one of the twelve disciples, but also one of the main friends and confidants of Jesus (Matthew 17; John 21). John was son of a wealthy fisherman named Zebedee (Mark 1:20) and had a brother named James, who was a disciple as well (Matthew 4:21-22).
John was known as being zealous, impatient, intolerant (Luke 9:54). Still, he was a very dear and diligent disciple of Jesus who was eventually entrusted with the care of Jesus's mother, Mary (John 19:26-27) and worked with the Apostle Peter in Jerusalem (Acts 3). John was not only mentioned in the Bible, however, historians of the time mentioned John in their letters which give us more information about him historically.
Polycarp, a historian and Bishop of Ephesus, wrote this about John...
Lived in Ephesus – 70 AD (after destruction of Jerusalem)
Wrote his gospel and 3 Epistles – 80 AD
Exiled to Patmos – 94 AD
Wrote Revelations – 96 AD
Died a natural death – 100 AD
There were four Gospels written about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Bible. These four Gospels each have different purposes for which they were written:
Matthew – Jesus as Messiah/King (Jewish community minded)
Mark/Luke – Jesus as Redeemer of all (Gentile minded)
John – Jesus as Son of God (Writing for Asia Minor/Development of faith)
The three themes of John's Gospel (in no sequential order) are establishing Jesus as fully God and fully Man; the development of belief far and wide; and the development of disbelief. All of these themes are interwoven throughout John's narrative which we will see much more clearly in our next post which will begin to dive into the text of the Gospel of John. I hope you will join me!
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Are you looking for a good reading plan and just don't know where to start? Join me in reading all about the Bible's teachings on Thanksgiving throughout the whole month of November! Check out our November reading plan below and don't forget to stop by our Instagram Live (@whitneygibbsministries) each evening to discuss the day's readings!
