John has been called the most brilliant of all Biblical writings by many great Bible experts over the years. It is thought of by many as the deepest and most profound of all the inspired biblical writings. A uniquely beautiful book and a supreme literary work. It is one the most loved book in the Bible. Many say it is probably the most important document in all of world literature.
Author
The author of the fourth Gospel identifies himself, but not by name. In John 21:19-24, he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved (that phrase occurs five times in John. (Jonn.13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20). Humility means than when he is referred to himself in the book, John never called himself by name (John. 1:40, 13:23,21:20, 24), but all the other Gospel writers when describing the same events name him. Therefore, the apostle John must be the author of the fourth Gospel. Church tradition confirms this conclusion.
The family of John lived in a town on the shores of Lake Galilee. He and his brother James worked with their father Zebedee as fishermen, along with Peter and Andrew, brothers from another local family, (Matthew 4:18-21; Luke 5:10) tells us this. John's mother, Salome, appears to have been a sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; John 19:25).
The Bible contains little additional information about John's ministry. Non-biblical writings indicate that he lived to an incredibly old age (John 21:20-23) and spent most of his later years in and around Ephesus, from where he wrote his Gospel and Letters. He has also been traditionally regarded as the writer of Revelation which means he probably spent his final years as a prisoner on the island of Patmos, off the coast from Ephesus (Revelation 1:9).
Recipients
Scholars usually date John between 85 and 95 AD. Their basic reason for doing so is that there is no reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. Therefore, many think that the destruction of Jerusalem must have occurred a good many years before he wrote. There is an early and consistent tradition that John wrote from Ephesus at the request of the church there for a summary of the oral teachings on the life of Christ. 4th century historian Eusebius refers to a current 4th century opinion that John wrote after the other evangelists to supply an account of the early period of the Lord ‟s ministry, which they had not covered in detail.
Message
Churches of the Ephesus region had long been troubled by false teaching (Acts 20:17; Acts 20:29-30; Revelation 2:2). The teaching was an early form of Gnosticism, a heresy that became very destructive during the second century. Gnostics combined Christian belief with pagan philosophy they denied there could be a union between things that appeared to be opposites, some denied that Jesus was fully a human being, others that he was fully God.
John adamantly opposed both these errors. But his writings were more than just a defence against false teaching. He had a positive purpose, and that was to lead people to faith in Christ, so that they might experience the full and eternal life that Christ made possible
The main message is that Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who came to give eternal life to all who believe in Him, die, be raised, and He commission His disciples to proclaim the forgiveness of sins.
Structure
The basic structure of John is chronological and geographical. John chooses “witnesses” throughout his book to testify to the deity and Messiahship of Jesus.
• Prologue 1:1-18
• Witnesses Accounts of the Public Ministry of Christ 1:19-12:50
• Witnesses to the Private Ministry of Christ 13:1-17:26
• Witnesses During the Trial and Crucifixion of Christ 18:1-20:31
• Epilogue 21:1-25
Purposes
Not only did the Gnostics of the AD 90s had trouble accepting Jesus' uniqueness, so did the orthodox Jews of Jesus’ day. John's method of teaching was to recount the stories and teachings of Jesus. He did not just recount incidents from Jesus' life, but he showed the significance of the incidents. For this reason, he called them 'signs' (John 20:30; John 2:11; John 4:54; John 6:14; John 7:31; John 12:18; John 12:37).
Jesus' signs showed not only that he was the Messiah, but also that he was the Son of God (John 20:31). The Jews considered it blasphemy that a person who had grown up among them should claim to be God. As a result, the signs that Jesus performed were usually followed by long debates with the Jews (e.g., the miracle in John 5:1-15 followed by the debate in 5:1647; the miracle in John 9:1-12 followed by the debate 9:1310:38).
When John records a miracle, he treated it differently. The other writers did little more than tell the story, whereas John followed the story with lengthy teaching that arose out of it.
Since John was concerned with the meaning and significance of events, he recorded some of Jesus' conversations with people at length (e.g., with Nicodemus in John 3:1-15 and with the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-26). In a similar way he used the account of the Last Supper, which the other writers recorded only briefly, to provide four further chapters of teaching on important Christian doctrines. Again, the teaching is seen to come direct from the lips of Jesus (John 13:1-16:33).
At the centre of all the doctrinal discussions was the fact that Jesus was God in human form. Jesus' teaching on God's kingdom contrasted with the popular Jewish belief of the time. The Jews believed that the kingdom was a future national and political kingdom centred on Israel. Jesus pointed out that God's kingdom was already among them. It was present in him (Luke 10:9; Luke 17:20-21). Those who submitted to Christ's rule entered God’s kingdom, and thereby received forgiveness of sins and eternal life (Matthew 21:31; Mark 10:14-15; John 3:3). The same is true of people of any era. Those who believe in Christ enter his kingdom and receive its blessings (Romans 14:17; Colossians 1:13).
Jesus also spoke of the kingdom as something in the future (Mark 14:25). It would be established only after his death and resurrection (Luke 22:15-16; Luke 22:28-30; Luke 24:26; and. Revelation 5:6-12; Revelation 11:15). Moreover, Jesus said that those who were already believers would enter his kingdom at his return (Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 13:41-43; Matthew 25:31-34; 1 Corinthians 15:50; 2 Peter 1:11). Therefore, although the kingdom of God is already present, it also awaits the future. Since the kingdom is the rule of God, believers enter it when they believe, but they will experience its full blessings only when the reach heaven or Christ returns to banish evil and reign in righteousness (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
John records these signs so that his readers can believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they may have life in His name (Jn. 20:31). When all the evidence is considered, it indicates that the major purpose of the Gospel of John is evangelistic, and the secondary purposes are to strengthen the faith of believers and urge them to become disciples.
Summary:
John presents Jesus as the Messiah/Son of God who came to give eternal life to all who believe in Him, die, be raised, and commission His disciples to proclaim the gift of eternal life. If Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, believe Him. If you do, you will have eternal life. If Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, you can be certain that you have eternal life by believing in Him. If Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, abide in Him.
(c) J R McCandless - Life Publishing