3.2 Authorship of the 4th gospel Flashcards
What does the question of authorship of the 4th gospel try to establish?
- Who wrote the goespl
- When
- For who
- Why
Who was John the apostle?
The son of Zebedee and the brother of James
- One of the original disciples
- A fisherman from Galilee
- Mentioned in the synoptics but not in John by name
What are the arguments for John the Apostle as the author of the 4th gospel?
- The gospel writer claims to be an apostle (John 21:24)
- Irenaus: the author was ‘John the disciple of the Lord’ who lived in Ephesus. Claimed to have gotten this from the reliable source of Bishop Polycarp- a disciple of John the apostle
- The author’s language and knowledge of Palestine suggest he was Jewish
- The author corrects statements in the synotics- would only be done by an apostle
- Detail in the gospel points to an eye witness account- e.g know close detail about Jesus’ trial
What are the agrguments against John the apostle as the author?
- Unlikely that it was John son of Zebedee, as he would have been very old if we believe as Irenaeus suggests that he lived till 98CE
- There is a tradition that John was put to death along with his brother James
- If john was a fisherman, would he be educated enough to write this sophisticated gospel?
- How can the omission of events be explained if he was an Apostle?
- There are gnostic influences- suggesting a later date
- Some claim chapter 21 is unreliable as it has been criticised for redaction
Why is the beloved disciple a possible author of the gospel?
There are references in John to the disciple whom Jesus oved as the one who wrote the Gospel- but who was he? Could be:
- John the apostle (as all other apostles are named)
- an ‘ideal’ apostle- a made up description to help early Christians
- Lazarus- ‘the one you love is ill’ (11:3)
- an unknown Palestinian Jew who was an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry and inspired the author
(13:23) (20:2) and (21:20-24)
Who was John the elder and why was he a possible author?
- An ‘obscure figure’ referred to by the early church, has been identified with Joh the apostlesfrom 70CE to 146CE
- Title ‘elder’ suggests he lived to an advanced age; coinciding with Irenaeus’ observation of the author
- Some scholars suggest there are literary simiarities between the letters of John and the gospel- meaning they have the same author- john the elder
Why do some critique John the Elder as the author?
Most scholars observe that the second and third epistles of John are quite different to the first episode and the Gospel, suggesting a different author
- therefore the author is not John the Elder
What does Raymond Brown think about the authorship of the 4th gospel?
- suggests that early Church’s concern over authorship were more about authority behind writing than identifying who the author was.
- For brown the gospel is rooted in the oral tradition coming from the companions of Jesus- including the beloved disciple, explaining the familiarity with palestine and Judaism
Gospel is a reflection of events and experiences of the early Christian community:
- Gospel refers to the fact that anyone claiming Jesus is the messiah would be cast out the synagogue- reflects 1st century behaviour
- Miracles and teachings of Jesus had become long theological discourses similar to how Jewish teachings were interpreted
What chain of events does Brown suggest for the early church’s adoption of the ‘beloved disciple’?
- The ‘beloved disciple’ was an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry
- The accounts from the ‘beloved disciple’ were part of the oral tradition
- The community of the ‘beloved disiciple’ adopted the traditions
- Early collections of the tradition were written down
- The main text of the gospel was written (90CE)
- The gospel was completed by a redactor (100CE)
What does J.A.T Robinson believe about the authorship of the 4th gospel?
- Argues the gospel was written around 40-65CE, as the destruction of the temple was in 70CE and was a catastrophic event for Judaism and early christianity but none of the gospels refer to it
- More likely the author of is John the apostle- Robinson says he wrote the first draft and the prologue and the final chapter were added by the early church
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the view that the author of the gospel was an apostle?
Strengths:
- external evidence suggests that John the apostle was the author meaning the gospel was firmly rooted in oral tradition- giving it apostolic authority
weaknesses:
- the internal evidence of the gospel shows confusion over the sequence of events and factual inaccuracies about places and names. Coupled with the date of after 98CE for the gospel’s writing- this makes it more unlikely the apostles wrote it
- If Brown and Robinson are correct the author could be the ‘beloved disciple’
- the evidence of the authorship is inconclusive
How does the 4th gospel shows Jesus as Christ (messiah)?
- different people proclaimed to be the messiah. At the start of Jesus’ ministry the disciples proclaim ‘we have found the messiah’ (1:41)
- Jesus himself says he’s the messiah- when the samaratin women says she knows the messiah is coming Jesus says he is the one (4:25-26)
- Jesus fulfils OT prophecies of the Messiah- he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey fulfilling Zecheriah 9:9
- Signs show he is the Christ e.g when he heals the blind man- fulfilling the prologue and Isaiah 9:1-12
How does the 4th gospel show Jesus as the Son of God?
Title hughlights a close relationship with God, John highlights this:
- John the baptist testifies that Jesus if the SoG (1:34)
- Nathaniel the disciple declares Jesus as the SoG (1:49)
- This relationship gives Jesus’ teaching authority- the Father and Jesus are one (14:11)
- The claim of SoG was blasphemy and led to Jesus’ death (19:7)
How does the 4th gospel show life in his name?
Theme of eternal life coming from Christ runs throughout the gospel:
- Jesus said it was through him that eternal life was made possible (John 6:40)
- After the Pharisees question his authority Jesus says it is those who hear the voice of the SoG who will live (5:21-27)
- John the baptist calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes sin away from the world (1:29)
- The SoG offers himself as a sacrifice- making it possible for human salvation and to receive eternal life (3:16)
How does the 4th gospel present itself as a spiritual gospel?
Clement of alexandria commented on John’s different approach as a ‘spiritual gospel’
- Could be in John’s understanding of the spirit or Paraclete, as the helper that will teach the disciples to remember all Jesus has taught (14:25-26)- John is exploring/ teaching the meaning of Jesus’ life and teachings and witnessing that Jesus is God
- The author was selective, and not interested in recording everything. (writes there were more signs than he included)
- The order of events is different to other gospels suggesting a theological reason- e.g putting the cleansing of the temple at the start of the gospel. Highlights that Jesus comes to bring a new spiritual truth not based on law, further developing replacement theology of the first sign
- Emphasis on Jesus’ divinity- e.g use of the Prologue rather than the birth narrative, establishing the unique divine nature of Jesus
