Background Study: Life and Ministry of John the Apostle Flashcards
Who do most scholars generally agree wrote the gospel of John?
The apostle John
What region was John native to?
Galilee
What was John’s occupation?
He was a fisherman
Who did John fish with?
His father Zebedee and his brother James
Who was John’s mother Salome a devoted follower of?
Jesus
Who was John originally a disciple of?
John the Baptist
How many years of Jesus’ ministry was John an eyewitness to?
3 years
Who does John refer to himself as?
The disciple whom Jesus loved
What small group was John in that granted him a close relationship with Jesus?
He was in Jesus’ inner circle
What name did Jesus give John and his brother James and what does it mean?
Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder”
When Jesus was on the cross who did He entrust to John?
His mother
What reference tells us that John witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus?
Matthew 17:1-8
What reference tells us that John was with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane?
Matthew 26:36-38
What reference tells us that John witnessed the raising of a young girl who has died?
Mark 5:35-43
What reference tells us that John saw the empty tomb?
John 20:1-8
What reference tells us that John witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus?
John 19:16, 25-27
What reference tells us that John and Peter were arrested because they spoke the truth?
Acts 4:1-13
What reference tells us that John received the revelation of Jesus Christ?
Revelation 1:1-2
At what church is John described as being the pillar of?
Jerusalem
Where did John write 1 2 3 John?
Ephesus
What heresy did 1 John address?
Gnosticism
What did Gnosticism deny about Christ?
That He had come in the flesh
The Gnostics believed all physical matter was ___________?
Evil
John was tortured and exiled to where?
Patmos
While on Patmos what book did John write?
Revelation
How did John die?
A natural death
Eusebius wrote that the Romans armies descended on Jerusalem to quell an uprising. What year did this happen?
AD 66
What direction did Christians flee over the Jordan river?
Northeast
What city did the Christians flee to?
Pella
Who was Irenaeus a disciple of?
Polycarp
Who was Polycarp a disciple of?
John
Who’s writings verify John’s residence in Ephesus?
Irenaeus
When did John come to Ephesus according to Irenaeus?
After Paul’s death
Who founded the church in Ephesus?
Paul
What church father says that from Ephesus John visited neighboring churches, appointing bishops and setting churches in order?
Clemens Alexandrius
What speaks of John’s travels?
John’s epistles
Between what two years did Domitian often banish Christians to the island of Patmos?
AD 81 and 96
Of what descent was the emperor Domitian?
He was Roman
What two things/people confirm that John was exiled to Patmos?
Scripture (Revelation 1:9) and Eusebius
Where did John die?
We don’t know
According to Revelation 1:11, what are the 7 cities John may have ministered to when he lived in Ephesus?
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Ephesus, Laodica, and Smyrna
What direction is Ephesus, the city where John pastored, from Jerusalem?
Northwest
