“Although the author’s name does not appear in the Gospel, early church tradition strongly and consistently identified him as the apostle John. The early church father, Irenaeus (c. AD 130-200) was a disciple of Polycarp (c. AD 70-160), who was a disciple of the apostle John, and he testified on Polycarp’s authority that John wrote the Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia Minor when he was advanced in age.” [1]
“While the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) identify the apostle John by name approximately 20 times, he is not directly mentioned by name in the Gospel of John. Instead, the author prefers to identify himself as the disciple ‘whom Jesus loved’.” [2] This title is used by the author on 5 separate occasions (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20).
“The recurring designation of deliberate avoidance by John of his personal name, reflects his humility and celebrates his relation to his Lord Jesus. Had the author been someone other than John the apostle, he would not have omitted John’s name.” [3]
“John and James, his older brother (Acts 12:2) were known as ‘the sons of Zebedee’, but Jesus gave them the name ‘Sons of Thunder’.” [4] While no reason for the title is ever explained, “Jesus has a purpose for everything He does, so He must have had a good reason for dubbing James and John as “Sons of Thunder.” “Jesus . . . knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man” (John 2:24-25). In other words, Jesus knew the brothers’ nature when He first met them, and He chose ‘Boanerges’ (or Sons of Thunder) as a fitting nickname.” [5]
“John was an apostle and one of the three most intimate associates of Jesus (along with Peter and James - Matthew 17:1; 26:37), being eyewitness to and participant in Jesus’ earthly ministry (1 John 1:1-4) After Christ’s Ascension, John became a ‘pillar’ in the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9). He ministered with Peter until he went to Ephesus, from where he wrote this Gospel and from where the Romans exiled him to Patmos (Rev. 1:9).”
“The island of Patmos declined when the Romans conquered it. It was used as a place of exile for convicts. This is how Apostle John came to Patmos, exiled by the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus in 95 AD. In Patmos, Apostle John converted the inhabitants to Christianity and wrote the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse. Patmos then became a place of worshipping and pilgrimage and actually, the culture and history of Patmos are strongly connected to the Apocalypse of Saint John.” [6]
Up next we’ll take a look at Mary Magdalene. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
[1] The MacArthur Bible Commentary; John MacArthur; Thomas Nelson Publishers; p.1338.
[2] The MacArthur Bible Commentary; John MacArthur; Thomas Nelson Publishers; p.1338.
[3] The MacArthur Bible Commentary; John MacArthur; Thomas Nelson Publishers; p.1338.
[4] The MacArthur Bible Commentary; John MacArthur; Thomas Nelson Publishers; p.1339.
[5] https://www.gotquestions.org/sons-of-thunder.html
[6] https://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/patmos/history/
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