John gospel biography

John had more time to think about what questions were raised in the 50 or more years after the resurrection of Christ. He knew what doubts had been raised and how to answer the questions before we knew to ask them. The Epistles of John were written to various audiences. They were all written after John was an old man living in Ephesus.

The first epistle was not addressed to anyone in particular, but was written more as a sermon. There are three men who bear that name to whom the letter could have been written. The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ was written by John probably close to the same time he wrote the epistles which bear his name. Tradition says that this was after John had been sentenced to death by martyrdom.

This was not a promise that John would live until the Lord returned, but it does seem to indicate that the Lord knew John would live a long time John Tradition holds that John was sentenced to death in a boiling vat of oil. Yet he emerged unharmed from the experience. Again tradition tells us that John lived into old age dying sometime after AD By Austin Cline Austin Cline.

Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism. Learn about our Editorial Process. Cite this Article Format. In medieval works of painting, sculpture and literature, Saint John is often presented in an androgynous or feminized manner. Legends from the " Acts of John " contributed much to medieval iconography; it is the source of the idea that John became an apostle at a young age.

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John gospel biography: The Gospel of John is the

Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Saint John the Evangelist with eagle, Lorsch Gospels 9th century. Gospel of John traditional attribution Epistles of John traditional attribution Revelation traditional attribution.

Saint John the EvangelistDomenichino. Apostle Beloved disciple Evangelist Patmos Presbyter. Identity [ edit ]. See also: Johannine literature and Four Evangelists.

John gospel biography: John and his brother St. James

Authorship of the Johannine works [ edit ]. Main articles: Authorship of the Johannine works and Johannine epistles. Feast day [ edit ]. In art [ edit ]. Gallery [ edit ]. John the Evangelist by Joan de Joanes —oil on panel. Saint John the Evangelist by Domenichino — Saints John and Bartholomewby Dosso Dossi. Stained glass window in St.

Aidan's CathedralIreland. A portrait from the Book of Kellsc. Saint John and the cup by El Greco. Statue of John the Evangelist outside St. John's SeminaryBoston. St John the Evangelist depicted in a 14th-century manuscript in the Flemish style. Prochorus and St John depicted in Xoranasat's gospel manuscript in On this basis some traditions believe that John was first a disciple of John the Baptisteven though he is not named in this episode.

Jesus then called PeterAndrew and the two sons of Zebedee to follow him.

John gospel biography: John the Apostle is known for

James and John are listed among the Twelve Apostles. Jesus referred to the pair as "Boanerges" translated "sons of thunder". John is traditionally believed to have lived on for more than fifty years after the martyrdom of his brother James, who became the first Apostle to die a martyr's death in AD John is always mentioned in the group of the first four apostles in the Gospels and in the Book of Actslisted either "john gospel biography," [ 30 ] third [ 31 ] or fourth.

John, along with his brother James and Peterformed an informal triumvirate among the Twelve Apostles in the Gospels. Jesus allowed them to be the only apostles present at three particular occasions during his public ministry, the Raising of Jairus' daughter[ 34 ] Transfiguration of Jesus [ 35 ] and Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus sent only Peter and John into the city to make the preparation for the final Passover meal the Last Supper.

Many traditions identify the " disciple whom Jesus loved " in the Gospel of John as the Apostle John, but this identification is debated. At the meal itself, the "disciple whom Jesus loved" sat next to Jesus. It was customary to recline on couches at meals, and this disciple leaned on Jesus. After the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemaneonly Peter and the "other disciple" according to tradition, John followed him into the palace of the high-priest.

Following the instruction of Jesus from the Cross, the beloved disciple took Mary, the mother of Jesusinto his care as the last legacy of Jesus. After Jesus' Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit at PentecostJohn, together with Peter, took a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the church. He was with Peter at the healing of the lame man at Solomon's Porch in the Temple [ 43 ] and he was also thrown into prison with Peter.

While he remained in Judea and the surrounding area, the other disciples returned to Jerusalem for the Apostolic Council c. Paul, in opposing his enemies in Galatia, explicitly recalled that John, along with Peter and James the Justwere collectively recognized as the three Pillars of the Church. He also referred to the recognition that his Apostolic preaching of a gospel free from Jewish Law was received from these three, the most prominent men of the messianic community at Jerusalem.

John claims that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of this disciple. None of the other Gospels includes anyone in the parallel scenes that could be directly understood as the Beloved Disciple. For example, in LukePeter alone runs to the tomb. Mark, Matthew and Luke do not mention any one of the twelve disciples having witnessed the crucifixion.

There are also two references to an unnamed "other disciple" in John —40 and John —16which may be to the same person based on the wording in John Church tradition has held that John is the author of the Gospel of John and four other books of the New Testament — the three Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. John claims that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of the "Beloved Disciple".

The authorship of some Johannine literature has been debated since about the year However, Eusebius mentions that the consensus is that the second and third epistles of John are not his but were written by some other John. Eusebius also goes to some length to establish with the reader that there is no general consensus regarding the revelation of John.

The revelation of John could only be what is now called the Book of Revelation. The bishops of Asia Minor supposedly requested him to write his gospel to deal with the heresy of the Ebioniteswho asserted that Christ did not exist before Mary. John probably knew of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but these johns gospel biography spoke of Jesus primarily in the year following the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist.

Until the 19th century, the authorship of the Gospel of John had been attributed to the Apostle John. However, most modern critical scholars have their doubts. Nonetheless, today many theological scholars continue to accept the traditional authorship. Colin G. Kruse states that since John the Evangelist has been named consistently in the writings of early Church Fathers, "it is hard to pass by this conclusion, despite widespread reluctance to accept it by many, but by no means all, modern scholars.

Modern, mainstream Bible scholars generally assert that the Gospel of John has been written by an anonymous author. Regarding whether the author of the Gospel of John was an eyewitness, according to Paul N. Anderson, the gospel "contains more direct claims to eyewitness origins than any of the other Gospel traditions. Bruce argues that contains an "emphatic and explicit claim to eyewitness authority.

Mainstream Bible scholars assert that all four gospels from the New Testament are fundamentally anonymous and most of mainstream scholars agree that these gospels have not been written by eyewitnesses. According to the Book of Revelationits author was on the island of Patmos "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus", when he was honoured with the vision contained in Revelation.

John the Presbyteran obscure figure in the early church, has also been identified with the seer of the Book of Revelation by such authors as Eusebius in his Church History Book III, 39 [ 80 ] and Jerome.