Lesson 1

Background Information

Synopsis

The Church teaches that to interpret Scripture correctly, we need to be “attentive to what the human authors wanted to affirm” (CCC 109). Our goal, therefore, for this whole course is to understand what the author of the Fourth Gospel wanted to say. To achieve this goal, we will study the literary devices he used to communicate his message, such as plot, motif, and context. But, who wrote the Fourth Gospel? The traditional opinion is that it was John the Apostle, and there is much internal and external evidence to support this idea.

Anyone who reads the gospels will quickly notice that John’s Gospel is quite different to the other three. They are similar in that they all describe the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, but it appears that John followed a different script.

Learning Objectives

You will have successfully completed this lesson when you can:

Give the reasons in favor of the traditional opinion that John the Apostle is the author of the Fourth Gospel.
Describe the basic structure of John’s Gospel.
Describe the author’s use of misunderstanding, irony, double meaning, and monologue to communicate his message.

Introduction to this Course

Welcome to this course on the Gospel according to John. Although you can take it as a standalone course, it is best to follow the established order of courses, since they build on each other. The Fourth Gospel is so rich, it can be read and interpreted in many ways. These differences are legitimate and complementary. But, since we don’t have the time to see everything, we will focus our attention on those things that interest us the most.

Since this course forms part of The Life of Christ program, we will study what the Gospel teaches us about the person of Jesus Christ. There are other important themes such as its teachings on Mary and the Sacraments, but we will have to leave these for future courses on these specific topics.

In this course, we will follow the same methodology we have been following throughout this program. In the course How to Read the Bible, we saw that the 73 books of the Bible come together to form one continuous story, the History of Salvation. Because of this, we should read the Bible as we read novels, that is, from beginning to end.

As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. But it is also a human book written by human authors. The Church teaches us that everything “the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit” (CCC 107). Therefore, to interpret Scripture correctly, we need to be “attentive to what the human authors wanted to affirm” (CCC 109). Our goal for this course is to understand what the author of the Fourth Gospel wanted to say.

In his gospel, John has followed a typical plot structure. As we saw in the course on how to read the Bible, the plot is the storyline, that is, the sequence of events that make up the story. After the beginning, which introduces us to the characters and setting, a conflict or problem arises that will need to be resolved. Throughout the story, events build up, creating suspense, interest, and tension. This is called the rising action. When the tension reaches its highest point, the story climaxes and the main character must face his enemy, fear, challenge, or whatever was the cause of the conflict and begin to overcome it. This process of resolution is called the falling action. The story slows down as it moves towards its conclusion, wrapping up any loose ends.

In this study, we will pay special attention to how the author used plot development to communicate his message. We will also look at his use of other literary devices, such as motifs. Several important motifs that appear throughout the gospel are sign, glory, “I am”, Father and Son, and Jesus’ hour. A motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains the central themes and deeper meaning of a story. It offers clues which help the reader understand the author’s message, but does so in an indirect manner, forcing the reader to pause and ask questions. In this way, authors can get their ideas across more poignantly and in greater depth. Because motifs appear repeatedly throughout a story, they can be easy to identify.

Another important literary principle is that to understand a passage, it is important to pay attention to its context as this can affect the meaning of its words. For example, in the following phrases:

Death by natural causes
“The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23)
Death by chocolate

the same word “death” has very different meanings, which are determined by the context. So, when studying the Gospel of John, we will need to pay attention to the textual context.

Finally, we should also pay attention to the historical-cultural context of the gospel. One danger to be avoided when reading the Bible is to interpret it through our own cultural lens. While it is impossible to read Scripture in a vacuum, completely abstracting ourselves from our own cultural background, we should strive to read and interpret the Bible within its own historic and cultural context. The Bible did not come down from heaven untouched by human hands. Just like any book, it was written by real people who lived in real places and had real lives. That is, they had their own specific historic and cultural backgrounds. No written text, be it the Bible, a poem, or a novel can be fully appreciated or understood outside its historic and cultural context. The same is true for the gospels.

We will study how John used these literary devices to tell us his story about Jesus. He wanted to show us who Jesus is and how he came to make things new. That is, Jesus fulfills and gives new meaning to the realities in the Old Testament such as the law, the temple, and the religious feasts. Therefore, the more you know about these realities, the better you will understand the gospel.

Who Wrote the Fourth Gospel?

The Fourth Gospel is called the Gospel according to John. This suggests that it was written by someone named John. But who was he? This raises the difficult question of identifying ancient authors. How can we identify the author of gospel? Sometimes authors name themselves within their writings, such as Paul does in his first letter to the Corinthians.

I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. (1 Cor 16:21–24)

But the author of the Fourth Gospel doesn’t do this. However, although he never identifies himself, he does refer to himself on several occasions, such as in Jn 1:14:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

Who is the “we” that is mentioned here? Until modern times, most Christians believed that the author of the Fourth Gospel was John the Apostle. Recent scholarship, however, has challenged this idea and today most, but not all, scholars reject this view. This introductory course is not the place to enter into this debate. Here we will just present the reasons in favor of the traditional opinion. For those who are interested in learning about the other opinions, we will suggest a video in the assignments below.

The main method used to identify an author is to study what is called the internal and the external evidence. The internal evidence consists of the information found within the text itself. That is, what does an author say about themselves? However, even this is not sufficient proof of authorship because the true author could be impersonating somebody else. Scholars, therefore, comb through the text looking for additional clues.

The external evidence consists of the information found outside the gospel text. For example, what did the Church Fathers write about this point? The evidence we have from them is mostly in favor of John the Apostle. This supports the evidence found within the gospel.

As mentioned, the author of the Fourth Gospel never explicitly identifies himself, although he does refer to himself on several occasions. In addition to Jn 1:14 mentioned above, we find another example in chapter 21.

This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true. (Jn 21:24)

When we look at the context of this passage, it becomes clear that the author of this gospel is none other than the disciple Jesus loved, and who makes several appearances throughout the gospel.

When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, “Tell us who it is of whom he speaks.” So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it.” (Jn 13:21–26)

But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag′dalene. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (Jn 19:25–27)

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. (Jn 20:1–3)

[Jesus] said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (Jn 21:6–7)

Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” (Jn 21:20–23)

What else can we learn about this beloved disciple from the evidence found within the text? For one, he must have been a Jew from Palestine. Why do we think so? The gospel text suggests that its author:

Knew the Old Testament

When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him; it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah again said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.” Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him. (Jn 12:36–41)

For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of him shall be broken.” And again another scripture says, “They shall look on him whom they have pierced.” (Jn 19:36–37)

Knew the details of Israelite customs and traditions

It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem. (Jn 10:22; see also 2:23; 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; 13:1)

Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. (Jn 2:6)

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. (Jn 11:55)

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”… When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (Jn 11:38–44)

They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. (Jn 19:40)

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans... “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” (Jn 4:9; 20)

And knew the geography of the area and the layout of the city of Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Bethzatha, which has five porticoes. (Jn 5:2)

Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off. (Jn 11:18)

Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with the disciples. (Jn 11:54)

When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. (Jn 18:1)

When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. (Jn 19:13)

In addition, the text suggests that its author must have been an eyewitness of the events because he gives us many minute details that probably only an onlooker would have remembered.

[Jesus] said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (Jn 1:39)

Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. (Jn 2:6–7)

Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. (Jn 6:10)

Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. (Jn 12:3)

He also clearly says that he was an eyewitness.

He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you also may believe. (Jn 19:35)

Finally, he must also have been one of the Twelve, because the beloved disciple was present at the Last Supper (see Jn 13:23). However, since he remains nameless throughout the gospel, he cannot be any of the disciples named within the text. This excludes Andrew (1:40), Peter (13:6), Judas Iscariot (13:26), Thomas (14:5), Philip (14:8), Judas the son of James (14:22), and Nathaniel (21:2). This leaves us with five possibilities: James the son of Zebedee, Matthew (Levi), Simon the Zealot, James the son of Alphaeus, and John the son of Zebedee.

We can exclude James the son of Zebedee because we know from the Book of Acts that he was martyred early on—around AD 42—so he couldn’t have written the gospel. It is also highly unlikely that Matthew wrote it since he is credited with writing another gospel. We don’t think it could have been Simon the Zealot or James the son of Alphaeus because of their relative obscurity. At least no one has ever suggested that they authored the gospel.

After having eliminated eleven of the Apostles, the only option left is that the beloved disciple must have been John, the Son of Zebedee.

When and Where was the Fourth Gospel Written?

There is no consensus among scholars on these questions and the arguments in favor or against any of the opinions are too technical to be discussed in an introductory course such as this one, so we will not discuss them here in much detail.

Regarding the dating, the most common opinions range between AD 55 and AD 90 and it is impossible to prove or disprove any of them. Regarding the place of origin, the four most common proposals are Alexandria, Antioch, Palestine, and Ephesus. The traditional view, based on the writings of the Father’s of the Church is that the gospel was written in Ephesus. This opinion has been challenged by modern scholars, but the fact remains that no Church Father ever suggested anyplace other than Ephesus.

The Structure of the Fourth Gospel

Scholars study the text looking for clues such as repetitions, parallels, and changes in the story that indicate the structure John could have used in his gospel. The basic structure most accept is quite simple:

Prologue (1:1–18)
Part 1 – Book of Signs (1:19–12:50)
Part 2 – Book of Glory (13:1–20:31)
Epilogue (21:1–25)

This is also the structure we will follow as it is suitable for an introductory course such as this one. But you should be aware that it is probably an oversimplification. Calling part 1 the “Book of Signs” implies that only this part contains signs. However, Jesus’ most important sign, his resurrection, occurs at the end of the Book of Glory. Furthermore, the author himself states:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. (20:30–31)

This seems to imply that he considered the whole gospel to be a book of signs, which he wrote about so that we may believe in Jesus.

Characteristics of the Fourth Gospel

The biblical scholar, Fr. Raymond Brown, identified several literary characteristics of the gospel. As you read through it, you should keep these in mind:

#1 – MISUNDERSTANDING. Jesus frequently uses figurative language or metaphors to describe himself or to present his message. In an ensuing dialogue the questioner will misunderstand the figure or metaphor [for example, Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman], and take only a verbal or material meaning. This allows Jesus to explain his thought more thoroughly and thereby to unfold his doctrine…

#2 – IRONY. The opponents of Jesus are given to making statements about him that are derogatory, sarcastic, incredulous or, at least, inadequate in the sense they intend. However, by way of irony these statements are often true or more meaningful in a sense that they do not realize. [For example, Nicodemus calling Jesus a teacher come from God in 3:2 and the Samaritan woman calling him greater than Jacob in 4:12].

#3 – TWOFOLD MEANING: a) There is often a play on various meanings of a given word that Jesus uses, meanings based on either Hebrew or Greek. [For example, ‘born again’ vs ‘born from above’ in 3:3; ‘spirit’ vs ‘wind’ in 3:8; ‘natural stream water’ vs ‘supernatural living water’ in 4:10] …

“b) In the Fourth Gospel the author frequently intends the reader to see several layers of meaning in the same narrative or in the same metaphor. This is understandable if we think back to the circumstances in which the Gospel was composed: (1) There is the meaning that stems from the historical context in the life of Jesus. The audience that listened to Jesus and witnessed his actions would necessarily understand his works according to their own religious background and ways of thinking. We may call this the historical meaning of the passage. Yet there is a more profound meaning of Jesus’ words and actions that would be seen by the believing Christian community. As the message of Jesus was preached and taught in the early church, as it was prayed over in the liturgy, all its implications would gradually unfold; and the Christians would come to understand much more of what Jesus had meant than did those who had first heard him in Galilee and Jerusalem… (2) Jesus is from another world, from above; yet he speaks the language of this world, from below. Inevitably those who meet him, whose experience is on the lower level, misunderstand his meaning from above when he speaks of water, bread, flesh, etc. Readers, while challenged to recognize a higher meaning, will also be puzzled by the stranger from above and so invited to believe.

#4 INCLUSION. John often mentions a detail (or makes an allusion) at the end of a section which matches a similar detail at the beginning of that section. This is a way of packaging sections by tying together the beginning and the end.

#5 – REALIZED ESCHATOLOGY. The Synoptics situate at the end of time such things as judgment, the return of Jesus, becoming sons of God (Mt 25:31; Lk 6:35; 20:35–36). John, without denying the truth of this, emphasizes that these things have already begun; his eschatology (doctrine of the last things) is in part already realized. (Cf. Jn 3:18; 5:24–25; 12:31 – 33…)

#6 – DIALOGUE BECOMING MONOLOGUE. Jesus may begin a conversation with a given person or audience; yet as the speaking continues, the hearers fade away and at the end his words seem to have taken the character of a discourse in universal terms. Part of this may be the editorial combining of several speeches. The effect, however, is to free Jesus’ words form the limitations of circumstances and to make them eternally and universally valid. (Cf. 3:16; 10:1–18; cc. 14–17).

(Raymond Brown, The Gospel and Epistles of John, The Liturgical Press, 1988, pp. 17–19)

Comparing the Fourth Gospel to the Synoptic Gospels

Anyone who reads the four gospels even superficially will quickly notice that John’s Gospel is quite different from the other three. Because of the many similarities between the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it appears that their authors followed the same script. Jesus starts his ministry in Galilee by teaching in public places and miraculously healing people. He is praised by the simple people but is opposed by the authorities. Eventually, Jesus asks his apostles who they think he is, and Peter responds that he is the Christ. After this milestone, Jesus starts heading towards Jerusalem. On the way, he tells his apostles that he will be betrayed, put to death, and then resurrect. But they don’t understand him and are afraid.

Once Jesus reaches Jerusalem, he enters the city riding on a donkey with the crowds proclaiming him as the king who has come in the name of the Lord. This, of course, alarms the authorities. His cleansing of the temple and the controversies that follow it only make things worse, leading the authorities to reject and eventually crucify him. However, Jesus resurrects from the dead on the third day.

The differences between these three gospels are due to the different styles and interests of their respective authors, but, in general, they tell the same story. In fact, they are so similar that we can place the events they narrate in three matching parallel columns. This is the origin of the name Synoptic Gospels. The word “Synoptic” means “seen together” (syn-optic).

However, we can’t place John’s Gospel in a corresponding fourth column. Of course, there are many similarities as well, because all four gospels tell the story of Jesus Christ. Scholars think that he was aware of the Synoptics and maybe even used them, but that he based his Gospel on other sources.

If, in the Synoptics, Jesus starts in Galilee and travels once to Jerusalem, in the Fourth Gospel, we find Jesus travelling back and forth between the two places. For example, we first encounter him in Bethany, on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. After meeting his first disciples, he then goes to Galilee. After the wedding at Cana in chapter 2, Jesus returns to Judea, going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. There he meets Nicodemus (chapter 3). But in chapter 4 he travels back to Galilee, passing through Samaria, where he meets the Samaritan woman. Then, at the beginning of chapter 5, he returns to Jerusalem to celebrate another feast. This all suggests that John followed a different script.

Assignments

Watch Catholic Answers, Which John Wrote The Gospel Of John?

Read Felix Just, S.J., Contrasts Between John and the Synoptics and W. Hall Harris III, Commentary on the Gospel of John, “2. Major Differences Between John and the Synoptic Gospels” and/or watch The Rosamund Project, Why John's Gospel Is So Different.

What is the evidence in the Gospel text that suggests that John the Apostle is the author of the Fourth Gospel?

Home