John s jesus is gods son from the beginning to the end of his gospel, the christ who told his contemporaries exactly who he was and is in words, signs and images, some of which they could comprehend, others of a more mysterious nature, all of which encompassed the. Deism was one form of this rationalism, and it was the english deist, edward evanson, who became the first individual to openly challenge the authenticity of the gospel of john since the 2nd century a. If a gospel must be excluded, it would be more logical to exclude the gospel of mark, which overlapping almost 93% of its content only contributes 7% new stories and material to the combined gospel story. Actual audible words spoken by god the father, testifying to the authenticity of his son. The authenticity of the gospel according to st john professor bart ehrman says of the authorship of the fourth gospel. Since jesus disciple john was reputed to have lived a long life, the latest feasible date for the gospel of john is about a. The authenticity of the gospel of jesuss wife has been debated since the papyrus was revealed in 2012. It wasnt, since there is no such thing as the synoptic gospel. Why do christians believe the gospel of john is authentic, when it. The sacraments of baptism chapter 3 and eucharist chapter 6 are unequivocally presented in the gospel of john. For two representative examples of scholars defending the historicity of john, see c. The author describes this having occurred after jesus. A sister text to gjw, a fragment of the gospel of john, is universally considered a forgery. John 1 niv the word became flesh in the bible gateway.
The result is a book of unique value and novelty scraping aside the accretions of centuries to come as close as we can hope to be to the true jesus. As each gospel is geared towards a specific group of people, the gospel of john. It describes jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge to john the apostle. It gives a highly schematic account of the ministry of jesus, with seven signs culminating in the raising of lazarus foreshadowing the resurrection of jesus and seven i am discourses culminating in thomass proclamation of the risen jesus as my lord and my god. Karen king, the scholar who first presented the gjw in 2012, obtained this text at. Consequently, the contemporary quest of the historical jesus discounted or excluded evidence from the fourth gospel. The gospel of john is likewise imbued with an accurate knowledge of circumstances. It includes such well known and oftquoted texts as. All the scenes are told by narration using the original script from the gospel of john. John portrays jesus in control of the events leading up to the crucifixion, as events he must undergo to be obedient to his father and save mankind. The gospel of john is the fourth of the canonical gospels. Readers of all backgrounds and interests will benefit greatly from the wisdom and judicious historical and exegetical care of. Why was the gospel of john excluded from the synoptic.
Authenticity of the gospel of jesuss wife called into. Scholars writing gospel of john commentary often grapple with the. He knew from the tradition of the church that john was the last of the evangelists to compose his gospel eusebius, church history vi. Here are some reasons why god gave four gospels instead of just one. Authenticity of the gospel of john paraclete forum. Since the gospel of john is the bedrock for trinitarians, often their go to book of the bible in trying to find support for the divinity of jesus, this represents yet another damning blow to the doctrine of the trinity. The battle to authenticate the gospel of thomas lisa haygood fullerton college abstract many early christian sects were aware of and accepted the gospel of thomas as authentic christian scripture, despite its unorthodox, radical doctrine, igniting an. The authenticity of the gospel of john the enlightenment was an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries marked by a celebration of the powers of human reason, a keen interest in science, the promotion of religious tolerance and an attitude of unbelief in the supernatural. Internal evidence for the authenticity and genuineness of st. Its authenticity has been questioned by erasmus, calvin, beza, grotius, leclerc, wetstein, semler, schulze, morus.
Shane rosenthal, executive producer of white horse inn, is this years program host for the gospel of john series. The gospel begins with john the baptist calling jesus the lamb of god 1. The life and toils of jesus christ, depicted as written in the gospel of john. The gospel of john is an inspiring telling of jesus life and his mission. Hence the attacks of the opponents of revealed religion are concentrated upon it. Musings from the gospel of john number 10 reasoned. Historians often study the historical reliability of the acts of the apostles when studying the reliability of the gospels, as acts was seemingly written by the same author as the gospel of luke. The story pictures main teachings and wonders done by jesus.
Since it was known to the church father irenaeus, it must have been written before around 180 ce. External evidence for the authenticity and genuineness of. The genuineness of st johns gospel is the centre of the position of those who uphold the historical truth of the record of our lord jesus christ given us in the. For dunn, the gospel of john utilizes traditions which were authentic rather than legendary in character. Third, john had access to a lot of material and sources from the primitive church and hence did not need to invent his sayings of jesus out of thin air. Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis, attempting to differentiate, rather than authenticate, reliable information from possible inventions, exaggerations, and alterations. The fourth gospel, the gospel of john, differs greatly from the first three gospels. As for the authenticity of the gospel that bears the name of john, even though it is the last of the four accounts to be written, since its. He shows us that jesus, though fully god, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal god, and that christ is the source of eternal life to all who believe in him. The jewishness of john is subsequently argued at length. For more on the question of johns historical reliability, see d. The very works that jesus did also testify of who he is. Elements whose historical authenticity is disputed include the two accounts of the nativity of jesus, the miraculous events including the.
He wrote seven epistles quoting from matthew and john, as well as other new testament writings. While the entire bible is inspired by god 2 timothy 3. The historical reliability of the gospels refers to the reliability and historic character of the four. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of jesus, john gives us an upclose and personal look at christs identity. It is the book that is most often used at christian funerals.
A newly discovered commentary is an exciting window into the mind of one of the most brilliant biblical commentators of the past two centuries. Gospel or gospels is the standard term for the four new testament books carrying the names of matthew, mark, luke and john, each. Of the four new testament gospels, the one that least resembles the other three is the gospel of john. Historical sources support matthew, mark, luke and john as being the authors of their gospels. Remove the gospel of john from the new testament equation and there. From his gospel, the readers will either judge jesus as the real messiah or a fraud. Historians subject the gospels to critical analysis, attempting to differentiate, rather than authenticate, reliable information from. He was a palestinian, for he had a good grasp of traveling routes and times john 4. Narrated in english, following the new international version of the scripture, while the actors speak in aramaic. Beginning of church age 2,000 years of darkness endtime awakening kingdom dispensation i must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. Another holds that john was written last, by someone who knew about the other three gospels, but who wished to write a spiritual gospel instead.
In the authentic gospel of jesus, vermes subjects all the sayings of jesus to brilliantly informed scrutiny. While some of those most skeptical gospel scholars dismiss all four as fairly untrustworthy, many are willing to give significant credence to the synoptics matthew, mark and luke but still doubt that more than a small handful of details of the fourth gospel can be. Below is lightfoots discussion of the matter, from the essay internal evidence for the authenticity and genuineness of saint john s gospel, published in his biblical essays london. Folio 32 of nag hammadi codex ii, with the ending of the apocryphon of john, and the beginning of the gospel of thomas. The question of the historical reliability of john s gospel is well overdue for a thorough reinvestigation and reassessment. The secret book of john, also called the apocryphon of john or the secret revelation of john, is a secondcentury sethian gnostic christian text of secret teachings. This means we are gods and there is no higher authority than our own selfconsensus. The gospel of john was written to prove that jesus christ is the son of god. Bloomberg, the historical reliability of john s gospel.
Why do christians believe the gospel of john is authentic. Throughout much of the twentieth century the fourth gospel took a back seat to the synoptics when it came to historical reliability. The author was obviously a jew, for he had a thorough understanding of jewish laws and customs 9. Richard bauckhams work shows john relied on mark, or at least on marks premarkan source, or a primitive, core oral jesus tradition mark utilized based on certain features in john s gospel which allude to events in mark 3. Note how the author differentiates between his source of information, the disciple who testifies, and himself. In terms simply of historical reliability or authenticity, it seems. John with a critical introduction, 3rd edition, 3 vols. A concerned citizen openly challenges the authenticity and authority of the apocalypse of saint john. In short, this gospel is not a fake reproduction but an authentic historical artifact with objective value.
Isnt the gospel of john unreliable compared to the. But this doesnt mean his overall portrait isnt substantially anchored in history. The jews use the gospel john to prove that jesus was not the messiah other than the son of god issue. So we are free, then, to set the standards of what jesus should or should not have done.
The authenticity of the costumes, sets, and scenes would capture your interest and have you looking over every single detail. An introduction to the gospel of john the bart ehrman blog. For this john talked about only seven miracles, which he called signs of the messiah. Remove the gospel of john from the new testament equation and there is. The earliest evidence concerning the authorship of the gospels comes from the writings of papias, a bishop in asia minor during the early part of the second century. Why was the gospel of john excluded from the synoptic gospel. Physical and literary evidence that the gospels are authentic.