(jahn) Greek form of Hebrew name meaning, “Yahweh has been
gracious.” 1. John the
Apostle, the son of Zebedee, the brother of James. Harmonizing
Matthew 27:56 with Mark 15:40 suggests that John's mother was
Salome. If she was also the sister of Jesus' mother (John 19:25),
then John was Jesus' first cousin. This string of associations is so
conjectural, though, that we cannot be sure of it. Because James is
usually mentioned first when the two brothers are identified, some
have also conjectured that John was the younger of the two.
The sons of Zebedee were among the first disciples called (Matthew
4:21-22; Mark 1:19-20). They were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee
and probably lived in Capernaum. Their father was sufficiently
prosperous to have “hired servants” (Mark 1:20), and Luke 5:10
states that James and John were “partners with Simon” Peter.
John is always mentioned in the first four in the lists of the
twelve (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). John is also
among the “inner three” who were with Jesus on special occasions in
the Synoptic Gospels: the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37),
the transfiguration (Mark 9:2), and the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark
14:32-33). Andrew joined these three when they asked Jesus about the
signs of the coming destruction of Jerusalem (Mark 13:3).
The sons of Zebedee were given the surname Boanerges, “sons of
thunder” (Mark 3:17). When a Samaritan village refused to receive
Jesus, they asked, “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come
down from heaven, and consume them?” (Luke 9:54). The only words in
the Synoptic Gospels attributed specifically to John are: “Master,
we saw one casting out devils in thy name… and we forbad him,
because he followeth not us” (Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). On another
occasion the two brothers asked to sit in places of honor, on Jesus'
left and right in His glory (Mark 10:35-41; compare Matthew
20:20-24). On each of these occasions Jesus challenged or rebuked
John. Luke 22:8, however, identifies Peter and John as the two
disciples who were sent to prepare the Passover meal for Jesus and
the disciples. The apostle John appears three times in
the Book of Acts, and each time he is with Peter (Acts 1:13; Acts
3:1-11; Acts 4:13,Acts 4:20; Acts 8:14). After Peter healed the man,
they were arrested, imprisoned, and then released. They were
“unlearned and ignorant men” (Acts 4:13), but they answered their
accusers boldly: “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen
and heard” (Acts 4:20). Later, John and Peter were sent to Samaria
to confirm the conversion of Samaritans (Acts 8:14). Paul
mentioned John only once: “James, Cephas [Simon Peter], and John,
who seemed to be pillars” of the church agreed that Paul and
Barnabas would go to the Gentiles, while they would work among the
Jews (Galatians 2:9). The Gospel of John does not
mention James or John by name, and it contains only one reference to
the sons of Zebedee (John 21:2). An unnamed disciple who with Andrew
had been one of John the Baptist's disciples is mentioned in John
1:35, and an unnamed disciple helped Peter gain access to the house
of the high priest in John 18:15-16. The disciple in these verses
may have been the Beloved Disciple, who reclined with Jesus during
the last supper (John 13:23-26), stood at the cross with Jesus'
mother (John 19:25-27), ran with Peter to the empty tomb (John
20:2-10), and recognized the risen Lord after the great catch of
fish (John 21:7). The need to clarify what Jesus had said about the
death of the Beloved Disciple (John 21:20-23) probably indicates
that the Beloved Disciple had died by the time the Gospel of John
was put in final form by the editor who speaks in John 21:24-25 and
attributes the Gospel to this Beloved Disciple. Five
books of the New Testament have been attributed to John the Apostle:
the Gospel, three Epistles, and Revelation. In each case, the
traditional view that the apostle was the author of these books can
be traced to writers in the second century. Neither the Gospel nor
the epistles identify their author by name. The author of Revelation
identifies himself as “John” (Revelation 1:1, Revelation 1:4,
Revelation 1:9; Revelation 22:8) but does not claim to be the
apostle. Much of the weight of the traditional view of the
authorship of the Gospel rests on the testimony of Irenaeus, bishop
of Lugdunum in Gaul (A.D. 130-200). The origin of the
attribution of the five writings to the apostle is difficult to
trace. The strongest argument can probably be made for the
traditional view of the authorship of Revelation. Its author claims
to be “John,” it is associated with Patmos and Ephesus, and in tone
it fits the character of the apostle who was called “Boanerges.”
Justin Martyr, moreover, in the earliest testimony regarding the
authorship of Revelation attributes it to John. Internal
evidence from the Gospel and Epistles provides many Bible students
reasons to question the traditional view. The Gospel does not
mention the “inner three” disciples as a group, nor does it refer to
any of the events at which these three were present with Jesus: the
raising of Jairus' daughter, the transfiguration, and the agony of
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Clearly, the editor of the
Gospel, who refers to himself in John 21:24-25, links the Gospel
with the Beloved Disciple. The question is whether that disciple was
John or some other apostle. The author of the epistles
identifies himself as “the elder” (2 John 1:1, 3 John 1:1), but
never claims to be the apostle. Neither does the author of these
epistles claim the authority to command the church to follow his
instructions. Instead, he reasons with them and urges the church to
abide in what it has received and what it has heard from the
beginning. In sum, a strong tradition linking the
apostle John to the authorship of these five New Testament writings
can be traced to the second century. Modern scholarship has raised
questions about the credibility of this tradition, and discussion of
these matters continues. Many would agree, however, that the
strongest case can be made for the apostolic authorship of
Revelation, followed in order by the Gospel and Epistles. Many Bible
students continue to follow tradition and attribute all five books
to the apostle. Legends about the apostle continued to
develop long after his death. According to tradition, John lived to
an old age in Ephesus, where he preached love and fought heresy,
especially the teachings of Cerinthus. The tomb of John was the side
of a fourth-century church, over which Justinian built the splendid
basilica of St. John. The ruins of this basilica are still visible
in Ephesus today. The Apocryphon of John is an early
gnostic work that purports to contain a vision of the apostle John.
Copies were found among the codices at Nag Hammadi. The work itself
must go back at least to the second century because Irenaeus quoted
from it. The Acts of John is a third-century apocryphal
writing which records miraculous events, John's journey to Rome, his
exile on Patmos, accounts of several journeys, and a detailed
account of John's death. In theology this work is Docetic, and it
was eventually condemned by the Second Nicene Council in 787.
The apostle John also has a place in the martyrologies of the
medieval church. A fifth-century writer, Philip of Side, and George
the Sinner, of the ninth century, report that Papias (second
century) wrote that James and John were killed by the Jews (Acts
12:2), but these reports are generally dismissed as fabrications
based on interpretations of Mark 10:39. See John, The Gospel of;
John, The Letters of; Revelation of John. 2.
John the Baptist, a prophet from a
priestly family, who preached a message of repentance, announced the
coming of the Messiah, baptized Jesus, and was beheaded by Herod
Antipas. Luke 1:5-80 records the birth of John the
Baptist in terms similar to the birth of Isaac. Zechariah, John's
father, was a priest from the division of Abijah. Elizabeth, his
mother, was a descendant of Aaron. The angel Gabriel announced
John's birth, while Zechariah was burning incense in the Temple.
John would not drink wine or strong drink. He would be filled with
the Holy Spirit, and as a prophet he would have the spirit and power
of Elijah. His role would be to prepare the Lord's people for the
coming of the Messiah. Mark 1:3-4 records that John was
in the wilderness until the time of his public ministry. There he
ate locusts and wild honey. He wore the dress of a prophet, camel's
hair and a leather girdle (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6; see 2 Kings 1:8).
Because of his life in the wilderness, his priestly background, his
preaching of repentance to Israel, and his practice of baptism, it
is often suggested that John grew up among the Essenes at Qumran.
This theory is attractive, but it cannot be confirmed. Neither can
the origin of John's practice of baptizing be traced with certainty.
Washings had long been part of Jewish piety, and by the time of
John, Gentile converts to Judaism washed themselves as a form of
ceremonial cleansing. The Essenes at Qumran practiced ritual
washings and had an elaborate procedure for admission to the
community. John's baptism may owe something to the Essene practices,
but we cannot determine the extent of this influence.
According to Luke, John began his ministry around the Jordan River
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1-3),
which must have been A.D. 26 or 27. John's preaching emphasized the
coming judgment, the need for repentance, and the coming of the
Messiah. Luke also emphasizes the ethical teachings of John: he
called the multitudes a “generation of vipers” (Luke 3:7); one who
had two coats should give one to a person who had none; tax
collectors were warned to collect no more than their due; and
soldiers were instructed to rob no one and be content with their
wages” (Luke 3:10-14). Jesus was baptized by John, a
fact that all the evangelists except Mark attempted to explain.
Matthew 3:15 explains that it was “to fulfill all righteousness.”
Luke recorded that John was thrown in prison before he said that
Jesus also was baptized (Luke 3:20-21), and John told of the baptism
of Jesus but only through the testimony of John the Baptist himself.
Thus, the witness of John the Baptist to Jesus is featured,
deflecting any possibility that later followers of the Baptist might
argue that John was superior to Jesus (Matthew 3:11-12; Mark 1:7-8;
Luke 3:15-17; John 1:15, John 1:19-36). Various sayings
give us glimpses of John's ministry. His disciples practiced fasting
(Mark 2:18), and he taught them to pray (Luke 11:1). John was
vigorous in his attacks on Herod. In contrast to Herod's household
he lived an austere existence (Matthew 11:7-9). Some criticized John
for his ascetic life-style (Matthew 11:16-19), but Jesus praised
John as the greatest of the prophets (Matthew 11:11). John's
popularity with the people is reflected in Matthew 21:31-32; Mark
11:27-32; Luke 7:29-30; John 10:41. In an account that
parallels the New Testament closely, Josephus stated that Herod
Antipas arrested John and subsequently executed him at Machaerus
because “he feared that John's so extensive influence over the
people might lead to an uprising.” Many believed that the defeat of
Herod's armies by the Nabateans was God's judgment on Herod for the
death of John the Baptist. While John was in prison, he sent two of
his disciples to inquire whether Jesus was the coming One (Matthew
11:2-3; Luke 7:18-23). John's death is recorded in detail in Mark
6:14-29. According to the Gospel of John, the ministry of
Jesus overlapped with that of John (John 3:22-24; contrast Mark
1:14), and some of Jesus' first disciples had also been disciples of
John the Baptist (John 1:35-37). Jesus even identified John with the
eschatological role of Elijah (Matthew 17:12-13; Mark 9:12-13).
John's movement did not stop with his death. Indeed, some believed
that Jesus was John, raised from the dead (Mark 6:14-16; Mark 8:28).
Years later, a group of John's followers were found around Ephesus,
among them the eloquent Apollos (Acts 18:24-19:7); and for centuries
John's influence survived among the Mandeans, who claimed to
perpetuate his teachings. See Baptism. 3. Relative of
Annas, the high priest (Acts 4:6), unless manuscripts reading
Jonathan are right. 4. John Mark. See Mark.
R. Alan Culpepper
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