Some scholars say that the letters of John was not written by the Apostle John. But when we compare the letters of John’s Gospel, they have the same style and vocabulary. Expressions found in the Gospel viz, ‘Eternal life, New commandment, remain in Christ, walking in darkness, that your joy may be full’ are found even in the Epistles of John. Further some contrasts viz. life and death, light and darkness, truth and lies, love and hate, righteousness and lawlessness, children of God and children of Satan, love of the Father and love of the world, Christ and antichrist and Heaven and hell are also found in his letters. Such opposites give no room for a different author than the Apostle John himself who was so close to Jesus Christ. This letter is a general letter with no specific destination. But John addresses three groups viz.
- Just born again believers,
- Young believers
- Spiritual elders.
JOHN THE APOSTLE
Hometown: Capernaum
Reference in the Bible: John is mentioned in the four Gospels, the book of Acts and as the narrator of Revelation.
Occupation: Fisherman, disciple of Jesus, evangelist, Scripture author.
Family Tree:
Father – Zebedee; Mother – Salome; Brother – James;
John the Apostle had the distinction of being a beloved friend of Jesus Christ, writer of five books of the New Testament, and a pillar in the early Christian church.
John and his brother James, another disciple of Jesus, were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them to follow him. They later became part of Christ’s inner circle, along with the Apostle Peter. These three were privileged to be with Jesus at the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead, at the transfiguration and during the time of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane.
On one occasion (Lk.9:54-55), when John and James went to a Samaritan village they rejected Jesus. Then James and John asked if they should call down fire from heaven to destroy the place. This expression perhaps gave the title or the nickname “ Boanerges” or sons of thunder to both brothers John and James. John who was such a short tempered person, his life was completely transformed after meeting the Lord. His book: Gospel according to John is full of love words, portraying God’s Agape love throughout. This is what happens to any person who has an encounter with Jesus.
He lived the rest of his life reflecting God’s love. All his 5-books he wrote express God’s amazing and unending love for the church. James became the first disciple to be martyred, but John lived until he died naturally.
A previous relationship with Joseph Caiaphas allowed John to be present in the high priest’s house during Jesus’ trial. On the cross, Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, Mary, to an unnamed disciple, probably John, who took her into his home (Jn.19:27). Some scholars speculate that John may have been a cousin of Jesus.
John served the church in Jerusalem for many years, then moved to work in the church at Ephesus. An unsubstantiated legend holds that John was taken to Rome during a persecution and thrown into boiling oil but emerged unhurt. He was then exiled to the island of Patmos. John supposedly outlived all of the disciples, dying at a good old age in Ephesus, perhaps about A.D. 98. The Apostle lived more than 95-years.
The Basilica of St. John, the tomb of John at Ephesus.
John’s Gospel is strikingly different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the three synoptic gospels, which means “seen with the same eye” or from the same viewpoint. John continually emphasizes that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, sent by the Father to take away the sins of the world. He uses many symbolic titles for Jesus, such as the Lamb of God, resurrection, and the vine. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase “I am,” identifying Himself with “ Jehovah ‘ the Great “I AM” or eternal God. Although John does not mention himself by name in his own gospel, he refers to himself four times as “the disciple Jesus loved.”