DATE
It is commonly
held that John’s gospel is the last of the four gospels, written between 85 and
110 AD. Documents making reference to
the Gospel have been found that date to around 120 AD, meaning it had gained a
wide circulation by that time.
OCCASION
As to the set
of circumstances that the Holy Spirit used to bring John to write this Gospel,
after the other three had been in use for several years, we cannot be sure. The best possible suggestion is that John
wrote this work to combat the growing cult of Gnosticism.
Some Gnostics
held that Christ was a man upon whom the Christ-spirit had come at His baptism,
and who relinquished that spirit on the cross.
John’s emphasis on divine Sonship, the Word becoming flesh, and the
ministry after the cross would have dispelled that heresy. The same truths would have denied other
Gnostic beliefs that Christ was God who “appeared” to be a man. Christ is presented as the true God/true Man
that He claimed to be.
PURPOSE
While the
occasion is uncertain, John’s purpose is very clear, for he tells us in 20:31: “But
these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
The little Greek term indicating
purpose is found twice in this verse: 1) that you may believe; and 2) that
by believing you may have life. In other
words, this Gospel is evangelistic, presenting the claims of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and presenting those claims in an apologetic (persuasive) fashion. But then this Gospel is also for growth, that
the believer may come to experience the life (abundant life) that Christ
offers.
Based on this statement, it seems
clear that John is a Gospel especially helpful to new Christians, as well as
for unbelievers. We are familiar with
ministries whose primary activity is the distribution of small “Gospel of John”
booklets, trusting the Holy Spirit to minister to the unsaved as they read.
John’s purpose is seen in the
material from Christ’s life and ministry that he, by the Holy Spirit,
selected. This is seen in the miracles
John selected, seven in John 1-12, then the resurrection of Christ and the
miracle of the great catch of fish after Jesus’ resurrection. The first seven, as we will see, provide
pictures of the gospel and what it means to believe in Christ. Jesus’ centrality to the gospel is also seen
in several “I AM” claims of Christ (e.g. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life”). “John” is a great resource for the
presentation of the gospel!
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