Did the apostle John write the Gospel of John (the 4th gospel, 4G), the letters 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation…the five Johánnine books so-called? All four New Testament (NT) gospels are written anonymously. This topic focuses on the 4th gospel’s author, and the other NT books attributed to him.
The apostle John (Yochanán) and his older brother James (Jacob) were two of Jesus’ original 12 disciples. They were also His 1st cousins. These two (and their partner Simon Peter, Lk.5:10) were the closest to Jesus. ref Mt.17:1, 26:37, Mk.5:37, 9:2, 14:33, Lk.8:51, 9:28.
James & John were the sons of Jesus’ aunt Salóme and uncle Zébedee. The three other women with Jesus’ Mary at His cross were: #1 Mary Magdalene; #2 another Mary who was the wife of Clopás and mother of James the Less & Josés; #3 Mt.27:56 the mother of the sons of Zebedee, Mk.15:40 Salome, Jn.19:25 Jesus’ mother’s sister (biological sisters wouldn’t both be named Mary). Jesus’ Mary and Salome were two daughters of Eli/Heli (Lk.3:23). also see the topic “Jesus’ Genealogy”.
Easton Bible Dictionary: Salome “The wife of Zebedee and mother of James & John, and probably the sister of Mary, the mother of our Lord.” Gill Exposition Jn.1:1 “The author of this Gospel is John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, the brother of James the Greater; he outlived the rest of the disciples.”
James & John wanted their mother, Jesus’ aunt Salome, to convey to Him their desire to sit immediately to His left and His right in His future kingdom glory (Mt.20:20-24, Mk.10:35-41). Salome had known her nephew Jesus from His childhood. Maybe she was His favorite aunt? So she had boldness to make such a request. Jesus called his cousins James & John the “sons of thunder”, Mk.3:17. (cf. Lk.9:54.)
Ac.12:1-2 Herod Agríppa had John’s brother James put to death by the sword, ca 43 AD. Perhaps this “son of thunder” was quite outspoken!? However, tradition says brother John lived a long life.
The three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels. In the three synoptics, the names James (Strongs g2385, Greek) and John (g2491) occur together in 17 verses. But never in 4G, the 4th gospel! Jn.21:2 does call the sons of Zebedee “disciples”, but doesn’t give their names. John doesn’t refer to his mother Salome by name, but refers to her as Jesus’ mother’s sister in Jn.19:25.
Moreover, in 4G the name John occurs only when John the Baptizer is meant, never John the disciple/apostle! The name John doesn’t occur in any of the three epistles of John. Inspecting all five Johannine writings, the name John (when John the Baptizer isn’t meant) occurs only in Revelation – Re.1:1, 4, 9, 21:2, 22:8.
Jn.1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.” This verse indicates the writer of 4G was in the group of close disciples who personally saw & knew Jesus the Word.
Of Jesus’ original 12 disciples/apostles, 4G mentions 9 of them. Simon Peter, Peter’s brother Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel (Bartholomew), Thomas (Dídymus Judas), Jude (Thaddeus/Lebbaeus), Judas Iscariót, the sons of Zebedee (Jn.21:2). also see the topic “Jesus’ Twelve Apostles”.
Not referred to at all in 4G are the 3 disciples Matthew, Simon Zealotés, James the Less (of Alphaeus).
The apostle who Jesus loved, the ‘Beloved Disciple’ so-called, is seen in Jn.13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 20-24. Most Bible commentaries think this person was John himself (one of the two sons of Zebedee). At Jesus’ Last Supper, Jn.13:23 “One of the disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus”. He was “leaning against Jesus’ breast”, WEB translation. Barnes Notes “This was doubtless John himself.” JFB Commentary “Thus modestly does our Evangelist denote himself.” Meyer NT Commentary “He [John] was Jesus’ nearest table companion.” Cambridge Bible “John was on our Lord’s right.” Bengel’s Gnomen “John avoids with great care express mention of himself.” Most readers think Jesus’ beloved disciple was John (Jesus’ 1st cousin).
Irenáeus (130-202 AD) Against Heresies 3:1:1 “John, the disciple of the Lord, who had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus.” Wikipedia: Authorship of the Johannine Works “The phrase ‘the disciple who Jesus loved’ or, in John 20:2, ‘the disciple beloved of Jesus’ is used six times in the Gospel of John, but in no other New Testament accounts of Jesus. John 21:24 states that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of this disciple.”
Jn.19:25-27 Jesus gave this beloved disciple, His cousin John, responsibility of caring for Mary. She would’ve first been the responsibility of a living: husband (Joseph), then her son (Jesus), then a brother. Joseph likely was deceased, Jesus is dying on the cross, and Mary had no (living) biological brother. Her sister Salome’s sons James & John were in line for the care of Mary.
In Jn.21:2, 4G referred to 7 of the 12 disciples. “There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee [James & John], and two other of His disciples.” These other two were probably Peter’s brother Andrew, and Philip their close associate. Gill Exposition Jn.21:2 “Two other of his disciples; are thought to be Andrew and Philip; which is very likely, since they were both of Bethsaidá.” Bethsaida was a Galilean fishing village.
The synoptic gospels list the first 4 disciples called by Jesus as…Peter & Andrew, James & John. Next listed are Philip and Bartholomew. Mt.10:2-4, Mk.3:16-19, Lk.6:13-16. also ref Mt.4:18-22, Mk.1:16-20, Lk.5:3, 10 (Andrew fished in Peter’s boat), Ac.1:13, Mk.13:3. But in the 4G Jn.1:35-50, the earliest disciples named are Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel. (4G doesn’t refer to Nathaniel as Bar-Tholomew, the son of Tholmai, unlike the synoptics.) 4G omits specifically naming James & John as disciples. What an omission! Likewise, 4G omits naming the two sons of Zebedee. It seems John humbly didn’t want to draw attention to himself. Furthermore, “James” doesn’t occur in any of the five Johannines!
Let’s now examine internal vocabular evidence of authorship within the five Johannine books.
Most readers think the three Johannine books of 1Jn, 2Jn, 3Jn were written by the same person/Elder (at an advanced age). 2Jn.1:1 “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love [g25] in the truth [g225].” 3Jn.1:1 “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” 1Jn.3:18 “My little children, let us not love merely in word or in tongue, but in action and in truth.” Notice the similarity.
The closing wording, “having many things to write to you” with “I hope to see you face to face”, occurs at the end of both 2Jn and 3Jn; 2Jn.1:12 and 3Jn.1:13-14. In no other NT book.
The phrase “that you have heard [g191] from the beginning [g746]” occurs only in John’s epistles; 1Jn.2:7, 24, 3:11, 2Jn.1:6. Nowhere else in the NT. The three letters were written by the same person.
In the NT, the phrase “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” occurs in 1Jn.4:2-3, 2Jn.1:7. Nowhere else.
The Greek term antíchristos (g500), antichrist, occurs only in 1Jn.2:18, 22, 4:3, 2Jn.1:7. Nowhere else.
The Elder who wrote John’s epistles seems to assume that the readers of his epistles also know 4G.
Now let’s link John’s epistles to 4G, the 4th gospel, the Gospel of John.
The NT expression “new commandment” (g2537 g1785) occurs only in John’s writings; 1Jn.2:7-8, 2Jn.1:5. Also Jn.13:34, “A new (g2537) commandment (g1785) I give unto you.” This expression ties John’s epistles to 4G, but doesn’t occur in any non-Johannine book.
The phrase “that your/our joy [g5479] may be full [g4137]” is seen only in 1Jn.1:4, 2Jn.1:12, Jn.15:11, 16:24. Nowhere but in John’s writings.
The expression “take away sins” (g142 g266) occurs only in 1Jn.3:5, Jn.1:29. In no other NT writings.
The expression “walk/s [g4043] in darkness” occurs in 1Jn.1:6, 2:11, Jn.8:12, 12:35. Nowhere else.
The expression “the world hates you” (g2889 g3404 g5209) occurs only in 1Jn.3:13, Jn.15:18-19.
The expression, God’s “only begotten Son” (g3439 g5207) occurs only in 1Jn.4:9, Jn.3:16, 18.
The following four verses relate to men having “seen” (g3708) or discerned Father God’s or Jesus’ divine character/nature. (It didn’t mean seen visibly with physical eyes). 1Jn.3:6 “Whoever sins has not seen Him, neither known Him.” 3Jn.1:11 “He that does evil has not seen God.” Jn.14:7 Jesus said to His disciples, “You know Him and have seen Him.” Jn.14: 9 “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” However, no non-Johannine book uses the expression “seen God/Him” in the same verse.
3Jn.1:12 “We also bear witness [g3140], and you know that our testimony is true [g227].” Jn.19:35 “The one having seen bears witness, and his testimony is true.” Jn.21:24 “This is the disciple bearing witness, and we know that his testimony is true.” This language only occurs in John’s writings. also ref Jn.5:31-32, 8:13-14.
The above passages link John’s three epistles to 4G. Now we’ll link Revelation to other Johannine books.
Re.1:1, 4, 9 “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation…was on the island of Pátmos on account of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.” In Revelation, the writer John includes his own name. Wikipedia: Patmos “Early Christian tradition identified this writer John of Patmos as John the Apostle.” Pulpit Commentary Re.1:9 “St. John’s ‘coming to be in Patmos’ was caused by suffering for the Word of God.” Vincent’s Word Studies “Persecution for Christ’s sake.”
Jesus as the Word/Lógos (g3056) occurs only in Johannine books! Jn.1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” v.14 “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, we beheld His glory.” 1Jn.1:1 “What we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life.” Re.19:13 “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.” No other NT writer clearly refers to Jesus as “the Word”!
Barnes Notes Lk.1:2 “The term ‘word’ here means the ‘gospel’. Luke never uses it, as John does, to denote the second Person of the Trinity.” Ti.1:3 “God…in due time manifested His word through preaching.” Cambridge Bible Ti.1:2-3 “In understanding this directly of Christ ‘manifested His Word’; such usage has no proper support in Paul.” Paul never refers to Christ as the Word/Logos.
He.4:12 “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” Young’s Literal Translation has “The reckoning of God.” Meyers NT Commentary He.4:12 “The majority understand ‘the word of God’ as proclaimed and as preserved in Scripture.” Of all the other NT writers, perhaps Peter (1Pe.1:23 & 1Pe.2:8) comes nearest to referring to Christ’s Person as the Word/Logos.
The Greek term rendered “pierced” (g1574) occurs in Jn.19:37 and Re.1:7. Nowhere else in the NT.
The admonition to “keep My/His word/sayings” (g5083 g3056) occurs only in Johannine books; Jn.8:51-52, 55, 14:23-24, 15:20, 17:6, 1Jn.2:5, Re.3:8, 10, 22:7, 9. In no non-Johannine book.
The invitation to observe for yourself, to “Come and see” (g2064 g2532 g1492/g991), occurs only in Jn.1:39, 46, 11:34, Re.6:1-7. These invitations are given in two Johannine books, but nowhere else in the NT! (Php.1:27 means to come & visit, else remain absent, CEV “Whether I visit you or not”.)
The two Greek terms rendered “come” (g2064) and “quickly” (g5035) both occur in the same verse in Re.2:5, 16, 3:11, 11:14, 22:7, 12, 20…“Come quickly”. In no other NT book, except Jn.11:29, “She heard, rises up quickly, and doth come to Him”. (Young’s Literal Translation)
So we’ve seen from all the above citations that there are expressions/terms which occur together in 4G, 1Jn, 2Jn, 3Jn, Revelation…but in no other NT books. This shows the Johannines have the same author.
However, Bible linguists recognize the Greek language quality of Revelation is less than that of the other four Johannines. If the author is the same, why was Revelation written in a lesser quality Greek?
John’s native language was Aramaic (ref Aramaic words imbedded in 4G). He also knew Greek, but was less fluent in it. Ac.4:13 Peter & John were unlearned and ordinary men. They weren’t educated as were Jewish scribes. Perhaps an amanuénsis (copyist) was available to help John write 4G in a better quality Greek? ref Jn.21:24 “the disciple” (John) is in 3rd person, yet “we” is 1st person. “We” includes John’s secretary? 4G wasn’t written during John’s exile on Patmos, where Revelation was written.
When John was exiled to Patmos (Re.1:9), where he wrote Revelation in Greek, apparently there was no ‘literary secretary’ made available for John to dictate his vision to. cf. Ro.16:22 Tértius served as Paul’s amanuensis or secretary in writing the book of Romans. Whereas Paul wrote Galatians with his “own hand” (Ga.6:11). John wrote Revelation, seemingly with his own hand, without a secretary.
Wikipedia: John the Evangelist “John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John [4G]….John the Apostle….the ‘Beloved Disciple’ in the Gospel of John.” But some scholars disagree that ‘John the Evangelist’ is the apostle John. Was the apostle John an evangelist?
In Ac.5:40-42, Jesus’ apostles “preached the gospel” (euaggelízo g2097); they evangelized. John, Peter, and the others were gospel preachers too. Ellicott Commentary Ac.5:42 “The word for ‘preach’ is literally to ‘evangelize.” In so doing, John was an evangelist. Ac.8:14, 25, Peter and John evangelized (g2097) in Samaria, on their way back to Jerusalem. JFB Commentary Ac.8:25 “And they’ – Peter and John.” Ac.14:7 the apostles Paul & Barnábas evangelized in Galatian cities. Ep.4:11 some are apostles, other saints are prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers. Yet an apostle may perform other (lesser) functions too, as John did. So John may also accurately be called ‘John the Evangelist’.
The Aramaic-speaking Church in the East, the Syriac church, is considered by many to have precedence over the (later) Latin-speaking Roman Catholic Church. The 2nd century Syriac version of the NT indicates Revelation was written ca 67 AD. Its preface to Revelation reads, “The Revelation which was made by God to John the Evangelist in the island of Patmos to which he was banished by Nero the Emperor”. The apostle John was also known as ‘John the Evangelist’. JFB Jn.13:23 “Modestly does our Evangelist denote himself, as reclining next to Jesus at the table.”
John, the Beloved Disciple, himself had much to say about “love”. Of the 7,958 total verses in the NT, the five Johannines contain 1,416 of them. That’s only 18%. The Greek verb for love is agapáo g25. The Greek noun for love is agápe g26. These two terms occur 258 times in the NT. Of these 258 occurrences, 105 are in the five Johannines…a remarkable 40%! (also see “Love – Godly Love”.)
Conclusion: Evidence indicates that the disciple/apostle/evangelist John, the brother of James, was the author of all five Johannine books. Not only in the view of Bible commentaries and traditional writings (which hasn’t been my focus here), but even more significant is…the large amount of internal vocabular evidence. The language within the five books is too similar to be merely coincidental!
Bible Topic Exposition 