Johns: John the Son of Zebedee, who was the apostle John, and John the Elder. Both of them were Jesus’ disciples who were ministering in Ephesus, though John the Elder was not one of the Twelve. Hengel, who finds a close parallel between the order in which Papias gives the names of disciples (Eccl. Hist. 3.39.4) and that in John’s Gospel, identifies Aristion and John the Elder with the “two others of his disciples” of John 21:2.11
John the Son of Zebedee, who may be the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” must have moved with a group of his followers, among whom was also the presbyter John, from Palestine to Asia Minor around 66–70 CE and perhaps joined the church in Ephesus founded by Paul.12 This community eventually accepted the authority and leadership of the Beloved Disciple and hence is known as the “Johannine community.” John the Elder (cf. 2 John 1; 3 John 1), who was ordained by the apostle John to be his successor in Ephesus, could have been a Jew, possibly from a priestly family in Jerusalem.13 He might have founded a learning center in Ephesus on behalf of the Johannine community for studying, learning, teaching, and writing.14
By reconstructing the available information, we may say that John the Elder composed the Fourth Gospel in Ephesus by using the sources written and orally communicated by John the Son of Zebedee, an eyewitness of the life and ministry of Jesus, when the apostle had died (ca. 98–117 or 98–101 CE).15 The experience of John the Elder, who himself was a disciple of Jesus, and the sharing he had in the community of Jesus’ life and ministry, would have been an added source to compose the Gospel with his own theology.
We may also see the hand of an editor in the final stage of the writing the Gospel in the glosses, comments, and explanations, including the translations of Hebrew/Aramaic words into Greek. The addition of chapter 21 after a proper conclusion in 20:30–31, with a final conclusion in 21:24–25, confirms the additional work of an editor. While the phrase “I suppose” (21:25) implies the editor as an individual, the phrase “we know” (21:24) refers to a community on whose behalf the editor gave final shape to the Gospel.
The authorship of John’s Gospel, then, needs to be placed in at least three stages of development: in the Johannine community at Ephesus16 with the real author (John the Elder of Judea, who actually wrote the Gospel), the implied/ideal author (the Beloved Disciple, who could probably be John the Son of Zebedee) whose writings were used, and finally an editor from Johannine community who added explanatory notes and the epilogue.17
When Was John’s Gospel Composed and Published?
Some have argued that John’s Gospel must have been written in the mid second century. In fact, the first commentary, at least partly, was written by a gnostic in 125 CE, and by 173 CE it came to be well established and highly regarded by, for example, Tatian, as found in his fourfold Gospel harmony, the Diatessaron.18 The presence of a part of the passion narrative of John in the second-century CE papyri manuscripts (P52, P90, P66)19 speaks in favor of the Gospel as in circulation in the early or mid second century CE. However, the Gospel must have existed some time before it came to be written in papyrus scrolls after being circulated in Asia Minor and then in Palestine and other Christian centers before it came to be known in Egypt. So Barrett argues that a date around 110 CE may be placed as the extreme limit for the composition of the Gospel, while 140 CE may be considered as the extreme limit for its publication.20 P52, dated about 130 CE, makes us hesitant to conclude that John was written after 110 CE.21
Dodd detected the earliest tradition (the Synoptic tradition) in John’s Gospel,22 while Robinson argued for the procedural priority of John’s Gospel.23 The Fourth Gospel contains precise topography, precise chronology, selectivity of narratives, discourses, and dialogues, narrative asides, and the firsthand testimony of the eyewitnesses—all being distinctive features of Greco-Roman historiography.24 Dunn detects in John the Jesus tradition (or the “earlier oral tradition”) remembered and retold in a different way from the Jesus tradition used by the Synoptic writers.25 These studies point to a date in reasonable proximity to the eyewitnesses and the Jesus tradition from which the composition of John derives.
The references to Christians being excommunicated from the synagogue (9:22; 12:42; 16:2) bring us close to 85 CE, when the chart of “Eighteen Benedictions” was prepared to curse Christians as heretics in the synagogue services. It is justifiable, then, to suggest that John was written ca. 85–90 CE26 and published ca. 100 CE.
What Is the Historical Setting in Which John’s Gospel Emerged?
(i) If our contention for John as the late-first-century document is correct, then the persecution and threat of death faced by Christians from “the Jews” at that time is the milieu in which John might have been written (9:22; 12:42; 16:2). The Jewish authorities could not accept Jesus as the Christ because Jesus, for them, made himself equal to God (5:18; 10:33, 36) but was eventually crucified as a criminal. This religio-historical situation explains why John emphasizes the present availability of the life of the age to come for those who believe in the crucified Jesus as the Christ.
(ii) After the fall of Jerusalem with its temple in 70 CE, the rabbis attempted intensively to revive Judaism. Rabbis like Yohanan ben Zakkai (1–84 CE) and other religious Jews meditated on the Law with the aim of bringing the presence of God down to earth in the absence of the temple. Belief in angels as mediators between the transcendent God and human beings became common. At this point, interest on “Merkabah mysticism,” an experience of ascending to heaven in a trance by means of meditation on the Scripture (e.g., Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6, and Daniel 7) to see God’s glory as seated on the throne in human form, was developing. John addresses this trend by emphasizing that God’s kingly glory is to be seen in Jesus here on earth itself (1:14, 18, 50b–51; 3:13; 12:41; 14:9–11).
(iii) “The Jews” perceived the Christians’ worship of Jesus as a threat to Jewish monotheistic faith because of the Christian claim of divine revelation in Jesus Christ. Christians were accused of believing in two divine powers in heaven. In this context, one should understand the monotheistic faith of Christians reflected in John’s Gospel (e.g., 5:18; 8:28, 29; 10:15, 30; 12:44–45; 14:8–11).
(iv) The Johannine community at this time faced several problems:
1 At the end of the first century, the apostolic eyewitnesses, particularly the Beloved Disciple, had died. This situation possibly could have led the Johannine community into confusion, insecurity, and a sharp leadership crisis. John 10:1–18 and 13:1–20 seem to address the problem of leadership.
2 Because of the delay in Jesus’ second coming, the community was losing hope, for some were expecting the return of Jesus within the lifetime of the Beloved Disciple himself (cf. 21:23). This situation may explain why John focuses more on the present experience of eternal life and on the indwelling of Jesus and the Father within the believers (e.g., 5:24; 6:40; 20:31; 15:4; 17:21–23) without diminishing the hope of future possession of eternal
