Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Notes for John

OUTLINE Outline for John

GOSPEL OF JOHN

WRITER: John, the apostle, son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James (Mark 1:19, 20; Matthew 20:20; John 21:20-24). His authorship has been seriously questioned by the Tubingen school of critics; however, the objections have been fully answered by the Dead Sea scrolls and also by the dating of carbon 14, and the Johannean authorship is received by competent Bible scholarship.
It is interesting to note that the following early church fathers ascribe the fourth Gospel to John: Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch — A.D. 180; Iranaeus — A.D. 190, pupil of Polycarp, who in turn was pupil of John; Clement of Alexandria — A.D. 200; and the Muratorium fragment says the fourth Gospel is by John.

DATE: A.D. 90-100
Some suppose that this is the last book of the New Testament to be written. However, it seems appropriate to consider the writings of John in sequence: namely, the Gospel of John, the three Epistles, and the Revelation. All were written evidently during the last ten years of the life of the “beloved apostle.”

ESTIMATION: During the entire life of the church there have been many glowing tributes paid to the fourth Gospel. Some have called this “the heart of Christ,” the “spiritual Gospel,” and in Europe it is called “the bosom of Christ.”
Origen said, “The Gospel [of John] is the consummation of the Gospels as the Gospels are of the Scriptures.”
Jerome said, “John excels in the depths of divine mysteries.”
Culross said, “I believe the writings of John have been blotted by more penitents’ tears and have won more hearts for the Redeemer than all the rest put together.”
Dr. A. T. Pierson said, “It touches the heart of Christ. If Matthew corresponds to the court of the Gentiles, John leads us past the veil into the Holy of Holies.”
D. A. Hayes said, “As we read we are assured that here at last is the worthy and adequate picture of the life of Jesus among men.”

THEME: The deity of Jesus is the paramount purpose. The Messianic character also holds priority. This is succinctly stated in John 20:31 — “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
There is a mighty movement stated in John 16:28 — “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” God became a man; this is the simple statement of the sublime fact. John Wesley expressed it, “God contracted to a span.”
These things are recorded to beget faith in the heart of man. “Believe” is used over 100 times in John’s Gospel. It occurs fewer than 40 times in the Synoptic Gospels. The noun “faith” does not occur in John but is used in the other Gospels. “Eternal life” occurs 35 times in John, but only 12 times in the Synoptic Gospels.