In our previous article we looked at how Ephesus became the new centre of Christianity following the destruction of Jerusalem. We also saw how John son of Zebedee, one of the twelve disciples, had moved to Ephesus.
Now it is when John was at Ephesus that he wrote his gospel followed by his three surviving letters. It is difficult to pin down an exact date, however the circumstances point to a time after the destruction of the temple (70AD) but before the Domitian persecution (96AD). Thus the Gospel of John and the Letters of 1 John, 2 John and 3 John, were probably written sometime between 80-95AD.
The Muratorian Fragment is one of the earliest lists of the books of the New Testament Canon. It is usually dated to around 180AD give or take. What makes this relevant to the Gospel of John is that it preserves as early tradition of how the gospel came to be. According to the tradition John was now elderly and his fellow disciples and elders urged him to write down his account. By this time many of the apostles had died and with John being one of the last they wanted his teaching and testimony to be recorded. Though the three gospels had been written, there were still many accounts of Jesus and traditions that had not been written. John’s response to this was to gather the remaining disciples together. Over three days they were to fast and recollect all that they remembered. That night Andrew had it revealed in a dream that John was to write down all things in his name as they remembered. Thus John wrote the fourth gospel. This account though likely apocryphal gives an interesting origin story. Regardless of the exact events that led up to it, John did indeed compose the fourth Gospel.
The Gospel according to John is technically anonymous but it is filled with many self allusions. John can be identified along with Andrew as originally being a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:35-42). However after John the Baptist identifies Jesus, they both become disciples of Jesus. Through the rest of the book John refers to himself cryptically as "the other disciple" or "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This rather than being a statement of arrogance, points to John boasting in the love of Jesus (as opposed to painting himself as a favourite). The gospel ends with the testimony of this disciple (John 21:24-25). The aim of the gospel is that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that in doing so you might have eternal life (John 20:30-31). Since the disciple is one of Jesus’ inner circle the only possibility is that it is John the son of Zebedee. This is further confirmed by the early church fathers who record John as the one who rested on Jesus’ breast.
In the subsequent years John would go on to write three epistles which were addressed to Christian communities in Asia Minor. There may well have been other letters that John wrote at the time, however if so these were not preserved.
The occasion of John’s first letter was a recent church split that had happened over the docetic heresy. A teaching had entered into the church which denied that Jesus was fully human. Influenced by Greek philosophy, these people held that Jesus had only seemed to be human. They therefore denied that Jesus had come in the flesh. This was a serious doctrinal issue, for if Jesus had not come in the flesh, then he had not been crucified and had not died for the sins of the world. The resulting dispute culminated in a church split, with those who held to the teaching leaving the fellowship of the church. For those who remained their confidence was knocked and they were left with confusion and uncertainty. John therefore writes to his community affirming the truth of the message they had received and giving clear instructions on how they can be sure of their salvation. Assurance of Salvation rests in our assurance of God’s character and this has been revealed through the person and work of Jesus Christ. In his letter John puts the church split down to the work of the antichrist, as he says indeed many antichrists have come. The reason these people departed is because they never truly belonged to the church; for if they had, they would not have left, but their leaving demonstrates that they were never truly believers. John’s letter is an encouragement to those who have remained in the church. He provides many affirmations of what true believers know and contrasts these to those who merely profess a faith. Jesus Christ is the true God, who came in the flesh, and died for the sins of the world; so that those who believe might have eternal life and fellowship with God the Father. Anyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God but is doing the work of the antichrist. The letter’s aim is to bring assurance of salvation for those who have truly believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In John’s second letter he writes to a lady called Kuria who hosted a church in her home. She was known for giving hospitality to visiting ministers and supporting them with their ministry. This involved both giving accommodation as well as financial support. However at this time, there were many travelling preachers, who were teaching the docetic heresy. This was the message that denied what was essential to the gospel, namely that Jesus came in the flesh being fully human. Kuria had likely been hosting such people which had led to problems within the church. John therefore writes this personal letter to her to affirm what it means to walk in love and in truth; for all Christian fellowship and action, is rooted upon the truth of the gospel. But before confronting the issues, he affirms his sincere love for her and his personal joy to see her family walking in the truth. He therefore warns her not to compromise with the truth and risk losing all that she had worked for. Moreover he draws attention to the false teachers and their messages, warning her of their deception. With such people there can be no fellowship and John warns her to have nothing to do with them. Though John touches upon certain issues, he doesn’t go into great detail. Rather he desires to speak to her in person so that they might be a blessing to one another and talk everything through face to face.
The event that led to John’s third letter is as follows. John had sent some ministers to a church in Asia Minor, however the leader of the church Diotrephes refused to receive them. Diotrephes not only rejected those sent from John, but he spoke against both them and John within the church. Moreover he even removed those from the church who tried to receive them. In spite of this Gaius, a member of the church, not only received these travelling ministers, but sent them on their way with provisions in order that they might continue the work of the gospel. Having heard of these events John sends his trusted friend Demetrius with this letter to Gaius. The purpose of the letter is to encourage Gaius to continue in what he is doing in ministering to the saints. John wants Gaius to imitate what is good and not to follow the example of Diotrephes. John also promises that if he comes he will confront the leadership of Diotrephes before the church.