Bible Reading Plan
We're getting ready to begin the fourth gospel: John. Fee & Stuart explain its authorship as follows: "... the beloved disciple who 'wrote [these things] down' ... most likely refers to John the apostle, son of Zebedee (otherwise not named in this Gospel); the 'we' of 21:24 suggests another person is responsible for the Gospel in its final form." They also suggest that it was written in the late first century (90-95 AD). They state, "John's Gospel is one of the great treasures of the Christian faith. Intentionally telling the story from a perspective after Jesus' resurrection and the gift of the Spirit ...., John writes to reassure believers of the truth of what they believe (in light of defections and rejection) - that through the Incarnation God is fully and finally known. Here is God's love in full and open display."
According to Fee & Stuart, the book of John is careful to explain that Jesus is Creator, the sacrificial Lamb, the Messiah, and the Savior. They note that much of the narrative is influenced by the late date (compared to the other gospels) of its writing. Enough time had lapsed since Jesus' ministry, death, and resurrection that people had begun to doubt who he was, and "false prophets" were rampant. So, "... John deliberately sets out to tell Jesus' story from the perspective of what he had come to know about him after the light had dawned (brought about by Jesus' resurrection and the gift of the Spirit)."
Happy reading!
-- Kim
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