(jahn) Greek form of Hebrew name meaning, “Yahweh has been
1. John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, the brother of James.
Harmonizing Matthew 27:56 with Mark 15:40 suggests that John's
mother was Salome. If she was also the sister of Jesus' mother (John
19:25), then John was Jesus' first cousin. This string of
associations is so conjectural, though, that we cannot be sure of
it. Because James is usually mentioned first when the two brothers
are identified, some have also conjectured that John was the younger
of the two.
The sons of Zebedee were among the first disciples called (Matthew
4:21-22; Mark 1:19-20). They were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee
and probably lived in Capernaum. Their father was sufficiently
prosperous to have “hired servants” (Mark 1:20), and Luke 5:10
states that James and John were “partners with Simon” Peter.
John is always mentioned in the first four in the lists of the
twelve (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13). John is also
among the “inner three” who were with Jesus on special occasions in
the Synoptic Gospels: the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37),
the transfiguration (Mark 9:2), and the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark
14:32-33). Andrew joined these three when they asked Jesus about the
signs of the coming destruction of Jerusalem (Mark 13:3).
The sons of Zebedee were given the surname Boanerges, “sons of
thunder” (Mark 3:17). When a Samaritan village refused to receive
Jesus, they asked, “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come
down from heaven, and consume them?” (Luke 9:54). The only words in
the Synoptic Gospels attributed specifically to John are: “Master,
we saw one casting out devils in thy name… and we forbad him,
because he followeth not us” (Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49). On another
occasion the two brothers asked to sit in places of honor, on Jesus'
left and right in His glory (Mark 10:35-41; compare Matthew
20:20-24). On each of these occasions Jesus challenged or rebuked
John. Luke 22:8, however, identifies Peter and John as the two
disciples who were sent to prepare the Passover meal for Jesus and
The apostle John appears three times in the Book of Acts, and each
time he is with Peter (Acts 1:13; Acts 3:1-11; Acts 4:13,Acts 4:20;
Acts 8:14). After Peter healed the man, they were arrested,
imprisoned, and then released. They were “unlearned and ignorant
men” (Acts 4:13), but they answered their accusers boldly: “we
cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts
4:20). Later, John and Peter were sent to Samaria to confirm the
conversion of Samaritans (Acts 8:14).
Paul mentioned John only once: “James, Cephas [Simon Peter], and
John, who seemed to be pillars” of the church agreed that Paul and
Barnabas would go to the Gentiles, while they would work among the
Jews (Galatians 2:9).
The Gospel of John does not mention James or John by name, and it
contains only one reference to the sons of Zebedee (John 21:2). An
unnamed disciple who with Andrew had been one of John the Baptist's
disciples is mentioned in John 1:35, and an unnamed disciple helped
Peter gain access to the house of the high priest in John 18:15-16.
The disciple in these verses may have been the Beloved Disciple, who
reclined with Jesus during the last supper (John 13:23-26), stood at
the cross with Jesus' mother (John 19:25-27), ran with Peter to the
empty tomb (John 20:2-10), and recognized the risen Lord after the
great catch of fish (John 21:7). The need to clarify what Jesus had
said about the death of the Beloved Disciple (John 21:20-23)
probably indicates that the Beloved Disciple had died by the time
the Gospel of John was put in final form by the editor who speaks in
John 21:24-25 and attributes the Gospel to this Beloved Disciple.
Five books of the New Testament have been attributed to John the
Apostle: the Gospel, three Epistles, and Revelation. In each case,
the traditional view that the apostle was the author of these books
can be traced to writers in the second century. Neither the Gospel
nor the epistles identify their author by name. The author of
Revelation identifies himself as “John” (Revelation 1:1, Revelation
1:4, Revelation 1:9; Revelation 22:8) but does not claim to be the
apostle. Much of the weight of the traditional view of the
authorship of the Gospel rests on the testimony of Irenaeus, bishop
of Lugdunum in Gaul (A.D. 130-200).
The origin of the attribution of the five writings to the apostle is
difficult to trace. The strongest argument can probably be made for
the traditional view of the authorship of Revelation. Its author
claims to be “John,” it is associated with Patmos and Ephesus, and
in tone it fits the character of the apostle who was called
“Boanerges.” Justin Martyr, moreover, in the earliest testimony
regarding the authorship of Revelation attributes it to John.
Internal evidence from the Gospel and Epistles provides many Bible
students reasons to question the traditional view. The Gospel does
not mention the “inner three” disciples as a group, nor does it
refer to any of the events at which these three were present with
Jesus: the raising of Jairus' daughter, the transfiguration, and the
agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Clearly, the editor of
the Gospel, who refers to himself in John 21:24-25, links the Gospel
with the Beloved Disciple. The question is whether that disciple was
John or some other apostle.
The author of the epistles identifies himself as “the elder” (2 John
1:1, 3 John 1:1), but never claims to be the apostle. Neither does
the author of these epistles claim the authority to command the
church to follow his instructions. Instead, he reasons with them and
urges the church to abide in what it has received and what it has
heard from the beginning.
In sum, a strong tradition linking the apostle John to the
authorship of these five New Testament writings can be traced to the
second century. Modern scholarship has raised questions about the
credibility of this tradition, and discussion of these matters
continues. Many would agree, however, that the strongest case can be
made for the apostolic authorship of Revelation, followed in order
by the Gospel and Epistles. Many Bible students continue to follow
tradition and attribute all five books to the apostle.
Legends about the apostle continued to develop long after his death.
According to tradition, John lived to an old age in Ephesus, where
he preached love and fought heresy, especially the teachings of
Cerinthus. The tomb of John was the side of a fourth-century church,
over which Justinian built the splendid basilica of St. John. The
ruins of this basilica are still visible in Ephesus today.
The Apocryphon of John is an early gnostic work that purports to
contain a vision of the apostle John. Copies were found among the
codices at Nag Hammadi. The work itself must go back at least to the
second century because Irenaeus quoted from it.
The Acts of John is a third-century apocryphal writing which records
miraculous events, John's journey to Rome, his exile on Patmos,
accounts of several journeys, and a detailed account of John's
death. In theology this work is Docetic, and it was eventually
condemned by the Second Nicene Council in 787.
The apostle John also has a place in the martyrologies of the
medieval church. A fifth-century writer, Philip of Side, and George
the Sinner, of the ninth century, report that Papias (second
century) wrote that James and John were killed by the Jews (Acts
12:2), but these reports are generally dismissed as fabrications
based on interpretations of Mark 10:39. See John, The Gospel of;
John, The Letters of; Revelation of John.
John the Baptist, a prophet from a priestly family, who preached
a message of repentance, announced the coming of the Messiah,
baptized Jesus, and was beheaded by Herod Antipas.
Luke 1:5-80 records the birth of John the Baptist in terms similar
to the birth of Isaac. Zechariah, John's father, was a priest from
the division of Abijah. Elizabeth, his mother, was a descendant of
Aaron. The angel Gabriel announced John's birth, while Zechariah was
burning incense in the Temple. John would not drink wine or strong
drink. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and as a prophet he
would have the spirit and power of Elijah. His role would be to
prepare the Lord's people for the coming of the Messiah.
Mark 1:3-4 records that John was in the wilderness until the time of
his public ministry. There he ate locusts and wild honey. He wore
the dress of a prophet, camel's hair and a leather girdle (Matthew
3:4; Mark 1:6; see 2 Kings 1:8). Because of his life in the
wilderness, his priestly background, his preaching of repentance to
Israel, and his practice of baptism, it is often suggested that John
grew up among the Essenes at Qumran. This theory is attractive, but
it cannot be confirmed. Neither can the origin of John's practice of
baptizing be traced with certainty. Washings had long been part of
Jewish piety, and by the time of John, Gentile converts to Judaism
washed themselves as a form of ceremonial cleansing. The Essenes at
Qumran practiced ritual washings and had an elaborate procedure for
admission to the community. John's baptism may owe something to the
Essene practices, but we cannot determine the extent of this
According to Luke, John began his ministry around the Jordan River
in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1-3),
which must have been A.D. 26 or 27. John's preaching emphasized the
coming judgment, the need for repentance, and the coming of the
Messiah. Luke also emphasizes the ethical teachings of John: he
called the multitudes a “generation of vipers” (Luke 3:7); one who
had two coats should give one to a person who had none; tax
collectors were warned to collect no more than their due; and
soldiers were instructed to rob no one and be content with their
wages” (Luke 3:10-14).
Jesus was baptized by John, a fact that all the evangelists except
Mark attempted to explain. Matthew 3:15 explains that it was “to
fulfill all righteousness.” Luke recorded that John was thrown in
prison before he said that Jesus also was baptized (Luke 3:20-21),
and John told of the baptism of Jesus but only through the testimony
of John the Baptist himself. Thus, the witness of John the Baptist
to Jesus is featured, deflecting any possibility that later
followers of the Baptist might argue that John was superior to Jesus
(Matthew 3:11-12; Mark 1:7-8; Luke 3:15-17; John 1:15, John
Various sayings give us glimpses of John's ministry. His disciples
practiced fasting (Mark 2:18), and he taught them to pray (Luke
11:1). John was vigorous in his attacks on Herod. In contrast to
Herod's household he lived an austere existence (Matthew 11:7-9).
Some criticized John for his ascetic life-style (Matthew 11:16-19),
but Jesus praised John as the greatest of the prophets (Matthew
11:11). John's popularity with the people is reflected in Matthew
21:31-32; Mark 11:27-32; Luke 7:29-30; John 10:41.
In an account that parallels the New Testament closely, Josephus
stated that Herod Antipas arrested John and subsequently executed
him at Machaerus because “he feared that John's so extensive
influence over the people might lead to an uprising.” Many believed
that the defeat of Herod's armies by the Nabateans was God's
judgment on Herod for the death of John the Baptist. While John was
in prison, he sent two of his disciples to inquire whether Jesus was
the coming One (Matthew 11:2-3; Luke 7:18-23). John's death is
recorded in detail in Mark 6:14-29.
According to the Gospel of John, the ministry of Jesus overlapped
with that of John (John 3:22-24; contrast Mark 1:14), and some of
Jesus' first disciples had also been disciples of John the Baptist
(John 1:35-37). Jesus even identified John with the eschatological
role of Elijah (Matthew 17:12-13; Mark 9:12-13).
John's movement did not stop with his death. Indeed, some believed
that Jesus was John, raised from the dead (Mark 6:14-16; Mark 8:28).
Years later, a group of John's followers were found around Ephesus,
among them the eloquent Apollos (Acts 18:24-19:7); and for centuries
John's influence survived among the Mandeans, who claimed to
perpetuate his teachings. See Baptism.
3. Relative of Annas, the high priest (Acts 4:6), unless manuscripts
reading Jonathan are right.
4. John Mark. See Mark.
R. Alan Culpepper