The Gospel of John is the fourth of the four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The authorship has been traditionally attributed to the apostle John or the apostle Jesus loved. References in regard to the beloved disciple include:
1/ John 13:23: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
2/ John 19:26: “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son.’
3/ John 20:2: “So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’
4/ John 21:7: “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’
5/ John 20:20: “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.”
6/ John 21:24 “disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.”
The references to early Christian works support the early Christian belief as John the Apostle, son of Zebedee being the author:
1/ Irenaeus, writing at about AD 200, says that the Beloved Disciple was John, the disciple of Jesus, and that John originated the Gospel at Ephesus. He writes that when he himself was young, he knew another teacher, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (c. AD 69–155), who claimed to have been tutored by John.
2/ The church historian Eusebius (c. AD 300) records this John/Polycarp/Irenaeus connection in the same way
3/ Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus (AD 189–198), refers to John’s association with the Gospel in his letter to Victor the Bishop of Rome
4/ It is also confirmed by Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 200) and the Latin Muratorian Canon (AD 180–200).
Reference: Who Wrote the Gospel of John? | Zondervan Academic
The author of the Gospel of John is anonymous but its been argued that as the Apostle John was prominent in the the early church, but not mentioned in this gospel then it follows he would have written it. The author knew Jewish life well, was intimately acquainted with the geography of Palestine. There appear to be touches that might be based on reflections of an eye witness such as the house of Bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar (John 12:3). Further early Christian writers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian indicated that John was the author.
Reference: Who wrote the Gospel of John?
On the other hand, the authorship is considered by the majority of modern scholars to have arisen from the Johannine community and the authorship of John the Apostle is discounted. Reasons include the low likelihood of an uneducated fisherman being able to produced such a work, the Gospel having been written some 60 - 80 years after Christ's ministry, the likelihood of the text being reacted and written in several stages by different authors.
Personally, I believe we can't know for certain who wrote the Gospel of John but don't believe we can discount the authorship of the Apostle John. The Johannine community authorship may also be correct which John the Apostle contributing. The importance of the question for me lies in better understanding the Bible and the development of Christian thought as a whole. In that spirit, I'm interested to hear the thoughts of others on this forum who have given some reflection to this question.
So who did you believe wrote the Gospel of John and why?
1/ John 13:23: “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
2/ John 19:26: “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son.’
3/ John 20:2: “So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’
4/ John 21:7: “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’
5/ John 20:20: “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them.”
6/ John 21:24 “disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.”
The references to early Christian works support the early Christian belief as John the Apostle, son of Zebedee being the author:
1/ Irenaeus, writing at about AD 200, says that the Beloved Disciple was John, the disciple of Jesus, and that John originated the Gospel at Ephesus. He writes that when he himself was young, he knew another teacher, Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (c. AD 69–155), who claimed to have been tutored by John.
2/ The church historian Eusebius (c. AD 300) records this John/Polycarp/Irenaeus connection in the same way
3/ Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus (AD 189–198), refers to John’s association with the Gospel in his letter to Victor the Bishop of Rome
4/ It is also confirmed by Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 200) and the Latin Muratorian Canon (AD 180–200).
Reference: Who Wrote the Gospel of John? | Zondervan Academic
The author of the Gospel of John is anonymous but its been argued that as the Apostle John was prominent in the the early church, but not mentioned in this gospel then it follows he would have written it. The author knew Jewish life well, was intimately acquainted with the geography of Palestine. There appear to be touches that might be based on reflections of an eye witness such as the house of Bethany being filled with the fragrance of the broken perfume jar (John 12:3). Further early Christian writers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian indicated that John was the author.
Reference: Who wrote the Gospel of John?
On the other hand, the authorship is considered by the majority of modern scholars to have arisen from the Johannine community and the authorship of John the Apostle is discounted. Reasons include the low likelihood of an uneducated fisherman being able to produced such a work, the Gospel having been written some 60 - 80 years after Christ's ministry, the likelihood of the text being reacted and written in several stages by different authors.
Personally, I believe we can't know for certain who wrote the Gospel of John but don't believe we can discount the authorship of the Apostle John. The Johannine community authorship may also be correct which John the Apostle contributing. The importance of the question for me lies in better understanding the Bible and the development of Christian thought as a whole. In that spirit, I'm interested to hear the thoughts of others on this forum who have given some reflection to this question.
So who did you believe wrote the Gospel of John and why?