Conservative scholar ben witherington argues that it was more likely lazarus who is identified as the substantial author of the gospel hes called the beloved in john 11. Was talking to a friend the other day and he brought up the topic that a family member of his was taking a class and the professor talked about lazarus writing the book of john. Learn how the author identifies himself as lazarus whom jesus raisedfrom the. The identity of the beloved disciple or the one john calls disciple whom jesus loved is unnamed and has remained a mystery. In my previous post i explained why the author of the book of revelation, someone named john, was not claiming to be john the son of zebedee and in fact probably was not john the son of zebedee. Also, what verse in scripture can you give in support of the teaching that john is the disciple whom jesus.
What did lazarus say after he was raised from the dead. In the story of lazarus, jesus speaks one of the most powerful messages ever. Mar 31, 2008 this bible study presented evidence in two cases. Unique to john are the wedding at cana in john 2, the visit of nicodemus by night in john 3, the woman at the well in john 4, the healing of the man born blind in. Further, the beloved disciple texts occur only after lazarus is. Jan 11, 2014 lazarus of bethany, also known as saint lazarus or lazarus of the four days, is the subject of a prominent miracle of jesus in the gospel of john, in which jesus restores him to life four days after his death. If, however, the beloved disciple was lazarus, not one of the twelve, then the discrepancy disappears. The historical lazarus was eleazar son of boethus, who was once israels. Dec 26, 2018 perhaps the incognito lazarus also used the name john, which was a common enough name in firstcentury palestine, or perhaps smiths lessthanliteral translations use the name john as shorthand for the author of the book commonly known as the gospel according to st. If the author of the book of john is identified as the one whom jesus loved, please see john 11. Lazarus, god has helped, either of two figures mentioned in the new testament.
I will not address the church tradition regarding apostolic authorship. Evidence for johns authorship from the early church. Evidence suggests that johns gospel was the last to be written at some point after 70 ad. He was the one whom you love that was sick and the one that jesus wept over prompting the jews to say, see how much he loved him. While church tradition has attributed the gospel of john, the letters of john, and the book of revelation to the same authorjohn the apostle and son of zebedeeinternal and external evidence may require us to attribute them to other individuals who may or may not have also been named john. Not his first word after being raised, or even his last word, assuming that he died again at some later point. The phrase the disciple whom jesus loved or, in john 20. First, the book itself identifies the author as the disciple whom jesus loved. When the family member got to researching it he said there was some evidence. In the first it was shown that the apostle john wasnt the disciple whom jesus loved the author of the fourth gospel. Is the lazarus in the book of luke the same as in the book of john. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved.
The fourth gospels anonymous author took the time to record his purpose for writing his book, and that purpose may be linked to the reason that he hid his identity. Book of john overview insight for living ministries. The bible versus tradition the disciple whom jesus loved. It was written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. Traditionally, john the gospel writer was the disciple whom jesus loved. My position is indeed that the beloved disciple wrote the epistles, which explains the similarities with the gospel. Perhaps the incognito lazarus also used the name john, which was a common enough name in firstcentury palestine, or perhaps smiths lessthanliteral translations use the name john as shorthand for the author of the book commonly known as the gospel according to st. Jul 06, 2003 i recently read a book that argues that there is no verse in that particular gospel which says that john wrote it. Apr 28, 2019 in the story of lazarus, jesus speaks one of the most powerful messages ever. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. Euangelion kata ioannen is the fourth of the canonical gospels. Theres good reason to believe that the apostle john at least wrote some of the gospel that bears his name, but scholars still dispute his authorship.
What apostle wrote the book of john in the holy bible answers. The lazarus in the book of luke is different than the lazarus in the book of john. The story of lazarus is known from the gospel narrative of john 11. The key personalities of this book are jesus christ, his twelve disciples, mary magdalene, john the baptist, lazarus, his sisters mary and martha, jewish religious leaders, and pilate. Lazarus syndrome is a medical term for a person whose body starts functioning again after being declared dead. The author of johns gospel wrote a story of the resurrection of lazarus, loosely based on a parable found in lukes gospel, and made this the trigger for the arrest of jesus, rather than the. As a result of this incredible miracle of raising lazarus from the dead, many people believed that. What everyone should know about the fourth gospel 061120 12.
It is the tentative nature of blogs that allow me the opportunity to be a bit more risky and provocative than i would normally prefer. Naturally, this post will see opposition, but consider my thoughts for a moment. If john one of the twelve and the beloved disciple are the same, then we have to solve the discrepancy. Despite the fact john does not selfidentify nor names himself as the writer of the gospel of john or the beloved disciple, we have relied on. The gospel of lazarus the disciple whom jesus loved. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. However, two significant factors point to the identification of john as the author. Sylvia plath wrote her poem, lady lazarus, about her failed suicide attempts. I recently read a book that argues that there is no verse in that particular gospel which says that john wrote it. Who would be more inclined to write of jesus as god in the flesh, as the. This counts against both the theory that john of patmos was john of zebedee and the theory that the latter wrote the fourth gospel. At first, i should note that my arguments for this are strictly literary.
This is session 6 of 8 videos for the gospel of john. In christian tradition, john s gospel has always been referred to as the fourth gospel, meaning it was composed after the other three. Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved. Not a word from lazarus, nor a question to lazarus.
However, upon closer study, there is another follower of jesus that is a stronger candidate that you have likely not considered. Id like to suggest that lazarus wrote the gospel of john. Whoever believes in jesus christ, receives spiritual life that even physical death can never take away. After lazarus was raised from the dead, the chief priests and pharisees plotted to kill him, because so many witnesses to the miracle believed in jesus john 12. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Feb 06, 2019 could someone else have written the book of john. Oct 27, 2015 unique to john are the wedding at cana in john 2, the visit of nicodemus by night in john 3, the woman at the well in john 4, the healing of the man born blind in john 9, the raising of lazarus in. A better bible study method, book one chapter 7 the bible versus tradition the jury summation this study presented two cases. The book went through two to three stages, or editions, before reaching its current form, at the latest, around ad 80100. The omission of lazarus from the synoptics is particularly puzzling because lazarus is an important figure in johns gospel. Moreover, the book makes a case for the author being lazarus, the one whom jesus raised from the dead. Patristic evidence seems to confirm that john wrote the gospel.
Lazarus of bethany was the brother of martha and mary and lived at bethany, near jerusalem. As a result of this incredible miracle of raising lazarus from the dead, many people believed that jesus was the son of god and put. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. This is the conclusion of the early church fathers, and the conclusion of modern researchers such as the threesome. Lazarus of bethany, also known as saint lazarus or lazarus of the four days, is the subject of a prominent miracle of jesus in the gospel of john, in which jesus restores him to life four days after his death. Jan 29, 2007 my position is indeed that the beloved disciple wrote the epistles, which explains the similarities with the gospel. Johns testimony is preserved while serving in ephesus in asia minor. Not surprisingly, the gospel of john never provides the name of its author. Im going to forgo describing the plot in great detail here, but lazarus is a dystopian story in which the world is ruled by the richest families. Scholars, such as raymond brown, have written heavily upon john. This would explain why jesus entrusts mary to john 19. Since all three were prominent, we might expect lazarus, as author of the fourth gospel, to avoid mentioning them if possible, and so, predictably, he never mentioned james and john by name, and only once referred to them indirectly as the sons of zebedee, a fact i have already set forth above. John much as we might use the name homer, for example, to refer to. Evidence for john s authorship from the early church.
Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved alan rudnick. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature. He was the one whom you love that was sick and the one that jesus wept over prompting the. The eastern orthodox and roman catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. However, in john, we are told that the beloved disciple was present at the crucifixion. Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. Alfred prufrock also namedrops lazarus i am lazarus, come from the dead, come back to. Apr 03, 2012 was talking to a friend the other day and he brought up the topic that a family member of his was taking a class and the professor talked about lazarus writing the book of john. The gospel of john doesnt explicitly name its author as john. Yes, as you mentioned, some people suggest that lazarus was in fact the author of the gospel of john.
It may bear the name of john because after his exile, o. Lazarus is the only figure of whom it is said that jesus loved him john 11. John tells us that the crowds that gathered easter week were there to see jesus and lazarus, john 12. It is written anonymously, although it identifies an unnamed disciple whom jesus loved as the source of its. John, who wrote the book, and essentially reported on all these things, didnt record a single thing that was said by lazarus. Such identifications were not made in any of the other three biblical gospels either.
Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved alan. Jan 02, 2020 after lazarus was raised from the dead, the chief priests and pharisees plotted to kill him, because so many witnesses to the miracle believed in jesus john 12. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the book during the apostles time serving the church in ephesus. I now believe that john did not write the fourth gospel because it contains. The latter involves discourses given at several junctures during that last week, john combines several meal stories. In john, jesus had friends near jerusalem, including mary, martha and lazarus of the town of bethany, which is just outside of the city on the east. They also point out that lazarus is the only one in the gospel whom jesus is recorded as saying he loved. Many facts make it clear that this is only a parable. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. Yet only onethe gospel of john claims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. I buy it monthly in floppies, but i still decided to pick up this hardcover, and im glad i did. The raising of lazarus is a miracle of jesus recounted only in the gospel of john john 11. In the second facts were cited that indicate this unnamed beloved disciple was lazarus. The way he refers to himself as the disciple whom jesus loved gives absolutely nothing away until his appearance in the book.
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