Learn how the author identifies himself as lazarus whom jesus raisedfrom the. An episode of doctor who features a character named richard lazarus who has invented a way to cheat death. 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. John wrote his gospel primarily for the jews in asia minor. 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. Augustinea famous fourth century church fathercontributed no fewer than 124 tractates in his gospel of john commentary, while st. John wrote so people would believe that jesus is the christ.
Irenaeus, the great heresiarch, in particular around a. In the 11th chapter of his gospel, john wrote about the time that jesus raised lazarus from the dead. 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. This sundays gospel, again from saint john, also has a baptismal significance. In the first it was shown that the apostle john wasnt the disciple whom jesus loved the author of the fourth gospel. The author of john s 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. The raising of lazarus from the dead points to our rising in faith to a new and eternal life through baptism. Many others believe the author was in fact a committee of unknown authors, editors, and redactorsthe johannine community. For those who are interested, i wrote a post against the lazarus theory a few years ago.
He also wrote the last book of the new testament, called the book of revelation. In the well known perspective the creator of the fourth gospel is typically seen as the getting older apostle john, but it is critical to dont forget that nowhere in the gospel does the creator truly condition his name. For some, possible explanations of the silence of the synoptics can be found in the source material for the gospels. Finishing up the side plot in johns gospel, in the movie, the last temptation of christ, a weakened lazarus is killed to discredit jesus. 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. First, consider that lazarus, as author of the fourth gospel and envious of the apostles, gives them little attention, often focusing on their failures. Further, the beloved disciple texts occur only after lazarus is. For example, of all the gospel writers, only lazarus fails to present an account of the call of the twelve, and only lazarus fails to list the names of all. I cited the authorship of the fourth gospel as an example. Considering the parallels of language between the fourth gospel and the epistles of john which are attributed to a figure named john, perhaps the apostle john helped to oversee lazarus composition of the fourth gospel. In the well known perspective the creator of the fourth gospel is typically seen as the getting older apostle john, but it is critical to dont. This event occurred shortly before jesus crucifixion, but the story falls at a central place in johns gospel and points to several important truths. I wont repeat all of my arguments here, but ill mention some of the relevant factors.
Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved. Are lazarus in the gospel of luke and lazarus in the gospel. The latter involves discourses given at several junctures during that last week, john combines several meal stories. This is the same john who also wrote the letter known as 1 john. However, upon closer study, there is another follower of jesus that is a stronger candidate that you have likely not considered. I am interested in reasons why the raising of lazarus is only in the gospel of john. The author of the gospel of john is john the beloved disciple, the apostle and the one who was imprisoned on the island of patmos. Reasons why the raising of lazarus from the dead is only in john. In the popular view the author of the fourth gospel is normally viewed as the aging apostle john, but it is important to remember that nowhere in the. It is believed that origen, an alexandrian christian scholar and theologian, wrote his gospel of john commentary while in alexandria at some point after 218 a. Apr 07, 2011 i cited the authorship of the fourth gospel as an example. Jesus raised lazarus from the dead activities on sunday. Are lazarus in the gospel of luke and lazarus in the. The gospel of john tells many of the stories of jesus life that are in the other three gospels, but also contains a lot of different information.
I now believe that john did not write the fourth gospel because it contains. Readers of bruce charltons notions and i think my readers are pretty much a subset of his will be familiar with his rather unorthodox beliefs about some of the key figures in the fourth gospel john. My position is indeed that the beloved disciple wrote the epistles, which explains the similarities with the gospel. John also wrote first, second, third john, and revelation. 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. I think the gospel was authored by john, the son of zebedee. For example, a few have argued that the author of the gospel traditionally attributed to. Patristic evidence seems to confirm that john wrote the gospel. Nov 01, 2012 this, as well as literary similarities between the gospel and the epistles of john, suggest a common author. Traditionally he is identified as john the apostle, since otherwise, one of the most important apostles in the other gospels would be entirely missing in the fourth gospel. He is believed to have outlived the other apostles. Lazarus is the only figure of whom it is said that jesus loved him john 11.
In his book jesus of nazareth, pope benedict takes up the question of who wrote johns gospel and proposes a solution that other scholars have advocated. John lived a long life and was imprisoned on the island of patmos in his old age. Probably both lazarus and his sisters were dead before st. No other person in scripture except lazarus is mentioned specifically as he whom you love. The phrase the disciple whom jesus loved or, in john 20.
The gospel of lazarus the disciple whom jesus loved. Traditionally, john the gospel writer was the disciple whom jesus loved. Lazarus and the beloved disciple are the only two men in john who are said to be loved by jesus. What everyone should know about the fourth gospel 061120 12. 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. The identity of the beloved disciple or the one john calls disciple whom jesus loved is unnamed and has remained a mystery. Disciple whom jesus loved, author of the fourth gospel. Reasons why the raising of lazarus from the dead is only.
This is session 6 of 8 videos for the gospel of john. The historical lazarus was eleazar son of boethus, who was once israels. It is noteworthy that this is the only extensive narrative about a family in the entire gospel of john, and is also the lone narrative in. 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. John, who wrote the gospel of john, wrote it exquisitely, for he was steeped in jewish tradition and heritage. Would you believe it if the bible itself actually could prove that lazarus wrote the gospel of john and that theres actually no evidence. John much as we might use the name homer, for example, to refer to. Here are 4 reasons why the beloved disciple could in fact be lazarus. 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 eastern orthodox and roman catholic traditions offer varying accounts of the later events of his life. The gospel has been depicted in live narrations and dramatized in productions, skits, plays, and passion plays, as well as in film. But john, the last of all, seeing that what was corporeal was set forth in the gospels, on the entreaty of his intimate friends, and inspired by the spirit, composed a spiritual gospel. A closer study of this gives far more weight to lazarus. The authorship of the johannine worksthe gospel of john, epistles of john, and the book of revelationhas been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century ad.
It may bear the name of john because after his exile, o. John was a core disciple, who was personally present at a lot of events, including the raising of lazarus. Internal evidence of authorship of the fourth gospel. Johns gospel is the only one that mentions the raising of lazarus and is written as a first hand account by someone who accompanied jesus and was eyewitness to the events recounted. A better bible study method, book one chapter 7 the bible versus tradition the jury summation this study presented two cases. Feb 11, 2017 john s gospel is the only one that mentions the raising of lazarus and is written as a first hand account by someone who accompanied jesus and was eyewitness to the events recounted.
Mar 31, 2008 this bible study presented evidence in two cases. The historical reliability of mary, martha, and lazarus. In fact, john identified himself by name repeatedly in the book of revelation, and this difference in behavior argues against the idea that the same man wrote both books. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Therefore the origin of the gospel must in some way be connected to this personthe gospel of john may be a record of his eyewitness account of jesus life. Aug 07, 2018 introduction his exegesis paper will concentrate on john 11. Peter himself did not write the gospel, but tradition suggests that he oversaw marks composition. Not least because the writer of the gospel repeatedly refers to himself as the disciple whom jesus loved rather than as john. The gospel of lazarus the disciple whom jesus loved paperback january 11, 2014 by lazarus author, tobias skinner editor. It seems as if the synoptic gospel writers have agreed to a conspiracy of silence about three of jesus most prominent disciples martha, mary, and lazarus of bethany.
Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved alan rudnick. 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. These sundays of lent form a stimulating baptismal journey since the first centuries of christianity. Only john tells their stories, including the fact that the woman who is to be remembered throughout the whole world is mary of bethany, the sister of martha and lazarus. 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.
In the second facts were cited that indicate this unnamed beloved disciple was lazarus. The gospel of john doesnt explicitly name its author as john. This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true john 21. I believe the gospel of john was written by lazarus.
John tells us that the crowds that gathered easter week were there to see jesus and lazarus, john 12. While its indeed likely that this disciple is john, there is another intriguing possability. The attached article shows why the gospel of john was written by lazarus the disciple whom jesus loved for many reasons. The one whom jesus loved wrote his gospel without identifying himself by name, but there is no evidence john ever avoided using his own name. A man named john, not the son of zebedee, could very well have edited this book. Jan 29, 2007 my position is indeed that the beloved disciple wrote the epistles, which explains the similarities with the gospel. Thomas s gospel of john commentary of the th century is still highly regarded today by modern scholars. 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.
Who wrote the gospel of john and was it the same person who. The historical reliability of mary, martha, and lazarus john. The omission of lazarus from the synoptics is particularly puzzling because lazarus is an important figure in johns gospel. He had greeks in mind, as the gospel is evangelical in nature.
Any thoughts on how this story relates to universalism would be welcome. The gospel of john states explicitly in its text that it was written by the disciple whom jesus loved, so a great deal of effort has been put into determining who this person might be. Why is john the only gospel that recounts the event of. Who wrote the gospel of john and was it the same person. 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. Interestingly, authorship of the gospel of john has been contested for a. Yes, as you mentioned, some people suggest that lazarus was in fact the author of the gospel of john.
A couple of decades later, after other gospels had become widely spread and most christians were familiar with the events in at least one of these, john wrote his gospel. Lazarus, not john, was the disciple whom jesus loved alan. There may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Polycarp, a secondcentury christian martyr who knew john personally, told irenaeus that john had written the. During the course of his threeandahalf year ministry, yahshua christ had opened the eyes of the blind, healed the lame, cleansed the lepers, cured the deaf and the dumb, and had already raised the dead, as he himself had announced in matthew chapter 11, at a point much earlier in his ministry than that which we see recorded here in john. Feb 11, 2017 the attached article shows why the gospel of john was written by lazarus the disciple whom jesus loved for many reasons. Finishing up the side plot in john s gospel, in the movie, the last temptation of christ, a weakened lazarus is killed to discredit jesus. Jan 10, 2016 who was it that wrote this fourth gospel.
Officially, however, the gospel is anonymous, written by a person identified only as, the disciple whom jesus loved 21. So when i read in chapter 21 that the writer of this gospel was the disciple whom jesus loved, i automatically assumed that the disciple whom jesus loved was the apostle john. Lazarus, mary, and martha lessons from the gospel of st. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, can be ascribed to a common author.