Who Really Wrote the Gospel of John?

Episode Outline:
0:00 Could John son of Zebedee really have written the Gospel of John?
0:52 Bart and Megan on New Year, sabbaticals, and trying to stay disciplined enough to write
3:22 When the Gospel of John was likely written, and why it is usually seen as the latest Gospel
6:20 Why the Gospel is attributed to John son of Zebedee
7:58 Who is the Beloved Disciple, and is he really John?
9:35 Other candidates for the Beloved Disciple, including Lazarus and symbolic readings
12:14 When the Gospel first starts being called “John” in early Christianity
14:46 What we actually know historically about John son of Zebedee
17:50 Could John have dictated the Gospel to a secretary?
20:27 Do the internal clues in John point to a different kind of author entirely?
24:55 The key passages that some people think identify the author with the Beloved Disciple
27:28 Why Bart does not think those passages actually make that claim
30:54 What the literary style of John suggests about the author’s education and social setting
31:07 Did the author use written sources, oral traditions, or mostly his own theological creativity?
33:28 Hugo Mendez’s argument that John is a forgery
35:42 Course promo: Bart’s Genesis course
38:13 Weekly Update: Bart’s developing new book on Jesus and the origins of altruism
42:17 Listener Q&A: resurrection bodies, Peter’s keys, Isaiah 53, and demons in early Judaism
52:31 Final summary: why historians doubt John son of Zebedee wrote the Gospel attributed to him

Episode Description
Almost everyone assumes that Jesus' disciple, John the Son of Zebedee, wrote the Gospel of John. But is there any compelling reason to think so? In this episode we look into many of the issues that most people have never thought about. Most, for example, do not realize that the author of this book never mentions John, let alone calls himself John. There is a person called "The Disciple Jesus loved" (mentioned in none of the other Gospels). But who is he? Why would anyone think he is John? Is it possible he's not a real person at all? Is, as often claimed, the author implying that it is he himself? (Bart will explain: No.) Apart from that, is it even possible that the historical John -- an Aramaic-speaking peasant called "illiterate" in the NT itself (Acts 4;13) -- could have written such a magificent book? Could he possibly have used a secretary. And if not John ... who did write the book? Tune in and see!

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-As a quick recap for those listeners who may have missed our other episodes on the gospel of John, could you tell us roughly when and where it was written?

-The gospel of John doesn’t actually name its author - this isn’t terribly surprising, none of the other synoptic gospels do, either. Which “John” is attributed with its authorship, and when did this attribution first start?

-How does John, son of Zebedee, relate to the figure called “the Beloved Disciple”?

-Who are the other possible identities for the Beloved Disciple?

-Why was it decided that John, son of Zebedee, was the author?

-What do we know about this John historically?

-If John couldn’t write, could he have dictated his account to a secretary?

-Are there segments of the gospel itself that give any clues as to its authorship? (19:35, 21:24)

-Could you give us a little information about those passages?

-If we have little to no explicit information about the author preserved in the gospel itself, or in any other of our sources, is there anything about the literary style in which it was written that can be helpful in trying to answer this question? (multiple sources used to construct the gospel, not the unedited work of a single writer).

-What evidence do we have for the sources used to construct the gospel?

-In a previous podcast, you interviewed your colleague Hugo Mendez who argues that the Gospel of John is actually a forgery. What are your thoughts on that argument?