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arcura
Guest
No author is mentioned in it.
Who wrote the gosel of John?
If John, which John?
Who wrote the gosel of John?
If John, which John?
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Genesis315
Guest
St. John the Apostle is the traditionally accepted author.
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BayCityRickL
Guest
and this goes WAY BACK in Church tradition. Who are we to fuss with this?
It’s an interesting question. I think I read even in these forums that “no gospel was written by an eyewitness of the ministry of Jesus” but the tradition that I referred to seems to contradict this modern opinion.
Praise God that in the Mass the priest says as the case may be:
A reading from the gospel…
…according to Matthew
…according to Mark
…according to Luke
…according to John
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copland
Guest
Anytime I have questions about Scripture I always look to the Church Fathers since some of them either worked with the Apostles or some of them were taught by the Apostles. The Catholic encyclopedia gives some good references concerning the authorship of John by the Church Fathers…
**“The evidence given by the early ecclesiastical authors, whose reference to questions of authorship is but incidental, agrees with that of the above mentioned sources. St. Dionysius of Alexandria (264-5), it is true, sought for a different author for the Apocalypse, owing to the special difficulties which were being then urged by the Millennarianists in Egypt; but he always took for granted as an undoubted fact that the Apostle John was the author of the Fourth Gospel. Equally clear is the testimony of Origen (d. 254). He knew from the tradition of the Church that John was the last of the Evangelists to compose his Gospel (Eusebius, “Hist. eccl.”, VI, xxv, 6), and at least a great portion of his commentary on the Gospel of St. John, in which he everywhere makes clear his conviction of the Apostolic origin of the work has come down to us. Origen’s teacher, Clement of Alexandria (d. before 215-6), relates as " the tradition of the old presbyters”, that the Apostle John, the last of the Evangelists, “filled with the Holy Ghost, had written a spiritual Gospel” (Eusebius, op. cit., VI, xiv, 7). **
**Of still greater importance is the testimony of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (d. about 202), linked immediately with the Apostolic Age as he is, through his teacher Polycarp, the disciple of the Apostle John. The native country of Irenaeus (Asia Minor) and the scene of his subsequent ministry (Gaul) render him a witness of the Faith in both the Eastern and the Western Church. He cites in his writings at least one hundred verses from the Fourth Gospel, often with the remark, “as John, the disciple of the Lord, says”. In speaking of the composition of the Four Gospels, he says of the last: " Later John, the disciple of the Lord who rested on His breast, also wrote a Gospel, while he was residing at Ephesus in Asia" (Adv. Haer., III, i, n. 2). As here, so also in the other texts it is clear that by “John, the disciple of the Lord,” he means none other than the Apostle John. ****We find that the same conviction concerning the authorship of the Fourth Gospel is expressed at greater length in the Roman Church, about 170, by the writer of the Muratorian Fragment (lines 9-34). Bishop Theophilus of Antioch in Syria (before 181) also cites the beginning of the Fourth Gospel as the words of John (Ad Autolycum, II, xxii). Finally, according to the testimony of a Vatican manuscript (Codex Regin Sueci seu Alexandrinus, 14), Bishop Papias of Hierapolis in Phrygia, an immediate disciple of the Apostle John, included in his great exegetical work an account of the composition of the Gospel by St. John during which he had been employed as scribe by the Apostle." **
**“The evidence given by the early ecclesiastical authors, whose reference to questions of authorship is but incidental, agrees with that of the above mentioned sources. St. Dionysius of Alexandria (264-5), it is true, sought for a different author for the Apocalypse, owing to the special difficulties which were being then urged by the Millennarianists in Egypt; but he always took for granted as an undoubted fact that the Apostle John was the author of the Fourth Gospel. Equally clear is the testimony of Origen (d. 254). He knew from the tradition of the Church that John was the last of the Evangelists to compose his Gospel (Eusebius, “Hist. eccl.”, VI, xxv, 6), and at least a great portion of his commentary on the Gospel of St. John, in which he everywhere makes clear his conviction of the Apostolic origin of the work has come down to us. Origen’s teacher, Clement of Alexandria (d. before 215-6), relates as " the tradition of the old presbyters”, that the Apostle John, the last of the Evangelists, “filled with the Holy Ghost, had written a spiritual Gospel” (Eusebius, op. cit., VI, xiv, 7). **
**Of still greater importance is the testimony of St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (d. about 202), linked immediately with the Apostolic Age as he is, through his teacher Polycarp, the disciple of the Apostle John. The native country of Irenaeus (Asia Minor) and the scene of his subsequent ministry (Gaul) render him a witness of the Faith in both the Eastern and the Western Church. He cites in his writings at least one hundred verses from the Fourth Gospel, often with the remark, “as John, the disciple of the Lord, says”. In speaking of the composition of the Four Gospels, he says of the last: " Later John, the disciple of the Lord who rested on His breast, also wrote a Gospel, while he was residing at Ephesus in Asia" (Adv. Haer., III, i, n. 2). As here, so also in the other texts it is clear that by “John, the disciple of the Lord,” he means none other than the Apostle John. ****We find that the same conviction concerning the authorship of the Fourth Gospel is expressed at greater length in the Roman Church, about 170, by the writer of the Muratorian Fragment (lines 9-34). Bishop Theophilus of Antioch in Syria (before 181) also cites the beginning of the Fourth Gospel as the words of John (Ad Autolycum, II, xxii). Finally, according to the testimony of a Vatican manuscript (Codex Regin Sueci seu Alexandrinus, 14), Bishop Papias of Hierapolis in Phrygia, an immediate disciple of the Apostle John, included in his great exegetical work an account of the composition of the Gospel by St. John during which he had been employed as scribe by the Apostle." **
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David_Zampino
Guest
No author is mentioned for ANY of the Gospels. The Early Church Fathers provide us with this information. Papias tells us that the original text of Matthew was written in the language of the Hebrews (probably Aramaic) and that Mark transcribed the testimony of Peter. Luke, the companion of Paul is not seriously debated, especially due to the three “first person” passages in Acts. John has traditionally been ascribed to the John, brother of James, son of Zebedee, the “beloved disciple”. There is evidence that the first and last chapters of John’s Gospel were edited by his disciples/community after his death.
Hope this helps.
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Brad
Guest
Some priests say “in the traditon of”… Mathew, John etc.
I cringe each and every time I hear it.
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Brad
Guest
John the Apostle wrote it, with some help from his friends (other Apostles).
This entire document is worth reading. It is outstanding. But I quote one particular item from Irenaeus. Irenaeus was a follower of Polycarp who was a follower of John himself:
church-in-history.org/pages/booklets/authors-gospels.pdf
This one paragraph clear up much, including who wrote the Gospels and even a good portion of what the order was (Mark and Luke might be swapped in order), and, finally, that Mathew was written prior to 70ad, showing that, in fact, Jesus was predicting what would happen to Jerusalem via prophecy before it ocurred.
This entire document is worth reading. It is outstanding. But I quote one particular item from Irenaeus. Irenaeus was a follower of Polycarp who was a follower of John himself:
Matthew also brought out a written Gospel among the Jews in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel at Rome and founding the Church. But after their demise, Mark himself the disciple and recorder of Peter, has also handed on to us in writing what had been proclaimed by Peter. And Luke too, the follower of Paul, put down in a book the Gospel which was being preached by him. Later on too, John, the disciple of the Lord, who had even reclined on his bosom, he too brought out a Gospel while he was dwelling in Ephesus of Asia. ((RO 128-9: IAH 3. 1,1; and EH 5: 8, 2)).church-in-history.org/pages/booklets/authors-gospels.pdf
This one paragraph clear up much, including who wrote the Gospels and even a good portion of what the order was (Mark and Luke might be swapped in order), and, finally, that Mathew was written prior to 70ad, showing that, in fact, Jesus was predicting what would happen to Jerusalem via prophecy before it ocurred.
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David_Zampino
Guest
Yuck!
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