The Fourth Gospel and Paul

In the previous article on the destination and purpose of the 4G, it was proposed that the Gospel was written to the Ephesian Diaspora community by John the son of Zebedee before the definitive split with Christianity.  It was suggested that the Gospel had dual reference points: to the “real Jesus” (and his historical setting)—“back there”, and to the current problems—the “here and now” of John’s contemporaries (and their particular historical setting).  A major objection with this contextualization, noted by various scholars, is the apparent ignorance of Paul regarding John.  The opposite is also true, for the 4G does not show any influence from the Pauline writings.[1]  The last question is easily answered if the 4G was of early provenance; if it was written before any of the Pauline epistles had wide circulation, John could scarcely be influenced by Pauline theology.  The former objection is more difficult; how could Paul, who was the founder of the Ephesian ecclesia (i.e. in a split from the synagogue), be ignorant of earlier work done by John?

John in the Gospels

In the Synoptic Gospels John is portrayed as the brother of James, both being the sons of Zebedee. They were from a wealthy and influential family involved in the fishing trade in Galilee (cf. Mk 1:20; Lk 5:10). They were called the “sons of thunder” (Mk 3:17) probably because of their quick temperament (Mk 9:38-41; Lk 9:51-54) and aggressive ambition (Mk 10:35-45; Matt 20; 20-21).  James and John along with Peter and Andrew (all fishing partners cf. Lk 5:10) were called to follow Jesus (Mk 1:19-20).

The “beloved disciple” is said to be connected with the authorship of the 4G (John 21:20-24), but as he is unnamed the question of authorship is left open. He is the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26-27; 20:2; 21:7, 20; 21:4; and possibly 1:40; 18:15; 19:35).  He was a former disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:40), closely associated with Andrew the brother of Peter and with Philip who all lived in Bethsaida.  The beloved disciple also has contacts with the high-priestly household (John 18:15) and seems to have had access to the inner core of the Jerusalem leadership. Along with several women he witnessed the crucifixion and took Mary the mother of Jesus into his protection (John 19:25-29). He was also the first of the twelve to see the empty tomb (John 20:2-3). The traditional understanding is that “the beloved disciple” is a circumlocution for John the son of Zebedee, although that conclusion is not taken for granted in scholarship.

John in the Book of Acts and the Epistles

In Acts 12:2 we are informed of the death of John’s brother James, the first apostolic martyr, a victim of the sword during the persecution undertaken by Herod Agrippa I.  Before that event, we learn of John’s early witnessing in Jerusalem and his subsequent missionary activity in Samaria, both events undertaken together with Peter. After that event, John disappears from the record of Acts, and is only mentioned by Paul as a “pillar of the church” in Galatians (Gal 2:9).  J. A. T. Robinson proposes that Galatians refers to a missionary agreement that was reached between Paul and the apostles (we think here particularly of Peter together with James and John the sons of Zebedee) prior to the council in Jerusalem (set to clarify matters with James the brother of the Lord) in Acts 15—Peter, James and John were to preach to the Diaspora (scattered Jews) and Paul to the Gentiles.  Robinson remarks,

It may be sheer coincidence, but it is in writings attributed to these latter designated for mission among the Jews that the only three occurrences of the word ‘Diaspora’ [diaspora/|] occur in the New Testament (James 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; John 7:35).[2]

Robinson understands this as indicative of missionary activity by Peter, James and John among the Diaspora in the 50s (cf. 1 Cor 9:15). F. F. Bruce concurs with this view that there was an agreement prior to the council of Acts 15,

The majority view is that the visit of Gal 2:1-10 is identical with that of Acts 15:2ff. The view taken here is that it is to be identified with the visit of Acts 11:30, in the fourteenth year after Paul’s conversion.[3]

This leaves the possibility open that John conducted missionary work in the same areas as Paul but to a different audience. A proposed chronology would see John in Jerusalem and his mission to Samaria between 30 to 40, and any mission activity to the Diaspora in Asia (from a base in Ephesus) sometime between 40 and 50.

The Fourth Gospel and Luke-Acts

Paul may be unaware of John’s work in Ephesus,[4] but his companion Luke demonstrates thematic familiarity with the 4G.  If we believe Acts[5] to be completed relatively early (c. 57-62; Robinson, 1976:90) then any correspondences between Acts and the 4G would push the dating of the Gospel closer to the apostle John as an eyewitness to the events. The Gospel of Luke begins by establishing the religious status of the Baptist and Jesus. They are not rivals; each had his proper place in the unfolding scheme of divine salvation; nevertheless, Jesus is superior to the Baptist, a theme common to the 4G. Given that the information in Luke 1-2 is derived from eyewitness testimony (Luke 1:2-4), it is possible that Luke interviewed Mary and John the son of Zebedee (who she was staying with) in order to write his birth narratives.

H. Marshall states that,

It appears probable that Luke had sources at his disposal, and that these came from Palestinian Jewish Christian circles which had links with the family of Jesus.[6]

In the same way, the early chapters of Acts demonstrate, if not an awareness of the 4G, at the very least knowledge of traditions important to John—they share a thematic close to John’s heart—baptism of water and Spirit (John 3:5). This is noticeable in the account of the Samaritan mission in Acts 8 as set out in the following table:

Acts 8	John 4
5. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.	39. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman.
14. …they sent unto them Peter and John [to follow up Philip’s work]	38. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured (the Baptist and his disciples), and ye are entered into their labours.
16. …they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus [with water].	2. disciples baptize [in water]
17. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 20. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.	10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God…he would have given thee living water.

The unique phrase th.n dwrea.n tou/ qeou/ (the gift of God), is employed only in John 4:10 and Acts 8:20. Despite the labours wrought by Philip, culminating in water baptism, it was necessary to send the apostles Peter and John to “reap” the Samaritan harvest by administering the “Spirit baptism”.[7]  Although they were baptized, they had as yet not received the Spirit, probably because their faith was flawed, as demonstrated by the incident involving Simon Magus.

Shared theological interests (baptism by water and spirit) are complemented by shared patterns in narrative story-telling.  For example, correspondences exist between the healing of the lame man (by Peter and John) in Acts 3 and the blind man (by Jesus) in John 9:

Acts 3	John 9
1. Lame from the womb	1. Blind from birth
10. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms….	8. Is not this he who sat and begged?
7. Solomon’s Porch	(John 10:23) Solomon’s Porch
22. For Moses truly said to the fathers….	28. You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples
(Acts 4:16) For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is manifest to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.	3. That the works of God should be manifested in him

Conclusion

If we are correct in finding that Luke-Acts shows awareness of the 4G (and we have only given two examples), then this pushes the date of the Gospel further back towards Christ. Our argument also begins to lay to rest the objection that Paul was not aware of any work done by John in Ephesus. It is hardly plausible that Luke (who is generally accepted as a companion of Paul) was aware of the 4G while Paul was ignorant. The most likely place for transmission of the Johannine traditions was the Ephesian Diaspora.

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[1] J. Ashton, Understanding the Fourth Gospel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 98, remarks, “Why was it, for instance, that despite Paul’s remarkably wide ranging activities in the Greek-speaking world on both sides of the Aegean, John seems to have been virtually unaffected by his central ideas? Surely any self-respecting Christian syncretist of the period would have shown some Pauline influence”.

[2] J. A. T. Robinson, Redating the New Testament (London: SCM Press, 1976), 304; for a review, see Christadelphian EJournal of Biblical Interpretation Annual 2007, 123-126.

[3] F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians: A Commentary on the Greek Text (The New International Greek Testament Commentary; Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1982), 108-9.

[4] Robinson, Redating, 305, does not see this as a problem. The argument from omission is a weak one. He says, “It is worth remembering that neither in Acts nor in Paul should we have any notion of Peter’s work in Corinth, the congregation, after all, whose history we know far better than any other, were it not for the facts that (a) he was married and (b) he was seen by a faction there as a rival of Paul—neither of which as far as we know applied to John”.

[5] It is taken for granted here that Luke-Acts is from the same hand, a premise accepted by most scholars.

[6] I. H. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text (The New International Greek Testament Commentary; Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1978), 46-49. See also P. Winter, “Some observations on the Language in the Birth and Infancy Stories of the Third Gospel” NTS 1 (1954-55): 111-121.

[7] The same can be said of John the Baptist, who had done the preparatory work with water baptism but pointed forward to a greater Spirit baptism administered by Christ.