prophecies likewise? Once this is grasped we can understand why this emphasis on the

world is given in the Gospel of John which records part of the Lord's earthly ministry to

Israel.  The Jew had forgotten the Divine reason he had been chosen.  He finally

imagined that God's kingdom purposes were restricted to themselves. Instead of being

willing to be a channel of blessing the world over, they despised and hated the Gentile

Christ's ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth gives a good example of this. At first

the listeners were charmed with His words (Luke 4: 22), but when He widened God's

purpose to include Gentiles (verses 25-27), their attitude immediately changed. They

were filled with fury, seized him and tried to murder Him by throwing Him headlong

from a cliff nearby. From this we can see that Israel, left to themselves, would never

minister to the world at large. What a corrective the Lord's ministry as recorded in John

must have been to them, stressing His love and purpose for the world of mankind, as well

as themselves, so that His Kingdom could one day be realized over the whole earth and

the prayer of Matt. 6: 10 become a reality.

The claim that John the Apostle was the author of the Gospel has overwhelming

support from both external and internal evidence. Professor F. F. Bruce writes, "from

Irenaeus onwards there is virtual unanimity in the church on the canonicity and

authorship of the Fourth Gospel". Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and

Eusebius who had access to many works which are now lost, all affirm that John the

Apostle wrote the Gospel.

The internal evidence proves that (1) the author of the Gospel was a Jew; (2) that he

was a Jew of Palestine; (3) that he was an eye-witness of what he describes; (4) that he

was an Apostle, and (5) that he was the Apostle John. The argument in support of this

by Bishop Westcott is massive and conclusive and the reader is referred to his work if

further details are needed.

We shall therefore conclude from all this evidence that the Apostle John was the

beloved disciple whom the Lord Jesus loved. He does not mention his name throughout

the work, but then nor does Matthew, Mark or Luke. This was probably due to John's

modesty and the wish not to be confused with John the Baptist, and also to avoid the too

frequent use of the personal pronoun.

There are clearly three main sections of the Gospel: the Prologue 1: 1-18, the Body

of the Book (the external witness 1: 19 - 12: 50, the witness of His own and finished

work, the eight signs 1: 19 - 20: 31), and the Epilogue chapter 21:  The purpose for

which John wrote the book is clearly stated in 20: 30, 31: "Jesus did many other