Foreword

This year, we will be studying four quarterlies on The Gospel According to John. Out of modesty, the author of the fourth gospel does not identify himself, nor does he make any reference to himself as one of the two disciples who first followed Jesus (John 1:37). Rather, he alludes to “another disciple,” “that disciple,” “the disciple . . . whom he loved,” “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” and “the disciple which testifieth of these things” (John 18:15; 19:26; 21:20, 23, 24). The fact that other prominent disciples are mentioned by name while the name of John is omitted, seems to indicate that he must have been the author of that gospel.

According to the Spirit of Prophecy, the author of the fourth gospel was John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was one of the three disciples that witnessed Christ’s glory upon the mount of transfiguration and His agony in the garden immediately before His arrest. His life is an outstanding example showing how the power of God can completely transform a “son of thunder” into a man of loving disposition and deep spiritual insight.

“John clung to Christ as the vine clings to the stately pillar. For his Master’s sake he braved the dangers of the judgment hall and lingered about the cross, and at the tidings that Christ had risen, he hastened to the sepulcher, in his zeal out-stripping even the impetuous Peter.

“The confiding love and unselfish devotion manifested in the life and character of John present lessons of untold value to the Christian church. John did not naturally possess the loveliness of character that his later experience revealed. By nature he had serious defects. He was not only proud, self-assertive, and ambitious for honor, but impetuous, and resentful under injury. He and his brother were called ‘sons of thunder.’ Evil temper, the desire for revenge, the spirit of criticism, were all in the beloved disciple. But beneath all this the divine Teacher discerned the ardent, sincere, loving heart. Jesus rebuked this self-seeking, disappointed his ambitions, tested his faith. But He revealed to him that for which his soul longed—the beauty of holiness, the transforming power of love.”—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 539, 540.

All ancient authorities say that the gospel of John was written at Ephesus around A.D. 90 or earlier. The disciple had been put into a cauldron of boiling oil and escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward banished to the isle of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). There he wrote the Revelation. The ascension of Nerva to the throne (A.D. 96) made it possible for him to return to Ephesus, where it is believed that he continued to reside until his death during the reign of Trajan (A.D. 98–117).

May the Spirit of Christ guide our studies this quarter, and touch our hearts in response to His love!

The General Conference Sabbath School Department