John 20-24: The Beloved Disciple

The only internal clue to the composition of Gospel is John 21.20-24, which point to the source of the account to ‘the Beloved Disciple’. ‘The Beloved Disciple’ is not titled anywhere in the Gospel, but he is declared a few strategic times; he is beside Jesus at the last supper (God’s Word Translation, John 13.22-25), is present at the crucifixion and is told to care for Jesus’ mother (John 19.25-27) and sees the empty tomb (John 20.1-8). The traditional identity of this disciple is John the Apostle.

He was prominent in the early church but is not mentioned by name in this Gospel, which would be natural if he wrote it, but hard to explain otherwise. The author knew Jewish life well, as seen from mentions to popular Messianic hearsays (1.21;

7.40–42), to the enmity between Jews and Samaritans (4.9), and to Jewish customs, such as the duty of circumcision on the eighth day taking precedence over the prohibition of working on the Sabbath (7.22). He knew the characteristics of the Holy Land, (11.18) and citing Cana, a village not referred to in any earlier writing acknowledged to us (2.1; 21.2). John presents a uniquely human portrait of courage and passion encompassing Jesus' entire three-year ministry, the final years of his life.
John begins with the profound announcement that Jesus is the “in the beginning” creative Word of God who had become embodied (incarnated) as a human being to be the light of life for the world.

After this comes, the proclamation that this Jesus is the Son of God sent from the Father to finish the Father’s work in the world (4.34). God’s own glory is made visible in him (14.9), and what he does glorifies the Father. In him the full grace and truth of God has shown itself. John’s Gospel is rather different from the other three. In any event, his witness to Jesus goes its own way, highlighting matters that in the other Gospels remain unspoken and weak. The literary style of this witness of Jesus is also unique among the Gospels; here focus is on the “signs” of Jesus’ identity and mission and on lengthy, theologically rich discourses. Intimate and reflective, "The Gospel of John" offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the incomparable life and times of Jesus the Christ. The Gospel of John uses a pattern of threes where there is an identification, explanation, and declaration. John also works very hard to distinguish Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus as the Masonic character is the theme of the gospel. Jesus, himself, users of “I AM” statements where Jesus is a reflection of the Heavenly

Father.
Jesus’ words to Nicodemus nicely summarize this Gospel’s central theme: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (3.16). Nevertheless, John perceiving that the external facts had been made plain in the Gospel, being urged by his friends, and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel. (7.42) gives an interesting addition to this theory. The crowds are clearly expecting the Messiah to have come from Bethlehem, which is initiated in scripture (Mic 5:2). However, John does not clarify the fact that Jesus did indeed come from Bethlehem. It is quite possible that John expected his readers to know this fact, and to understand the irony of the crowd’s deliberation. This suggests that John was writing to existing Christians, to keep them strong in their faith.
The Gospel of John offers an elucidation of Jesus that mirrors ideas and circumstances that overcame in the Christian community when the Christian era began, a time when Christianity was under attack from several diverse sectors, including Jews, Romans, and cynics rose up against it. The author of the Gospel of John was evidently aware of these attacks and knew that some of the accounts given in earlier gospels shared supporting the allegations. He believed so steadfastly in the new Christian measure, he wanted to write a gospel that set forth its crucial truth in a simplistic and parallels for those who wanted knowledge would learn. His aspiration was to write truth offering a presentation of the Christian faith that would weaken the protests of its criticizers, gaining the respect of the sophisticated and educated of his day. This aim helps us to understand the exclusive features of John's gospel, especially the ones that abruptly contrast the Synoptic Gospels. The insight knowledge of the author explains the omissions of many items found in the earlier accounts. Explaining the different attitudes about Jews, the allegorical interpretations of certain miracle rumors, the absence of end of time but with reference to the second coming, the subordinate role of John the Baptist, and a new concept of the Messiah.