Who Wrote the Gospel of John and When Was It Written?

The Gospel of John is greatly beloved—probably because the author presents so clearly Jesus’ promise of eternal life for those who simply believe in Him.

Evidence for the Authorship of John

Internal Evidence. The unnamed author was an eyewitness of Christ (1:14; 19:35; 21:24) and has identified himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 21:7, 20). He was also one of the 12 apostles (Mt 10:2). On several occasions, the author is shown closely associated with Peter (20:2-8; 21:7), as the apostle John is in the Synoptics and Acts (Mt 17:1; Ac 3:1-4). In addition, the similarities with Revelation, written by John, reinforce the strong case made for the traditional view that the apostle John wrote the book.

External Evidence. The early church father Irenaeus (d. AD 200) claimed that John wrote the Fourth Gospel after he was released from prison on the island of Patmos (Rv 1:9) and lived in Ephesus. Irenaeus also wrote that he personally learned this information from the aged Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (d. AD 155), who in turn was discipled by the apostle John.

Dating the Gospel of John

A first-century date for the writing of John has been confirmed by the 1920 discovery of the Greek ms fragment of John known as P 52, written c. AD 125. The original must have been penned much earlier, perhaps c. AD 80–90. This date is strongly supported by patristic testimony. However, Jn 5:2 states, “By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is [present tense] a pool” (HCSB, italics added). This may point to a date even before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70).