Irenaeus was not alone in this view. Bishop Polycarp also refers to John as a teacher who reclined on Jesus’ bosom and died in Ephesus. Clement of Alexandria also writing in the late second century, referred to John as having written a spiritual Gospel, which undoubtedly suggest John had written a Gospel.
Papias, a disciple of John claimed to have written the Gospel from John’s dictation. However this is not considered very strong evidence, since John himself rejected it. In addition the Gnostics were eager to associate the Fourth Gospel with John the apostle in order to give their interpretation of Christianity some authority.
Secondly in John (19:25-35) Jesus talks to the beloved disciple again.
The author identifies "the disciple whom he loved" as the one whose testimony is true and worthy of belief. When Jesus was dying on the cross, around him stood four women and one man, identified as the one whom Jesus loved (19:25-27). Later, the author affirms that the testimony of the man who witnessed Jesus' death is true (19:35); the testimony refers most likely to the traditions about Jesus that have been incorporated into the Gospel of John. This man is most likely "the disciple whom he (Jesus) loved" since he is the only man present at Jesus' crucifixion.
The two individuals referred to in John 19:35; 21:24 are no doubt the same man, since they bear the same designation, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." If it is possible to put a name to this man, then the author of the Fourth Gospel can be identified.
There is some internal, indirect evidence to consider with respect to the authorship of the Fourth Gospel.
The author of the Fourth Gospel is familiar with the geographical features of Palestine He is familiar with Galilee, Samaria and Judea (12:21) and also common to the city of Jerusalem (11:18) and the Temple (2:14). The fact that the author possessed such detailed geographical knowledge about Palestine implies he was a resident of Palestine, who had frequented these places. The author is acquainted with the social and religious conditions of Palestine. Similarly, he is also familiar with Jewish and Samaritan religious beliefs and is well aware with how Jewish festivals were celebrated at the Temple and with purification rites, for example Passover (2:13, 23; 6:4; 13:1; 18:28). For the author to have such detailed knowledge of the social and religious conditions of Palestine. And the Jewish and Samaritan religious beliefs implies that the author had first-hand experience of Jews and Samaritans, which suggests that he is from Palestine. His good knowledge of the Temple and Jewish festivals means that he was a participant in the various Jewish festivals, which suggests that he was a Palestinian Jew. His knowledge of Jewish purification rites is consistent with first-hand experience.
The author seems to have been an eyewitness to the events that he is describes, however this is debatable, but the general impression is that the accounts derive from an eyewitness. Similarly, the author has a good knowledge of the apostolic group, which could put forward he knew the synoptics. To be an eyewitness and to have a good knowledge of the apostolic group, could suggest that the author himself was one of the twelve or that he was a follower of Jesus who had much contact with the twelve.
The author seems to have written his gospel in Aramaic or a very Semitic type of Greek. However the details relating to the Aramaic/Semitic features of the gospel cause much dispute. The linguistic data suggests that the author's mother tongue was not Greek, but Aramaic. Therefore the author would have the tendency to quote Aramaic words and be influenced by Aramaic grammar when writing in Greek. Also, an author whose first language was Aramaic may have a limited Greek vocabulary and be unable to write Greek except with simplistic style.
B.F.Westcott argued that the author of the Fourth Gospel was a Palestinian Jew, an apostle and therefore John son of Zebedee. This conclusion however seem to be a very immense jump.
In conclusion the author of the Fourth Gospel seems most likely to be written by John, the apostle. Son of Zebedee. The author would have had to be an apostle of a very close friend of the Twelve, he would have had to have live in Palestine and spoken Aramaic. Therefore it can be said John was the author of the Fourth Gospel.
Word Count: 1033 Words
