Another example is in John 3:24 when it says:
‘This was before John was put into prison’
This shows that writer remembering something that had happened, almost reminiscing about the events that had taken place. This further strengthens the case for the author being there at the time and may have been one of the 12. This was also stated by the scholar Tyler who thought that because of the eyewitness indications it must be one of the 12.
Fenton also thought this and he referred to John 1:14, where it says:
‘And the world became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we beheld his glory’
Fenton thought that by using the first person plural in this verse (us, we), the author claims that he was an eye-witness of the events which he records. But this is not certain, and a number of scholars say that the first person plural here refers to Christians as a whole, without necessarily making any claim for the author.
The Gospel also seems to provide evidence that the author was, like John, a Jew. Some scholars believe that the Gospel has a Jewish character and contains many Jewish references, such as at John 2:6:
‘Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of Purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons’
This supports the claim that the author was one of the 12 – it may be John.
The author is also, possibly a native of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. For example, in John 5:2 he describes in detail the setting of the pool at Bethesda:
‘…..which is surrounded by five coloured colonnades’
The disciples would all have been natives of Jerusalem and therefore this supports the claim that Jesus was one of the 12.
More importantly, the author seems to know certain facts that only a disciple of Jesus could have known. He describes precisely, in John 13:4, the setting of Jesus’ final supper with his followers – details that could only have been known by one who was there:
‘so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist’
In the resurrection appearances likewise, the writer highlights in John 20:22, details only a disciple would know:
‘And he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”’
one of the most important pieces of evidence is highlighted by Fenton who says that the Gospel itself declares that the writer is a disciple as in John 21:21 it says:
‘This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true’.
Here there is no doubt that ‘This is the disciple’ refers to the beloved disciple who was mentioned in the immediately preceding verses.
There is also a lot of external evidence which suggests that the author was one of the 12.
The earliest reference to the authorship of John comes from Irenaeus who was the Bishop of Lyons who said:
"Then John, disciple of the Lord, both a witness and a teacher, who also lay on his breast, himself published the gospel, while he was staying at Ephesus in Asia"
he claimed that this information came from a very reliable source, Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyra, who, in turn, was said to have heard this from John himself.
This is the traditional view according to scholars John Marsh and George Beasly-Murray.
Clement of Alexandria who also wrote in the late second century said that:
‘Last of all John, perceiving the bodily facts had been made plain in the gospel, being urged by his friends, and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel.’
In more recent times, scholars and archaeologists have uncovered new evidence concerning the authorship. The Muratorian Canon accredits the fourth gospel and a number of apostles with John as the spokesperson and author.
In conclusion, there is a lot of evidence, both internal and external, which has led many scholars to believe that the author was one of the 12 – and more specifically John the son of Zebedee.
