The Gospel According to John

Dr. Charles Cameron is doing a great job and I thought of sharing something about the Gospel that has been a focus of my study for sometime. I am in no way comparing myself with Dr. Charles as he a learned man and I am just wading myself through the Gospels. I love John's Gospel as it varies from the other three Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke (also known as the synoptic gospels), by focusing more on spiritual themes rather than historical events.

The author of this gospel was the disciple John, one of the twelve disciples that followed Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. The author identifies himself in the last chapter of the gospel: "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true." (John 21:24). John was also known as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (see John 13:23, 19:26, and 21:7.).

The Gospel of John presents many important lessons for living life on earth and determining our eternal destiny after we die. First, the book clearly establishes that Jesus Christ is the Jewish Messiah that was prophesized in the Old Testament of the Bible. Second, the book substantiates the purpose of Jesus Christ and the reason He was sent to earth by God. In addition, the Gospel of John distinguishes itself from the other gospels by focusing less on events and more on spiritual themes. Lastly, there is a clear message in the Gospel of John that helps us understand the truth about God, the truth about eternity, and the truth about making a choice to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus heals a man at the Pool of Bethesda. John describes the pool as having five porticoes. Until recently, this site was a point of scholarly skepticism. Then, 40 feet underground, archaeologists discovered a pool with five porticoes, and a surrounding area that perfectly matches John's description. Later in the text, John describes the Pool of Siloam, another site of contention for hundreds of years. Well, archaeologists discovered this pool in 1897.

John describes Pontius Pilate speaking to Jesus from the judgment seat in a place called "the Pavement" ("Gabbatha" in Hebrew). For hundreds of years, scholars used this "myth" to reject John's record of Jesus and the trial by Pilate, because there was no historical record of a court called Gabbatha or "The Pavement" in Jerusalem. However, famous archaeologist William Albright revealed that this place was in fact the court of the Tower of Antonia, which was destroyed by the Romans in 66-70 AD. It was left buried when Jerusalem was rebuilt in the time of Hadrian, but it was recently uncovered during excavations there.

in 1961, archaeologists discovered a plaque fragment in Caesarea, a Roman city along the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The plaque was written in Latin and imbedded in a section of steps leading to Caesarea's Amphitheatre. The inscription includes the following: "Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of Tiberius." Emperor Tiberius reigned from 14 to 37 AD, perfectly meshing with the New Testament account that records Pontius Pilate ruling as governor from 26 to 36 AD.

Tacitus, a well-known first century Roman historian, mentions a Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, and also mentions Christus -- Christ:

Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus...

Sources:

• http://www.digbible.org/tour/bethesda.html.
  
• http://www.bible-history.com/jerusalem/firstcenturyjerusalem_pool_of_siloam.html.
  
• William Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine, Penguin Books, 1960.
  
• Price, The Stones Cry Out, 307-308.
  
• Tacitus, Annales, Historiae, Chapter 15, paragraphs 54.