The New Testament is a collection of Christian texts about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It includes four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. While it would be obvious to think that the Gospel of Mark and Luke wouldn’t be written by Jesus disciples, as there was no Mark disciple or Luke disciple, it would be understandable to think that the Gospel of Matthew and John would be written by those disciples. It has been widely accepted that the Gospel of Luke has been written by the Apostle Paul’s companion and the Gospel of Mark attributed to John Mark, who was also the companion of the Apostle Paul and Peter. However, one Gospel is still mysteriously uncovered by scholars and is causing people to have different opinions on who was the author.
The Gospel according to John was written by the” beloved disciple” which many of course believe to be John the Apostle. However, many scholars agree this wasn’t actually written by the Apostle John, but someone who was writing in John’s name. While the gospel mentions John the Baptist at the beginning, which could suggest it was this John it was according to, it doesn’t focus on the Apostle John throughout. This suggests it may have been written by another hand, which remains as mystery.
The Gospel of John is much different when compared to the other Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke, that are considered to be Synoptic Gospels, which presented more chronological and historic life of Jesus. Synoptic Gospel were written in a similar style and order and presented events and more action – oriented narratives. They are also quite similar, not identical of course, but contained very similar message. However the Gospel of John very much differed in style and content, portraying Jesus as a divine being and capturing more spiritual truths that Jesus was teaching about. Many believe the Gospel of John is a spiritual Gospel. The author focused more on the conversations of Jesus and His actual words and unique events that couldn’t be found in the other three Gospels. Through the Gospel of John we find out about the divine nature of Jesus, whereas if we only had Synoptic Gospels, maybe we would have missed the idea that Jesus was divine. The Gospel of John gives us different angle and view into who Jesus was. The Gospel famously starts with
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1
This immediately shows that Jesus was with God from the beginning, whereas Synoptic Gospel starts with Jesus’ birth, which gives us different angle.
Who was this “beloved disciple” that wrote the Gospel according to John?
In my overview I wasn’t focusing on what scholars were talking about and pointing to different figures, but only connecting the dots through the scripture.
The author of the Gospel of John gives us a clue, who this person might be, at the end of the Gospel of John:
“This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” John 21: 24
Therefore we know that the author must be a disciple, someone who spent a lot of time with Jesus and knew quite intimate moments that we read about throughout the Gospel, who testified those things and who wrote it. To testify means to give evidence as a witness. It is very clear this person wrote what he experienced and witnessed, therefore this is a witness testimony.
That is why this couldn’t be someone who learnt about those events from other disciples, someone who was around Jesus sometimes or someone who researched about Jesus like early church fathers, as some scholars suggest. This excludes any claims of third parties writing about it because it wouldn’t have been a testimony or the disciple as the author suggested at the end.
The second important factor was that this disciple was “someone who Jesus loved”, having special connection with Jesus and therefore had a different insight into Jesus’s life and teachings. We know from the Gospels that Jesus loved many people, he loved all of his disciples, however this must have been someone extra special as other disciples were called by name and this was “beloved”. We can also see that the author wanted for people to know about this connection and perhaps this wasn’t a public knowledge but only known within the close circles of Jesus. As if this author wanted to reveal it’s identity by leaving small clues, but not fully revealing and wanting for the reader to come to those conclusions themselves, leaving this veil of mystery.
It is also important to mention that the term “beloved disciple” was not mentioned in any other Gospels, only in the Gospel of John, therefore this makes me think that it wasn’t actually known fact by the others that Jesus had a beloved disciple. Perhaps Jesus wanted for all to feel the same and to not put any favoritism on anyone. This suggests that this was written from the author’s perspective and the author was “beloved disciple”.
The first clue we have who the “beloved disciple” could be is at the event of the last supper before the Feast of Passover. We read:
“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” John 13:23
We know that the last supper was an intimate and personal event, therefore it didn’t include any other people who were following Jesus. It included Jesus washing His disciples feet and in the Gospel of Matthew we read:
“When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.” Matthew 26:20
Therefore we see 12 people plus Jesus, however there was a big difference between the Synoptic Gospel and the Gospel of John in the events of the supper. In the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke we see that Jesus sat down with the disciples and almost immediately said that one of them will betray him. Therefore the reader assumes this happened during the supper and that is why Jesus gave Judas piece of bread. However there is a significant difference in the Gospel of John:
“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” John 13: 2-5
Not only we see in the Gospel of John that Jesus was washing the feet of his disciples which we didn’t see in the Synoptic Gospel, but also after the supper, not before, Satan entered the heart of Judas. The question about who will betray him has not yet been asked. They enjoyed the food, the supper ended, Jesus started washing the feet of his disciples and even washed Judas’ feet.
“For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” John 13: 11
This knowledge of who will betray Him has not yet been revealed to the other disciples. After washing their feet, they all sat again and Jesus highlighted the reason He washed their feet. To always do as Jesus did, to imitate him and never think they are greater than the others, to stay humble. But also to remind them that “a servant is not greater than his master”, not only reminding them that pride can overtake them so they have to remember to stay humble, but also to highlight that He is not greater than the Father who sent Him.
Then Jesus explains that one will betray Him and all disciples were stirred up and confused who this could be. Then one disciple who was sitting the closest to Jesus and “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” asked Him directly who this could be, then Jesus revealed but only to that disciple. This gives us a different picture from the other Gospels who presented this scene in different order and this gives us a different feel of the supper. However, it is also important to mention that the disciple whom Jesus loved was leaning on His chest, which indicates more physical connection.
The second time we see the scripture with “beloved disciple” is during crucifixion. All four Gospels agree to the fact, that during Jesus’ crucifixion, there were only female followers of Jesus that stayed till the end. No account has male disciples at the crucifixion and all male disciples fled the scene as they were afraid to be recognized by other Jews and they didn’t want to face any challenges. We know Simon Peter denied Jesus three times out of fear and others also disappeared. Therefore we only see:
“And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” Matthew 27: 55-56
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” John 19:25
Therefore the only close disciple was Mary Magdalene. Then we read:
“When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” John 19: 26-27
Now this has caused many to believe that there was a male standing next to Mary, however it is clear that both accounts mentioned females only. We also know Mary Magdalene was Jesus’ disciple, however due to women having no rights in the first century, they couldn’t participate openly but more in the background. Therefore in my opinion Jesus was saying those words to Mary Magdalene rather than any male.
From this we see that Mary Magdalene was a “disciple whom Jesus loved”. We also see in the Apocrypha texts that were excluded from the Bible, that in the Gospel of Philip, Mary Magdalene is described as being loved by Jesus more than the other disciples.
Could this Gospel be written from the perspective of a woman?
The Gospel according to John is the only Gospel that includes the story of a woman caught in the adultery, of Mary cleaning and anointing Jesus feet with perfume, of Jesus bringing Lazarus to life and the only Gospel that showed Jesus crying – very intimate moment. Why? Because it was told from a woman’s perspective. Mary Magdalene was this beloved disciple, the author of the Gospel according to John.
The first time we see Mary is when she was brought to Jesus when he was teaching at the temple at the Mount of Olives. She is the woman caught in adultery and this sinful act was a serious crime punishable by death according to the Law of Moses. We see that Jews wanted to stone her, however Jesus takes a different approach:
“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” John 8:7
When people realized that no one is without sin, they started leaving one by one and Jesus was left with Mary in the middle of the temple.
“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8: 10-11
Then we see another story with a sinful woman, this time in the Gospel of Luke:
“And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” Luke 7:37
Why did I connect sinful woman from the Gospel of John with this sinful woman from the Gospel of Luke? Because that woman in both Gospels was a sinner but also in the Gospel of Luke we see that this woman was someone who already interacted with Jesus before. As soon as she hears Jesus will be at the Pharisee’s house, she wants to show her appreciation for saving her life and she prepares fragrant oil. During Jesus and Pharisees conversation she comes and kisses His feet, weeping with tears which is as an act of appreciation for having her sins forgiven and for saving her life. If it wasn’t for Jesus, she would have been stoned to death. We also see this act being connected in the Gospel of John:
“It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” John 11:2
Therefore we see the sinful woman caught in the adultery and who anointed Jesus feet in the Gospel of Luke was called Mary. Now many believed it was different Mary. However we know Mary Magdalene had seven demons whom Jesus delivered her from. You only get demons through sinful acts, you don’t get demons just like that. So sinful woman caught in adultery was called Mary and then Mary had 7 demons, which only means this was the same person.
“and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,” Luke 8:2
Moreover, in the Gospel of John we have another connection – Martha, the sister of Lazarus and sister Mary, who was the one anointing Jesus feet at the Pharisee’s house, did the same act again. Many called that Mary, the sister of Lazarus as Mary of Bethany different to Mary Magdalene, due to the location, therefore it must be speaking about two different Mary’s. However there are many non biblical evidences that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany is the same person. We learn that Mary, Martha and Lazarus fled Israel after Jesus’ resurrection to escape prosecution. Mary could have moved from Magdala to Bethany to be closer to her family and living clean life after being caught in adultery. It is of course possible and this is what I believe happened.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” John 11:5
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.” Luke 10:38-39
We see this connection with feet again, which again suggests closer and physical connection than sister Martha, even though Jesus loved them both. Moreover, we see this special and intimate moment with Mary Magdalene later. When Jesus arrived knowing Lazarus died, he first met Martha who was distressed but controlled:
“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” John 11: 20-23
We see this exchange between Jesus and Martha as compassionate but controlled. We don’t see author pointing out on many emotions from either Martha or Jesus. Then Jesus had different exchange with Mary:
“And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.” John 11: 28-35
Here we see more emotions involved. First of all, Mary falls down at Jesus feet, again this feet connection. Then, as soon as Jesus sees her weeping, He is troubled. This didn’t happen with Martha, which signifies more emotional connection to Mary. And then tears of Mary caused Him to cry and we read “Jesus wept”. Of course we know Jesus loved Lazarus, however he was controlled until this moment, only after seeing Mary weeping, it caused Him to weep as well. This signifies there is more intimate and emotional connection of those two in this situation.
Later we see Mary repeating the moment of anointing Jesus’ feet and when Jesus, after the last supper, visited Lazarus for another supper, Mary took a flask to anoint Jesus feet. At this point I suspect Mary, having intimate connection with Jesus and perhaps knowing more than they did, she knew Jesus was about to face his death and therefore she wanted to anoint Him:
“Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” John 12: 3
This angered Judas, who was only thinking about money, but Jesus said:
“Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.” John 12: 7-8
Again, we have the same act as the sinful woman who anointed Jesus feet at the Pharisee’s house from the Gospel of Luke. This is all connecting to Mary Magdalene.
The scene of Lazarus coming from death and Mary anointing Jesus’ feet again hasn’t been mentioned in any other Gospel. Why? Because it wasn’t witnessed by all disciples and this was a special moment to Mary, who was the author, therefore she added that story to highlight differences between other Gospels. Moreover, the story of Lazarus is very important as it not only shows a great and divine power of Jesus but also acts as a pre-shadow of Jesus’ resurrection. I am surprised Synoptic Gospel didn’t add this. The only reason I am thinking is that the Gospel according to John was written as a last Gospel and because others didn’t witness that event, they couldn’t add this.
After this we have crucifixion, which we know was observed by female disciples only, which I mentioned above. Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by.
Another important factor is that only the Gospel of John describes the fact that Jesus’ side was pierced and immediately blood and water came out:
“But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.” John 19:34-35
The other Synoptic Gospel didn’t include this fact. This is important for us as it highlights a divine nature of Jesus and is a symbolic fact of the cleansing power of the blood. This gives us better understanding of the event, of why Jesus had to die. Again, only female disciples witnessed crucifixion therefore no other disciple saw that. However, what we see in the Synoptic Gospel is this additional fact:
“Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43
The word “paradise” is very unusual because Jesus never used this word when describing heaven. And also the author didn’t witness crucifixion, yet added such detail. Could it be that it was added for special purpose to highlight God’s forgiveness no matter the sins or repentance? We know that Luke was a companion of the Apostle Paul and Apostle Paul was preaching about God’s grace without repentance so Luke could have been influenced by Paul. This detail hasn’t been mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. Another time we see the word “paradise” is in the letters of Paul. This makes it clear that Paul wanted to influence the Gospel to highlight repentance is not essential or to justify his teachings in his letters through this event.
Jesus asked the disciple, who was standing next to His mother, to take care of His mother. Again, all four Gospels indicate that Mary Magdalene was standing next to Jesus’ mother Mary and other women. Since we established there were no male disciples with them as they fled, therefore Mary Magdalene must have taken Mary home, not John as some scholars suggest. Also, they were mentioned together in the book of Acts, after Jesus’ resurrection:
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” Acts 1: 14
Of course we don’t see specifically Mary Magdalene’s name but we know Mary Magdalene was part of the women disciples.
The final moment where we see Mary being involved is when Jesus was buried. Mary Magdalene was the first disciple who saw Jesus’ resurrection and the first one that recognized Jesus and believed in His resurrection. Since that moment, she is called the “Apostle to the Apostles” and Jesus appeared to her first, highlighting the connection they had.
“Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” John 20:1
“Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.” John 20:3
Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.” John 20: 9
From this we see two facts, Mary went to the tomb early in the morning and saw the tomb was empty. She then ran to tell the others and Peter went with her as we see “they both ran” so it was two of them. A sceptic will probably point on the fact that it says “and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved”, which suggest at someone else, however this was to hide her identity, otherwise it would have been obvious that it was her. However later we see: “so they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there” which means the disciple that Jesus loved outran Peter, saw linen cloths and didn’t go into the tomb. Then Peter went in and then the author reveals identity by saying:
“Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.”
Why to highlight “who came to the tomb first” if we know that this disciple didn’t go inside but Peter did? Because this was referring to the early morning visit, when Mary went to the tomb on her own! Therefore Mary was the first disciple who went to the tomb and believed and she is the “beloved disciple” who wrote the Gospel of John. Because Mary believed without seeing Jesus, Jesus the appears only to Mary:
“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” John 20: 11-17
This must have been a beautiful moment for Mary! She was standing outside confused what happened and then because she believed without seeing, Jesus appeared to her first. She then probably wanted to hug Him and Jesus said “do not cling to me” indicating again closer connection they had. Jesus then reassured her that He will ascend to the Father and highlights “to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” Notice also that only Mary saw Jesus that day, even though Peter was with her, he probably ran back to the other disciples leaving Mary in the tomb, which gave this special and intimate moment a chance. Mary then went to the other disciples to say what she saw, giving her the title of the first who saw risen Christ and being the “Apostle to the Apostles” who shared good news.
“Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.” John 20: 18
The first time Peter sees risen Lord was at the shore at the Sea of Tiberias. Notice most disciples that were at the shore were named and there are two disciples that are not named again. They all went fishing and they see a man by the shore who advised them to check the other side. When they do, immediately they catch multitude of fish. Then one not named disciple recognizes that it was Jesus and said to Peter:
“Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.” John 21: 7
Why only this disciple recognized the Lord? Because it was Mary, who saw Jesus at the tomb and could recognise Him straight away. She was the only one that has seen Jesus after the resurrection and could point that to Peter.
Finally, the “beloved disciple” Mary, has a final moment with Jesus and Peter:
“Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” John 21:20
From this verse we see another interesting fact. This time, this disciple is the one whom Jesus loved following, not the other way round. This means that this was a follower of Christ but who Jesus also loved following. If that doesn’t show more connection then I don’t know what does. This is the same disciple that was “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” during the last supper, because that disciple asked the question who was about to betray Jesus. I don’t think a male would lean on another male bosom, this is more of a tender act usually performed by a love interest. A male wouldn’t do that, it would have been written in different way. This is the same disciple who had more physical contact with Jesus by anointing His feet, clinging to Him after discovering His resurrection and Jesus responding emotionally by seeing Mary weeping. All this indicates that not only Mary seemed to have an important role in the Gospel of John, but also this story was told from completely different perspective. More emotional, deeper, physical contact, longer conversations, more details, which indicates this was told from a woman’s perspective.
Now imagine living in a 1st century as a woman, who had no place in the religious systems. Women were disregarded and not acknowledged completely. If it was known that the Gospel of John was written by a woman, it would have never been included in the Bible. But Mary, by pretending to be a male, could have told the story from her perspective, showing us a different side to Jesus and different side to His ministry and the events. The Gospel of John is the only Gospel that showed Jesus’ divinity, that highlighted He was the Son of God and that He existed before the earth was created. Mary was the only one who understood deeper spiritual messages but also portrayed it in a very simple and easy to understand manner. It was very important that she hid her identity as an author because that Gospel would have been destroyed straight away by the Apostle Paul, who was preaching women should remain silent. And only in the times we live now, we can entertain this idea and accept it as a fact that this was in fact Mary Magdalene, who was the author of the Gospel according to John.
In the Gospel of John we see that Jesus had emotions like weeping, love towards disciples, love towards a woman which gives us a better understanding that even though He was presented as divine Son of God, He was also very human, having all those emotions and feeling pain during crucifixion. We don’t have this from the other Gospels, which makes the Gospel of John even more special and different. The other Synoptic Gospel is more factual, event orientated, presenting Jesus as a Teacher, however the Gospel of John is more emotional, presenting Jesus as divine being, the Son of God who was having a human experience. This Gospel was written from a woman’s perspective – Mary Magdalene perspective. And Mary was the only one who witnessed crucifixion and resurrection, therefore the Gospel of John is an actual witness testimony.
By Dagmara Z.