The disciple John wrote the Gospel of John and 1st, 2nd and 3rd John

John the Baptist and the Disciple John are 2 different people
John Baptist
Quick and brief background of John the Baptist
Luke 1 gives more details
The birth of John the Baptist was foretold
John the Baptist father was Zechariah, a priest
Mother was Elizabeth
Elizabeth and Mary were cousins
o Luke 1:36 (the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary) Listen, your cousin Elizabeth
has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month with her who
was declared barren.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus and declared the coming of Jesus
o Luke 1:36 And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children[a] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
John the Baptist is the one that baptized Jesus
John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14)
John the Apostle
Called in Matthew 4:18-22
o As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his brother, throwing a net into the sea, for they were
fishermen. 19 And He said to them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of
men. 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21

And going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee

and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and
He called them. 22 They immediately left the boat and their father and followed
Him.

 Mark 1:16-20
o

16

As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, his brother,

throwing a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, Come,
follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.18 Immediately they left their nets
and followed Him.
19

When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee

and John, his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 Immediately
He called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired
servants and followed Him.
Luke 5:1-11
o As the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the Lake of
Gennesaret 2 and saw two boats beside the lake. But the fishermen had gone out of
them and were washing their nets. 3 He entered one of the boats, which was
Simons, and asked him to thrust it out a little from the land. Then He sat down and
taught the people from the boat.
4

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, Launch out into the deep and

let down your nets for a catch.

5

Simon answered Him, Master, we have worked all night and have caught

nothing. But at Your word I will let down the net.

6

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was

tearing. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.
And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
8

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me,

for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he and all who were with him were
astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken, 10 and so were James and
John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
Then Jesus said to Simon, Do not fear. From now on you will catch men. 11 So
when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
John the Disciple is called in the Book of John, the disciple who Jesus love
John the disciple was close to Jesus,

o Peter, Andrew, James, and John are often referred to as the inner circle of Jesus
Jesus instructed John the Disciple to take care of His mother
o John 19:26-27

26

When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing

nearby, He said to His mother, Woman, here is your son. 27 Then He said
to the disciple, Here is your mother. From that time, this disciple took her
to his own home.
John the disciple was the last disciple of Jesus to die
Church tradition and history says that John the disciple was the only one of 12 disciples
to die from natural causes and not suffer a martyrs death
John the disciple died around the year 100
John moved out of Jerusalem before the Jewish War which started in 66AD
Moved to Ephesus
Ephesus was located in what is today modern day Turkey
Ephesus was a major Roman city
o Do you Remember a few things from our study on Acts?
o Ephesus had lots of different temples to various pagan gods
o Goddess Artemis was a huge money making industry for the city
o Paul was in Ephesus for 3 years and had such a huge impact that the people
brought the witchcraft books and burn them
o Acts 19:17-20 (MEV)
o

17

This became known to all Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus. And fear fell on

them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 Many who believed
came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Many who practiced magic brought their
books together and burned them before everyone. They calculated their value,
which equaled fifty thousand drachmas.[a] 20 So the word of the Lord powerfully
grew and spread.
o Estimated today to be worth 2.5-3 million dollars

o This caused problems for those who made a living from the industry that was
fueled by the goddess Artemis
o People were not buying the items that had to do with Artemis, thus the craftsmen
were not making money
The problem of false teachers arises in the church
Paul had actually told the people that false teachers would be a problem after his death
Acts 20:29-31 (MEV)
o

29

For I know that after my departure, dreadful wolves will enter among you, not

sparing the flock. 30 Even from among you men will arise speaking perverse
things, to draw the disciples away after them.31 Therefore watch, remembering
that for three years night and day I did not cease to warn everyone with tears.
Paul was beheaded between 67-69AD
John is the last of the disciples
We find John in his later years is in the city of Ephesus and there is a good size Christian
population mixed in with large pagan population

False Teachers have split off of the church

1 John 2:19
o They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have remained with us. But they went out, revealing that none of
them were of us
The false teachers are influencing the remaining members
1 John 2:26
o I have written these things to you concerning those who deceive you.
These false teachers appear to the forerunners of Gnostics
They taught, they had a deeper knowledge
And only a few had this deeper knowledge

 Taught a false Jesus

Denied he was the Christ
o 1 John 2:22
Who is a liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? Whoever
denies the Father and the Son is the antichrist.
o 1 John 5:5
Who is it that overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is
the Son of God?
o 1 John 4:2
This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
o 2 John 7
For many deceivers, who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh, have gone out into the world. Each one is a deceiver and an antichrist.
There was a particular false teacher in Ephesus that John did not like
Cerinthus
o Let us flee lest also the baths fall in since Cerinthus is inside, the enemy of truth

John took false teaching very seriously

Can cost one their soul
We should also take false teaching seriously and be aware of the dangers
We will know false teachings by comparing them to the Truth of the Bible
The Bible should mold us
See you Sunday, diving into 1st John
Main sources for info on 1st, 2nd and 3rd John FF Bruce, Howard Marshall, Lenski, ISBE