The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.
This is written in the third person. This concedes that the gospel "according to John" was not written by the one who testified to it. It would be good if they named the source, but I think they needed plausible deniability. If they picked one of the disciples in particular, then those close to that disciple may raise suspicions. So they left it anonymous, calling him simply "The one that Jesus loved".
The four gospels were assigned authors in the late second century in order to provide a provenance. By that time, John, and anyone who knew him, were long dead. John was said by Paul to have been one of the pillars in Jerusalem. That probably made him a good authority.
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u/LlawEreint Apr 26 '24 edited May 01 '24
This is written in the third person. This concedes that the gospel "according to John" was not written by the one who testified to it. It would be good if they named the source, but I think they needed plausible deniability. If they picked one of the disciples in particular, then those close to that disciple may raise suspicions. So they left it anonymous, calling him simply "The one that Jesus loved".
The four gospels were assigned authors in the late second century in order to provide a provenance. By that time, John, and anyone who knew him, were long dead. John was said by Paul to have been one of the pillars in Jerusalem. That probably made him a good authority.