Question: Why do you think John omits The Temptation story in his
Gospel narrative? Was he simply forgetful,
or perhaps did not feel it was all that important in order to understand the
real Jesus?
Answer: Firstly, I believe that John was fully aware of the
Temptation episode in the life of Jesus. However, John had a particular audience
in mind when he wrote his gospel. It is possible that he also knew that both
Mark and Matthew, and perhaps even Luke had sufficiently covered the event, so
why repeat. As a matter of fact, about 90% percent of John’s gospel cannot be
found in the synoptic gospels. There are no doubt several reasons for this. One
is quite obvious. He says in closing, “Jesus did many other things as well. If
every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would
not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:24-25).” So, it
appears that he wanted to economize his words in other to cover those themes he
wished to present. This he does by the use of metaphors—that is, Jesus is the
light of the world; the vine; the bread and wine, and so-forth. A metaphor can
tell a story in much less space than can a descriptive narrative of the event. Furthermore,
John’s intended audience was that of secular and pagan society, both of which,
loved to philosophize. Therefore, I believe that chose the more philosophical
approach (“In the beginning was the Word” i.e., the Divine Logos) to appeal the non-Jewish population.
Now as far as John’s
acquaintance with the history of Jesus, he was in the inner circle, present at
Jesus’ baptism; there when Jesus left the disciples and went into the desert
and was tempted; and, of course, was present at the Transfiguration. He was
also at the Last Supper and near him in the Garden of Gethsemane as well as at the
Crucifixion at which time the scripture says,
When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own household (John 19:26-27).”[i]
Since John was then the
disciple to whom Jesus asked to look after his mother, it so also be assumed that
John had the advantage of talking to her about the life of her son. Then there
is one other bit of information that John gives us when he writes:
“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:24-25).”
You were right, however, as
far as we know that John was written last in the Gospel order—according to
ancient testimony, Jerome, et a.—sometime I believe prior to 70 A.D. before the
Roman general Titus razed the Jewish Temple “not leaving one stone left on
another; [and that] every stone will be thrown down (Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2)"
as predicted by Christ.
The reason that I have come to
the conclusion that John was written prior to the destruction of the Temple is
that this destruction was of such enormous significance that I cannot see the
event not mentioned in any of the New Testament documents.
Now, it is true that John
could have had a bad memory, however, he does cover his tracks with: “This is
the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.” And,
further, he writes, “We know that his testimony is true.” Which of course
includes the testimony of others when he says, “We know that his testimony is
true . . .” This statement is no doubt added to reinforce and confirm John’s
testimony.
Trust this is sufficient.
Jim_/
[i] Church
history tells us that the apostle John lived into the A.D. 90s and was the last
surviving apostle. Early church tradition was unanimous in identifying John as
the disciple whom Jesus loved. It seems that John had a closer relationship
with Jesus than any of the other disciples. Jesus and John were essentially
“best friends.” Jesus entrusted John with the care of His mother, gave John the
vision of the transfiguration, allowed John to witness His most amazing
miracles, and later gave John the Book of Revelation. (Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/disciple-whom-Jesus-loved.html)
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