Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
Book: John
Chapters: 1 ·
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The
Apostle and
Evangelist,
John, seems to have been the
youngest of the twelve. He was especially favoured with our
Lord's regard and confidence,
So as to be spoken of as the
Disciple whom
Jesus loved. He was very sincerely attached to his
Master. He exercised his ministry at
Jerusalem with much
success, and outlived the
Destruction of that
City, agreeably to
Christ's prediction, ch. 21:22. History relates that after the
Death of
Christ's mother,
John resided chiefly at
Ephesus.
Towards the close of Domitian's reign he was banished to the
isle of
Patmos, where he wrote his
Revelation.
On the accession
of Nerva, he was set at liberty, and returned to
Ephesus, where
it is thought he wrote his
Gospel and
Epistles, about A. D. 97,
and died soon after. The design of this
Gospel appears to be to
convey to the
Christian world, just notions of the real nature,
office, and character of that Divine Teacher, who came to
instruct and to redeem mankind. For this purpose,
John was
directed to select for his narrative, those passages of our
Saviour's
Life, which most clearly displayed his Divine power
and authority; and those of his discourses, in which he spake
most plainly of his own nature, and of the power of his
Death,
as an
Atonement for the sins of the world.
By omitting, or only
briefly mentioning, the events recorded
By the other
evangelists,
John gave
Testimony that their narratives are true,
and left room for the doctrinal statements already mentioned,
and for particulars omitted in the other
Gospels, many of which
are exceedingly important.