The Cast

Aloha friends,

It can be difficult to remember who's who as we jump around John especially since no one seems to have a last name.  In ancient Israel people were often associated with their father ("...son of Joseph"), their tribe ("...the Levite"), or their profession ("...the tanner").

In an effort to make it a bit easier, here's a crib sheet.

John: There are 3 Johns in the gospel of the same name.  The name John means, "YHWH is gracious"

• John, the Author.  The gospel is attributed to John.  Is this John the apostle mentioned in the synoptic gospels?  If so, then that'd make the author around 90 years old when he wrote the gospel.  While not impossible, it's important to note that he'd be nearly twice the average life span in that day.  Is the author John the Baptist (JB)?  Not likely as John 3 tells us JB is later imprisoned and the synoptic gospels tell us that JB was executed while Jesus was alive.  Is this the John who was in exile on Patmos, the one who wrote Revelation?  The time

  

  John on Patmos

  frame seems to line up but wow are the styles and themes in Revelation different from the gospel (and the letters attributed to John which sound a lot like the Gospel of John).  Perhaps it is John Mark mentioned in the book of Acts?  Much of Christian tradition and scholarship consider him to have been the author of the Gospel of Mark (writing both would have been tough as Mark was written about 50 years prior to John, so again, age).  Frankly, the authorship of John has been debated for over 1500 years and to make matters more complicated it was not uncommon in ancient times to attribute authorship to another person.  This was typically done as a sign of deference and respect to a teacher, mentor, or other exalted member of tradition.
• John, the Baptist.  This John (JB) is the cousin of Jesus (the son of Mary's sister Elizabeth).  JB acted in line and accordance with Hebrew prophets of old.  While the Gospel of John does not portray him with the obvious trappings of the prophet Elijah like the synoptic gospels do, it does however tie him to the prophetic tradition with the reference to the prophet Isaiah.
• John, the father of Simon (aka Cephas, aka Peter).  In the Gospel of John, the apostle Peter is called the son of John.  The interesting thing about this is that in the Gospel of Matthew, the apostle Peter is called the son of Jonah.  Scribal copying error?  Father with two names, like a nickname?  Two fathers?  One is a literal designation (ie your dad is named John) and the other is a metaphorical designation (ie you act like Jonah did)?

Mary: The Gospel of John ups the ante (and confusion) with 4 Marys.  The meaning of the name Mary is not entirely clear.  It may have derived from an Egyptian name meaning "Beloved" (several Hebrew names derived from Egyptian names).  The name is also related to the Hebrew word for "Bitter".

• Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  Technically, the mother of Jesus is never named in John.  While Jesus' mother appears prominently in the gospel, she is never named.  If we didn't have the synoptic gospels we wouldn't know what to call her.
• Mary, of Bethany.  This is the sister of Martha and Lazarus.  This Mary is at the center of one of the most intimate stories of Jesus, the washing of his feet with her hair.
• Mary Magdalene.  Yeah a last name!  Well, not really.

  

  Mary Magdalene

   Magdalene is believed to mean, "of Magda" referencing a town on the shore of Galilee.  In the Gospel of John this Mary only appears in name at Jesus' death and at the resurrection.  This close association strongly implies her presence throughout the ministry of Jesus.
• Mary, the wife of Clopas.  So who's Clopas?!  No idea.  Theories abound on who this Mary is (eg Jesus' mother, or Jesus' aunt, or wife of Cleopas, etc).  No one knows.  What we do know is that she was present at the crucifixion, a place not even the disciples dared to tread.

The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (aka The Beloved Disciple):  Who is this unnamed disciple that pops up all of sudden with such prominence?  As you might be able to guess, theories abound.

• Lazarus.  John's Gospel straight up names Lazarus as "he whom you (Jesus) love."  Mystery solved, right?  Well, not so
  
  much.  It's implied that not long after Lazarus' resurrection, he is assassinated.  Also, the Beloved Disciple appears to be the author of the gospel.  Did Lazarus write about himself, his death, all that happened while he was dead, and his resurrection in the third person?
• Mary Magdalene.  Mary's position at the high point of the gospel (the death and resurrection) imply a close association with Jesus and his followers before those specific moments.  Could she have been the unnamed Beloved Disciple?  This theory is tough to sustain as the Beloved Disciple and Mary appear in the same place at the same time.
• John, the Author.  As mentioned earlier the Beloved Disciple appears to claim authorship of the gospel.  Of course this doesn't help too much as it brings us full circle to the question, "Who is John?"