NOTES
NOTES
1. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History III.39.16.
2. For a brief but thorough and fair discussion of the problems raised by the Fourth Gospel, see the introductory essay in The New Bible Commentary Revised, 3rd ed. (IVP, 1970). A fuller, critical but conservative treatment may be found in Stephen S. Smalley, John, Evangelist and Interpreter (Paternoster, 1980)
3. John mentions three Passovers in his narrative (2:13; 6:4; 11:55)
4. The story of Nicodemus is recorded in John 3:1 ff and of the woman of Samaria in John 4:4 ff.
5. The story of the first missionary journey is told in Acts 13:4–14:28.
6. The Greek word translated sexual immorality in Acts 15:20, 29 may refer to fornication in particular, or to immorality in general, or (it has been argued) to Jewish regulations regarding marriage within the prohibited degrees.
7. The story of the second missionary journey is told in Acts 15:36–18:22.
8. The story of the third missionary journey is told in Acts 18:23–21:16.
9. See 1 Pet. 5:13 where “Babylon”is almost certainly a symbol for Rome.
10. Gnosticism is the name given to a number of heretical movements which were a threat to the early church. The product of attempts to reconcile Greek philosophy and Christian faith, Gnosticism taught, for example, that God could never have created the material world or become man, that the flesh is an evil, trapping the divine spark in human beings, and that salvation depends on knowledge and ritual. Early church writings show a continuing conflict with Gnostic teachings.