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The Gospel of John is one of the deepest books of the whole Bible theologically.  But does it report accurate history, or is it fiction, as is sometimes charged by skeptics?

The Gospel of John is often portrayed by critics as being very theological with little concern for accurate history.  But this view is totally against both the internal evidence of the text  as well as the archaeological evidence.  John mentions many historical details that would only be known by a personal witness, someone who was “on the spot.”  For example:

John describes the Pool of Bethesda as having five porticoes (porches) (John 5:2).  When the actual Pool of Bethesda was found, sure enough, it had exactly five porticoes.  The Pool of Siloam mentioned by John ((9:7) has also been discovered.

John includes a side reference to a part of Herod’s temple called Solomon’s Porch. “It was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s Porch.” (John 10:22-23)  New Testament scholar Paul Barnett comments: “The Maccabean feast of dedication occurs in winter, just as Christmas in Australia occurs in mid-summer.  Jesus seeks shelter from the weather in a particular place, Solomon’s Porch, which is part of the temple of Herod.  if someone wrote of a person seeking shelter from the sun on Christmas Day in the Bennelong restaurant in the Sydney Opera House, it would be reasonable to conclude that he had first-hand knowledge of the Australian climate and of a Sydney landmark in the period after the year 1973 when the opera house was completed.  We conclude that the author of this Gospel had first-hand understanding of the climate of Judea and of the architecture of the temple in the period before A.D. 70 when it was destroyed.” *

Barnett also demonstrates that the historical references in the Gospel of John fit the context of the times and that the details of the lives of the various people he mentions suggest first-hand, authentic history.   John also mentions about a dozen places not  referred to in the other gospels and shows a familiarity with the local geography.  Barnett states: “Is the fourth gospel historical in character?  The wealth of information relating to places, to the specific content of the pre-A.D. 70 period and the details about named individuals require our acknowledgement that this piece of literature is genuinely historical.” **

When an author is shown to be trustworthy in areas where he can be tested, this should increase our confidence in all of his writing.   The author of John’s Gospel testifies to this himself: “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.” (John 19:35)

*Paul Barnett,  Is the New Testament Reliable, 1986, pp 59-70.

** Ibid.