John the Apostle
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John said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said…
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Yeshua as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Yeshua
-John 1:23 & 1:35-37
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What do we know about John the Apostle
The Gospel of John (John 1:35-40) suggests that John the Apostle, along with Andrew, was initially a disciple of John the Baptist. If John the Baptist was a Zadok priest, John the Apostle and possibly Andrew would have been a white clothing Essene follower studying in the wilderness with John the Baptist.
This could explain two things about John the Apostle, one he was literate, which was no small feat in that day and time. We are never given the implication that John came from a wealthy background, or a lineage that had high education. The people who wrote the gospels were all either trained scribes or wealthy:
Matthew was a tax collector; wealthy and dealt with accounting scrolls.
Luke was a trained Physician, wealthy and dealt with reading scrolls.
Mark we don’t know a great deal about but was most likely from a wealthy background, Mark’s family seems to have been well-connected in the early Christian community in Jerusalem. His mother, Mary, owned a house in Jerusalem that served as a meeting place for Christians (Acts 12:12). He liked to stay closer to Jerusalem, ditching Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys (Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5) which caused a disagreement (Acts 13:13; Acts 15:36-39) causing him to return home and work with Peter (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:24) and in 1 Peter 5:13, where Peter refers to him as “my son,” indicating a close relationship most likely connected to the Gospel of Mark being the words of Peter.
John as established earlier was a follower of John the Baptist who was most likely a high ranking Zadok if not the Zadok High Priest who was well known by the Temple and Crown of the time. The Pharisees keeping tabs on the Zadok’s activities and the Herodians feeling slightly indebted to the Zadok/Essene’s prophecies that helped establish their rule.
John the Apostle Had Abnormal Temple Access
The 2nd Temple was designed like a onion with each deeper level requiring higher holiness, status and responsibility to legally enter.
You had:
The Court of Gentiles
The largest and least restrictive area, open to all, including non-Jews (Gentiles). Merchants and money changers operated here (as seen in Matthew 21:12-13, when Yeshua overturned the tables). Warning inscriptions (one discovered in Greek) forbade Gentiles from proceeding further on pain of death.
The Court of Women
Open to Jewish men and women. Women could not go beyond this point, except for sacrifices. The Temple treasury (where donations were collected) was located here (Mark 12:41-44).
The Court of Israel (Men’s Court)
Accessible only to Jewish men. Served as the main prayer area for male worshippers. It surrounded the Court of Priests and was separated by a low barrier.
The Court of Priests
Restricted to Jewish male priests (Kohanim) which were a subset of Levites. Contained the Altar of Sacrifice, the Laver (for washing), and the Temple Porch. Only priests could perform sacrifices and ritual duties.
The Holy Place (Hekhal)
Accessible only to the High Priest anytime or normal priests twice a day to perform daily services (e.g., burning incense, replacing showbread). Contained The Menorah (Golden Lampstand), The Table of Showbread, The Altar of Incense.
The Holy of Holies (Kodesh HaKodashim)
The innermost and holiest space, where the Ark of the Covenant once stood (before its disappearance). Only the High Priest could enter, and only on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) (Leviticus 16:2-34). Considered the dwelling place of God’s presence (Shekhinah).
When Yeshua was being tried it was most likely in the Court of Priests in one of the Lishkat or Chamber Rooms. Most likely the Lishkat HaGazit or Chamber of Hewn Stone which served as the meeting place of the Sanhedrin (supreme Jewish court) located on the north side of the Court of Priests. It straddled the Court of Priests allowing Priests and non priestly Sanhedrin members to have access.
On the night Yeshua was taken to the high priest John was able to walk right into the Lishkat chamber but Peter was refused entry until John vouched for him and got him in. This is recorded as he got access via the priestly side not the legal Sanhedrin side alluding to at the least a priestly level of social status.
Table of Contents
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Simon Peter and another disciple were following Yeshua. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Yeshua into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
-John 18:15-16
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John the Apostle’s Gospel has deep Essene influence
The different factions of Jerusalem at that time, like today, had very different interpretations of scripture and prophecy. Differences that also showed up in their writings and speech patterns. Everyone that reads the Gospels in the New Testament notice that Matthew, Mark & Luke are similar largely and have gained the term Synoptic Gospels, John on the other hand stands out distinctly and focuses largely on the divine qualities of Yeshua and other factors that were key to Essenes.
The Gospel of John Contains Strong Essene Dualism
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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
-John 1:5 & 3:19-20
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The Essene texts (Dead Sea Scrolls) are obsessed with dualism, referring to their followers as the “Sons of Light” and outsiders as the “Sons of Darkness” (1QS 3:13-26). This light vs. darkness motif is central in John’s Gospel, unlike the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke).
Essene Chiasmus Writing Style
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A – Yeshua is the true shepherd (10:1-3)
B – The sheep follow him (10:4-6)
C – Yeshua is the gate for the sheep (10:7-9)
X – Yeshua gives abundant life (10:10-11)
C′ – The shepherd lays down his life (10:11-13)
B′ – The sheep recognize his voice (10:14-16)
A′ – Yeshua and the Father are one (10:17-18)
-John 10:1-18
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The Essene deeply embraced the Chiasmic style of writing much the same way that modern pasters are addicted to having lessons all start with the same letter; the idea being it is easier to memorize. Chiasmic writing would setup a narrative pyramid that would build to an apex and then invert. There are multiple examples of this in the entire bible and most are tied to people thought to have had Essene training or relationships. In John this would include: 1:1-18, 3:1-21, 4:1-42, 10:1-18, 19-19. Read more about Chiasmus here.
Essene-Style Foreknowledge in John’s Gospel
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No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day…
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.
-John 6:44 & 15:16
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The Essenes were believers in the 6,000 year plan and calendar of God, where God knowing how everything would transpire ordered it in a way to glorify his magnificence and design. Making it clear that through that process there would develop different sides of a struggle, both in the heavens and on earth. In that struggle sides would be drawn and people would be recruited for the Kingdom of God or for the Prince of Darkness.
The Apostle John’s Sectarian Language
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I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one
-John 17:14-16
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The Essenes viewed themselves as a small, holy remnant distinct from the corrupt world. John repeatedly separates believers from “the world,” an Essene-like worldview.
John’s Gospel Reflects Essene Eschatology
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An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment…
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
-John 5:28-29 & 12:31
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The Essenes believed in a coming judgment, where the Sons of Light would be resurrected and rule. The Qumran War Scroll (1QM) describes a final apocalyptic battle between good and evil—an idea heavily present in John’s Gospel.
John’s Baptism and Purity Laws
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The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean…
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
-John 13:10 & 12:31
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The Essenes practiced daily ritual washings in their mikva’ot (Qumran purification baths). The Gospel of John uniquely emphasizes water purification, more than the Synoptic Gospels and his Rabboni being John the Baptist who was to be “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ “.
Which is a major mission statement constantly repeated in the foundation of the Essenes who went out into the wilderness to:
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They shall separate from the habitation of ungodly men and shall go into the wilderness to prepare the way of Him, as it is written: ‘Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a path for our God.’ This (interpretation) means the study of the Law which He commanded by the hand of Moses, that they may do according to all that has been revealed from age to age…
-1QS 8:12–16 (The Community Rule)
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The Essenes and their Zadok Priests were determined to be ready for the coming Messiah which they expected to come the “first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees” or between 26 to 32 AD which is in line with the final Jubilee expectations of the Pharisees that they lamented they must have angered God since he allowed them to pass without bringing the Messiah.
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The world will exist for 6,000 years: 2,000 years of chaos, 2,000 years of Torah, and 2,000 years for the days of the Messiah. But because of our many sins, those years have passed, and the Messiah has not yet come.
-Seder Olam Rabbah 30
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John’s Celibacy and Detachment from Materialism Plus the Book of Revelation
The Essenes rejected marriage and lived celibate lifestyles. Revelation describes a chosen group (144,000) who are sexually pure, consistent with Essene ideals. The Essenes also believed in a cosmic battle between good and evil, much like the apocalyptic imagery in Revelation. John the Apostle is traditionally credited as the author of both the Gospel of John and Revelation, meaning Essene influence spans both works.
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These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb,
-Revelation 14:4
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.
-Revelation 12:9
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Conclusion on John the Apostle
Taken together, these points strongly suggest that John the Apostle was an Essene or Essene-influenced:
- John the Apostle was originally a disciple of John the Baptist, who had strong Essene traits.
- The Essene wilderness connection aligns with John’s possible early life.
- Essene Chiasmus Writing Style is found throughout the Gospel of John and other places tied to Essene characters.
- John’s Gospel exhibits the strongest dualism (light vs. darkness), which mirrors the Qumran community’s worldview.
- Predestination in John’s writings mirrors Essene determinism.
- Eschatology and final judgment themes in John and Revelation match Essene apocalypticism.
- Sectarian language in John reflects Essene exclusivity.
- Purity and baptism are emphasized in John’s Gospel, reflecting Essene washing rituals.
- Celibacy and rejection of materialism in John’s writings align with Essene asceticism.
- Revelation’s apocalyptic imagery is consistent with Essenic expectations.
While there is no explicit statement that John was an Essene, the overwhelming thematic, theological, and textual evidence points to him having been deeply influenced by Essene teachings—likely as a disciple under John the Baptist, who himself had strong Essene ties.
Read "11QMelchizedek"
The Dead Sea Scroll that lays out the expected date and motives for the arrival of the Messiah well in advance of Christianity.
Read "John the Baptist"
Read about the Zadok High Priest who made straight the path for Messiah and anointed Yeshua as High Priest.