1. The New Testament
2. traditions.

His birthplace and early home was Bethsaida (House of Fish, Fishtown), on the northern shore of the lake, near where the Jordan flows into it; or perhaps Capernaum. Business led them often to be at Capernaum, the populous commercial emporium (Lk. 5:10; Jn. 1:44).

Date of birth.
The exact date is unknown, but he is generally regarded as younger than Jesus. Probably he was born between A.D. 1 and 5.

Period of his life.
From early church fathers, who lived not far from his time, such as Irenaeus and Jerome, we learn that he lived to be 90 or 95 years old, and died in the early part of the reign of the Emperor Trajan, who began his reign A.D. 98. So that John's life extended over nearly the whole of the first century of the Christian era. His personal growth in love is shown in the tradition that in his feeble old age (in his nineties) at Ephesus he still tried to preach, sitting in a chair, and repeating over and over, "Children, love one another."

The events of his life come before us in some detail as we study selected lessons from his writings about Jesus Christ. He had an elder brother, James, who was the first Christian martyr. During his early manhood he was a Galilean fisherman with his father. He was one of the first disciples of Jesus. He was one of the most prominent of the disciples during Christ's life, and during the early records of the church in the Acts. He was on friendly terms with the high priest (Jn. 18:15). The latter part of the Acts concerns chiefly the work of Paul, but John was also doing his unrecorded work. As mentioned above, tradition fixes on Ephesus as the scene of his later ministrations, and perhaps the seven churches of Asia (in the vicinity of Ephesus) enjoyed his care (Rev. 1:11).

Writings.
Five books of the New Testament are ascribed to John: The fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.

Character.
"It has become a conventional rule in sacred art that because John speaks more about Love than the other apostles, and was specially beloved by his Master, he must have had a soft, sentimental countenance, without the winkles of age, betraying no conflict. Such a fancy is strangely contradicted by facts" (Dr. Frank Pack).

Jesus named John and his brother James, Boanerges (sons of thunder), because according to Muir in Hastings' Bible Dictionary, the name is "both descriptive and prophetic of the union of the passionate and vehement with the gentle and loving in their character, and the fact that once and again tempests of long-restrained emotion would burst forth out of the deep stillness of their strong, reserved natures."

He had a peculiarly tender, gentle, loving, and receptive nature, and was also ardent, bold, impetuous. He blended the gentleness of the dove with the sublime force and vision of the eagle.

The lesson of John's character lies in the change brought about by Jesus, expressing and controlling the strong forces of his soul, gradually changing them into His image from glory to glory, "the glory of the only begotten Son of God." All tempestuousness, threats, ambitions and narrowness are consumed in the perfectness of love.

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