My starting point, in this chapter, is the assumption that, if a success-
ful Christian mission to the Jews continued until the fifth century CE, it
should be discernable in the textual evidence for specific Christian commu-
nities—and not only an inference from sociological principles. I take as a
test case the early Christian group with which I am most familiar, namely,
the Johannine community.
THE JOHANNINE COMMUNITY
There is no direct textual, archaeological, or inscriptional evidence for the
existence of the Johannine community. Nonetheless, on the basis of the
Gospel of John and of the canonical letters ascribed to John (1–3), it is
supposed that such a group did exist in the late first and early second cen-
turies CE. Although scholars differ regarding specific details, there is a con-
sensus that the Johannine literature was written within a particular group,
and that the demography, history, and theology of the group are reflected
in some way in these texts.
The community is thought to have flourished in an urban centre within
the Jewish Diaspora, in close proximity to a Jewish community. If so, then,
according to Stark, this community would fulfill an important criterion
for successful Jewish missionary activity to the Jews (1996, 62). Efforts to
pinpoint the location more precisely have not resulted in a definitive and
universally accepted provenance, due to the meagreness of the evidence.
Early Christian writers locate the Gospel of John in Ephesus (R.E. Brown
1966, 1:ciii). Because Ephesus is also associated with the Book of Revela-
tion, Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 may suggest tension between the Jewish and
Christian populations in that city. The island of Patmos, which is men-
tioned in Revelation (1:9) as the location of its author, is approximately
100 km southwest of Ephesus. Raymond E. Brown suggests that the author
of Revelation left Palestine for Ephesus after 70 CE. From Ephesus he was
exiled to Patmos. Although the author was likely not a member of the
Johannine community, he may have had some contacts with the Johannine
writings, either in Palestine before 70 or in Ephesus during the last two
decades of the first century CE(R.E. Brown 1997, 804). The fact that Acts
19:1–7 names Ephesus as the only spot outside of Palestine where John the
Baptist engaged in baptizing activity may provide further support for this
suggestion, since John 1–3 is frequently seen as a polemic against John’s
baptizing activities (R.E. Brown 1966, 1:lxvii–lxx).
Another possibility is Alexandria. Perceived affinities between Johan-
nine and Philonic thought on such matters as the Logos have supported this
possibility (R.E. Brown 1966, 1:ciii). The relatively large number of Johan-
Rodney Stark and “The Mission to the Jews” 199