Virtually all scholars are in agreement that John's gospel was written for a Christian community which had recently and traumatically broken away, or been expelled, from the Jewish synagogue. There are points of similarity here with Matthew's gospel in that, despite the Jewishness of many parts of the gospel, the author is vehemently hostile towards his Jewish neighbours. The work seems to presuppose the fall of the Temple in 70 ce but, since the discovery of the Rylands papyrus, cannot be later than about 100–10. Most scholars are agreed that a date of roughly 85–95, that is, the reign of Domitian, would fit well with the circumstances to which the gospel is addressed.

Locating this community is not an easy task. Suggestions have ranged from Alexandria, Antioch (or elsewhere in Syria) to Batanaea or lower Galilee. Ephesus, however, is the traditional place of authorship and this city has several points in its favour. First, though few would hold that the author of John's gospel also wrote Revelation, the two works may have come from the same general location and Revelation explicitly mentions Ephesus (1.11, 2.1). There was also a strong and influential Jewish community in Ephesus which seems to have been engaged in bitter disputes with the Christian community (Rev. 2.9). Furthermore, Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and this dominant Roman regime would explain John's interest in Jesus' Roman trial. Though none of these points is conclusive and certainty is impossible, the following discussion will take Ephesus as the general area of composition.