Abstract
This research is devoted to the cultural and historical contexts of the Gospel of John and examines religious life in Palestine and Jerusalem during the first century C. E.
According to the author, the Fourth Gospel has appeared as a unique response to the changed situation after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C. E. and absorbed many features of the new Jewish reality.
Special attention is paid to the emergence of a new social class in Israel, as well as to the sages who played an important role after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and subsequent weakening of the Sadducees as a religious and political party.