John the Evangelist

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Saint John the Evangelist
Maria Schutz (Freiburg) 03.jpg
Evangelist, Disciple
Born c. AD 15
Jerusalem (?)
Died c. AD 100[citation needed]
Honored in Coptic Orthodox
Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Catholic Churches
Eastern Orthodox Church
Anglican Communion
Aglipayan Church
Feast December 27 (Western Christianity); May 8 and September 26 (Repose) (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Major work(s) Gospel of John
Epistles of John

John the Evangelist (יוחנן Standard Hebrew Yoḥanan, Tiberian Hebrew Yôḥānān meaning "Yahweh is gracious", Greek: Εὐαγγελιστής Ἰωάννης) is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John. Traditionally he has been identified with the author of the other Johannine works in the New Testament—the three Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation, written by a John of Patmos—as well as with John the Apostle and the Beloved Disciple[1] mentioned in the Gospel of John. However, at least some of these connections have been debated since about 200.[2]

The Gospel of John refers to an unnamed "Beloved Disciple" of Jesus who bore witness to the gospel's message.[3] The composer of the Gospel of John seemed interested in maintaining the internal anonymity of the author's identity.[4]

The apostle John was a historical figure, one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death.[5] Some scholars believe that John was martyred along with his brother (Acts 12:1-2),[5] although many other scholars doubt this.[6][7] Harris believes that the tradition that John lived to old age in Ephesus developed in the late 2nd century,[5] although the tradition does appear in the last chapter of the gospel, though this debatable tradition assumes that John the Evangelist, John the Apostle, the Beloved Disciple mentioned in John 21 and sometimes also John the Presbyter are the same person.[8] By the late 2nd century, the tradition was held by most Christians.[9]

Contents

[edit] In the Bible

John Evangelist in minuscule 482

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was one of Christ's original twelve apostles and the only one to live into old age and not be killed for his faith. John the Evangelist is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that after a short life he was exiled to (c.a.[clarification needed] 95) Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, this is a matter of debate, with some attributing authorship to John of Patmos or John the Presbyter. It is also debated whether John the Evangelist is the same as St. John the Apostle.

Statue of John the Evangelist outside St. John's Seminary, Boston
John the Evangelist from a 12th-century minuscule 1425

John was Galilean, the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the Greater.[10] In the Gospels the two brothers are often called "the sons of Zebedee" after their father, and received from Christ the honourable title of Boanerges, i.e. "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Originally they were fishermen, and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth. According to the usual explanation they became, however, for a time disciples of John the Baptist, and were called by Christ from the circle of John's followers, together with Peter and Andrew, to become His disciples (John 1:35-42). The first disciples returned with their new Master from the Jordan to Galilee and apparently both John and the others remained for some time with Jesus (cf. John ii, 12, 22; iv, 2, 8, 27 sqq.). Yet after the second return from Judea, John and his companions went back again to their trade of fishing until he and they were called by Christ to definitive discipleship (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20). In the lists of the Apostles John has the second place (Acts 1:13), the third (Mark 3:17), and the fourth (Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:14), yet always after James with the exception of a few passages (Luke 8:51; 9:28 in the Greek text; Acts 1:13).[9]

From the fact of James being placed first, the conclusion is drawn that John was the younger of the two brothers. In any case, John had a prominent position in the Apostolic body. He, Peter, and James were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37), of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1),[10] and of the Agony in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make preparation for the Last Supper (Luke 22:8). At the Supper itself, his place was next to Christ on Whose breast he leaned (John 13:23, 25). According to the general interpretation, John was also that "other disciple" who, with Peter, followed Christ after the arrest into the palace of the high-priest (John 18:15). Saint John alone remained near his beloved Master at the foot of the Cross on Calvary with the Mother of Jesus and the pious women and took the desolate Mother into his care as the last legacy of Christ (John 19:25-27).[10] After the Resurrection, John, along with Peter, was the first of the disciples to hasten to the grave, and he was the first to believe that Christ had truly risen (John 20:2-10).[9]

When, later, Christ appeared at the Lake of Genesareth, John was also the first of the seven disciples present who recognized his Master standing on the shore (John 21:7).[10] After Christ's Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, John, together with Peter, took a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the Church. We see him in the company of Peter at the healing of the lame man in the Temple (Acts 3:1 sqq.). With Peter he is also thrown into prison (Acts 4:3). Again, we find him with Peter visiting the newly converted in Samaria (Acts 8:14).[9]

We have no positive information concerning the duration of this activity in Judea. Apparently, John, in common with the other Apostles, remained some twelve years in this first field of labour until the persecution of Herod Agrippa I led to the scattering of the Apostles through the various provinces of the Roman Empire (cf. Acts 12:1-17). Parthia is said to have been the chief scene of John's apostolical labours.[10] A Christian community was already in existence at Ephesus before Paul's first labours there (cf. "the brethren", Acts 18:27, in addition to Priscilla and Aquila). In any case, such a sojourn by John in Asia in this first period was neither long nor uninterrupted. He returned with the other disciples to Jerusalem for the Apostolic Council (about AD 51). In opposing his enemies in Galatia, St. Paul names John explicitly, along with Peter and James the Just (the brother of Jesus), as a "pillar of the Church" and refers to the recognition which his Apostolic preaching of a Gospel free from the law received from these three, the most prominent men of the old Mother-Church at Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9). When Paul came again to Jerusalem after both his second and third journeys (Acts 18:22; 21:17 sq.), he seems no longer to have met John there. Some draw the conclusion from this that John left Judea between the years 52 and 55.[9]

Of the other New Testament writings, it is only from the three Epistles of John and the Apocalypse that anything further is learned concerning the person of the Apostle. Leopold Fonck accepts the unity of the author of these three writings handed down under the name of John and his identity with the Evangelist. Both the Epistles and the Apocalypse, however, presuppose that their author John belonged to the multitude of personal eyewitnesses of the life and work of Christ (cf. especially 1 John 1:1-5; 4:14), lived for a long time in Asia Minor, was thoroughly acquainted with the conditions existing in the various Christian communities there, and was recognized by all Christian communities as leader of this part of the Church. Moreover, the Apocalypse tells us that its author was on the island of Patmos "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus" when he was honoured with the heavenly Revelation contained in the Apocalypse (Revelation 1:9).[9]

[edit] Later life

According to a tradition mentioned by St. Jerome, in the second general persecution, in the year 95, St. John was apprehended by the proconsul of Asia and sent to Rome, where he was miraculously preserved from death when thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. On account of this trial, the title of martyr is given him by the fathers. The tyrant Domitian banished St. John into the isle of Patmos. It was during this period that John experienced those heavenly visions which he recorded in the book of the Revelations in the year 96. Upon the death of Domitian John returned to Ephesus in 97. According to Alban Butler, some think he wrote his gospel in the isle of Patmos; but it is the more general opinion that he composed it after his return to Ephesus, about the year 98.[10]

St. John died in peace at Ephesus, in the third year of Trajan (as seems to be gathered from Eusebius's chronicle), that is, the year 100, the saint being then about ninety-four years old, according to St. Epiphanius and was buried on a mountain without the town.[10]

[edit] Authorship

A series of articles on
John in the Bible
Johannine literature
Gospel of John · First Epistle of John · Second Epistle of John · Third Epistle of John · Revelation · Authorship
John the Apostle · John the Evangelist · John of Patmos  · John the Presbyter · Disciple whom Jesus loved
Communities
Twelve Apostles · The Early Church
Related literature
Apocryphon of John · Acts of John · Logos · Signs Gospel
This box:
Main article: Authorship of the Johannine works

Collectively, the Gospel, the four Epistles, and Revelation are known as Johannine literature. Traditional Christian thought on the subject points to St. John the Apostle as the author of the Gospel, the three Epistles and the Book of Revelation that bear his name,[9] and there is some internal textual evidence to suggest they may have been authored by the same person (see textual criticism). Of the Johannine literature, Revelation bears the least grammatical similarity to the Gospel. Many modern scholars hold that the Apostle John wrote none of these texts.[11] Others, however, maintain the traditional position with respect to some or all of these books.[12][13][14] Craig Blomberg argues that disagreements over Johannine authorship of the fourth gospel tend to reflect methodological differences.[15]

Numerous modern scholars dispute that these works were by the same person.[16] The most widely accepted view is that - whether or not the same man wrote all the Johannine literature - it all came out of the same community in Asia Minor, which had some connection to John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter.

The author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself by name, but the text identifies him as the "Beloved Disciple" repeatedly referred to in the Gospel. The author of this Gospel is also sometimes presumed to be the author of 1 John, and also, more rarely, of 2 John and 3 John. The 4th-century Council of Rome decreed that the author of 1 John and that of 2 and 3 John should be regarded as distinct individuals.

Orthodox Roman Catholic scholarship, some Protestant Churches, and the entire Eastern Orthodox Church attributes all of the Johannine literature to the same individual, the "Holy Apostle and Evangelist, John the Theologian", whom it identifies with the "Beloved Disciple" in the Gospel of John.

[edit] Feast day

The feast day of Saint John in the Roman Catholic Church, which calls him "Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist", and in the Anglican Communion, which calls him "John, Apostle and Evangelist", is on 27 December. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated also on each of the following days up to and including 3 January, the Octave of the 27 December feast. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955.[17]

The 27 December feast is found in the Syriac Breviary of the end of the 4th century and the Martyrology of Jerome. But at present Saint John is celebrated on a wide variety of dates in Eastern rites: 29 December for Armenians, 30 December for Copts, 7 May for Syrians and 26 September for Christians of Byzantine Rite.[18]

The Tridentine Calendar also had on 6 May a feast of "St John before the Latin Gate", associated with a tradition recounted by Saint Jerome that St John was brought to Rome during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, and was thrown in a vat of boiling oil, from which he was miraculously preserved unharmed. A church, San Giovanni a Porta Latina, dedicated to him was built near the Latin Gate (Porta Latina) of Rome, the traditional scene of this event.[19] The feast is supposed to commemorate the dedication of this church, and is first mentioned in the Sacramentary of Adrian I (772-95). Pope John XXIII removed this feast from the General Roman Calendar in 1960, along with various other second feasts of a single saint.[20]

The Coptic Orthodox Church Synaxarium commemorates him on the fourth of the month tobi (January 12, equivalent to December 30 in the Gregorian calendar due to the current 13-day Julian-Gregorian offset). It records his year of departure as 100 AD, and states that he preached in Asia Minor, and that he went to preach in Ephesus, accompanied by his disciple Prochorus. The Coptic Synaxarium states that St. John the Evangelist lived over 90 years, and they used to carry him to the gatherings of the believers. Because of his old age, he only gave very short sermons saying, "My children love one another." It states that he wrote the gospel known after him, the Book of Revelation, and the three epistles ascribed to him. It confirms that he did not suffer martyrdom and died of old age in Ephesus.

[edit] In art

Christian art usually represents St. John with an eagle, symbolizing the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of St John, which, according to some authorities, was not adopted until the 13th century, is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper. It is also connected to the legend according to which St. John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. Perhaps the most natural explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James "My chalice indeed you shall drink" (Matthew 20:23).

The painting Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri was auctioned in London in December 2009, for an estimated US$16.5 million.[21][22] it sold for £9,225,250.[23]

[edit] Gallery of art

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History Book vi. Chapter xxv.
  2. ^ Van den Biesen, Christian. "Apocalypse." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 6 Feb. 2013
  3. ^ Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). Chapter 2. Christian sources about Jesus.
  4. ^ Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition)
  5. ^ a b c Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "John" p. 302-310
  6. ^ Morris 1995. pp. 4–5, 24, 35–7. "Continental scholars have... abandoned the idea that this gospel was written by the apostle John, whereas in Great Britain and America scholarship has been much more open to the idea." Abandonment is due to changing opinion rather "than to any new evidence." "Werner, Colson, and I have been joined, among others, by I. Howard Marshall and J.A.T. Robinson in seeing the evidence as pointing to John the son of Zebedee as the author of this Gospel." The view that John's history is substandard "is becoming increasingly hard to sustain. Many recent writers have shown that there is good reason for regarding this or that story in John as authentic.... It is difficult to... regard John as having little concern for history. The fact is John is concerned with historical information.... John apparently records this kind of information because he believes it to be accurate.... He has some reliable information and has recorded it carefully.... The evidence is that where he can be tested John proves to be remarkably accurate."
  7. ^ Bruce 1981 pp. 52–4, 58. "The evidence... favor[s] the apostolicity of the gospel.... John knew the other gospels and... supplements them.... The synoptic narrative becomes more intelligible if we follow John." John's style is different so Jesus' "abiding truth might be presented to men and women who were quite unfamiliar with the original setting.... He does not yield to any temptation to restate Christianity.... It is the story of events that happened in history.... John does not divorce the story from its Palestinian context."
  8. ^ See Gospel of John, chapter 21
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Fonck, Leopold. "St. John the Evangelist." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 Feb. 2013
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Butler, Rev. Alban, The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints, Vol. IV
  11. ^ "Although ancient traditions attributed to the Apostle John the Fourth Gospel, the Book of Revelation, and the three Epistles of John, modern scholars believe that he wrote none of them." Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985) p. 355
  12. ^ Hans-Joachim Schulz, Die apostolische Herkunft der Evangelien, 2nd ed. (Freiburg: Herder, 1994).
  13. ^ E. Earle Ellis, The Making of the New Testament Documents (Leiden: Brill, 1999), pp. 143-45.
  14. ^ Craig Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel (Downer's Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001), pp. 22-41; thus on p. 40: "Despite widespread assumption to the contrary, a strong case can still be mounted for John the son of Zebedee as author of the Fourth Gospel."
  15. ^ The Historical Reliability of John's Gospel, p. 23.
  16. ^ Thomas F. Jefferson, "New International Biblical Commentary; 1,2 & 3 John; page 1
  17. ^ General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII
  18. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 19690, p. 111
  19. ^ "Saint Andrew Daily Missal with Vespers for Sundays and Feasts" by Dom. Gaspar LeFebvre, O.S.B., Saint Paul, MN: The E.M. Lohmann Co., 1952, p.1325-1326
  20. ^ General Roman Calendar of 1962
  21. ^ Glyndebourne family to sell Old Master for £10 million, London Evening Standard, 9 September 2009
  22. ^ "St John the Evangelist – Drawings, Prints and Painting from Hermitage Museum". Arthermitage.org. Retrieved 2010-02-28. 
  23. ^ "Incompatible Browser". Facebook. Retrieved 2010-02-28. 

[edit] External links

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Wikisource has the text of the 1879 American Cyclopædia article John the Evangelist.
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