John the Apostle (
Greek Ιωάννης) (c. 0 - c. 100) was one of the
Twelve Apostles of
Jesus. He was the son of
Zebedee and
Salome, and brother of
James, another of the Twelve Apostles.
Christian tradition identifies him as the author of several
New Testament works: the
Gospel of John, the
Epistles of John, and the
Book of Revelation. Some modern scholars believe that John the Apostle,
the author of the Fourth Gospel, and
John of Patmos were three separate individuals. For one, the author of Revelation identifies himself as "John" several times, but the author of the Gospel of John never identifies himself by name.
In the Bible
Saint John the Apostle was the son of
Zebedee, and the brother of
Saint James the Greater. The
Eastern Orthodox tradition gives his mother's name as
Salome. They originally were fishermen and fished with their father in the
Lake of Genesareth. He was first a disciple of
John the Baptist and later one of the
twelve apostles of Jesus.
Christian tradition holds that Saint John had a prominent position in the Apostolic body.
Saint Peter, St James and St John were the only witnesses of the raising of
Jairus' daughter, of the
Transfiguration and of the Agony in
Gethsemane. Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make the preparation for the final
Passover meal (the
Last Supper). At the meal itself, his place was next to Jesus on whose chest he leaned. According to the general interpretation, John was also that "other disciple" who with Peter followed Jesus after the arrest into the palace of the
high-priest. John alone remained near Jesus at the foot of the cross on
Calvary with Jesus’ mother,
Mary, and the
pious women and took Mary into his care as the last legacy of Jesus.
According to the Bible, after the
Resurrection, John and Peter were the first of the disciples to run towards the
tomb and John was the first of the apostles to believe that Jesus had truly risen. The author of the Gospel of John was accustomed to identifying himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved". After Jesus’
Ascension and the descent of the
Holy Spirit on
Pentecost, John, together with Peter, took a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the church. He is with Peter at the healing of the lame man in the Temple (
et. seq.). With Peter he is also thrown into prison. He is also with Peter visiting the newly converted in
Samaria.
There is no positive information in the Bible (or elsewhere) concerning the duration of this activity in
Judea. Apparently, John in common with the other Apostles remained some 12 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. It does not appear improbable that John then went for the first time into
Asia Minor . In any case a Christian community was already in existence at
Ephesus before
Paul's first labours there (cf. "the brethren"), in addition to
Priscilla and Aquila. 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 A.D. 51). Paul, in opposing his enemies in Galatia, recalls that John explicitly along with Peter and James the Just were referred to as "pillars of the church" and refers to the recognition that his Apostolic preaching of a gospel free from Jewish Law received from these three, the most prominent men of the Christian community at Jerusalem.
Of the other New Testament writings, it is only from the three Letters of John and the Book of Revelation that anything further is learned about John. Both the Letters and Revelation presuppose that John belonged to the multitude of personal eyewitnesses of the life and work of Jesus (cf. especially ; ), that he had lived for a long time in Asia Minor, was thoroughly acquainted with the conditions existing in the various Christian communities there, and that he had a position of authority recognized by all Christian communities as leader of this part of the church. Moreover, Revelation says 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
vision contained in Revelation. John, like his
Old Testament counterpart Daniel, was kept alive to receive the prophetic vision.
Though most scholars agree in placing the Gospel of John somewhere between AD 65 and 85,
John A.T. Robinson proposes an initial edition by 50–55 and then a final edition by 65 due to narrative similarities with Paul.
Other critical scholars are of the opinion that John was composed in stages (probably two or three). The text refers to its author as "the Disciple Jesus loved". It is traditionally believed that John survived his contemporary apostles and lived to an extreme old age, dying at Ephesus in about A.D. 100.
Extrabiblical traditions
John is traditionally thought to have moved to
Ephesus, where he wrote the Gospel and the three epistles and eventually died. One Roman Catholic tradition heolds that the
Virgin Mary accompanied him and died there too, while an alternative tradition
locates her death in Jerusalem.
According to tradition, John was also banished by Roman authorities to the island of
Patmos, where he then wrote the
Book of Revelation. According to
Tertullian (in
The Prescription Against Heretics) John was banished after being plunged into boiling oil in Rome and remaining unharmed.
Members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that John did not die, but that his body was translated so that he could "tarry" until Jesus'
Second Coming. They base this belief on three passages: one in the
Book of Mormon (), one in the
Doctrine and Covenants (), and one in the
New Testament ().
John's traditional tomb is thought to be located at
Selçuk, a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus.
When John was aged, he trained
Polycarp who later became Bishop of Smyrna and the teacher of
Saint Irenaeus of Lyon.
In art, John as the presumed author of the Gospel is often depicted with an eagle, which symbolizes the height he rose to in the first chapter of his gospel. In Orthodox
icons, he is often depicted looking up into heaven and dictating his Gospel (or the Book of Revelation) to his disciple, traditionally named
Prochorus.
Liturgical commemoration
thumb|200px|The traditional tomb of St. John at Ephesus, Turkey.
He is venerated as a
saint by most of
Christianity. The
Roman Catholic Church and the
Anglican Communion commemorate him as "John, Apostle and Evangelist" on
December 27.
Another feast day, which appeared in the General Roman Calendar until 1960, is that of "St John Before the Latin Gate" on
May 6, celebrating a tradition recounted by
Jerome that St John was brought to Rome, 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 of Rome, the traditional scene of this event.
The
Eastern Orthodox Church and those
Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the
Byzantine Rite commemorate the "Repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian" on
September 26. On
May 8 they celebrate the "
Feast of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian", on which date Christians used to draw forth from his grave fine ashes which were believed to be effective for healing the sick.
See also
