THE EVANGELIST JOHNThe Early Church knew three distinct persons called John: John the Baptist, John the Elder and John the Apostle. At times, also John the Apostle was called John the Elder, because of his seniority and his age. Some confusion has arisen among later Christian writers about the question: Who wrote the fourth Gospel? Was it John the Apostle or John the Elder? And even today some authors express doubt and uncertainty regarding the matter. Without intending to discuss the question at length we will briefly indicate the grounds we have for accepting John the Apostle as the author of the fourth Gospel: Early Tradition: An ancient foreword to a Latin translation of the Gospels (c. 150-200 A.D.) records: —"Here begins the writing according to John. The Gospel of John was revealed and given to the Churches by John himself when he was still alive. Papias, called the Hierapolitan, who was a devoted disciple of John, tells us this in his last five books of commentary on Scripture."
—Another outstanding witness is St. Irenaeus of Lyons: "After them (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) John the disciple (Apostle) who reclined on the Lord's breast issued a Gospel while he was living at Ephesus in Asia.
Such testimonies are confirmed by St. Theophilus of Antioch (180 A.D.). Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.), Origen (186-25 4A.D.), Tertulian ( 160-240 A.D.), Eusebius (c. 265-340 A.D.), Epiphanius (315-403), Jerome (ca 342-419) and others. They provide very strong traditional evidence for the authorship of John the Apostle! Evidence From The GospelIn St. John's Gospel we find the expression: "the disciple whom Jesus loved":
Who was this disciple? He must have been one of the Apostles, as he was present at the Last Supper. He must have been one of Jesus' closest friends, whom we know to have been: Peter, James and John (see p. 38). But Peter is excluded, since he is distinguished from the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' (see Jn 13 23f.; 20:3 etc.). James is excluded since he died a martyr's death in 44 A.D.) (see Acts 12:2), whereas this 'disciple whom Jesus loved' became old. (see Jn 21:20-23) It can, therefore, only have been John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee. At the end of the fourth Gospel, however clear testimony is given that this 'disciple whom Jesus loved' was the author of the Gospel. Read the passage carefully:
This leaves us no shade of doubt regarding the original author of this Gospel. He must have been John the Apostle. We know also that the Gospel was known right from the beginning of the second century (i.e. from 100 A.D. onwards). For we find it frequently quoted by St. Ignatius the Martyr (about 115 AD.) and papyrus fragments of John's Gospel, found in Egypt, have been dated as belonging to a period before 150 A.D. This would not be possible if the Gospel had not been written quite some time before. Taking this and other evidence into account, we may place the edition of the Gospel at about 95 A.D. This does not mean that the Gospel is from the hand of John the Apostle. Chapter 21 was certainly added by disciples after John's death ( see the ending of the Gospel in Jn 20:30-31). Also many other passages may have been amplified or explicated by the disciples. Many commentators take it that the Fourth Gospel may have gone through various stages of redaction. What do we know about John the Apostle?Home: John (Hebrew: Jochanan, 'God is gracious') was the younger brother of James the Elder. His father was called Zebedee (Mk 1:20); his mother Salome (Mk 15:40; Mt 27: 56). Zebedee was a well-to-do fisherman (he had hired servants; Mk 1:20) who had trained his sons in this same employment. First Vocation: John was attracted to a higher spiritual life by the preaching of John the Baptist. It is highly probable that he followed this preacher as a regular disciple. From John the Baptist he must have learned about the need of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. First Meeting with Jesus, Second Vocation: It was John the Baptist himself who prompted John and Andrew to make contact with Jesus. We read how they walk after Jesus; how Jesus speaks to them and invites them to come to His house (Jn 1:35-39). Andrew then brings Peter to Jesus, and we may well suppose that John brought his brother James (Jn 1:40-42). These first contacts were made permanent by Jesus, when He called Peter and Andrew, James and John to become 'fishers of men'. Also John 'left his nets and followed Jesus' (Mk 1:16-20). John's privileged position with Jesus. 27-30 ADWith Peter and James, John enjoyed special familiarity with Jesus. John too is chosen to be a witness to the raising of Jairus' daughter, the transfiguration and the agony in the garden of Gethsemani (see p. 37). John and James were the two Apostles who wanted to call down fire on the inhospitable village (Lk 9:54). John and James asked Jesus for special places of honour in His Kingdom, thereby causing a fierce dispute among the Apostles (Mt 20:20-28). Small wonder that Jesus gave them the nickname 'Boanerges', which means: 'Men of Thunder' (Mk 3:17)! John truly deserved this name because of his impetuous nature. We read that it was John who wanted to stop someone driving out demons in Jesus' name, because this man did not belong to the group of Apostles! Jesus rebuked him for this (Mk 9:38-49). On the other hand, John must have had great qualities since he deserved to receive special proofs of Jesus' love. At the Last Supper, it is John who is given the place next to Jesus, so that he could lean against Jesus' breast (Jn 13:23). When reflecting on this, John must have remembered with great emotion such signs of affection shown him by Jesus. John expresses this by calling himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (see pp. 53, 54). This does not mean that Jesus did not love the other Apostles, or that He loved the others less. John simply looks at it from his own point of view: he is moved by Jesus' love for him personally. John was one of the key-witnesses to the Passion and the Resurrection. He stood under Jesus' cross (Jn 19:26). He was with Peter at the empty tomb before all the others (Jn 20:3). He was the first to recognize Jesus at the apparition in Galilee (Jn 21:7). John's leadership in the Early Church at Jerusalem 30-68 ADJohn continued as one of the prominent leaders of the community which Jesus left behind after the Ascension. He was the one who, with Peter, cured the lame man in the Temple and then bore witness to Christ before all the people and before the Sanhedrin (Acts 3-4). After the persecution of Stephen, John went, with Peter, to Samaria to confirm the new converts there (Acts 8:14). It is again John who, with Peter and James, is mentioned by Paul as one of the 'pillars of the Church' to whom Paul subjected his teaching for approval (Gal 2:9) . John's leadership in Asia Minor 68-100 ADWe do not know precisely at what time John left Jerusalem. In all likelihood it may have been just before the outbreak of the Jewish-Roman war (68-70 AD). According to tradition he settled in Ephesus. His leadership may be gauged from the seven letters to the Churches in Asia (Apoc 1:4-3:22). He wrote the book of Revelation while in exile on the island of Patmos. Three otber letters of John have been preserved in the New Testament. During the reign of the Emperor Trajan (c.e.98-117) St. John died at Ephesus, old in years, as the last of the Apostles. His liturgical feast is celebrated on the 27th of December. St. John as a witnessJohn the Apostle had been in close contact with Christ Himself. We need not look for a better witness than he.
The Structure of St. John's GospelFor the Jews the number seven expressed good fortune and sanctity. That is why the Sabbath was celebrated every seventh day as a 'holy day'. The period between Easter and Pentecost comprised seven times seven days. Great feasts, ordination sites, purification ceremonies were made to last for seven days. In the Temple it was customary to sprinkle the blood of sacrifice of the water of purification seven times. There were seven kinds of sacrificial objects: oxen, sheep, goats, pigeons, wheat, oil and wine. The candlestick in the sanctuary had seven branches. In many such instances the number seven was employed to symbolize sacredness and prosperity. John made use of this sacred number for the composition of his Gospel. Surely, Christ's work of salvation was the most fortunate and the most sacred enterprise ever undertaken! His life was the source of happiness and sanctity to all mankind, For this reason he arranged the Gospel on the pattern of seven weeks. By this he qualified Jesus' life as the most sacred and fortunate period in man's history. John also chose seven miracles as examples of Jesus' divine power and he recorded seven statements of self-revelation (the so-called "I am..." statements). His Gospel could, then, be divided schematically in this manner: 1: 1-18 FOREWORD - then
The Purpose of this Gospel EditionAt the time when St. John's Gospel received its final shape (about 95 AD.), the editions of Matthew, Mark and Luke were already widely used in the Christian communities. Why did St. John think it necessary to add a further Gospel edition?
MATTHEW, MARK and LUKE were writing for Christians who had only recently received the faith: for catechumens and converts. JOHN presupposes Christians who are already familiar with the truths of the Gospel, but who need to deepen their faith. —For this reason JOHN does not think it necessary to state again all Jesus' teaching on sanctity, such as we find in the other three evangelists. He does not repeat the moral parables and moral instructions The only moral teaching which he works out extensively is Christ's teaching on charity. We know from the other Gospels that the disciples were fighting among themselves for a place of honour and that Jesus told them to "serve one another" as He Himself had come to serve (read Mt20:20-28; Mk10:35- 45). John tells us how Jesus stressed this teaching once more at the Last Supper, washing His disciples' feet and speaking the most urgent words ever spoken on the precept to charity (Jn 13:1-35). —In general John also presupposes Jesus' deeds to be known to his readers. Many things mentioned by him in passing can only be understood by us because of our knowledge of the other Gospels:
John refers to these events as known to his readers. He does not tell the story once more, since they are in the other Gospels. For the seven miracles which has selected, he took some which had not yet been narrated in these other Gospel editions. In one or two instances he repeats an episode also found in Mark, Matthew and Luke, for the purpose of elaborating it theologically. He repeats, for instance, the incident of the multiplication of the loaves (Jn 6:1-13) but only to make it serve as the introduction to Jesus' lengthy explanation of the miracle (Jn 6:25-59). Actually, this is his general practice. Mark, Matthew and Luke usually narrate Jesus' deeds without further comment, whereas John always connects the miracle to a long theological explanation. See the long discussions following on the cure of the lame man (Jn 5) or the healing of the man born blind (Jn 9; cf. 7-8). In fact the miracles are called "SIGNS' by John (see Jn 2:11; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2;14,26;7:31;9:16; 10:41; etc.). And the miracles (seven in number) were carefully selected to agree with the particular theme of the accompanying discussions.
Further Reflection on Jesus' Mysterious PersonalityIn St. John's terminology we might say that the whole mystery revolves round one question: "From where was Jesus' Was He from the earth or from heaven (God)" The Jews stress Jesus' earthly origin
Jesus teaches about His divine origin
Jesus and the Father are one God from all eternity in the Spirit
In this way St. John makes us discover Jesus' mysterious personality: His origin in the Trinity. Three Persons but One God; yet His true humanity in the Incarnation. Jesus' true humanity with His earthly origin in Nazareth becomes an obstacle to faith for the incredulous Jews. But Jesus manifests His divine origin through His works "The works that I do, they testify on My behalf". (Jn 5:36) St John's Gospel is full of profound thought. It aims at making mature Christians meditate on the riches of Jesus' Personality. Divine origin "From the very beginning when God, was the Word (Christ) also was. Where God was the Word was with Him. True manhood "What God was the Word was;.." (Jn 1:1) "The word became a human being and lived among us..." (Jn 1.14) John's Personal TestimonyMATTHEW, MARK and LUKE wrote down Jesus' words and deeds in the way in which they were being preached and handed on in the Church. Because of this, the narrative about Jesus and the report of His words are somewhat 'impersonal' and 'formal. set into fixed patterns of expression. In Mark's Gospel we still can see the trace of Peter's own testimony (see pp. 39f.). Yet this edition too has followed more or less the pattern of the common instruction. John's Gospel, however, differs from this in as far as it bears the Stamp of a very personal testimony. In it we do not find a memorized text, learned by heart and handed on from teacher to pupil in a fixed formulation but the more personal witness of a man who tells us about Jesus from his own living memory and from his meditation on it This may explain the amazing, fact that this Gospel, even though it was written down last of all, has preserved some extraordinarily accurate facts about Jesus' ministry. Archeologists were dumbfounded at such accurate information in a writing dating twenty-five years after the total destruction of Jerusalem. The pool with five porches, called Bethzatha, (Jn 5:2) has recently been found in excavations near the Temple. The findings correspond to John's description. The Pharisees objected to Jesus' words, stating that the Temple was then in its forty sixth year of being built (Jn 3:20). Only many years afterwards was the building completed. Modern calculations have proved this date to be correct. Excavations have probably uncovered the "Stone Pavement" named Gabbatha, in Pilate's palace spoken of by John in Jn 19:13 These and many other details (cf. Jn 3:23; 9:7; 10:22, 23; etc.) mark the Gospel as the narrative of a man drawing from his own memory. There is another manner in which John can be proved to be relying on his own memory. When he records Jesus' words, he somewhat confuses Jesus' way of speaking with his own. This is, actually, quite a normal feature in daily, life. When we repeat what someone else has said, we unconsciously repeat the other person's words in our own typical phraseology. Moreover, John had absorbed Jesus' words so completely; he was so imbued with them; he had made them so much his own; that it is, at times, difficult to distinguish Jesus' words from John's. Compare Jn 3:16-21 (Jesus' words) with Jn 3:31-36 (John's words). In other words: John quotes freely from his memory, putting down as faithfully as he can all Jesus said and meant to say. No doubt John himself did not do the writing. He must have employed disciples for this work. He taught and dictated. They wrote down what he said. The very last edition of the Gospel was, therefore, the work of these disciples, and here and there they have left traces of their work. As we have seen above, the last chapter was added by them. But also in other places we come across their additions:
The four EvangelistsIn the Book of Revelation we find the following description of four heavenly beings who stand before God's throne. Contemplating the vision of heaven these four beings sing God's praises unceasingly:
The Fathers of the Church saw in these four creatures symbolic representation of the four evangelists St. Jerome gave this explanation:
Of course, this attribution of the symbolic names is rather arbitrary But in Christian art the symbols have been used widely. |