St. John, Apostle & Evangelist

First Sunday after Christmas

The Gospel. St. John 21. 19.

At that time: Jesus saith unto Peter: Follow me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said: Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus: Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; but: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose, that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

I have no doubt that we are all more than familiar with the order and authorship of the four Canonical Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Further, I am sure that we know that the first three of these are referred to as the “Synoptic” Gospels. The primary reason for this designation is that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke each share a narrative that is in harmony with the other; meaning that they are arranged in such a way that makes it easy to discern what they have in common, as well as where they vary. But the Gospel of St. John is very different.

Biblical scholars have often made note of St. John’s Gospel for its Christology. What this means is that whereas the Synoptic Gospels go to great pains to show that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah foretold in the Jewish Scriptures, St. John goes even further by defining the significance of this event; He doesn’t just tell us who the man Jesus of Nazareth was, he tells us who the Person of Jesus Christ IS.

To be sure, the bulk of St. John’s Gospel follows a similar model as the Synoptics in that it recounts the public ministry of Jesus, including his Passion, Death and Resurrection. But it omits most of Our Lord’s healing miracles and parables. It does not mention his Birth, his Baptism, nor any details about the Last Supper. But what this Evangelist does include is equally as important to our understanding of the Incarnation of God.

As we all know, the first fourteen verses of St. John’s Gospel epitomizes the entirety of all the Gospels; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”. These verses, which were likely added sometime after John’s Gospel was originally written, provide us with the context from which we must interpret and discern the rest of the text.

In other words, what the Evangelist is telling us is that all of the events of Jesus life – his miracles, his teachings, his Passion, Death, and Resurrection – are not just the actions of a man who possessed exceptional qualities; rather, these events are the record of the unique and glorious interaction of God with His Creation “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…“.

In his Gospel, St. John has attempted to put the life of Christ into a context that we might be able to understand. He has attempted to put the “meaning” of the Person of Christ into terms that we might be able to comprehend. But even then, the Evangelist seemed to know that such things would be beyond human understanding. He ends his Gospel with these words; “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose, that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written“.

This verse is not meant to convey just the volume of things that Jesus said and did on earth, but it also foreshadows the revelation of the meaning of these things. Remember again that the inclusion of the prologue to this Gospel (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God“) was intended to provide a context for our understanding of the rest of the Gospel.

But at the same time, the Evangelist seems to be saying that not only was there so much more, but also that we might not be ready to comprehend it all without the benefit of time, reflection, prayer, and of course, the intervention of the Holy Spirit. In other words, if we needed those first fourteen verses just to have a chance at understanding the following 21 chapters, how much more then, could we expect to discern the many other things that God Incarnate spoke without the aid of His continuing Revelation through the inspiration of His Holy Spirit; “the which if they should be written every one, I suppose, that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written“?

The Church has historically celebrated the lives of the Gospel authors and bestowed upon them the honored title of “Evangelist”. Each of the four Evangelists has proclaimed the Truth of the Gospel in their own way and in their own fashion. And because of this, each has been recognized by the Church for the distinction with which they have served the Gospel of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

To further emphasize the contributions of these Evangelists, the Church has assigned to each of them an emblem that is meant to signify their particular character. St. Matthew is signified by the symbol of a man which indicates his compassion and empathy for mankind. St. Mark’s symbol is a lion, a figure of courage and monarchy. St. Luke is depicted as a bull, a symbol of sacrifice, service, and strength. And the symbol for St. John is the eagle.

Alone of all the creatures on earth, the eagle is able to look straight into the sun, and not be dazzled. Of all the New Testament writers, it was John who was able to gaze into the eternal mysteries and eternal truths, indeed the very mind of God, and present them to us. It was John who translated these things and gave us a context for understanding the miracle of the Incarnation. By telling us who Jesus Christ is, St. John brings us closer to God.

Of all the Apostles, St. John lived the longest, and was the only one who did not suffer a martyr’s death. Beyond that, we have only the various New Testament books attributed to him; and of course, we have his Gospel. There can never be any doubt why this is so; through the penetrating gaze of St. John, we have been given a guide for knowing Christ. We have been given a foundation for our Christology; our comprehension of the Person of Jesus Christ.

It was for this purpose that St. John was given to live a longer earthly life. We might be able to think of St. Paul as the pioneer of Christ, and likewise, we can think of St. Peter as the shepherd of Christ; but it is St. John who is the witness of Christ. In his Gospel, John was able to say, “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true“. And because of the witness and Gospel of St. John, we are likewise able to say that we know Jesus Christ, and that we also know that these things are true.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”