St. John the Evangelist

The Disciple whom Jesus loved

ABOUT

WHO IS ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

BIRTH: 15 A.D.
DEATH: 100 A.D.
FEAST DAY: December 27
PATRON SAINT OF: editors, writers, burn victims, poison victims
SYMBOL: Royal Eagle
MOST POPULAR VERSE: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

St. John the Evangelist was the youngest of Jesus' Apostles.

He wrote the fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, and, he is, therefore, one of the Four Evangelists alongside Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

He was the third to be admitted to Jesus' inner circle, together with his brother, James. They are the Sons of Zebedee, a fisherman, and they left their fishing business when Jesus called them to follow Him in full-time discipleship.

Their mother, Salome, also became a devout follower of Jesus, and she may also have been a sister of Mary, mother of Jesus, making James and John Jesus' first cousin.

With his Hebrew name, Yohanan, meaning "God has been gracious", he is also known as John the Divine. This explains His personal closeness to the Lord, “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.” (John 13:23)

Because he was present with some of the most important moments of Jesus' mortal ministry, Christian art has often reflected John as a young man, often resting in the Savior’s arms, originating his unique title as the beloved disciple.

GOSPEL

The book of John contains Jesus' ministry history, sermons, parables, and a few prophetic oracles. It is not one of the three synoptic or common view gospels, for it was written with a more theological perspective, yet equally as important as the first three gospels (The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

Chapter 1 gives an account of Messiah’s coming ministry. John gives proofs that Jesus is more than just a man with the verse, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John describes that the “Word” is Jesus who became a man to “live among us” (John 1:14). The beginning verses, in the first chapter, proclaims that Jesus is more than just a man in existence, rather, He is infinite God. This chapter also summarizes the entire Gospels' purpose, which was written so that all may believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God who gives eternal life. (John 3:16)

Chapters 2-12 consist of Jesus’ ministry. Several times throughout these chapters, Jesus claims that He Himself is God, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Moreover, Jesus emphasizes the statement "I am", declaring, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6), “I am the door” (John 10:9), and “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35).

The events in Chapters 13-17 occurs during Jesus' final hours. These describe the details of the Last Supper with Jesus and His disciples. At this time, Jesus teaches about the Kingdom and about the work of the Holy Spirit that would be sent to guide them in their spiritual services. He also prays for Himself, His disciples, and future believers.

Chapters 18-21 portray the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In these final chapters, He is on trial and convicted illegally. Afterwards, He is appallingly beaten, humiliated, and then crucified. After 3 days, Jesus resurrected and arose from the tomb and appeared to Mary Magdalene and to His disciples.

The last verses of John's Gospel proclaims one of the most profound truths about Christ, “And there are many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).

Not only does following Jesus give eternal life,

Jesus is ETERNAL LIFE

SOURCES

Huntsman, E. D. (2019, January). John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Retrieved from https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2019/01/john-the-disciple-whom-jesus-loved?lang=eng

Consumer dummies. (n.d.). Who is St. John the evangelist? Retrieved from https://www.dummies.com/religion/christianity/catholicism/who-is-st-john-the-evangelist/

Smith, J. (n.d.). John summary. Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/summary/john/1.htm