Difference between revisions of "John The Apostle"

<p> <strong> JOHN THE [[Apostle]] </strong> . The materials for a life of St. John may be divided into three parts: (1) The specific information given in the canonical Scriptures; (2) early and well-attested tradition concerning him; (3) later traditions of a legendary character, which cannot be accepted as history, but which possess an interest and significance of their own. But when all the evidence on the subject is gathered, it is impossible to give more than a bare outline of what was in all probability a long life and an unspeakably important ministry. The present article must he taken in conjunction with those that follow, in view of the controversies which have arisen concerning the authorship of the ‘Johannine’ writings. </p> <p> <strong> 1. The [[Scripture]] data </strong> . John was a son of Zebedee, a master-fisherman in good position, plying his craft in one of the towns on the Lake of Galilee, possibly Bethsaida. It is probable that his mother was Salome, one of the women who ‘ministered’ to Christ in [[Galilee]] (&nbsp; Mark 15:41 ), a sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. This may be inferred from a comparison of &nbsp; Matthew 27:56 and &nbsp; Mark 15:40; &nbsp; Mark 16:1 with &nbsp; John 19:25 . </p> <p> The last passage is best understood as naming <em> four </em> women who stood by the Cross of Jesus His mother, His mother’s sister Salome, Mary wife of [[Clopas]] who was also mother of James and Joses, and Mary Magdalene. The interpretation which would find only three persons in the list, and identify Mary ‘of Clopas’ with the sister of Jesus’ mother, is open to the objection that two sisters would have the same name, and it involves other serious difficulties. </p> <p> In &nbsp;John 1:40 two disciples are mentioned as having heard the testimony of John the [[Baptist]] to Jesus and having accompanied the new Teacher to His home. One of these was Andrew, and it has been surmised that the other was John himself. If this was so, the incident must be understood as constituting the very beginning of John’s discipleship. </p> <p> In &nbsp;Matthew 4:18-22 , &nbsp; Mark 1:16-20 an account is given in almost the same words of the call of four fishermen to follow Jesus. Two of these were John and his elder brother James, who were with their father in a boat on the Lake of Galilee, mending their nets. In &nbsp; Luke 5:1-11 a different account of the call is given. Nothing is said of Andrew; Peter is the principal figure in the scene of the miraculous draught of fishes, while James and John are mentioned only incidentally as ‘partners with Simon.’ [[Directly]] or indirectly, however, we are told that to John, whilst engaged in his craft, the summons was given to leave his occupation and become a ‘fisher of men.’ The call was immediately obeyed, and constitutes an intermediate link between the initial stage of discipleship and the appointment to be one of twelve ‘apostles.’ In the lists of the Twelve (&nbsp; Matthew 10:2 , &nbsp; Mark 3:14 , &nbsp; Luke 6:13 ), John is always named as one of the first four, and in the course of Christ’s ministry he was one of an inner circle of three, who were honoured with special marks of confidence. These alone were permitted to be present on three occasions the raising of Jairus’ daughter, narrated in &nbsp; Mark 5:37 , &nbsp; Luke 8:51; the Transfiguration, described in three accounts (&nbsp; Matthew 17:1 , &nbsp; Mark 9:2 , &nbsp; Luke 9:28 ): and the [[Agony]] in the [[Garden]] of Gethsemane, mentioned by two of the Synoptists (&nbsp; Matthew 26:37 and &nbsp; Mark 14:33 ). On one or perhaps two occasions Andrew was associated with these three possibly at the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother (&nbsp; Mark 1:29 ), and certainly at the interview described in &nbsp; Mark 13:3 , when Jesus sat on the Mount of [[Olives]] and was ‘asked privately’ concerning His prophecy of the overthrow of the Temple. </p> <p> On two notable occasions the brothers James and John were associated together. They appear to have been alike in natural temperament. It is in this light that the statement of &nbsp;Mark 3:17 is generally understood ‘he surnamed them <strong> [[Boanerges]] </strong> , which ‘is Sons of thunder.’ Some uncertainty attaches to the derivation of the word, and the note added by the [[Evangelist]] is not perfectly clear. But no better explanation has been given than that the title was bestowed, perhaps by anticipation, in allusion to the zeal and vehemence of character which both the [[Apostles]] markedly exhibited on the occasions when they appear together. In &nbsp; Luke 9:54 they are represented as desirous to call down fire from heaven to consume the [[Samaritan]] village which had refused hospitality to their Master. In &nbsp; Mark 10:35 they come to Christ with an eager request that to them might be allotted the two highest places in His Kingdom, and they profess their complete readiness to share with Him whatever suffering or trying experiences He may be called to pass through. According to &nbsp; Matthew 20:20 , their mother accompanied them and made the request, but &nbsp; Matthew 20:24 shows that indignation was roused ‘concerning the two brethren,’ and that the desire and petition were really their own. Once in the [[Gospels]] John is described as associated with Peter, the two being sent by Christ to make ready the [[Passover]] (&nbsp; Luke 22:8 ). Once he figures by himself alone, as making inquiry concerning a man who cast out demons in the name of Jesus, though he did not belong to the company of the disciples (&nbsp; Mark 9:38 , &nbsp; Luke 9:49 ). As an indication of character this is to be understood as evincing zealous, but mistaken, loyalty. Christ’s reply was, ‘Forbid him not’; evidently John was disposed to manifest on this occasion the fiery intolerant zeal which he and his brother together displayed in Samaria. Though the words ‘ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of’ do not form part of the best-attested text in &nbsp; Luke 9:1-62 , they doubtless describe the kind of rebuke with which on both occasions the [[Master]] found it necessary to check the eagerness of a disciple who loved his Master well, but not wisely. </p> <p> In the early part of the Acts, John is associated by name with Peter on three occasions. One was the healing of the lame man by the [[Temple]] gate (&nbsp;Acts 3:4 ). The next was their appearance before the [[Sanhedrin]] in ch. 4, when they were found to be men untrained in Rabbinical knowledge, mere private persons with no official standing, and were also recognized by some present as having been personal followers of Jesus, and seen in His immediate company. In &nbsp; Acts 8:15 we read that the two were sent by their brother-Apostles to Samaria, after [[Philip]] had exercised his evangelistic ministry there. Many had been admitted into the Church by baptism, and the two Apostles completed the reception by prayer and the laying on of hands, ‘that they might receive the [[Holy]] Spirit.’ These typical instances show that at the outset of the history of the Church Peter and John came together to the front and were recognized as co-leaders, though they were very different in personal character, and Peter appears always to have been the spokesman. This note of personal leadership is confirmed by the incidental reference of Paul in &nbsp; Galatians 2:9 , where James (not the son of Zebedee), Cephas, and John are ‘reputed to be pillars’ in the Church at Jerusalem. </p> <p> Our knowledge of John’s history and character is largely increased, and the interest in his personality is greatly deepened, if he is identified with ‘ <strong> the disciple whom Jesus loved </strong> ,’ the author of the Fourth Gospel, and the John of the Apocalypse. Both these points are strongly contested in modern times, though the identification is supported by an early, wide-spread, and steadily maintained tradition. An examination of these questions will be found on pp. 479, 483, 797 b; but here it may be pointed out what additional light is shed on John’s life and character if his authorship of the Fourth [[Gospel]] is admitted. In &nbsp; John 13:23 the disciple whom Jesus loved is spoken of as ‘reclining in Jesus’ bosom’ at the Last Supper. The phrase implies that on the chief couch at the meal, holding three persons, Jesus was in the middle and John on His right hand, thus being brought more directly face to face with the Master than Peter, who occupied the left-hand place. This explains the expression of &nbsp; John 13:25 ‘he, leaning back, as he was, on Jesus’ breast’; as well as Peter’s ‘beckoning’ mentioned in &nbsp; John 13:24 . John has been also identified with the ‘other disciple’ mentioned in &nbsp; John 18:15-16 as known to the high priest and having a right of entrance into the court, which was denied to Peter. Again, the disciple whom Jesus loved is described in &nbsp; John 19:26 as standing by the cross of Jesus with His mother, as receiving the sacred charge implied by the words,’ Woman, behold thy son!’ and ‘Behold thy mother!’ and as thenceforth providing a home for one who was of his near kindred. In &nbsp; John 20:3 he accompanies Peter to the tomb of Jesus; and while he reached the sepulchre first, Peter was the first to enter in, but John was apparently the first to ‘believe.’ In ch. 21 the two sons of [[Zebedee]] are among the group of seven disciples to whom our Lord appeared at the Sea of Tiberias, and again the disciple whom Jesus loved and Peter are distinguished: the one as the first to discern the risen Lord upon the shore, the other as the first to plunge into the water to go to Him. The Gospel closes with an account of Peter’s inquiry concerning the future of his friend and companion on so many occasions; and in &nbsp; John 19:35 as well as in &nbsp; John 21:24 it is noted that the disciple ‘who wrote these things’ bore witness of that which he himself had seen, and that his witness is true. </p> <p> It is only necessary to add that the John mentioned in &nbsp;Revelation 1:4; &nbsp; Revelation 1:9 as writing to the Seven Churches in Asia from the island of [[Patmos]] was identified by early tradition with the son of Zebedee. If this be correct, much additional light is cast upon the later life of the Apostle John (see Revelation [Book of]). </p> <p> <strong> 2. Early tradition </strong> . Outside the NT only vague tradition enables us to fill up the gap left by Christ’s answer to Peter’s question, ‘Lord, and what shall this man do?’ We may gather that he spent several years in Jerusalem. After an indefinite interval he is understood to have settled in Ephesus. [[Eusebius]] states ( <em> HE </em> iii. 18, 20) that during the persecution of [[Domitian]] ‘the apostle and evangelist John’ was banished to Patmos, and that on the accession of [[Nerva]] (a.d. 96) he returned from the island and took up his abode in Ephesus, according to ‘an ancient [[Christian]] tradition’ (lit. ‘the word of the ancients among us’). Tertullian mentions a miraculous deliverance from a cauldron of boiling oil to which John had been condemned during a persecution in Rome, presumably under Domitian. Eusebius further states that John was living in Asia and governing the churches there as late as the reign of Trajan. He bases this assertion upon the evidence of Irenæus and [[Clement]] of Alexandria. The former says that ‘all the elders associated with John the disciple of the Lord in Asia bear witness,’ and that he remained in [[Ephesus]] until the time of Trajan. Clement recites at length the well-known touching incident concerning St. John and the young disciple who fell into evil ways and became the chief of a band of robbers, as having occurred when ‘after the tyrant’s death he returned from the isle of Patmos to Ephesus.’ Tertullian confirms the tradition of a residence in Ephesus by quoting the evidence of the Church of [[Smyrna]] that their bishop [[Polycarp]] was appointed by John ( <em> de Pr. Hær </em> . 32). Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus towards the end of the 2nd cent., in a letter to Victor, bishop of Rome, speaks of one among the ‘great lights’ in Asia ‘John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a priest, wore the sacerdotal plate,’ as having fallen asleep at Ephesus. The Muratorian Fragment, which dates about a.d. 180, records an account of the origin of the Fourth Gospel, to the effect that John wrote it in obedience to a special revelation made to himself and Andrew. This story is somewhat mythical in character and is not elsewhere confirmed, but it proves the early prevalence of the belief in the [[Apostolic]] origin of the Gospel. Irenæus states that the Gospel was written specially to confute unbelievers like Cerinthus, and tells, on the authority of those who had heard it from Polycarp, the familiar story that St. John refused to remain under the same roof with the arch-heretic, lest the building should fall down upon him. Ephesus is said to have been the scene of this incident. All traditions agree that he lived to a great age, and it is [[Jerome]] ( <em> in &nbsp; Galatians 6:10 </em> ) who tells of his being carried into the church when unable to walk or preach, and simply repeating the words, ‘Little children, love one another.’ Christ’s enigmatical answer to Peter, ‘If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?’ led, as &nbsp;John 21:23 indicates, to the belief that John would not die, but would be translated. </p> <p> Still, in spite of the record, the legend lingered long in the Church, and is mentioned by Augustine, that though apparently dead, the beloved Apostle was only asleep, and that the dust upon his tomb rose and fell with his breathing. The poet Browning, in his <em> Death in the Desert </em> , adopts the ancient tradition concerning the Apostle’s great age and lingering death, and imagines him recalled from a deep trance and the very borderland of the grave to deliver a last inspired message. </p> <p> The universal belief of the early Church that St. John maintained a prolonged ministry in Ephesus has never been challenged till recent years. The arguments adduced against it, though quite inadequate to set aside positive evidence, have been accepted by critics of weight, and at least deserve mention. The chief fact of importance urged is the silence of writers who might well be expected to make some reference to it. Polycarp in his letter to the Philippians, and [[Ignatius]] in writing to the Ephesians, refer to Paul and his writings, but not to John or his ministry. Clement of Rome, writing about 93 95 concerning the Apostles and their successors, makes no reference to John as an eminent survivor, but speaks of the Apostolic age as if completely past. If John did labour in Asia for a generation, and was living in the reign of Trajan, it is not unnatural to expect that fuller reference to the fact would be found in the writings of the sub-Apostolic Fathers. But the reply is twofold. First, the argument from silence is always precarious. The literature of the early years of the 2nd cent. is very scanty, and little is known of the circumstances under which the fragmentary documents were written or of the precise objects of the writers. The silence of the Acts of the Apostles in the 1st cent., and of Eusebius in the 4th, is in many respects quite as remarkable as their speech and much more inexplicable. It is quite impossible for the most acute critic in the 20th cent. to reproduce the conditions of an obscure period, and to understand precisely why some subjects of little importance to us are discussed in its literature and others of apparently greater significance ignored. </p> <p> It is the weight of positive evidence, however, on which the tradition really rests. Irenæus, in a letter to [[Florinus]] preserved for us by Eusebius, describes how as a boy he had listened to ‘the blessed Polycarp,’ and had heard ‘the accounts which he gave of his intercourse with John and with the others who had seen the Lord.’ And lest his memory should he discredited, he tells his correspondent that he remembers the events of that early time more clearly than those of recent years; ‘for what boys learn, growing with their mind, becomes joined with it.’ It is incredible that a writer brought so near to the very person of John, and having heard his words through only one intermediary, should have been entirely in error concerning his ministry in Asia. Polycrates, again, a bishop of the city in which St. John had long resided and laboured, wrote of his ministry there after an interval not longer than that which separates our own time from (say) the passing of the [[Reform]] Bill of 1832 or the battle of Waterloo. His testimony obviously is not that of himself alone, it must represent that of the whole [[Ephesian]] Church; and what Irenæus remembered as a boy others of the same generation must have remembered according to their opportunities of knowledge. The explicit testimony of three writers like Polycrates, Irenæus, and Clement of [[Alexandria]] carries with it the implicit testimony of a whole generation of [[Christians]] extending over a very wide geographic area. The silence of others notwithstanding, it is hardly credible that these should have been mistaken on a matter of so much importance. The theory that confusion had arisen between John the Apostle and a certain ‘John the Elder’ is discussed in a subsequent article (see p. 483), but it would seem impossible that a mistake on such a subject could be made in the minds of those who were divided from the events themselves by so narrow an interval as that of two, or at most three, generations. </p> <p> <strong> 3. Later traditions </strong> . It is only, however, as regards the main facts of history that the testimony of the 2nd cent. may be thus confidently relied on. [[Stories]] of doubtful authenticity would gather round an honoured name in a far shorter period than seventy or eighty years. Some of these legends may well be true, others probably contain an element of truth, whilst others are the result of mistake or the product of pious imagination. They are valuable chiefly as showing the directions in which tradition travelled, and we need not draw on any of the interesting myths of later days in order to form a judgment on the person and character of John the Apostle, especially if he was in addition, as the Church has so long believed, St. John the Evangelist. </p> <p> A near kinsman of Jesus, a youth in his early disciple ship, eager and vehement in his affection and at first full of ill-instructed ambitions and still undisciplined zeal, John the son of Zebedee was regarded by his Master with a peculiar personal tenderness, and was fashioned by that transforming affection into an Apostle of exceptional insight and spiritual power. Only the disciple whom Jesus loved could become the Apostle of love. Only a minute and delicate personal knowledge of Him who was Son of Man and Son of God, combined with a sensitive and ardent natural temperament and the spiritual maturity attained by long experience and patient brooding meditation on what he had seen and heard long before, could have produced such a picture of the [[Saviour]] of the world as is presented in the Fourth Gospel. The very silence of John the Apostle in the narratives of the Gospels and the Acts is significant. He moved in the innermost circle of the disciples, yet seldom opened his lips. His recorded utterances could all he compressed into a few lines. Yet he ardently loved and was beloved by his Master, and after He was gone it was given to the beloved disciple to ‘tarry’ rather than to speak, or toil, or suffer, so that at the last he might write that which should move a world and live in the hearts of untold generations. The most Christ-like of the Apostles has left this legacy to the Church that without him it could not have adequately known its Lord. </p> <p> W. T. Davison. </p>

<p> [[Younger]] than his brother James; being named after him in Matthew and Mark, the earlier Gospels; but Luke (&nbsp;Luke 9:28; &nbsp;Acts 1:13, the Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus manuscripts), writing when John had gained so much greater prominence in the church, ranks him in the order of church esteem, not that of nature. [[Youngest]] of the twelve, probably of [[Bethsaida]] upon the sea of Galilee (&nbsp;John 1:44; &nbsp;Luke 5:10), the town of their partners Simon and Andrew. Caspari (Chronicles and Geogr., Introd. to Life of Christ) accounts for John's brief notice of Christ's [[Galilean]] ministry and fuller notices of His ministry in [[Judaea]] thus: [[Jewish]] tradition alleges that all [[Israelites]] dwelling in the Holy Land were entitled to fish in the sea of [[Gennesaret]] a month before each Passover, and to use the fish for the many guests received at the feast in Jerusalem. John used to stay in Galilee only during that month. However, no hint of this occurs in our Gospels. Zebedee his father owned a fishing vessel, and had "hired servants" (&nbsp;Mark 1:20). </p> <p> [[Salome]] his mother ministered to the Lord "of her substance" (&nbsp;Luke 8:3), and was one of the women who came with Him in His last journey from Galilee to [[Jerusalem]] (&nbsp;Luke 23:55; &nbsp;Luke 24:1; &nbsp;Mark 16:1), and after His death bought spices to anoint His body. John's acquaintance with the high priest (&nbsp;John 18:15) had been in early life, for it is not likely it would commence after he had become disciple of the despised Galilean. Hence, probably arose his knowledge of the history of [[Nicodemus]] which he alone records. John had a house of his own to which he took the [[Virgin]] mother, by our Lord's dying charge (&nbsp;John 19:27). The name, meaning "the favor of God", had become a favorite one in the age where there was a general expectation of Messiah, and members of the high priestly families bore it (&nbsp;Acts 4:6). These hints all intimate that John belonged to the respectable classes, and though called by the council "unlearned and ignorant" he was not probably without education, though untrained in their rabbinical lore (&nbsp;Acts 4:13). </p> <p> Zebedee's readiness to give up his son at Jesus' call speaks well for his religious disposition. Salome went further, and positively ministered to Jesus. Even her ambitious request that her two sons, James and John, might sit on either side of our Lord in His coming kingdom shows that she was heartily looking for that kingdom. Such a mother would store her son's memory with the precious promises of Old Testament. The book of Revelation in its temple imagery shows the deep impression which the altar, the incense, the priestly robes, and the liturgy had made on him. John's first acquaintance with the Lord was when John Baptist pointed his two disciples Andrew and John to the Lamb of God. John followed Jesus to His place of sojourn. John probably accompanied Him on His homeward journey to Galilee from [[Jordan]] (John 1), and then to Jerusalem (John 2-3), again through [[Samaria]] to Galilee (4), and again to Jerusalem (5), for he describes as an eye witness. Resuming his fishing occupation he received his call to permanent discipleship after the miraculous draught of fish (&nbsp;Luke 5:10; &nbsp;Matthew 4:18-22). </p> <p> In the selection of the twelve subsequently the two sons of [[Jonas]] and Zebedee's two sons stand foremost. Peter, James, and J. form the inner-most circle. They alone witnessed the raising of Jairus' daughter, Jesus' transfiguration, His agony in Gethsemane, and with the addition of Andrew heard His answer to their private inquiry as to when, and with what premonitory sign, His prediction of the overthrow of the temple should be fulfilled (&nbsp;Mark 13:3-4). [[Grotius]] designates Peter as the lover of Christ, John the lover of Jesus. John as a "son of thunder" (&nbsp;Mark 3:17) was not the soft and feminine character that he is often portrayed, but full of intense, burning zeal, ready to drink the Lord's bitter cup and to be baptized with His fiery baptism (&nbsp;Isaiah 58:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 23:29; &nbsp;Matthew 20:22; &nbsp;Luke 12:49-50), impatient of anyone in separation from Jesus' company, and eager for fiery vengeance on the [[Samaritans]] who would not receive Him (&nbsp;Luke 9:49; &nbsp;Luke 9:53-54). </p> <p> Nor was this characteristic restricted to his as yet undisciplined state; it appears in his holy denunciations long afterward (&nbsp;1 John 2:18-22; &nbsp;2 John 1:7-11; &nbsp;3 John 1:9-10). Through his mother John gained his knowledge of the love of Mary [[Magdalene]] to the Lord, which he so vividly depicts (John 20). The full narrative of Lazarus' restoration to life (John 11) shows that he was an eye witness, and probably was intimate with the sisters of Bethany. He and Peter followed Jesus when apprehended, while the rest fled (&nbsp;John 18:15), even as they had both together been sent to prepare the Passover (&nbsp;Luke 22:8) the evening before, and as it was to John reclining in Jesus' bosom (compare &nbsp;Song of [[Solomon]] 8:3; &nbsp;Song of Solomon 8:6) that Peter at the supper made eager signs to get him to ask our Lord who should be the traitor (&nbsp;John 13:24). While Peter remained in the porch John was in the council chamber (&nbsp;John 18:16-28). John, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene accompanied the Saviour to Calvary, and to him Jesus committed as to a brother the care of His sorrowing mother. </p> <p> Peter and John were in the same abode the ensuing sabbath, and to them Mary Magdalene first runs with the tidings of the tomb being empty. Ardent love lent wings to John's feet, so that he reached the tomb first; but reverent awe restrained him from entering. Peter more impulsive was first to enter (&nbsp;John 20:4-6). For at least eight days they stayed at Jerusalem (&nbsp;John 20:26). Then they appear in Galilee (John 21) again associated in their former occupation on the sea of Galilee. As yet they were uncertain whether the Lord's will was that they should continue their apostolic ministrations or not; and in the interval their livelihood probably necessitated their resuming their fishing occupation, which moreover would allay their mental agitation at that time of suspense. John with deeper spiritual intuition was first to recognize Jesus in the morning twilight, Peter first in plunging into the water to reach Him (&nbsp;John 21:7). Peter's bosom friendship for John suggested the question, after learning his own future, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" (&nbsp;John 21:21). </p> <p> In that undesigned coincidence which confirms historic truth, the Book of Acts (&nbsp;Acts 3:1; &nbsp;Acts 4:13; &nbsp;Acts 8:14) represents the two associated as in the Gospels; together they enter the temple and meet the impotent man at the [[Beautiful]] gate; together they witness before the council; together they confirm in the faith, and instrumentally impart the Holy Spirit by laying hands on, the deacon Philip's converts in Samaria, the very place where John once would have called down fire to consume the Samaritans. So complete was the triumph of grace over him! At Stephen's death he and the other apostles alone stayed at. Jerusalem when all the rest were scattered. At Paul's second visit there John (esteemed then with James and Peter a "pillar") gave him the right hand of fellowship, that he should go to the pagan and they to the circumcision (&nbsp;Galatians 2:9). John took part in the first council there concerning circumcision of the [[Gentiles]] (&nbsp;Acts 15:6). No sermon of his is recorded, Peter is always the spokesman. </p> <p> [[Contemplation]] and communion with God purified the fire of his character, and gave him that serene repose which appears in his writings, which all belong to the later portion of his life. He is not mentioned as married in &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:5, where, had he been so, it would probably have been stated. Under Domitian (about A.D. 95) John was banished to Patmos (&nbsp;Revelation 1:9; &nbsp;Revelation 1:11). "I John ... your companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle ... Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." The seven churches of western Asia were under his special care. In the Acts, epistles to Ephesians, and Timothy, recording Paul's ministry in connection with Ephesus, no mention occurs of John being there. Again John does not appear in Jerusalem when Paul finally visited it A.D. 60. Probably he left Jerusalem long before settling at Ephesus, and only moved there after Paul's martyrdom, A.D. 66. Paul had foreseen the rise of [[Gnostic]] heresy in the Ephesian region. </p> <p> "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them" (&nbsp;Acts 20:30; compare &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:6-7; &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:19-20; &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:1-7; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:13; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:15; &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:16-18; &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:3; &nbsp;Titus 1:9; &nbsp;Titus 1:16). These heresies, as yet in seminal form, John in his Gospel and epistles counteracts (John 1; &nbsp;1 John 4:1; &nbsp;1 John 2:18-22; &nbsp;2 John 1:7; &nbsp;2 John 1:9-11; &nbsp;3 John 1:9-10). His tone is meditative and serene, as contrasted with Paul's logical and at the same time ardent style, His sharp reproof of [[Diotrephes]] accords with the story of his zeal against error, reported as from Polycarp, that entering the public baths of Ephesus he heard that [[Cerinthus]] was there; instantly he left the building lest it should fall while that enemy of the truth was within. In John's view there is no neutrality between Christ and antichrist. Clement of Alexandria (Quis Dives Salvus? ) reports of John as a careful pastor, that he commended a noble looking youth in a city near Ephesus to the bishop. The latter taught, and at last baptized, the youth. </p> <p> [[Returning]] some time afterward John said to the bishop: "restore the pledge which I and the Saviour entrusted to you before the congregation." The bishop with tears replied: "he is dead ... dead to God ... a robber!" John replied, "to what a keeper I have entrusted my brother's soul!" John hastened to the robber's fortress. The sentinels brought him before their captain. The latter fled from him: "why do you flee from me, your father, an unarmed old man? You have yet a hope of life. I will yet give an account to Christ of you. If need be, I will gladly die for you." John never left him until he had rescued him from sin and restored him to Christ. Jerome records as to his characteristic love, that when John, being too feeble through age to walk to the Christian assemblies, was carried there by young men, his only address was: "little children, love one another." When asked why he kept repeating the same words he replied, "because this is the Lord's command, and enough is done when this is done." </p> <p> John's thought and feelings became so identified with his Lord's that his style reflects exactly that of Jesus' deeper and especially spiritual discourses, which he alone records. He lives in the unseen, spiritual, rather than in the active world, His, designation, "' the divine," expresses his insight into the glory of the eternal Word, the Only [[Begotten]] of the Father, made flesh, in opposition to mystical and docetic gnosticism which denied the reality of that manifestation and of Christ's body. The high soaring eagle, gazing at the sun with unflinching eye, is the one of the four seraphim which represents John Irenaeus, Polycarp's disciple (Adv. Haer. 2:39, Eusebius 3:23), states that John settled at Ephesus and lived to the time of Trajan. Tertullian's story of his being cast into boiling oil at Rome and coming forth unhurt is improbable; none else records it; the punishment was one unheard of at Rome. </p>

<p> Various names have been used of John the apostle. Many of the people of his time referred to him as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’, perhaps because of his special relationship with Jesus (&nbsp;John 13:23; &nbsp;John 19:26-27). But Jesus himself often referred to John and his older brother James as ‘sons of thunder’, perhaps because they were sometimes impatient and over-zealous (&nbsp;Mark 3:17; &nbsp;Mark 10:35-40; &nbsp;Luke 9:49-56). John was one of the most highly respected leaders in the early church, and later generations knew him as ‘the elder’ (&nbsp;2 John 1:1; &nbsp;3 John 1:1). (For his writings see JOHN, GOSPEL OF; JOHN, [[Letters]] OF.) He has traditionally been regarded as the writer of the book of Revelation (&nbsp;Revelation 1:1; &nbsp;Revelation 1:9; &nbsp;Revelation 22:8; see REVELATION, BOOK OF). </p> <p> '''In the time of Jesus''' </p> <p> John’s father was a fisherman named Zebedee (&nbsp;Matthew 4:21). His mother, Salome, appears to have been the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (&nbsp;Matthew 27:56; &nbsp;Mark 15:40; &nbsp;John 19:25-27). The family lived in a town on the shores of Lake Galilee, where James and John worked as fishermen in partnership with another pair of brothers, Peter and Andrew (&nbsp;Matthew 4:18-21; &nbsp;Luke 5:10). </p> <p> Most likely all four men had responded to John the Baptist’s preaching. They became disciples of the Baptist and were part of that minority of true believers who looked expectantly for the promised Saviour. John was probably one of the two disciples (the other was Andrew) whom the Baptist first directed to Jesus Christ (&nbsp;John 1:35-40). Soon both pairs of brothers had become followers of Jesus (&nbsp;Matthew 4:22), and later all four were included in Jesus’ group of twelve apostles (&nbsp;Matthew 10:2). Peter, James and John developed into an inner circle of disciples who were particularly close to Jesus (&nbsp;Mark 5:37; &nbsp;Mark 9:2; &nbsp;Mark 14:33). </p> <p> As the ministry of Jesus progressed, Peter became increasingly more prominent. James and John, with their mother, tried to outdo Peter by going to Jesus and asking him to give the top two positions in his kingdom to them. They received no such guarantee from Jesus; only a rebuke for their selfish ambition and a promise of persecution ahead (&nbsp;Matthew 20:20-28). By the time Jesus’ ministry had come to an end, Peter and John were clearly the two leading apostles (&nbsp;Luke 22:8; &nbsp;John 19:26-27; &nbsp;John 20:2-9; &nbsp;John 21:20). </p> <p> '''In the early church''' </p> <p> After Jesus’ return to his Father, Peter and John provided the main leadership for the Jerusalem Christians. Their boldness amid persecution was an example to all (&nbsp;Acts 1:13; &nbsp;Acts 3:1-4; &nbsp;Acts 3:11; &nbsp;Acts 4:13-20; &nbsp;Acts 5:40). They were the first Christian leaders to show publicly that God accepted non-Jewish converts into the church equally with Jewish converts (&nbsp;Acts 8:14-17). John’s willingness to preach in Samaritan villages was in marked contrast to his hostility to Samaritans a few years earlier (&nbsp;Acts 8:25; cf. &nbsp;Luke 9:52-56). With James the Lord’s brother they formed a representative group who expressed the Jerusalem church’s fellowship in the mission of Paul and [[Barnabas]] to the Gentiles (&nbsp;Galatians 2:9). </p> <p> The Bible contains little information about John’s later activities, though there are early records outside the Bible that refer to him. According to these, John lived to a very old age (as Jesus had foretold; &nbsp;John 21:20-23) and spent most of his later years in Ephesus. From there he wrote his Gospel and the three letters that bear his name. It seems also that he was imprisoned on Patmos, an island off the coast from Ephesus, from where the book of Revelation was written (&nbsp;Revelation 1:9). </p>

<p> '''John the Apostle.''' The son of Zebedee and Salome, of Bethsaida. His father was able to have "hired servants" and bis mother was one of the women who aided in Jesus' support, &nbsp;Luke 8:3, and took spices to embalm his body. &nbsp;Mark 16:1. He is regarded as the youngest of the twelve apostles, but had been a disciple of John the Baptist, who pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God to him. &nbsp;John 1:35-37. John is noted as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and as one of the three chosen to witness the restoration of Jairus' daughter, the transfiguration, and the agony in the garden. At the last supper he reclined on Jesus' bosom, and to his care Jesus on the cross committed his mother. He with Peter on the resurrection morn ran to the empty tomb of Jesus, and "he saw and believed." When with some others he was fishing on the Sea of Galilee, he was the first to recognize the Lord standing on the shore. After the ascension, he and James and Peter were the leading apostles, &nbsp;Galatians 2:9, of the infant church, and guided its counsels. He was banished for a time to the isle of Patmos. Tradition represents him as closing his career at Ephesus. He was naturally bold and severe. Our Lord called him a "son of thunder," but he became amiable though firm and fearless. </p> <p> John, Gospel of. The fourth Gospel is ascribed to John, and was probably composed, or at least put in its present shape, at Ephesus, between a.d. 70 and 95. The particular design of it is expressed by the author to be that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, we might have life through his name. &nbsp;John 20:31. Hence the subjects and discourses of this book have special relation to our Lord's character and offices, and are evidently intended to prove his nature, authority, and doctrines as divine. The gospel contains: A. The prologue, 1:1-18; B. The history, 1:19 to chap. 21. 1. The preparation for Jesus' public ministry, (''A)'' by &nbsp;John 1:19-36; (''B'' ) by the choice of disciples. 1:37-51. 2. The public labors of Jesus in doctrine and miracle, chaps. 2-12. 3. Jesus in the private circle of his disciples. Chaps. 13-17. 4. The history of the passion and resurrection or public glorification of the Lord. Chaps. 18-21. "The Gospel of John is," says Schaff, "the gospel of gospels. It is the most remarkable as well as most important literary production ever composed.... It is a marvel even in the marvellous Book of books. It is the most spiritual and ideal of gospels. It brings us, as it were, into the immediate presence of Jesus. It gives us the clearest view of his incarnate divinity and his perfect humanity." </p> <p> John, the [[Epistles]] of, are three in number. They were written in Ephesus, between a.d. 80 and 95, or possibly later. The first has always been attributed to John, though his name is neither prefixed nor subscribed. It is a kind of practical application of the gospel. It is addressed to Christians. The second epistle is addressed to the "elect lady and her children." The elect lady is supposed to have been some honorable woman distinguished for piety, and well known in the churches as a disciple of Christ. Some, however, have thought some particular church and its members might be denoted. Those who adopt the latter opinion apply the term to the church at Jerusalem, and the term "elect sister," &nbsp;2 John 1:13, to the church at Ephesus. The third epistle, which is addressed to Gaius, or Caius, a private individual, and is commendatory of his piety, was written about the same time with the others. </p>