Grace and Peace,
Queries have often arisen over who is the “John” of St. John’s Olney, who is our patron saint. There are more than a few significant people in the Bible named John, for starters we have:
John the Baptist
John, son of Zebedee
John, the beloved disciple
John the Evangelist
John the Elder
John, father of Peter
John, relative of Annas
John the Divine
Of these, John the Evangelist is the patron of this parish; but as we will see, a few of these other references may also be part of our DNA.
Traditionally, churches have been named for the Baptist, the Evangelist, and the Divine. One not so obvious indicator of our association with John the Evangelist is that churches have been very good about being specific in their naming convention if they are associated with the Baptist or the Divine. By default, if there is no reference to the specific John it is usually the Evangelist.
There are also visible clues as to our patron saint. The Saint John window, now located in the transept but prior to the 1970s hanging above the altar, shows a young man. Saint John the Evangelist was always referred to as the youngest of the disciples. At the feet of the man pictured in the window is an eagle; of the four living symbols of the Gospels the eagle is the symbol of the Gospel of Saint John the Evangelist. The other Gospel symbols are a man for the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, a lion for Saint Mark’s Gospel, and an ox, bull, or calf for the Gospel according to Saint Luke.
John, the son of Zebedee, is the brother of James, and partners with Peter and Andrew in the fishing business; all four are called as disciples and sent as apostles. As much as John, and his brother James, were rebuked by Jesus on multiple occasions, it was also this John who persuaded the gate keeper to admit Peter into the palace at the time of Jesus’ trial. Peter, James, and this John, were part of Jesus’ inner circle.
John, the beloved disciple, or “the disciple Jesus loved” is a term used four times in the Gospel of John. This is the one who reclines with Jesus while at table and who ran to the tomb faster than Peter. There is a certain irony that the writer of the Gospel According to John is also the one who refers to John as “the beloved disciple”. Scholarship and tradition identify John the beloved disciple as John the son of Zebedee, a member of the inner circle.
The link between John son of Zebedee and John the beloved disciple continues. The epilogue of the Gospel of John says “This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.” While the authorship of the Gospel of John is, for some, considered uncertain, the authority of the Gospel lies clearly with John son of Zebedee.
If you are following along, the link between John son of Zebedee, John the beloved disciple, and the John the Evangelist / the Apostle is certain; they are one and the same.
What is less certain is the authorship of the Gospel of John, John’s letters, and the Book of the Revelation of John. It is possible that the fourth Gospel was written by a follower of John the son of Zebedee, one of the early church fathers notes that there was an elder also named John and that there are two tombs in Ephesus ascribed to John. This John the Elder is likely responsible for at least 1, if not 2, of the letters of John. He may also have been the scribe who recorded the words of John son of Zebedee/the Evangelist. This makes sense in that he could have immodestly written “the disciple Jesus loved”. Most suggest, but there is still disagreement, that the fourth Gospel and the first letter of John were written by John the son of Zebedee/the Evangelist, and that the 2nd and 3rd letters were written by John the Elder, a follower of our John.
As we progress in our discussion more confusion comes along; John the Divine, also known as John of Patmos, is considered to be the author of the Book of Revelation, but authorities are uncertain as to whether this is the same person as John son of Zebedee/the Evangelist.
Early teaching and tradition attribute the fourth Gospel, the three letters of John, and the Book of Revelation all to John son of Zebedee / the Evangelist / the Apostle. Recent scholarship calls into question the authorship, but not the authority, of the fourth Gospel, and the authorship of one and possibly two of the letters, along with the authorship of the Book of Revelation. Our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters attribute all the writings to John the Evangelist and they let the scholars have their arguments, for it makes little difference in our reading of Scripture as the Word of God. You will be in good company if you too choose to assign all of those writings to Saint John.
Tradition also suggests that John the Evangelist was the one disciple who was not martyred so that he would be able to live long enough to care for Mary, mother of Jesus. Another tradition suggests that John’s faith was tested by being forced to drink a chalice of poison, and only by God’s intervention did he live; a chalice with a snake in it is pictured in our Saint John’s window as a reference to this tradition, as are images of his writings.
While God’s word is certain, Biblical scholarship can be uncertain. Our patron saint, beloved John the Evangelist, son of Zebedee, and Apostle has influence on the church, perhaps on a par with Peter. We walk in the footsteps of Apostles and prophets, we walk among the great cloud of witnesses. Our own witness with Saint John leads us and guides us; may John also be your beloved disciple.
Peace
Fr. Henry+
