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The Gospel According to Saint John

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The Gospel According to Saint John The Gospel According to Saint John By: Father Luke Wassif The position of the Gospel The fourth Gospel –Gospel of all Gospels St. Clement of Alexandria linked this Gospel to the spirit while the three other ones represent the body Saint Origen calls this Gospel “ The crown of all Gospels” , No other Gospel among the other Gospels reaches to the same depth, totally understood but still full of mysteries. Author “John” = “God is Gracious” Son of Zebedee and the brother of James the Greater From Bethsaida the city of Galilee His father was a fisherman and as it seems he was rich His mother is Salome the mother of sons of Zebedee, James and John Jesus Christ and Saint John, were they relatives? (John 19:25) “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene”. Mistakenly thought that the above verse refers to four names The correct reading of this verse shows that the women were only three and “his mother’s sister” is “the wife of Clopas” the mother of James son of Alphaeus. In the first chapter of his Gospel when writing the circumstances in which he met Jesus Christ, never refer to any connection by blood (John 1:35-42) John’s call and discipleship One of the first disciples of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:19-20) “When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him”. Saint Jerome: Saint John was 25 years old at that time Saint John’s life as a disciple In the list of the twelve disciples, John always comes among the first four: (Matthew 10:3), (Mark 3:14-17), (Luke 6:13, 14) and (Acts 1:13) One out of three disciples whom Jesus chose to be his companions, namely Peter, James and John. 1) Raising of Jairus' Daughter (Mark 5:37) 2) The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1) 3) In the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37) One out of four disciples, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, privately asked Jesus about the signs of the times and the end of the age. (Mark 13:3, 4) Saint John’s life John and his brother James were short-tempered and easy to irritate or anger Jesus Christ gave them the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17) Their mother asked Jesus to grant that one of her two sons may sit at His right and the other at His left in His kingdom. In (Luke 22-8) Jesus Christ asked John and Peter to prepare the Passover John remained faithful to his Master … and followed Him all the way to the cross Saint John’s life John was one of the first who believed in the resurrection (John 20:1-10) John was one of the seven disciples that Jesus showed Himself to at the Sea of Tiberias. John was the first to know and proclaim “It is the Lord!” (John 21:20) indicates that John will experience the Second Coming of Jesus Christ through the spirit of prophecy in the book of Revelation. Saint John’s life In the Acts of the Apostles we can see him being twice with Simon Peter 1) went into the temple healed the lame man and preached the name of Christ to the people 2) Church of Jerusalem sent them to pray for the Samaritans that they might receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 12:1, 2) the martyrdom of James the brother of John. Since that event in the year 44 A.D. till the Council of Jerusalem in the year 50 A.D. nothing is mentioned about John The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved Intentionally conceals his name in the Gospel Identifies himself as “The other disciple” or “The disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 1:35-40) two of the disciples of John the Baptist knew Jesus Christ through the testimony of their teacher. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, is mentioned while the other’s name is completely neglected. (John 13:20-26) “… Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Saint John’s identity (John 18:15-17) “… But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in …” (John 19-26, 27) “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” (John 20:2-8) Then she (Mary Magdalene) ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. How Do We Know Saint John is the Author? (John 21:20-22) Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me”. (John 21:24) “This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things …” It can’t be Andrew, as Andrew was mentioned by name in the first chapter of this gospel, and “The other disciple” was with him It wasn’t Peter also because he’s mentioned together with “The other disciple” The author has to be either one of the brothers James or John the sons of Zebedee John the beloved, the rest of his life Preached the bible in Asia Minor and Ephesus Roman Emperor, Domitian, ordered him to be exiled to the island of Patmos St. John received his Revelation of the last days Roman Emperor Nerva released John in 96 A.D. Returned to Ephesus, his disciples were Polycarp, Papias, and Ignatius of Antioch Died peacefully (didn’t martyr) in the year 98 A.D The time of writing the Gospel Last to be written among the four gospels Written during the last days of St. John’s life Ephesus between 80 and 90 A.D.(20 to 30 years after the other gospels) After the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in the year 70 A.D The place of writing the Gospel (Ephesus) John didn’t address the people living in Palestine because he explained the Greek meaning of some Hebrew words (John 1:38) He also explained some of the Jewish traditions as in “Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew , Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water”, also in (John 9:7) “And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” which is translated, Sent ...” It is certain that the gospel was written in the Greek language Mentions Jesus’ encounters with Greeks, (John 7:35) The gospel used the term “Logos” proving that the author wrote his gospel in Asia Minor .
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