Remembrance of Saint John the Apostle – 27 December 2023, Anno Domini

 

Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist.

[December 27.]

The Collect.

 

M

ERCIFUL Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it, being illumined by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 

The apostle John presents an interesting case, among the youngest of the apostles, he was the last to die and the only one to die of natural causes.  John was the author of the Gospel of John, the Revelation of John the Divine and the three Epistles of John, together often referred to as the Johannine works.

 

John was the son of Zebedee and the younger brother of James the Great. According to tradition, their mother was Salome, according to some traditions, the sister of Mary, Jesus' mother.  Thus John the Apostle and James were Jesus' cousins.  John is traditionally believed to live on for more than fifty years after the martyrdom of his brother James, who became the first Apostle to die a martyr's death in AD 44.  Thus, they were the first and the last to die.  In his Gospel, John refers to himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’  

 

Following the instruction of Jesus from the Cross, John took Mary, the mother of Jesus, into his care as the last legacy of Jesus.  Peter and John were also the only two apostles who ran to the empty tomb after Mary Magdalene bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus.

 

John seems to have been in a very special position, as though the disciples could have any other position.  His gospel seems to contain all the theology necessary for understanding our Lord’s position.

 

His long life resulted in John having a tremendous impact on the church.  When John was aged, he trained Polycarp who later became Bishop of Smyrna. This was important because Polycarp was able to carry John's message to future generations. Polycarp taught Irenaeus, passing on to him stories about John. Similarly, Ignatius of Antioch was a student of John.

 

All in all, John was a stand out amongst the apostles and contributed much to our understanding of our Lord and Savior.