John the Evangelist

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John the Evangelist, El Greco (c. 1600), Museo del Prado, Madrid
Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos, by Hieronymus Bosch (1505)

John the Evangelist (* before 20 AD Bethsaida (?), † around 101 AD (?), but at the latest around 117 AD in Ephesus) is the author of the Gospel of John. The Latinised name Johannes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Iōannēs), which in English usually appears as John, is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan (Hebrew: יוחנן) meaning "the LORD (YHWH) is gracious", which in Judaism is seen as expressing a "birth given as a divine gift". John the Evangelist is also considered the author of the Revelation of John and the Epistles of John. According to the traditional theological view, he is identical with John the Apostle and with favourite disciple of the Christ, who is not mentioned by name in the Gospel of John, and who, moreover, according to Rudolf Steiner, was none other than Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by the Christ (see Lazarus-Johannes below). According to Rudolf Steiner, contrary to traditional opinion, he is also not identical with John, the son of Zebedee (Greek: Ἰωάννης υἱὸς [or ὁ] τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου Ioannes hyios [or ho] tou Zebedaion; Latin: Iohannes Zebedaei), the brother of James the Elder, and was only temporarily his deputy and not an apostle in the proper sense (see also below Lazarus-Johannes).

Life and work of John

Historical testimonies

In the Synoptic Gospels, John is named as the brother of James the Elder, both of whom were sons of Zebedee the fisherman (Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:17, Luke 6:14) and to whom the Christ gave the epithet Boanerges, "sons of thunder" (Mk 3:17). In this case John would have been born in Betsaida northeast of the Sea of Galilee, only a few hundred metres east of the Jordan. The question of how this information fits in with Rudolf Steiner's statements is explored below (see Lazarus-Johannes).

In the Gospel of John, John is not mentioned by name, but, as already mentioned above, according to general tradition he is identified with the favourite disciple of the Christ.

Further evidence of John's life and ministry is found in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles of Paul. In the Epistle to the Galatians, written around 50 AD, the earliest historically tangible testimony to John's life, Paul testifies to John's great reputation as one of the three "pillars" of young Christianity (Gal 2:9).

The later life of John is indicated by the words of the early Christian bishop Irenaeus (c. 130-200 AD), according to which a disciple of Christ named John is said to have lived, worked and written his Gospel in Ephesus as late as the times of the Roman Emperor Trajan (98-117). The decisive statement on which the traditional identification of the apostle with the evangelist and favourite disciple is based is handed down by the early church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260-340) thus:

"After this John, the disciple of the Lord, who also rested on his bosom, gave forth his Gospel when he was at Ephesus in Asia." (Irenaeus, Adv Haer III 1,1, quoted in Eusebius, Hist Eccl V 8,4).

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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