John--The Evangelist for All Seasons Since the late second century, John''s Gospel has been symbolized by the eagle, presumably because its theological thought soars so very high. It has also been known as the "spiritual" Gospel. That description carries a variety of meanings. John''s Gospel presents Jesus in his person and teaching as the revealer and the revelation of God, and so as the foundation of every sound Christian spirituality. Throughout its story of Jesus, this Gospel challenges readers to be on the side of the "spirit" as opposed to that of the "flesh." And it speaks to a community of believers (the church) who are animated and guided by the Holy Spirit. Unlike the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in the current lectionary of Scripture texts for Sundays there is no separate year dedicated primarily to John''s Gospel. Instead, selections from John''s Gospel appear most prominently in the seasons of Lent and Easter in all the lectionary cycles, both on Sundays and weekdays.

Passages from John are also included in the Christmas season and in Ordinary Time. The idea seems to be that John can and does provide spiritual depth to the most important moments in the liturgical unfolding of Jesus'' life, death, and Resurrection. In the New Testament we meet St. John (who traditionally is identified as John the son of Zebedee) primarily through the Gospel that bears his name. This is probably not the same person who wrote the book of Revelation (also named John) or the three letters in John''s name (known as "the Elder"), though there are links between all these writings. Even with John''s Gospel we are more likely dealing with a complex tradition, school, or circle that developed over many years than with a single author working entirely on his own. And so the focus of this book is not the biography of John the son of Zebedee (which is not possible anyway). Rather, it is primarily concerned with the distinctive portrait of Jesus that emerges from the late first-century composition that we know today as the "Gospel according to John.

" In this way we today can best meet the elusive figure we call St. John. After a brief introduction to the Evangelist and his Gospel, there follows six chapters of narrative analysis of the entire Gospel. These chapters focus on the Gospel''s key words and images, characters, plot, literary forms, indications of time and place, and theological message. Next there is a chapter on the historical setting of the Gospel and, in particular, the problem posed by its negative portrayal of the Jews. Then there are two chapters about John''s Gospel in church life, one that illustrates the place of this Gospel in the seasons of the church''s lectionary, and another that makes correlations between John''s Gospel and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Questions for reflection and discussion are provided at the end of each chapter. This book can be used easily by Bible study groups as well as by individual readers.

I have drawn on material in an earlier work entitled John''s Thought and Theology: An Introduction (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1990). Michael Glazier himself has been a source of great encouragement and friendship to me, and in writing this work I have often thought of him with deep affection. I dedicate this book to him with thanks. Part One Meeting St. John And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father''s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God.

It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father''s heart, who has made him known. --John 1:14, 16-18 1 The Evangelist and His Gospel John''s Gospel is different from the others. The Synoptic Gospels--Matthew, Mark, and Luke--provide a "common viewpoint" (synopsis) about Jesus. But apart from the account of Jesus'' suffering, death, and Resurrection, almost everything in John''s Gospel is absent from the Synoptic Gospels, and vice versa. According to John, much of Jesus'' public ministry takes place in Jerusalem and Judea rather than in Galilee. In this Gospel, Jesus'' public career spans three Passover celebrations (see 2:13; 6:4; 11:55) and thus three years, instead of one year. John presents a different cast of characters, including Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the man born blind, Lazarus, Philip, the beloved disciple, and Thomas. The focus of Jesus'' preaching is the revelation of his heavenly Father and his own identity as the definitive revealer of God, while the kingdom of God which is so prominent in the Synoptic Gospels, is in the background.

John''s Jesus gives long speeches instead of the short units (parables, controversies, proverbs, and so forth) found in the Synoptic Gospels. Jesus (rather than the Jewish Law) is the definitive expression of God''s will for his people. And Jesus'' status as the preexistent Son of God, as "I am" and as divine (1:1; 20:28), goes beyond what is said about him in the other Gospels. Behind John''s Gospel The person named John, who is the subject of this book, is the one we meet through what we call John''s Gospel. In the Christian tradition this figure has been identified as John the son of Zebedee, a fisherman who was among the first disciples called by Jesus. He appears in all the lists of apostles, and in Mark 3:17 John and his brother James are called "Sons of Thunder." At several points in the Gospels he appears in the inner circle of Jesus'' followers, alongside his brother James and Peter, and at some very important events such as Jesus'' transfiguration and his prayer in Gethsemane. Paul places John among the "pillar apostles" at Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9) after Jesus'' Resurrection.

However, it is difficult to discern the precise role of John the son of Zebedee in the composition of the Gospel that bears his name. Did he actually write this Gospel as it now stands? Or did he make available his reminiscences of Jesus? Was he something like the patron saint of the distinctive faith community that came to be identified with him and his teachings about Jesus--what scholars now refer to as the Johannine community? Was he the founder of the Johannine school or circle? Unfortunately we can''t answer these questions with certainty. Perhaps the most important point of all is that those who produced this Gospel traced their tradition back to the circle of Jesus'' first followers, which included John the son of Zebedee. At several points John''s Gospel appeals to the testimony of someone who was close to the earthly Jesus and is called "the one whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7). There are also references to "another disciple" (18:15) and "the other disciple" (20:2, who is further identified as "the one whom Jesus loved"). The reference to "the two disciples" in 1:37 suggests that this person may once have been a follower of John the Baptist. Whether any or all of these figures is John the son of Zebedee is not clear, though it is certainly tempting to view them as one and the same character. On some historical matters where John''s Gospel differs from the other Gospels, John is often correct and so conveys solid historical tradition.

For example, it is more likely that Jesus'' public ministry lasted for three years rather than one year. Jesus probably did visit Jerusalem more than once. And Jesus may well have been crucified before the Passover festival began, rather than on the first day of the official Passover celebration. Also, many of the geographical references throughout John''s Gospel are accurate and suggest some firsthand acquaintance with these places in the Holy Land. There is much sound historical information in this Gospel. Nevertheless, John''s Gospel cannot be taken simply as the eyewitness report of John the son of Zebedee or the beloved disciple. It is better understood as the product of the long reflection on Jesus that was carried on in a distinctively Johannine community for over fifty years and that reached its final form around ad 85 or 90, perhaps at Ephesus. John the son of Zebedee or the one known as the beloved disciple may have been the founder of this school or community in Palestine, which was made up largely of Jewish Christians.

After the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in ad 70, all Jews (including Christian Jews) had to redefine their Judaism. In this crisis of identity, the exalted claims made by the Johannine Christians about Jesus led to a strained relationship with other Jews and even expulsion from their synagogues. In the late first century, the Gospel in the form much as we have it today took shape. But it represents the literary and theological activity of the Johannine school over many years. It provides both a statement of that community''s beliefs about Jesus and a defense against the criticisms made by outsiders. Further developments in the life of the Johannine community can be glimpsed with the help of the Johannine epistles (1, 2, and 3 John). And so Johannine Christianity began as a movement within Judaism and faced its most severe crisis when its adherents were being expelled from Jewish synagogues in the late first century (see 9:22; 12:42; 16:2). How Jesus fulfilled the Jewish Scriptures is a major concern throughout the Gospel.

From chapter 5 on, John''s Gospel traces Jesus'' activities by reference to major feasts on the Jewish calendar. There is no doubt that Jesus and his first followers were Jews. The Gospel is written in a Semitic style of Greek. As the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has shown, its vocabulary and style are not at all foreign to Palestine in the first ce.