John, son of Zebedeo and Salomé, was a native of Galilee and was devoted to fishing like his father. At first he was a disciple of John the Baptist and later of Jesus, as was his brother Santiago the Elder.
His name, Juan, means “Grace of God.” And it is because among the apostles, he was the favorite, the one who received the greatest tests of trust and friendship, the one who was commissioned to care for Mary, his Mother. He was the apostle who accompanied Jesus in his passion, death, and subsequent resurrection, testifying to him later in the fourth Gospel.
After the Resurrection, he met Peter in Samaria and later at the Council of Jerusalem. When the apostles dispersed after Pentecost, he went to Asia Minor, present-day Turkey, where he founded a large number of Christian communities.
While John was there preaching the gospel, he was arrested for refusing to worship other gods and was sent to Rome. They shaved his head, took him out of the city, and before the “Porta Latina”, they put him in a jar of boiling oil. When you took it out, it had no damage whatsoever. On May 6 this anniversary is commemorated.
The emperor Domitian banished him to the island of Pátmos, and wrote the Apocalypse where the end of History and the triumph of good over evil are recorded. According to it, Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation after hearing a loud voice, like a trumpet, which told him “what you see write it down and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. ”.
On the death of Domitian, John was able to return to Ephesus, where he wrote the “Gospel according to St. John” and his “Letters.”
Another important moment in the life of Saint John was when the Pontiff of idols, Aristodemus, challenged the apostle to drink poison from a cup, telling him that if he took it, he would believe in his God. John, after crossing himself, took the chalice, and drank the potion to the last drop, not suffering any harm.
Saint John died in Ephesus at a very late age after Jesus appeared to him and invited him to join him. His festivity is celebrated on December 27, the day of Saint John the Evangelist.
Saint John statue – Francisco Salzillo