By Steve Ray
Understanding the Gospel of St. John
Your personal Bible study blue print.
Eagles soar high above the surface of the earth, their eyes surveying the farthest reaches of the horizon. The connection of heaven to earth is in perspective from their lofty vantage point. From our earthbound perspective, the eagle is suspended between heaven and earth. It is difficult for us to see the connection physically. That is why artists have often painted St. John the Evangelist writing with an eagle at his side. Mystic, philosopher, disciple, one of the Twelve, bishop, “beloved of the Lord”; St. John wrote the fourth gospel, which soars to the heavens and gives perspective to the earthbound.
The Gospel of St. John — the last of the Gospels to be written — contains the theology and spiritual insights of a man filled with the Holy Spirit; a man who, during his younger years, actually knew Jesus personally. Jesus had promised John that He would remind him of all that He had taught him and, through the Holy Spirit, lead him into all truth. After seventy years of contemplation, the aged Apostle took up his pen to write the life of Christ and reveal the deepest spiritual realities.
