2026/03/30

241. The Gospel of John and the Priesthood of the New Covenant: The Two Eagles of Patmos

As we discussed two issues ago, Paul realised that his mission lay in welcoming Peter—to whom Jesus had entrusted the staff of the "Good Shepherd"—into the community at Rome. When the time was right, he wrote to Timothy: "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Tro'as, also the books, and above all the parchments" (2 Tim 4:13). Knowing that this referred to Peter, Timothy set out for Rome, accompanied by Peter and Mark. Luke was with Paul. At this time, Peter and Paul were likely fully aware of their impending deaths, and they must have gathered to discuss concrete plans for preserving the record of Jesus' deeds. Paul could not have failed to remember John, who was regarded as one of the pillars in Jerusalem (cf. Gala 2:9). They expected John to devise a programme of spiritual formation to support the mission of the Gospel. 

Likewise, Peter never forgot the voice of the risen Jesus when he had asked Him about John's future: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" (Jn 21:22). This had happened immediately after Jesus had entrusted his shepherd's staff to Peter (cf. 21:15–17) and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go" (21:18). John the Evangelist explains, "This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God" (21:19), but underlying this was a foreshadowing that Peter would be "girded" by Paul and taken to Rome. 

In this way, the Gospel of John contains implications designed to prompt the reader to become aware of its connections with other books of the New Testament. Thus, when we consider Jesus' words to Peter—"If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"—we find that this is followed by the equally suggestive commentary: "The saying spread abroad among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" (Jn. 21:23). This implication, placed at the end of the Gospel of John, suggested that John would be reunited with Jesus. That was because John would later write the Book of Revelation on the island called Patmos (cf. Rev 1:9). 

This is evident from the opening words of Revelation: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John" (Rev 1:1). The author continues, writing from a third-person perspective: "[John] who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw" (1:2). This resonates with the following context of the Gospel of John, which is likewise written as a third-person testimony: "This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true" (Jn 21:24). From this, too, we can read an implication in the commentary at the end of the Gospel of John. 

Furthermore, the words of Revelation that follow—"Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3)—echo the closing words of the Gospel of John: "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (Jn 21:25). The Holy Spirit chose to preserve the "things which Jesus did" in the memories of believers through experience, rather than in a book. The voice reading the words written in Revelation causes those who hear it to retain those words in their memory. This functions as a training that infuses the "revelation of Jesus Christ" into believers' senses and allows the worldview of Jesus Christ to be autonomously formed in their memories, employing a learning approach akin to deep learning. 

By voluntarily repeating this training day after day, the patterns of information transmission within the believer’s memory are restructured in a way that turns towards God. Specific neural pathways become more easily activated. As these pathways are frequently recognised and strengthened through contact with the Word of God stored in the believer's memory on various occasions, their perspective changes, and within them a distinction begins to emerge between God and human information, as the disciples distinguished Jesus from other people in the Gospel. The greatest benefit of continuing the training of Revelation is that this discernment is granted to every believer. It fosters an affinity with the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of Jesus, within the trainees, yielding significant benefits to the Church. 

The Holy Spirit promised by Jesus descended with a specific mission as "the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name" (Jn 14:26). That mission is for the Holy Spirit, sent in the name of "Jesus," to collaborate with us who are "Christians," so that the two names may become one, thereby realising the reappearance of the work of Jesus Christ in the world. At the heart of that, as we have discussed, lies the priesthood of the New Covenant brought by Jesus, the royal office endowed as a shepherd, the apostolate, and the prophetic office to collaborate with the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, which were written for these, were the two inseparable eagles of Patmos. 

Maria K. M.