How Did The Apostle John Die?

How did the Apostle John die? What can the Bible and history tell us?

The Apostle John

The Apostle John is the author of my favorite gospel and that is the Gospel of St. John the Apostle. He is the one apostle that rumor had it that he would never die but that’s contrary to biblical teaching for its appointed for all to die and then comes the judgment (Heb 9:27). The Apostle John was the author of the gospel with his name on it as well as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and then what might have been his last book, the Book of Revelation, which is really the Revelation of Jesus Christ and not John’s (Rev 1:1-2). He was the brother of James, one of the twelve disciples whom Jesus chose. He was born about AD 6 and lived to just past the turn of the century (AD 100). John never referred to himself in the first person but rather it was always “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 21:7), I think reflecting his humility. The church fathers referred to him as the “Beloved Disciple” or John the Evangelist or John of Patmos, later in life. Once referred to as one of the “Sons of Thunder” he was now the “Beloved Disciple” whom Jesus loved.

Peter’s end Prophesied

The Bible does not tell us how the Apostle John died. Jesus prophesied of Peter’s end by saying that in time “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)” (John 21:18-19). Peter pointed to John and then asked Jesus “what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” So the saying spread abroad among the brothers 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”(John 21:21-23). Jesus never said that John would never die but only “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you” so the rumor that John wouldn’t die until Christ returned was started and like most rumors, it ended up being false.

How did John Die?

As for the Apostle John, we only have church and secular historians to inform us but there is strong evidence that you can rely on these sources. Late in the Apostle John’s life, he was sent to the island of Patmos as part of his imprisonment, but apparently, there were mines there to work so the Apostle John might have had to resort to slave labor to serve part of his sentence for “sedition” and “treason” against Rome for worshiping a different king; King Jesus. He may have eventually been freed when he got too old to do any more work and so it is traditionally believed that John lived to an old age, dying at Ephesus sometime after AD 98 and died a natural death, of natural causes. Early second-century bishop Papias of Hierapolis claimed that John was slain by a group of Jewish men. The fact is, as Jesus said, He “is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to him” (Luke 20:38) so even though John is dead, he is not gone…he is just gone from the earth at this time. It doesn’t matter as much that he died or how he died but that he is alive today with Christ (2nd Cor 5:8) but why he died.

John’s comforting the Church

The Apostle John wanted the church to have the full assurance of God’s call which is why he frequently wrote that “we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1st John 2:6) “because you know him who is from the beginning” (1st John 2:14) just as John knew Him as one of the “disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). John gives his reason for writing by saying “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth” (1st John 2:21). Even in his gospel, John reveals “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24).

Conclusion

To know Christ is more important than to say you know Christ for on the day of His return, He will say “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name’” (Matt 7:21-22) but was it important that they knew Jesus or whether He knew them? He answers, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matt 7:23). He won’t say “I saw you in Sunday school” or “I didn’t know you well” or even “I didn’t know you as well as I wanted to” but “I never knew you.”

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.