Gospel in Art: Feast of Saint John, Apostle, Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist by Donatello, 1409-1415 © Opera del Santa Marial Del Fiore, Sala del Paradiso, Florence

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 27 December 2025
John 20:2-8

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.' So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on the head of Jesus, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

Reflection on the Sculpture

Within our Christian tradition, the four Gospels have always held a place of honour above all other writings. They are the Church's most precious witness to the life, words, and person of Jesus. That is why we stand for the Gospel reading, why we greet it with the Alleluia, and why, during solemn Masses, the Book of the Gospels is incensed with reverence. In the Gospels, we sense the Lord speaking to us in a uniquely privileged way.

Today we celebrate the feast of the writer of the final Gospel to be composed: the fourth evangelist, John. There is a luminous, transfigured quality to the portrait of Christ in this Gospel. It is a difficult Gospel to read though, the most theologically dense of all four Gospels. Fittingly, the Gospel reading for this feast is an Easter account, featuring Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the unnamed disciple "whom Jesus loved". At the end of the passage, we hear the simple yet profound line: "He saw and believed." Without visions or appearances, he intuited the truth of the Resurrection from the empty tomb alone.

This depth of vision is the hallmark of the Fourth Gospel. In its opening chapter, the evangelist declares, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." John teaches us to see beneath the surface of things, to recognise the presence of the Word made flesh in the very fabric of daily life. Light, water, bread, vines, gates, shepherds, paths, our families, friends... all become signs through which God reveals Himself when viewed with the eyes of faith.

Donatello's white-marble Saint John the Evangelist was created for the façade of Florence Cathedral. Though carved only on the visible sides, the statue appears fully in the round, its presence commanding and alive. Donatello portrays John, the author of the Fourth Gospel, the Letters and the Book of Revelation, as an elderly man: long-bearded, wrapped in heavy, old-fashioned drapery, seated with an open book resting on his thigh. His body sits quietly, but his spirit seems aflame. He twists slightly as if turning toward the faithful at the cathedral doors, his gaze austere, contemplative. Many scholars see in this aged, intense John a deliberate allusion to the moment of his apocalyptic vision on Patmos. The work's appeal is splendid, so much so that, a century later, Michelangelo looked to this very sculpture when creating his own powerful figure of Moses with horns.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-20-2-8-2025/