‘The disciple Jesus loved’
To help us understand the Gospel of John, first, we need to learn something about the Author of the Gospel
The Author doesn’t name himself in the Gospel, he only refers to himself as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’
‘The disciple Jesus loved’ had the closest relationship to Jesus of all the disciples. In fact, he was the closest observer of Christ and His ministry who has ever lived, and because of that, he is uniquely qualified to write the record
John 21: 20-24
The Author of the Gospel of John refers to himself 5 times as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ John 13: 23, John 19: 26, John 20: 1-2, John 21: 7, John 21: 20
Using these 5 references, let’s have a closer look at the special relationship between ‘The disciple Jesus loved’ and the Lord Jesus Christ
1/ John 13: 21-26
The disciples were having the Last Supper with Jesus on the night of His betrayal and ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ was sitting next to Jesus
Peter asked ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ to ask Jesus who it was who would betray Him
Although it was Peter who asked the question, Jesus only confides in ‘the disciple He loved’ and tells him who it was who would betray Him
2/ John 19: 25-27
‘The disciple Jesus loved’ was the only disciple present at the crucifixion of Jesus, and near death, Jesus entrusts His own mother into the care of ‘the disciple He loved’
3/ John 20: 1-10
‘The disciple Jesus loved’ was the first disciple to arrive at the empty tomb on the Sunday morning of Jesus resurrection
4/ John 21: 1-7a
Shortly after the resurrection, the disciples went fishing on the lake/Sea of Galilee and the Lord Jesus appeared on the shore and called to the disciples. It was only ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ who recognized the voice of Jesus
5/ John 21: 20-23
While Jesus was walking down the shore with Peter it was ‘the disciple Jesus loved’ that followed close behind
So, who is ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, who is the Author of The Gospel of John?
His name is John, son of Zebedee and Salome and younger brother of James
(John’s mother Salome may have been the sister of Mary, Jesus mother – so John and Jesus may have been cousins)
The Gospel of John is considered by many Bible scholars to be the greatest Book in all the Bible and the very highest level of theology
The Gospel of John is considered to be the Mount Everest of theology because it towers over all the other Books of the Bible
Mount Everest is 8,850 meters above sea level, about the same altitude that commercial jets fly
John concludes his Gospel by saying that he only recorded a very small part of the Life and ministry of Christ
John 21: 25
Today is Easter Sunday; and for the Christian it is one of the most important days on the Christian Calendar
On Easter Sunday we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
We are going to have Communion together in the same way the disciples did in the upper room on the night of Jesus betrayal and arrest
Graphic: Communion/Last Supper
John 13: 21-23
As we celebrate communion, in your imagination, put yourself in John’s place, ‘the disciple Jesus loved’, on the night of Jesus betrayal, in the upper room with the other disciples, and seated beside Jesus
Now, take a moment to thank Jesus for His love towards you!
You are the one He loves!
You are one that He died for on the cross
You are one that He was buried for in the tomb
You are one that He rose for from death
So that by believing in Him you would receive eternal Life!
Romans 10: 9-10 9 ‘If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved’.
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