TWELVE COMMON MEN John The Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

J OHN THE S ON OF Z EBEDEE The brother of James –Everything we said about James in the gospels applies to John as well They were together when –They asked to destroy the Samaritan village –They asked to be great in the kingdom –So like James, John started out with a fiery temper, some intolerance of others faults, and a lot of ambition We learn more about his character changes by references in –Acts 3 and 8 –Galatians 2 –His own writings: His Gospel His Epistles Revelation John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED A Commitment to Truth His commitment to truth can be seen: –In all of his writings, using the word for truth 45 times (3 Jn 4, 1 Jn 2:4; 1:6,8) To Balance Truth with Love –Mark 9:35-41 Jesus had just taught a strong lesson on agape (vv ) Perhaps John is confessing his earlier mistake –This could be a turning point in his attitude John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED Balancing Love and Truth –Truth without love has no decency It is just brutality –Love without truth has no character It is just hypocrisy Many are unbalanced by disregarding truth and only emphasizing love (1 Cor 13:6) –We must know the truth and uphold it in love (Eph 4:13-15) John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED Balancing Love and Truth –In his later years, we know John had learned this lesson of balance (2 Jn 1-6) Love is following the truth of His words –Love cannot be allowed to be compromised by false teaching (2 Jn 7-11) Our “love” must stop short of aiding and abetting false teaching John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED Humility –Recall James and John had ambitious plans (Mk. 10:35 ff.) Jesus’ response (Mk. 10:42-45) –To be great requires learning humility Advancement in Christ’s kingdom will not come through politics, status, power, or dominion –Greatness in the kingdom will only come through service (Jn 13:1-17) John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED Humility –It is through his writings that we learn that John learned humility He does not even mention his own name in the Gospel he wrote, –Identify himself only in relation to Jesus, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” Only John recorded the foot washing incident In his epistles he refers to his readers as “my little children”, “beloved” –Including himself as a brother and a fellow child of God In Revelation he describes himself as “your brother and companion…” (Rev 1:9) John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED To Balance Suffering and Glory –In his early years John had a thirst for glory (his desire for a chief throne) –And an aversion for suffering (forsaking Jesus at His arrest) There is nothing inherently wrong with a desire to partake in eternal glory –We should all be striving for that, but heavenly glory will only come after earthly suffering John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT J OHN L EARNED To Balance Suffering and Glory –Suffering is the price of glory (Jn 12:24-26) –Suffering is the prelude to glory (1 Pet 1:6-7) A thirst for glory must be balanced with a willingness to suffer –Peter and John followed Jesus to the house of the high priest and watched the trial –John witnessed the crucifixion –John suffered the martyrdom of his own brother James –John lived through the deaths of the remaining Apostles and many Christians –John suffered exile on the Isle of Patmos (Rev 1:9) John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT W E L EARN F ROM J OHN John grasped the Christ-like character –He willingly took Jesus’ mother home as his own mother (Jn 19:25-27) Demonstrates humble loving service of the faithful He was the disciple whom Jesus loved –Not in contrast to other disciples –The “title” seems to be one of John’s constant amazement John was the disciple who wanted to rain fire down on the Samaritans John was once obsessed with his status John fled with the rest at the betrayal –Yet Jesus still loved him Jesus transformed John into a man who modeled love –John used words meaning love over 80 times in his writings John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

W HAT W E L EARN F ROM J OHN God is Love God loved His own Son God loved the world Christ loved the Father Christ loved the disciples The disciples loved Christ All men should love Christ All men should love each other John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved John taught much of what we know about love

W HAT W E L EARN F ROM J OHN This love is not indulgent sentimentality –It will not tolerate false teaching Another word used by John was “witness” (70 times) –The witness of: John the Baptist, of Scripture, of the Father, of Christ, of miracles, of the Holy Spirit, of the Apostles and all to what end? –Truth! John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved

Conclusion F OUR F ISHERMEN OF G ALILEEF OUR F ISHERMEN OF G ALILEE –They became fishers of men; gathering souls into the church –They continue to fish today through their words, their writings, and their examples –An uncommon calling for four common men John – the Apostle Whom Jesus Loved