John the Beloved Disciple / AS WE FIND HIM IN THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN / Bible quotations are from the New American Standard Bible / Copyright©Chapter Two, London 1992 

• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1853070157
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1853070150
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 505 g
• Author: H. BOUTER
• Pages: 62
• Publisher: Chapter Two
• Publish Date: 1998
• Edition: 2nd
• Binding: Paperback

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, enjoyed a very special place among the disciples as the Lord's friend and confidant. His example stimulates us to be better followers of Christ, and to live in daily fellowship with Him. There are at least five things which we can learn from John's position in close communion with the Lord: (1) We love Him because He first loved us. (2) Christ has gone into heaven and we see Him crowned with glory and honour. He shares His riches with us and cleanses us with the washing of water by the Word. (3) Because He loved us to the end, we side with Him here below as the crucified One. (4) We also walk with Him in newness of life in the power of His resurrection. (5) We wait for His return while working for Him as fishers of men.

Although the Lord appointed twelve disciples or apostles, three of them were especially privileged: Peter, James and John. They were among the first disciples and were called by the Lord to have a special place in His presence. He allowed them to follow Him into the house of Jairus, to watch His power over death and the grave (Mark 5:37ff.). He took them with Him on the mount of the transfiguration, to see the kingdom of God present with power (Mark 9:1-13). He answered their questions concerning the destruction of the temple with a discourse on the last days (Mark 13:3ff.). These three disciples were also with Him in the garden of Gethsemane, where they should have watched with Him in prayer (Mark 14:32ff.). Thus they witnessed special events, and were in more than one respect "eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Pet. 1:16). They beheld His glory (John 1:14). James and John were brothers, sons of Zebedee, to whom the Lord gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). This tells us something about their character. Always ready to defend their Master's honour, they were even prepared to command fire to come down from heaven on the Samaritans who did not receive Jesus into their homes (Luke 9:49ff.). Apparently, these disciples had strong, ambitious characters. This is also evident from their wish to occupy the first places on the right and left hand of the Lord once the Kingdom would be revealed in glory (Matt. 20:21; Mark 10:35-37). These incidents do not exactly arouse our sympathy for James and John. The meaning of John's name - "the Lord is gracious" or "the Lord has shown grace" - seems a complete contradiction of his character as a "Son of Thunder". Yet, the Lord loved him and taught him in the school of grace. It is safe to assume that the beloved disciple changed in the Lord's presence. His eyes must have opened more and more to the greatness of God's grace and love as these were so uniquely brought to light in the Son of God's love (John 1:14-18; 3:16). Among these three disciples whom the Lord took aside so often, John enjoyed a very special place as the Lord's confidant, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Thus this beloved disciple is a model for all who follow the Lord. All have to learn from Him to become gentle and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:29), in order to display a disposition totally different from our natural one.