John 19:25-27 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
Of the four gospels, John is the one written to everyone in general. Matthew was written to the Jews to show Jesus as their Messiah. Mark was written to the Romans who were always in a hurry, so Mark often says “immediately” or “after this” to tell the fast paced story of Christ. Luke was written to the Greeks, but John was written to the masses.
Some say John is the greatest book ever written, and I think it probably qualifies. The Bible is certainly the greatest collection of ancient documents, and John condenses the message of all 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,102 verses, and 783,137 words down to one verse containing 24 words. Quoting Jesus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This is God’s message to mankind, a description of how God has opened the doors of heaven to all would accept His Son.
The other three gospels have a very different view than John’s. The first three gospels are called the synoptics (common view). John stands by itself.
John began his life as a fisherman by trade, he and his older brother James. All the disciples but John were martyred by 70 a.d., but not John. According to Tertullian (155 to 220 a.d.), the Romans attempted to execute John by placing him in boiling oil but to no avail. Since that didn’t work, they exiled him to the isle of Patmos where he stayed until the Roman governor who sentenced him died, and he was allowed to return to Ephesus.
John wrote five books: His gospel, three epistles, and Revelation.
In his gospel, he identifies himself only as “the disciple that Jesus loved,” and not much more. That’s not odd since none of the gospels identify the writer. They aren’t letters but biographies, so no salutation is needed. Luke includes a salutation to Theophilus, but many think this is a literary device. “Theophilus” means “God lover” and may well be addressed to anyone searching for the truth. John is also the only gospel writer who does not list the 12 disciples.
Only Matthew mentions himself in his gospel. Mark, Luke, and John do not. This leads me to think the title John chose to identify himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” was not an arrogant title but a testimony of awe just as you and I must be in awe to think God chose us and loves us unconditionally.
Since the gospel writers are not identified as the writers, you might ask how we came to know who wrote John. Irenaeus tells us John wrote this gospel. “Who the heck was Irenaeus?” Irenaeus was Polycarp’s disciple, and Polycarp was John’s disciple. We believe Polycarp was John’s disciple for about 20 years. Maybe once the other apostles had died, John sought to train up those who would take his place. Ignatius was another of John’s disciples.
John must have stayed in the eastern Mediterranean. He tells us that Jesus gave him the charge of watching over Mary until she died (John 19:26,27). So, John took that charge seriously and stayed around Jerusalem until Herod persecuted the Christians there (41-44 a.d.). Then, it looks like he and Mary fled to Ephesus where tradition says Mary died as did John much later.
Why is this important?
The more we learn about God’s people including Jesus’ disciples, the more we can look at our own lives as Christians. The better we understand John, the better we can understand his gospel and, therefore, the Christ of Whom he speaks.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 