94 95 Who was John the Revelator? bonus article John’s Uniqueness Set Him Apart and John were ambitious. Two Gospels tell about James from the Other Apostles and John seeking positions of power in the kingdom they The apostle John did not feel it was out of line to believed Jesus would soon establish (Matthew 20:20-28; describe himself as a special friend of Jesus. Nor did he, Mark 10:35-41). Some people suggest that this request when he wrote his account of Jesus’ life, feel obligated to was an effort to get Jesus to formally recognize the leader- put together a biography like the ones developed by Mat- ship positions the two already seemed to have. However, thew, Mark, and Luke. John’s close relationship with Je- the other disciples were upset by this display of personal sus, and the lofty truths he revealed in the fourth Gospel, ambition. This picture of John certainly is different from the epistles that carry his name, and Revelation set him the one we see after Pentecost. apart as someone of unusual insight and vision. Our glimpses into John’s life come from brief passag- The Inner Circle es in the New Testament. John, the beloved disciple, is one John is often pictured in the Gospels as one of Jesus’ of the sons of Zebedee and Salome (Matthew 27:56; Mark inner circle of followers. John was one of three disciples 1:19; 15:40). With his brother James, John worked in the singled out for special privileges. These three disciples prosperous fishing business as a hired hand of his father. (Peter, James, and John) were the only ones permitted to Luke tells us that James and John worked as partners follow Jesus to the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the with another fisherman named Simon Peter (5:10). Since dead (Mark 5:37), to the Mount of Transfiguration (9:2), James is usually mentioned first, he was probably the and be with Jesus while He prayed in the Garden of Geth- older of the two brothers. Some also suggest that Salome, semane (14:33). This privileged position gave these three John’s mother, was a sister to Mary, the mother of Jesus disciples added insight into the life and devotion of Jesus. (John 19:25). If true, this makes Jesus and John cousins. John describes his closeness to Jesus in the closing scenes of his Gospel. Described as the “disciple whom The Unnamed Disciple Jesus loved,” John is revealed as the companion who sat In the Gospel of John, we are introduced to an “un- beside Jesus at the Last Supper. He was given additional named” disciple who regularly appears but is never information about the betrayer (13:23-26). It was also to identified by name. This unnamed disciple is traditionally this disciple that Jesus, dying on the cross, assigned the recognized as John, the son of Zebedee, and the author of care of His mother (19:26-27). several New Testament books. In the latter chapters of the John’s gospel often links him with Peter, frequently Gospel of John, this disciple is recognized by the frequent in a contrast. It was John whom the high priest knew and phrase, “The disciple whom Jesus loved.” No other indi- who was able to secure the admission of Peter into the vidual was given such a label. courtyard for the trial of Jesus (18:15-16). John was young- Our first glimpse of this “unnamed” disciple (whom er than Peter and he outran Peter to the tomb, though he we recognize as John) is when he and Andrew appear as was more reluctant to enter (20:4-8). When fishing on the disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35-40). This early sea, John was the first to recognize Jesus, but it was Peter devotion to the ministry of the Baptist, followed by this who jumped into the sea to meet Him (21:7-8). encounter with Jesus, prepared John for his new role as a After Pentecost, John remained in Jerusalem with follower of Jesus and a “fisher of men.” the other disciples for several years. In the early chapters of Acts, John and Peter are often seen together. Peter Son of Thunder and John performed the first post-ascension miracle at James and John were apparently men of an explosive a temple prayer service (Acts 3:1-11). Both were later temperament, for Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thun- arrested. At the trial the Jewish leaders were amazed at der.” This personality trait was revealed when Jesus and their bold witness and refusal to be silent (Acts 4). In His disciples were passing through a village in Samaria. Acts 8, we discover that Peter and John were sent to a city The villagers refused to offer hospitality for the evening. in Samaria to help with a revival. Acts 12:1-2 tells us the The furious “sons of thunder” petitioned, “Lord, do you story of the execution of John’s brother, James, during a want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” violent outburst of Herod. (Luke 9:54). Quite a volatile temperament for this “son of Years later, Paul went to Jerusalem to resolve a debate thunder” who would later become known as the “apostle on circumcision. In his account of the meeting, he speaks of love”! of visiting the church leaders in Jerusalem, identifying Beyond wielding this explosive temperament, James James (the brother of our Lord), Cephas (Peter), and John 95 as “pillars” in the church at Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9). There are a variety of accounts about John’s minis- This, the last direct reference to John in Jerusalem, is try in Ephesus. For example, church historian Eusebius dated about AD 50. (yoo-SEE-bih-uhs, ca. 260-339) describes John’s coura- geous efforts to deal redemptively with a promising young John’s Later Years convert turned thief. Aged John supposedly went after Tradition says John later ministered in the Roman him into the mountains and was captured by the gang of province of Asia (modern Turkey) and its leading city, robbers now led by this fallen Christian. Overwhelmed Ephesus. His move there may have come as a result of the by the pleas of John, the young man gave up his sin and outbreak of the Jewish War in AD 66. In Asia, he appar- returned to God. Similar stories reinforce the image of ently assumed the responsibility of an overseer to the area John as a “son of thunder” who was transformed into an churches. “apostle of love.” Sometime during the reign of Domitian (doh-MISH- John, the Galilean fisherman, could have chosen to uhn, AD 81-96), John was exiled to the island of Patmos remain in the security of his father’s business. He could during a time of religious persecution. It was here he have lived a quiet and comfortable life. Yet this once wrote the book of Revelation. The elderly John was al- simple, unlettered man (Acts 4:13) grasped the profound lowed to return to Ephesus after Nerva’s ascension to the truth of John the Baptist’s recognition of “the Lamb of throne in 96. One ancient historian tells us that John had God.” an active ministry among the Christians of Ephesus after John saw the “signs” of a new kingdom, and he his exile. He probably died in Ephesus before the end of committed himself to the kingdom business of bearing the century. witness that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of God,” so If John had been about 25 when Jesus died around that all who believed would find “life in his name” (John AD 30, he would have been nearly 60 when he arrived in 20:31). Ephesus (about AD 65-67). If he died shortly after his re- turn from Patmos, he would have been more than 90 years Adapted from Robert Q. Bailey, “John, the Man,” Illustrated Bible old. This would have made him the last of the original Life, MAM 1997, WordAction Publishing Company™. Used by permission. apostles to die.
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