The Life of the Beloved Disciple
What can St. John teach us about discipleship?
Jesus called his disciples one by one and knew that each of them had a role to play in passing on his teachings and in the plan of salvation as a whole.
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. (Matt 4:18-22 RSV)
The specific roles these men played were very different, but they all sought the same end, bringing people into relationship with Christ. We can learn much from all of them, but what makes St. John different from the others? What can we learn from the life of John, the son of Zebedee, the fourth apostle called by Jesus, and what was his role in God’s plan?
Born the son of a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, some say that John and his family would have been uneducated members of a lower class, but uneducated does not always mean poor. The fishing industry was perhaps the most important and lucrative industry at the time; fishing on the Sea of Galilee provided food for a large region of people and the people were dependent on fishermen. This would indicate that a fisherman in the time of Christ would be able to make a decent living; perhaps they would be upper middle class citizens, and the owners of a fishing company would have lived well. Scripture tells us that John was not an educated man, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13) It is likely that the family was not educated with a “Liberal Education” as it is called today, rather with specialized training as fishermen. This is significant because it gives John’s decision to drop his nets and follow Christ a different meaning, John left the potential to grow his father’s business and make decent money in order to follow Christ. He also left everything he knew and the only thing he had. The only future John could foresee for himself was that of a fisherman. This he forfeited so as to follow after the Lord.
Listed in scripture after St. James his brother, St. John is said to be the younger of the two. This is upheld in the tradition that John was about fifteen years old when Jesus invited him to follow after him. This is yet another significant point to note when considering the openness with which John responded to our Lord. His youth did not dampen his zeal for doing the work of Jesus. This youth may have in fact been a contributing factor to some of his more bold acts and audacious words.
John, and his brother James, requested that Jesus give them the highest rank in the kingdom, to which Jesus demanded a willingness to suffer. (Mark 10:35-41) There are several times in which John becomes frustrated, once with someone who is exercising demons in the name of Christ but is not a follower of Christ (Mark 9:38), and again when a Samaritan village refuses to receive Jesus (Luke 9:52-54.) His zeal, along with that of his brother, gained them the nickname, Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17.)
“John along with Peter and James, was one of the three disciples most closely associated with Jesus.” The relationship between Jesus and John was no doubt close, John was with Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane, (Mark 14:32-33) he witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus, (Matt 17:1-8) and various other events that were only witnessed by a small number of the apostles. The intimacy of this relationship between the two is shown very clearly by John himself when he writes,
When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, “Tell us who it is of whom he speaks.” So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, “Lord, who is it? (John 13: 21-25)
John refers to himself in this passage and the location of his seat at the table with Jesus implies a close relationship. The relationship between John and Jesus may have been a result of many contributing factors, one of which may have been the apostle’s youth. The youngest of the twelve may have had a special connection with the leader as is often the case among groups of siblings. It may also be that his youth allowed him a more pure and unadulterated commitment to our Lord and honesty and openness in his communication with Him.
Another reason for the closeness of the relationship between John and Jesus may have been a family connection. According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, “A comparison of the last two passages (Matthew 27: 56 and Mark 15: 40) with John 19:25 indicates that the mother of the brothers (James and John) may have been the sister of the Virgin Mary, and that, therefore, the brothers may have been cousins of Jesus.” This would give the relationship between the two a new meaning, no longer is it just a friendship that developed, but a family connection. Perhaps Jesus, as a teenager, would have been with his mother, Mary, to care for John and his mother when John was born. This would lead to a closer, potentially paternal-filial like relationship between Jesus and John which would reinforce the name he gives himself, “The disciple whom Jesus loved.”
The relationship between John and our Lord was strengthened over time and culminated at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. What may be the greatest sign of the intimacy between John and Jesus occurred moments before Jesus breathed his last breath. John himself writes, “When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19: 26-27). This gives us yet another example of the obedience of John toward Jesus. This particular passage has also become pivotal in our understanding of the relationship between the Mother of God and the members of the Church.
After the resurrection of Jesus, John experienced the acts of Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit along with the other Apostles. Scripture tells us that he remained, with Peter, in Jerusalem for a time passing on the faith and even healing the lame (Acts 3: 1-8). While in Jerusalem, John went on small journeys to pass on the faith, but he was eventually forced out of Jerusalem. Most historians agree that “We have a great deal of evidence that John, after being driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, eventually settled in Ephesus.” It is mostly agreed upon that he would have also taken Mary, Jesus’ mother with him to Ephesus where they ministered to the needs of the people there.
Eusebius quotes Irenaeus when he writes that John remained in Ephesus until the emperor Trajan came into power. During this time in Ephesus John wrote the fourth Gospel and his Epistles from which we gain much insight into the God-man Jesus Christ. Irenaeus says that John had written the Apocalypse nearly a decade earlier, most likely on Patmos.
There exists a suggestion that St. John was sentenced to death and taken from Ephesus to Rome and hurled into boiling oil but was miraculously saved. There seems to be no evidence to support this claim, but it is a thought-provoking claim. The relationship between John and our Lord and the dialogue between the two would suggest that John would need to experience martyrdom (Mark 10: 35-41) yet his place as the “beloved disciple” may have gained him a reprieve from the most severe suffering. The agreement on his actual death is that St. John lived a long life and died of natural causes in Ephesus. Eusebius quotes Polycrates who says, “There is also John, who leaned on the Lord’s breast and who became a priest wearing a miter, a martyr, and a teacher; he too sleeps in Ephesus.”
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, John was there to witness the love Christ brought to the world. He learned how to do what God desired of him from the God-man himself. The life of St. John gives us an excellent example of discipleship. He was continuously obedient to the Lord and very open to the promptings of God. This was not an easy decision to make from the start; John had the potential to make good money in the family business, but he immediately responded to the Lord’s invitation. This willingness continued when he accepted Mary into his care and simultaneously became subservient to her. His writings provide us with beautiful scenes of the works of Jesus and provide clear yet deep teachings. This makes it obvious that his writing was inspired by God, a fisherman would not have had the skill to produce such work without the inspiration of God. Perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from the life of St. John is to desire an intimate relationship with Christ in which we can be one of his beloved disciples.
Thank you for the article on St. John. What is commonly known about him is somewhat intriguing. Additional information as presented in your article is insightful and welcome.