Becoming John the Beloved
"Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water." John 21:4-7
John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
What this means is that aside from him knowing that he loved Jesus, he also had that confidence and is fully aware that Jesus loves him.
This is a definite contrast to Peter who always maintained that he was the one who loved Jesus. With Peter it was always about him, at least until he was reinstated by Jesus when He spoke with Him after He resurrected from the dead.
And as we have read previously, Jesus had to ask Peter three times "Do you love me?"; one for each time he denied Jesus during that night when he boasted he will surely never abandon Him.
Becoming John
Besides Peter and his brother James, John is the only other disciple who was with Jesus the most. And he was one of the three who aside of Jesus, performed and witnessed most of the miracles.
John has always been a man of action than words. In fact, he hardly spoke a word. He was always with Peter, but it was Peter who did the talking most if not all of the time.
Now John was not without fault, for one he and his brother James asked Jesus to allow them to sit, one at His right and the other at His left, in His glory, getting the ire of the rest of the disciples. John and his brother also asked Jesus to allow them to call down fire from heaven on some people who did not welcome them -- arrogance and feistiness, definitely not their finest moments.
But Best Known For
Aside from John the Beloved, John is known by many other names -- he was also John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John the Revelator.
New believers might mistake him for John the Baptist, which he was not. But before being called and before following Jesus, he was one of a disciples of John the Baptist. He was with Jesus up the mountain that time when He transfigured. He was the disciple who stood watch when Jesus was arrested and was being tried. He was there when Jesus was hanging from the cross. And he was the one who took Mary, the mother of Jesus home from the site of the crucificion. In fact Jesus told Mary, "Woman, here is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother.” and from then on, John took Mary into his home. He was the one who got to the empty tomb of Jesus first after receiving the report of His resurrection.
Lastly, as we have read in the passage above, John was the one who recognized the risen Jesus after He told them to throw the net to the "right" side to catch the multitude of fish after having nothing to show after a night of fishing. Not even Peter recognized who Jesus was, until John told him.
What Remains
John's faith, John's trust, John's resilience, John's perseverance, John's courage and John's humanity was what made him who he was. Jesus told Peter about John that "if I want him to remain until I come back, what is that to you?"
John did become the last one standing among the twelve disciples. He was the only one who survived his death sentence. He was the one who lived a full life and was shown the mysteries and the future that is yet to come. John did remain -- his gospel narrative, his letters and the Book of Revelations.
In his writing, John said "these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." -- a new life, in Christ, a new start, a new hope, and everlasting life with our Father in heaven.
He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water." John 21:4-7
John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved.
What this means is that aside from him knowing that he loved Jesus, he also had that confidence and is fully aware that Jesus loves him.
This is a definite contrast to Peter who always maintained that he was the one who loved Jesus. With Peter it was always about him, at least until he was reinstated by Jesus when He spoke with Him after He resurrected from the dead.
And as we have read previously, Jesus had to ask Peter three times "Do you love me?"; one for each time he denied Jesus during that night when he boasted he will surely never abandon Him.
Becoming John
Besides Peter and his brother James, John is the only other disciple who was with Jesus the most. And he was one of the three who aside of Jesus, performed and witnessed most of the miracles.
John has always been a man of action than words. In fact, he hardly spoke a word. He was always with Peter, but it was Peter who did the talking most if not all of the time.
Now John was not without fault, for one he and his brother James asked Jesus to allow them to sit, one at His right and the other at His left, in His glory, getting the ire of the rest of the disciples. John and his brother also asked Jesus to allow them to call down fire from heaven on some people who did not welcome them -- arrogance and feistiness, definitely not their finest moments.
But Best Known For
Aside from John the Beloved, John is known by many other names -- he was also John the Apostle, John the Evangelist and John the Revelator.
New believers might mistake him for John the Baptist, which he was not. But before being called and before following Jesus, he was one of a disciples of John the Baptist. He was with Jesus up the mountain that time when He transfigured. He was the disciple who stood watch when Jesus was arrested and was being tried. He was there when Jesus was hanging from the cross. And he was the one who took Mary, the mother of Jesus home from the site of the crucificion. In fact Jesus told Mary, "Woman, here is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother.” and from then on, John took Mary into his home. He was the one who got to the empty tomb of Jesus first after receiving the report of His resurrection.
Lastly, as we have read in the passage above, John was the one who recognized the risen Jesus after He told them to throw the net to the "right" side to catch the multitude of fish after having nothing to show after a night of fishing. Not even Peter recognized who Jesus was, until John told him.
What Remains
John's faith, John's trust, John's resilience, John's perseverance, John's courage and John's humanity was what made him who he was. Jesus told Peter about John that "if I want him to remain until I come back, what is that to you?"
John did become the last one standing among the twelve disciples. He was the only one who survived his death sentence. He was the one who lived a full life and was shown the mysteries and the future that is yet to come. John did remain -- his gospel narrative, his letters and the Book of Revelations.
In his writing, John said "these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." -- a new life, in Christ, a new start, a new hope, and everlasting life with our Father in heaven.
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