Another of the apostles of Jesus, the Messiah and Savior, was selected by our congregation as one of the favorite men of the Bible: John, often called "the beloved disciple."

Like Simon Peter, he too was one of the "inner three" - the three disciples whom Jesus seemed to choose to be with him on special occasions. Jesus had a large group of followers; of those, he selected twelve. Of the twelve, he seemed partial to the "inner three." And if we go one step farther, John was probably even closer to Jesus than the other two. He is called "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20) and is the one who, at the Last Supper, "was leaning on Jesus’ bosom" (John 13:23-25; 21:20). Even though Peter was the accepted leader of the twelve, John appeared to be the one with the deepest relationship with Jesus.

John was a fisherman of Galilee, the son of Zebedee. His older brother, James, was also a fisherman ... also one of the twelve called by Jesus ... also one of the "inner three."

John became a follower of John the Baptizer; he and Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother) were disciples of John the Baptizer. Then one day, John pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). John and Andrew left the Baptizer that day and followed after Jesus. This makes John one of the earliest of the disciples of Jesus. Many, many years later, when John was telling this story in his own Gospel, he even remembered the time of day that it happened; he wrote that "it was about the tenth hour" (John 1:35-39). How could he forget! This is always an exciting experience, an unforgettable time in anyone’s life: the moment a person meets the Savior and begins to follow him!

John lived a long life; he was the last of the twelve to die - and (by tradition) the only one of the twelve to die of natural causes. Late in his life, because his influence seemed to threaten the Roman power, he was sent into exile - on the island of Patmos. There, though separated from Christian society, he enjoyed intimate fellowship with Jesus, the living Lord. The Romans finally allowed him to return from exile, believing that this feeble, frail old man was harmless (by this time). John is pictured in his old age (some commentators believe that he lived to be over 100!) as the revered and respected leader of the Christian believers of that day ... one who had actually seen and lived with the incarnate Son of God ... one who had endured severe tribulation and persecution ... a saintly inspiration to the believers of his day. Not only was he an inspiration to them; he is an inspiration to us today.

Although there is some controversy about it, John is traditionally recognized as the author of five of the books of our New Testament: the Gospel according to John, three epistles that he wrote (1 John, 2 John, and 3 John), and the book of Revelation (generally thought to be an account of the visions and dreams he experienced in exile - see Revelation 1:9).

His Gospel record tells us a great many things that we would not know if he had not written. This is true of each of the Gospel writers, but John wrote last. He knew what the others had written; therefore, he had the opportunity of including what they had omitted.

For example, the story of Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night and to whom Jesus preached the sermon on "Ye must be born again," was recorded only by John (John 3).

The immoral Samaritan woman at the well, whose life was transformed when Jesus spoke about "living water," is remembered only by John (see John 4).

The Good Shepherd passage: "I am the good shepherd ... the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Only by John (John 10).

The raising of Lazarus from the dead. Only by John (John 11).

The passage where Jesus said, "I am the vine; ye are the branches." Only by John (John 15).

The great intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus, one of the greatest prayers ever offered, is included only by John (John 17).

And perhaps the most famous, best known, and oft-quoted verse of the entire Bible: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Only by John.

All of this, with numerous additional examples that could he cited, constitutes a remarkable bundle of Christian Scripture that we would not possess - if John had not put it down in writing.

Son of Thunder

John’s personality was in conflict with itself; he was a strange mixture of qualities. Most people are the same way: sometimes one thing, sometimes another ... sometimes up, sometimes down ... sometimes strong, sometimes weak ... sometimes noble and generous, sometimes small and petty.

Jesus called John and his brother Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17). This provides an indication of the temperament of John. We don’t ordinarily think of him this way; we usually picture him as a man of love and grace, mercy and compassion. See what a change comes from being with Jesus! The Master transformed this man from a Son of Thunder into a Son of Tenderness, a man who is called "the beloved disciple." We too can be changed by meeting Jesus.

Aggressiveness

Why did Jesus give John this nickname, Son of Thunder? Several biblical incidents can give us a clue.

One day, John met a man who had been casting out devils in the name of Jesus - although he was not one of the twelve. John reported to Jesus and said, "Look, Lord, I rebuked the man. I told him he must stop his work."

I can picture Jesus as he replied, "Hold on, John. Take it easy. He’s a good man; he’s doing what he can. Don’t disturb him. Simmer down." The Bible doesn’t put it quite that way, but basically, that’s what Jesus had in mind (Mark 9:38-40).

A while later, Jesus sent some disciples ahead to a Samaritan village, that they might find a place to spend the night. When the Samaritans learned that a group of Jews was planning to stay overnight in their village, they said, "Nothing doing." The disciples were flatly and firmly refused.

John was furious. His temper exploded. "Lord," he exclaimed, "why don’t we call down fire from heaven and burn this inhospitable city, just like Elijah did?" (see 2 Kings 1).

Once again, I can imagine Jesus patiently saying, "No, no, John. You still don’t understand. I did not come to destroy life; I came to save it." And they went on to another village and found lodging there (Luke 9:51-56).

A certain amount of such aggressiveness, such strong conviction, is desirable. Indeed, Jesus demonstrated such "righteous indignation" when he drove the money-changers from the temple (Mark 11:15-18). We need more such "holy anger" these days.

But sometimes people become over-zealous, over-earnest in their conviction - to the point of intolerance. "Everybody else is wrong," they say, "If you don’t agree with me in every little detail, you can’t be right."

Jesus was not that kind of a person. He was tolerant and understanding, sympathetic and sensitive, and in this particular case, he tried to calm down John.

The danger, for the most part, in the Church today is not that of having too much conviction, but too little. Our problem is more a matter of indifference than of intolerance. Perhaps we need to get a bit more excited about some of the ideas that we believe. And we need to believe them strongly - for if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything. But we must be careful not to allow our enthusiasm to overflow into intolerance, prejudice, and bigotry.

Ambition

Another time, John indicated his "Son of Thunder" tendency by showing his ambition. He and his brother came to Jesus and expressed their desire to sit, one on his right hand and the other on his left, when the kingdom became a reality. They wanted to be his partners and share his power, authority, and glory.

Jesus answered, "Now, wait a minute; you don’t know what you’re saying." And he asked if they were willing to pay the price: "Are ye able," he continued, "are ye able to drink the cup that I’m going to drink?"

John, filled with eagerness, responded, "Yes - anything" (Mark 10:35-40).

And over the years ahead, John the beloved disciple did drink of that cup. He lived a life of hardship, captivity, exile, difficulty, persecution; he did share the sufferings of the Lord Jesus.

Now again we must remember that ambition is not wrong, unless it is misdirected. It is good to have aspirations, hopes, dreams - but we need to be careful not to cross the line into selfishness and greed.

Do we desire to share the glory and the splendor, the honor and the power of reigning with Jesus? But how much of a price are we willing to pay? Before we are critical of John, let’s take a good look at ourselves.

It is interesting to note that, in his Gospel, John does not relate any of these stories (his rebuke of the wonder-worker; his recommendation to call down fire upon the Samaritan village; his request for a place of prominence in the kingdom). Had he forgotten? Was he embarrassed, after all these years, to remember them? Was it necessary, since other writers had already recorded them? At any rate, I am certain that John said something like this to himself: "How much Jesus loved me, to put up with such attitudes, habits, characteristics! How patient he was with me! What a wonderful Savior!"

Audacity

John’s "Son of Thunder" nature was also displayed in some of his hasty, impulsive, risky actions (and again, we don’t think of John in these terms).

For example, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples deserted and fled (Matthew 26:56). But John turned and came back. He was the disciple who entered (recklessly) the palace of the high priest, and even dared to make it possible for Peter to get into the courtyard (John 18:15, 16).

It was John (and apparently he was the only one of the twelve) who was at the very foot of the cross while the crucifixion was taking place (John 19:25-27). Under the circumstances, this took a lot of courage.

John, as a Son of Thunder, had aggressiveness ... and ambition ... and audacity. All of which are good characteristics - when brought under the command of Jesus.

Son of Tenderness

But John didn’t remain a Son of Thunder. This man of violence and intolerance, zeal and enthusiasm, conviction and ambition, became a Son of Tenderness. In his life we can see what happens to these qualities when they are turned over to the control of Jesus.

Beware of any person who shows no sign of tenderness ... no sympathy ... no emotion ... no feeling ... no tears. Humans were not intended to be harsh and heartless, cold and cruel, irritable and insensitive. And only under the transforming, redeeming influence of Jesus do we become the kind of persons we ought to be ... the kind of persons we were meant to be ... the kind of persons God intends us to be ... the kind of persons that (deep down inside) we ourselves really want to be.

Jesus Trusted Him

John was at the foot of the cross, with his arm around the shoulder of the mother of Jesus, offering her more comfort with his presence than millions of words could ever express.

As Jesus looked down from the tree, he saw them and said, "John, take care of her; be as a son; let her be as your mother."

And he spoke to Mary and said, "Mother, behold thy son: look on John as your own son; he will take care of you" (John 19:25-27).

It was this man, this Son of Thunder - of all his disciples and followers - whom Jesus trusted enough to ask him to care for his mother.

His Patience With Peter

I like to picture John as a man of great understanding and solicitude. And I like to illustrate this with a story that isn’t scriptural - that is, it isn’t actually stated in the Bible, although I do believe that it is implied.

Remember what Peter did following the arrest of Jesus? Three times - even with blasphemous oaths - he denied that he even knew Jesus.

After this disgrace, what happened to Peter? The Bible doesn’t tell us. We are told that he heard the cock crow ... saw the look of Jesus ... and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62). But where did he go? What did he do? We don’t know.

But the next time we do see Peter, note where he is. He’s with John! It’s on Easter morning, just three days later. Mary Magdalene had come running from the open tomb, with the message of the disappearance of the body of Jesus. It was early, very early, in the morning. And John and Peter were there together. Then together they went racing to the empty sepulchre (John 20).

I like to think that, after those terrible denials, John searched for Peter, found him, and took him home with him. There he comforted Peter, through his guilt and remorse, during those dark days between the crucifixion and the resurrection, until the message of Easter and the newness of power came. I like to believe that when the other disciples may have forsaken Simon Peter, a caring and concerned John took him in and patiently guided him in the path of restoration.

The Apostle of Love

Whatever else happened, we can be sure of one thing: the Scriptures teach us, without any doubt, that John became the apostle of love. Read through his Gospel, his three short epistles, and even the book of Revelation. You will find yourself saturated in the spirit of love ... immersed in the immensity of love ... bathed in the beauty of love.

For instance, "love" is a key word in the book of 1 John; the word "love" (or some form of it) appears 46 times! In only five short chapters! The greatest concentration is in chapter four, where "love" is used twelve times between verse 7 and verse 12 - and then another fourteen times between verse 16 and verse 21!

But more important than the actual use of the word "love" is the way in which the presence of the spirit of love permeates all of the writing of John.

Let me remind you of just a few of the familiar passages which flowed from the pen of John:

God is love. (1 John 4:8, 16)

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. (1 John 3:1)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (1 John 4:11)

Again and again, over and over, we read this phrase: "Love one another ... Love one another ... Love one another" (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 1:5). In fact, one of the traditions (not biblical, but an ancient tradition) portrays John as an old man ... with a flowing beard ... back from exile on Patmos ... unable to walk ... carried on a chair ... set in front of the people ... saying in a feeble voice, "Little children, love one another."

This is the essence of the message that John brings us: "God so loved us ... If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

And this is the kind of a man that a Son of Thunder was able to become - the beloved disciple, the apostle of love.