John
John was the
author of the gospel that bears his name, as well as the books of 1st
,2nd , and 3rd
John and Revelation. He was a disciple of Jesus, along with his brother
James. James was martyred. “Then he
(Herod) killed James the brother of John
with the sword.” (Acts 12:2)
He referred
to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” recognizing the close
relationship he had with the Lord. He was the only one of the disciples not
martyred. He was exiled to the island of Patmos, where He was given the vision
of the end times.
He claims to
be an eyewitness of the events he records, and testifies to their veracity.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
“And he who has seen has testified,
and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that
you may believe.”
(John 19:35)
“This is the disciple who testifies
of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is
true.” John 21:24
He also
mentions it in 1 John 1:1-3 “That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of
life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness and declare to
you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that
which we have seen and heard we declare to you that you also may have
fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ.”
What would
it have been like to have lived alongside Jesus for three years? To see the
miracles, like the calming of the storm, the raising of the dead, or the
feeding of the five thousand? And to hear the greatest Preacher in the world,
to see His character to know the sound of His voice and recognize His
mannerisms? To see the veil pulled back on the Mount of Transfiguration and get
a glimpse of the glory of the Son of God? To witness the mockery of the trial
and to see the nails being driven into the hands of the Lamb of God on
Passover? To feel the grief over the loss of his dear friend and his Lord? And
to run to the tomb at the news of Mary Magdalene. Seeing the deflated linen
wrappings and the napkin folded off by itself made him finally believe that
Jesus was who He claimed to be; the Son of God.
Then after a
lifetime of sharing this news and establishing the church, he was exiled to a
remote island where he could cause no more trouble. Yet it was here that the Lord
gave him even more blessings. He allowed him to see what was to happen in the
future; the horrible persecution to come on the church, the horrendous plagues
to fall on the world, and even to get a glimpse of Heaven itself, when all of
the judgments, including the Final Judgment are past, and it’s just glory,
glory, glory.
But while
we’re reading his gospel, he hadn’t yet reached that point in his life. Peter
wanted to know what would happen in the future; he was always rushing ahead. Jesus
told Peter that his future would include persecution and martyrdom. Then Peter
asks Jesus what would happen to John. Jesus told him not to worry about it. His
concern should be to follow Jesus. (John 21:18-23) We each need to be concerned
with our own walk with the Lord and not what He’s doing in the life of another.
He knows the best path marked out for our good and His glory.
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