The Apostle John

He has five writings in the New Testament. His largest writing, which we know of as the Gospel of John, is the most unique and personal of any of the Gospels that are written. In order for us, I think, to get the most out of our personal Bible studies, we need to know Biblical characters. We need to know more about them in context of what their background was like, why they said and did the kinds of things that they did. And the wonderful thing about Scripture is it presents everyone warts and all.

Years ago, about 100 years before the American Revolution, there was actually a revolution in England. And England, most people don't realize, actually had a republic for a short period of time, in which the king was disposed of. And a republic was proclaimed, a man named Oliver Cromwell. It didn't last very long, and it was a blessing in a way in that our founding fathers had the opportunity, when they established our government, to see what had failed in England 100 years earlier.

So they were able to learn those lessons. But there's a story that Oliver Cromwell is getting his painting done, and Oliver Cromwell had a mole on his face, and the painter didn't put the mole in. And Oliver Cromwell was reviewing the painting. He says, no. He says, I want you to paint it as it is, warts and all. And to this day, that painting has that ward of Oliver Cromwell on it. And when we look at the lives of biblical characters as we study their biographies, the Bible reveals them warts and all, the weaknesses they had and the strength that they had.

John lived to be about 100 years old. That's a long time to live, especially in this time in history. He was born about the same time as Jesus Christ, and he was in his 30s when Christ died. But unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he didn't even write his books until he was in his 90s, until he was a very old man.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called—you've heard me use this term before—the synoptic gospels. That means those three gospels were written from the same viewpoint. It's very possible that one was written first, and then the other two read it and then just added some of their recollections to the original gospel, which may have been Mark.

Actually. But John is different. John is writing near the end of his life and near the end of the first century. And it's as if—and I personally believe—that John actually had a copy of one of the synoptic gospels, because he writes so differently, it's as if he looked at it and he said, I want to write things that were not included previously. I want to include things that no one else did so that a history has a full and a rich understanding of who and what Jesus Christ was. So that's the difference between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the so-called synoptic gospels, which are very similar, a lot of the same events, and what John writes as an old man regarding his recollections of the work of Jesus Christ.

I'd like to begin by reading from Holman's Bible Dictionary. Here's what it says about the gospel of John. It kind of highlights the difference between it and the other gospels. And it will lead us in understanding more about John himself. It says, quote, continuing, There is no list of the twelve disciples, and the twelve are mentioned only at the end of John 6 and once later in chapter 20, verse 24. The bread and the wine are not mentioned at the Last Supper.

Instead, Jesus washes the disciples' feet. There are also differences in chronology and the synoptics. Jesus spends his entire ministry in and around Galilee, and they record one trip to Jerusalem just a week before his death. According to John, however, Jesus makes four trips to Jerusalem and spent a considerable part of his ministry in Judea. The gospel of John, therefore, gives a distinctive account of Jesus' signs, his words, and his ministry. Parts of the gospel are remarkably parallel to the synoptic accounts, but the distinctive elements should not be overlooked as one ponders its mystery and message.

So we see that John himself just was very unique. He had a different perspective, a different point of view because he had a different worldview. Let's begin to learn more about him now. In the time that we have left, we'll begin in Matthew 4 and verse 18. If you'll turn there with me, Matthew 4 and verse 18, and we'll begin to see something about his calling.

Matthew 4 and verse 18.

It says, In Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. This, of course, is the apostle John, John Zebedee.

In the boat with Zebedee, their father mending their nets. He called them and immediately lay the left of the boat and their father and followed him. So we see here that Jesus calls his disciples. He calls four of them at this point, including John and his brother, James. We see that they're fishermen, that they're working in the family business with their father. But I want you to notice something that, at first glance, may seem kind of odd.

Is it natural that if they had never heard of Jesus Christ before or didn't know of him, that they'd be working in the family business? Life is good. And this strange man walks up and says, follow me! And they immediately abandoned their family business and followed this man whom they had never ever heard or seen before. Does that even seem like it makes any sense?

Does that sound odd? Well, let's look at some background of John and see why this may have occurred. See why this was possible. We're going to go to a few scriptures rather quickly here. I'm going to paint a little bit of a picture for us to understand why all four of them may have been so receptive to being told something by Jesus Christ like, follow me. And they immediately were desirous and capable of stopping what they were doing and becoming his disciples. Let's begin by going to Matthew 27 and verse 55. And we'll go to a couple, two-three scriptures rather quickly here. So bear with me. Matthew 27 and verse 55.

And we're going to see in context women who were the witnesses of the death of Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 27 and verse 55. It says, and many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, were there looking from afar, and among whom were Mary Magdalene, that's one, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zepedee's son, so the mom of John and James that we just read about a minute ago.

So three women are witnesses at the death of Christ. By the way, the word ministering here, it says they ministered to him. That's the word deaconos. It's the same word we get deacon from. So they physically served him and ministered to him, and perhaps even provided financial support. But three people are mentioned. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joseph. James the Less is also called the son of Alphaeus in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 3. And John's mother, the mother of Zepedee, it says.

All right, so that's Matthew's account. Now let's look at the same event in Mark's account, another one of the synoptic gospels. We're going to put some puzzle pieces together here. Mark chapter 15 and verse 40. Again, three women are mentioned. Mark chapter 15 and verse 40. It says, I still hear pages turning, so I'll slow down, have a little more vodka, and give you time to catch up. Mark chapter 15 and verse 40. There were also women looking on afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joseph, and Salome.

So again, three women are mentioned. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joseph, they were both mentioned in the other translation we looked at, and Salome. This could very well be John's mother, Mama Zebedee. Now let's look at the same crucifixion event in John's account. So now let's go to John chapter 19 and verse 25. Again, we're just putting some puzzle pieces together here.

John chapter 19 and verse 25. John records, now there stood by the cross of Jesus, he's going to mention four women, now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, that's brand new, his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clophis, and Mary Magdalene. So again, four women are mentioned. Christ's mother, she was not mentioned in the other accounts, she's the fourth. Then there's Mary Magdalene, she was mentioned in the other two accounts that we read. Mary Clophis is just a Greek transliteration of Alphaeus. This is Mary Alphaeus, the mother of James the less, also mentioned in the other two accounts. His mother's sister, now that's a twist, that's a little different, his mother's sister mentioned in the other accounts as one as the mother of Zebedee's sons and the other account as Salome.

So, putting these puzzle pieces together, this may be none other than a woman who was Salome Zebedee, Mary's sister, and it would make her the aunt of Jesus Christ. Now, you might say, well, why doesn't he say, my mom? Why does he use a term like Mary's sister? Why doesn't he say, my mom? As we'll see, as we go in the book of John, it was not about John. Unlike far too many people that I've known in my lifetime, John was not a person to put the light on himself. It wasn't about me. We'll see later on when he would talk about things that he would do, he would talk about the other disciple, or the disciple whom Jesus loved, rather than saying, well, Jesus and me, or Jesus and I, or Jesus said to me, he was a humble man, and he wasn't someone who would gloat or point out the fact that he was favored or had a special relationship with Jesus Christ.

In the book of the New Testament survey by Meryl C. Tenney, here's what it says on page 187 regarding John. It says, quote, The biography of John is fragmentary like all the other biblical biographies. He was one of the sons of Zebedee, a fisherman of Galilee, and a Salome, who was probably the sister of Mary, Jesus's mother.

He grew up the manhood in Galilee and was a partner with his brother and with Andrew and Peter in the fishing business. We don't have time to go there today, but if you go to Luke chapter 5 and verse 10, you will see that Peter and Andrew were partners in a fishing business with James and John Zebedee. So all four of them were business partners in the fishing industry. Again, you can confirm that by going to Luke chapter 5 and verse 10. So what does this mean? Well, if Salome Zebedee was the sister of Mary, Christ's mother, what would all of this mean?

It would mean that the apostles John and James were first cousins to Jesus Christ. It would also mean that they were all cousins to John the Baptist. So what do we see here? It shouldn't surprise us. We see a lot of things going on in families. If you look at the Amish community in the United States today, what do you see? Unlike our fragmented culture that we all live in, our children grow up and they go off and they start their own careers and they move out of state.

My wife isn't with me today because she's visiting our youngest daughter who lives in Texas. But like in the Amish community that we have today, people do things as families. They have family businesses. Their business partnerships often go from one family to another. They are close communities. They do things together as families. So if Salome Zebedee was Christ's aunt, which all indications are that she was, I think we can then begin to look at some of the things in Scripture that are recorded in a little bit different light.

Let me give you an example. Let's go to Matthew 20 and verse 20. This is an account we're all very familiar with. Mama Zebedee goes and, in modern terms, she tries to pull a power play. She tries to get her two sons preeminence above all the other disciples so that they sit next to Jesus Christ and have glorified high positions in the kingdom of God. This is a passage that we're all very familiar with.

Most people equate it with a bold woman, someone who is conceited, audacious, and most people say, how in the world could she have even had the moxie to try to pull this in front of the other disciples? Here's the account. The mother of Zebedee's sons came to him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from him. He said to her, what do you wish? She said to him, Grant, that these two sons of mine may sit one in your right hand and the other in your left in your kingdom.

Jesus answered and said, You do not know which you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that am I am about to drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? He said, Do you think they're ready to become living sacrifices and to totally give up their will and for a lifetime submit their wills to what the Father wants them to do?

Are they willing to make that kind of personal sacrifice in their lives? And they said to him, We are able. So he said to them, You will indeed drink my cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. But the sin in my right hand and my left is not mine to give, but it is for those whom it is prepared by my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. And you can't blame them. I mean, if I would have been in the audience, I would have been displeased at this obvious blatant power play myself if I would have been there.

So here's the question. Understanding now that she may have been the aunt of Jesus Christ, that she may have been the sister of Jesus's mother, was Mama Zebedee as bold and conceited, as audacious and vain as she first appears? Or if she was Jesus Christ's aunt, did she think? Perhaps it was only natural that Christ would want his two cousins whom he had known his entire lifetime ruling next to him in the kingdom.

You see, it sheds a little different light on why she may have done what she did. I'm not saying what she did was good. It certainly wasn't. But it may shed a little additional light on why she was that bold, why she was that audacious, and why she thought she could pull this off. Now, an interesting thing also is that even though Jesus, he gently corrects her, he doesn't strongly rebuke her for what is a very bold request. Was it perhaps his personal respect for his aunt? All things to think about as we consider that relationship that the Apostle John had with Jesus Christ.

Now, I want to put some of this together also to give you to think about the fact that if they were related, if John and James and Christ were cousins, this could help explain why John, without asking any questions, simply left the family business. When Jesus came up and said, follow me, it says he immediately left his father and followed Christ. Well, doesn't it make sense if they were cousins, that they had known each other for many years?

That they had a long time previous relationship and knew of Christ? Knew that he was a fine young man, that he was destined to be a religious leader of some type? Doesn't that make more sense than that these individuals who this unknown person would have walked up and just said, follow me, that they would have abandoned their entire careers and lives and followed someone whom they didn't know at all? Or they have never heard of before?

That doesn't even make sense. But understanding the relationship here and understanding that the four, that's Andrew and Peter and James and John, were business partners and obviously talked to each other about the news of the day and what's going on in Galilee and so on. It all makes sense why those four, two different episodes, first Andrew and Peter, then a little farther down the road, James and John, would have been willing to immediately just follow Jesus Christ without even asking him who he was.

Let's take a look now in Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Find out a little bit more about John and the Zebedee family. Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Mark chapter 1 and verse 14. Mark's account, very inspiring scripture that we often read. And after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying, The time is fulfilled in the kingdom of God as it had in repent and believe in the gospel.

And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. And when they had gone a little farther down from there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. Again, all four of them were business partners who were also in the boat mending their nets.

And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee. And here's the additional part that Mark puts down.

They left their father Zebedee in a boat with the hired servants and went after him. Now, what does this tell us? This tells us that the four of them, obviously, were the earliest disciples called. The Zebedee family was obviously well off. They had not only a family-owned business, not only a partnership with Andrew and Peter, but they could afford to have hired servants work for them in the fishing business. So they weren't dirt poor. I wouldn't say they were rich, but they certainly were not dirt poor. They did okay for themselves. That's what that tells us. I want you to remember also that John's mother was one of the witnesses of Christ's death. And that word, it said, it administered unto him during his ministry. So because they seemed to be okay financially, she may have been one of the women who helped finance the ministry of Jesus Christ as he walked on earth and he preached the gospel.

My point is, is that because they were all partners, because there is a very strong likelihood of a connection with John and James being cousins of Jesus Christ, it makes sense that they all knew Jesus well before this event occurs, and Jesus calls them to follow him as their disciples.

Let's learn a little bit more about the personality traits of John and James. Mark chapter 3 and verse 17.

Mark chapter 3 and verse 17.

Mark chapter 3 and verse 17. This reveals a nickname, a humorous nickname, that Jesus gave to James and John. It says, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boangrez, that is, the sons of thunder. Now, sons of thunder, more literally, can be translated the sons of tumult or commotion. And this was a nickname that Jesus humorously gave them because of their short and explosive tempers. You see, zeal without wisdom usually causes commotion. It usually causes conflict. It usually causes problems. And these individuals had, they had zeal, certainly, but without the maturity of God's spirit, their zeal often led them to an attitude of exclusiveness and intolerance towards everyone who wasn't exactly like them. When I was in college, we had a young friend of ours who, we gave the nickname to the Apostle. And we meant it in a humorous way because he would walk around all day and say, well, if I were the Apostle, I would do this, and I would make this decision, and I would do this. So to ridicule him, we gave him the nickname of the Apostle, and it stuck. And throughout his college career, he was called the Apostle. And in a similar way here, Jesus, and it shows that Jesus had a tremendous sense of humor, nicknamed them the Thuns of Thunder because everywhere they went, thunder and commotion seemed to break out after they said something. Let's take a look at an example of that here in Luke 9 and verse 51. We will see the sons of thunder in action.

Chapter 9 verse 51, remember, warts and all, as Oliver Cromwell said. And that's the way the Scriptures clearly reveal the personalities of the Bible. Luke 9 and verse 51, This is now came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up. He was preparing to be crucified and to go to the Father in heaven. That he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. So he was determined that I'm going to go to Jerusalem. I'm going to get this done. What I've got to get done, I'm going to get done. And he sent messengers before his face. And when they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him. But they did not receive him because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. Now, this wasn't some spiritual issue they had with Jesus Christ. This was a racial issue. All right. It became clear that Jesus was going to go to Jerusalem. He was just stopping through there for a brief visit. Being Samaritans, Samaritans did not like Jews. Jews considered Samaritans to be pagan half-breeds. You know, a little bit of Judaism mixed in with a lot of Gentile paganism. And there were kind of racial issues here. And because they found out through the disciples that Jesus, his ultimate destiny was Jerusalem. And he was just going to stop here for a short period of time. They said, we don't want to hear what he has to say.

We don't want him preaching here. We don't want anything to do with him. Verse 54. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us, the command fire, to come down from heaven and consume them just as Elijah did? And again, this shows the sons of thunder in action. They are really struggling with the fact that they have zeal without wisdom. And Jesus Christ rebukes them because of their attitude. They wanted to destroy the village by fire. They had a strong tendency towards intolerance and exclusiveness. And because of this, Jesus Christ strongly rebuked them because this was not the kind of attitude they should have. Notice what he says here. He turned and rebuked them and said, you do not know what manner of spirit you are of. In other words, you are not dealing and thinking through my spirit. You are thinking through the spirit of Satan. And that is, I'm exclusive, I'm intolerant, I'm special, everyone else is inferior, therefore you're going to get it. Jesus said, that's not a good spirit to have. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. And they went to another village. So again, they were quickly angered. The sons of thunder immediately went into action when the Samaritans didn't receive Christ. They wanted to destroy the village. Let's go back now to verse 49. See another incident of one of the sons of thunder here. And again, he was corrected by Jesus Christ.

Because, as I mentioned before, zeal without wisdom usually causes commotion, usually causes problems. Verse 49, now John answered and said, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbade him because he does not follow with us. But Jesus said to him, do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side. So John, one of the sons of thunder, took it upon himself to rebuke a man who was casting out demons because he wasn't part of the exclusive twelve. And Jesus is basically saying, what he's doing is none of your business.

John, you have a job to do? Do your job. What everyone else is doing? That's none of your concern. Do not insert yourself into judging them or condemning them or interfering in whatever they may be doing. That's a very important Christian principle. So John was the one who rebuked the man for casting out demons because he was not part of the twelve. And Jesus corrected him for it.

The good news is that as John grew towards conversion, as we look near the end of his life, he channeled his former destructive emotional energy into a tremendous drive and righteous zeal and an intensity for every task that he performed. His writings are filled with some of the most beautiful and emotional descriptive words used in the entire New Testament. You know, we had an excellent sermon at the day by Mark and we appreciate that. And he talked about the power of words. John was very good at emotionally recording the power of Jesus Christ in words. Here are some of the phrases that he uses throughout his writings. Referring to Jesus, he says, he wearied, he wept, he groaned in spirit, he was troubled, he was thirsty, he was sorrowful. So everything that John writes is filled with the intensity and the color of his own personality as he recollects the things that Jesus did that he remembers. Let's go to John, chapter 8, and verse 43. Again, in very powerful and descriptive language as Jesus here corrects the Jews. This is how John remembers this event, and these words are strong, corrective, powerful.

But again, it is reflecting John's personality and what he remembers is he was a witness of this event. John, chapter 8, and verse 43. Jesus said, Why do you not understand my speech? Because you are not able to listen to my word. You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. That's got punch. That's powerful. That's emotional. And that's how John recalls through his personality that incident that he was a witness at. He recounts these strong words of Jesus. He richly recalls that Jesus told the Jews that their spiritual father was none other than Satan. And they were like him. And he was a murderer. He was a liar. Therefore, they were murdered. By implication, they were murderers. They were liars.

Now, let's go to 1 John, chapter 4, and verse 4. And we're going to take a look at the mature version of the Apostle John near the end of his life, talking about a similar theme, how he writes, how he presents it. You see, this man was transformed from one of the sons of thunder to the Apostle of love. That was a transformation that took place in the 100 years of his physical life. From someone who was the first one to jump on somebody and harshly judge them and condemn them, and even ask if fire should be brought down to make them post-toasties to one who understood through God's Spirit, the powerful principle of love. Here, 1 John, chapter 4, verses 4 through 9, a very similar discussion to what Jesus said. And I want you to notice how John puts it. He says, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore, they speak as the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. Who he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error.

So he's talking about listening again. He's saying we listen because we are connected to the right Spirit. They don't listen because they are connected to the wrong Spirit. But because of God, we are able to discern between the Spirit of truth and a Spirit of error. Verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves God is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Quite a contrast from the man who, 60 years earlier, said, Lord, should we call fire down from heaven? Do you just wipe these people out and get a Doverwith right now? You see, his life was transformed. Verse 9, in this, the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent his only begotten Son in the world, that we might live through him. In contrast of vaporizing the residents of Samaritan City, he says, no, God sent his Son into the world so that everyone who understands the Father's calling, and ultimately everyone who has ever lived, because they'll be given a chance for salvation, might live through him. So as he grew in spiritual maturity, he channeled his intense nature into a deep love for the brethren and for the church, and he grew again from a Son of Thunder to an Apostle of Love. Now Jesus, of course, being God, was always able to look at individuals with all of their warts and flaws, and he could look beyond that. He did not see people for as they were, he looked and he saw the potential that resided in other people. And he had a deep love for John, because he saw that potential that existed in John, with the right pruning and the right life experiences, and being led and guided by the Father Spirit, that this overly zealous, exclusive nasty man could be transformed into the Apostle of Love. He was, he could see deep down that John really wanted to be and grow to be a humble man. And sure enough, when we look into the book of John, we see him refer to himself often as another disciple or the other disciple. He doesn't take advantage of or brag about his familial relationship with Christ as he had tried to earlier before he was converted. Let's see a few examples of the fact that Jesus Christ had a lot of trust in him. Let's go to Luke chapter 22 and verse 8. And we'll see here that Jesus was very, very close to John. He was close to Peter as well. Peter and John, as a matter of fact, seemed to hold a special place in friendship, in relationship to Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 22 and verse 8. I want you to notice who he sends, who he trusts to go and prepare the Passover for them.

Now this took some trust because they had to follow his instructions. They had to make sure because they had a traditional Passover meal before Jesus had the symbols. They had to make sure that the Lamb was there. They had to make sure that the seeding arrangements were done. They had to make sure that a lot of details were done so that the Passover could happen like Jesus Christ wanted it to. It says, and he sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat. So again, this shows that he entrusted John and Peter to prepare for the Passover.

Christ was as close to John as he was to anyone else, including Peter. And we're going to see in some scriptures shortly that they too, John and Peter, became very close friends and did a lot of things together. Now let's go to John chapter 13 and verse 16. John chapter 13 and verse 16.

We are very familiar with the Passover events because we go through them every year.

But I want to mention something that only John mentions that occurred during the Passover. The synoptic gospels don't say anything about this. John chapter 13 and verse 16.

John chapter 13 and verse 16. I want you to keep in mind that this is the Passover.

This is a time when we would expect the disciples to be especially religious and humble.

And beginning after three and a half years of direct teaching by Jesus Christ, to begin to show the fruits of deep spiritual maturity and overcoming. And here's what John records. Most assuredly said, I say to you a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. In other words, be an active living disciple of mine. Don't just talk about it. Don't just dream about it. Do it. Verse 18. I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

Now I tell you before it comes that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am he. So he's saying in advance, I'm telling you that some one of you are going to betray me. And they were shocked, of course, when he said this. He said most assuredly, I say to you that he who receives whomever I sent receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. Let's take a look now at verse 21.

And Jesus, when Jesus had said many things, he was troubled in spirit. There's one of those colorful, emotional words that Mr. Scapura talked about in his fine sermonette today. Jesus was troubled in spirit. It just dawned upon him that one person here whom I love is going to betray me. Someone whom I've invested three and a half years of my love towards is going to be my betrayer. And it troubled him. It bothered him. And he testified and said, most assuredly I say unto you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. Verse 23, now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of the disciples whom Jesus loved. And this is John himself writing about this event. Again, John was not in the ego.

John was not into, and Jesus said to me, that wasn't what John was about. Remember, by the time he writes this, he's an old man. He's learned a lot in life. He's learned a lot about what's really important, and it's not about me. So now, the leaning on Jesus' bosom was one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. And Simon Peter, therefore motioned to him to ask him who it was, whom he spoke. And you can just see this event. We have to realize that they're not sitting at tables and stiff chairs eating a meal. They're all on couches. They're all reclining. It's like 12 guys and lazy boys. Well, not quite, but they're really more on couches, and they would lay on their elbows in a reclining position and talk to one another. And where John was positioned, he could get in that position, and he would just be about at Christ's breast level, and he could look up, and he could ask Jesus anything intimately that the others would not hear. So Peter gives him some kind of high sign, you know, find out who it is, however Peter does it. And it says, Simon Peter, therefore motioned to him to ask whom he spoke. When leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, it is he to whom I give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. You can be sure that John's saying to himself, as Jesus dips that bread. John's saying to himself, don't give it to me, don't give it to me, don't give it to me.

And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. So here, John is referring to himself when he says one of his disciples whom Jesus loved, he knows too many details for this to have been anyone else. He knows the intimacy of the signaling from Peter, the exact words that were said to Jesus. He's there because it's him that he is talking about. He was able to sit next to Christ during the last Passover before Christ's death because he had a very close relationship with Jesus Christ. Again, perhaps the reason they were so close is because they were cousins. Now let's go to John chapter 18 and verse 12 and see again what this other apostle says about himself in the book of John. Learn a little bit more about him and his family.

John chapter 18 and verse 12. John chapter 18 and verse 12. Then the detachment of troops, and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him, and they led him away to Annas first, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year. Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Why? Because Peter doesn't know anybody.

But this other disciple, the high priest knows him. How does the high priest know him? Perhaps because he's part of a prominent family that is well off and hires people in the community. Perhaps because he's part of a family that's religious and gives offerings at the temple. Or perhaps he supported the high priest and there's a relationship there that the high priest knows the entire family. It says, then the other disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke with her who kept the door and brought Peter in. So this other disciple, John, goes out and says, it's okay. He's with me. And Peter's able to come on in. Verse 17, the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, you are not also one of this man's disciples, are you? And he said, I am not. At this point, Peter's just trying to avoid roosters.

So John gets him onto the inside so he can see what's going on. And my point here is that the Zebedee family was prominent enough and respected by the high priest that he even knew who John was.

And John was able to go in and witness the trial of Jesus Christ. And again, I want you to notice the detailed events that John has written here. First person, why? Because it was him.

He was the one who was there. He was the one who witnessed and participated in these events. Now let's go to John chapter 19 and verse 26 and 27. John chapter 19 verse 26.

It says, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. And as I have said before, this is one of the most incredible examples of love ever written in any form of literature in human history.

Here is the Son of God, his body throbbing from nails being put through his hands and his feet, the sins, the stink of the whole world on his shoulders, all that he has going on in his mind. He's physically tortured. He's mentally anguished. And he stops. He says, I got to make sure that my mom's taken care of. I got to make sure that mom's going to be okay. And he says to John, the disciple whom he loved, woman, behold your son. And he said to his disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her to his own home. So he had so much trust in John that he entrusted his mom's care to John, perhaps naturally to family, to be taken care of by mama's ebony and the rest of the family. Now let's go to John chapter 20 and verse 1.

You see again where this other disciple whom Jesus loved has such an important role to play upon coming into the open tomb of Jesus Christ.

John chapter 20 and verse 1, just a few chapters, or the next chapter from where we were. Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. And she ran and she came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved. That's John. And said to them, they have taken away our Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb and they both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter, the bold one, Simon Peter, following him said, out of my way. And even though he didn't get to the tomb as quickly as John, Peter says, I'm going in. And so he's the first one who literally goes into the tomb. And he saw the linen clothes lying there in the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in the place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and he believed. So John was the first one of the twelve who arrived with the tomb, when it was open, and it says that he believed that Christ had been resurrected from the dead. I mentioned to you earlier that John, his gospel is unique from the synoptic gospels. He wanted to add some blank spots that Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not include in their gospels. And some of them are very significant. We're going to see here, if you'll turn with me, that we have him to thank for many things that are missing from the gospels. Let's go to John chapter 13 and verse 1. John chapter 13 and verse 1.

Again, we saw earlier that of all times in the Passover, the disciples are arguing about who is great, who is the greatest. And John records something that is not recorded in Matthew, Mark, or Luke. And I can tell you this, if John had not recorded this, our Passover service would be incomplete. Because it is an emotional and the spiritual and the significant part of what we do at Passover. John chapter 13 and verse 7. It says, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come from God and was going from God, he's going to do something to react to this selfishness that he continues to see exist within his very own disciples, even after three and a half years of following him, they still don't get it. He rose from supper and laid aside his garments and took a towel and he girded himself. He made himself like the loneliest servant in a household. Verse 5. And after that, he poured water into a basin and he began to wash the disciples' feet. How more humiliating, how more humbling can you get than to kneel down and wash someone's dirty, stinking feet. And to wipe them with a towel with which he was girded. Then he came to Simon Peter and Simon Peter said to him, Lord, you are washing my feet. And Jesus answered and said to him, what I'm doing, you do not understand now, but you will know after this. In other words, he's saying in a nice way to Peter, you're too vain to get this right now, but when you're converted, you'll understand the symbolism of this humility and why it's important to be humble rather than to be proud. You will know this. You will know after this. So it's because of their selfishness that Jesus wanted to provide a lesson in humility for the disciples before his death. We have John's writings only to thank for this important example, and it's because of John that we include this as part of our Passover service.

Well, getting near the end of the sermon, and I want you to consider the fact that in the book of John, many of us are familiar with chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 in the book of John. It's a discourse that occurs at the end of the Passover service as they're walking towards the garden of Gethsemane, and the things recorded in these chapters are not recorded in the synoptic Gospels. And these aren't just little short sayings of Jesus Christ in these chapters. These are extended discourses as Jesus, in his final moments on earth, heading towards the garden, he knows what's ahead of him, is walking and talking with his disciples and telling them about things that will yet occur. Here's one of the most beautiful, John chapter 14 and verse 23. John 14, 23, that I will mention, could mention many, but as I said earlier, we cannot do justice to John today. This is one of my favorite scriptures, particularly verse 23. We read it every Passover. John chapter 14 and verse 23, Jesus answered and said to them, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. The Father and I will give you our spirit, the same spirit that resides in us, will give you that spirit and it will reside in you and by doing that we will make our home with you. How encouraging! How powerful! Verse 24, he who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you but the helper. Again, John is mentioning something at this point in Christ's ministry, the eve of his death that's not mentioned by the synoptic gospels. The helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. It will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives it do I give it to you. Let your heart, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. And all of those chapters I mentioned again have this just this heartfelt discussion of Jesus Christ in his final words that thankfully we have John recorded for us to understand. One more thing I want to mention at the end of the sermon.

And that is the unique thing about John as well is that in his gospel he verified that Jesus Christ was God on earth. He left no question about the fact that Jesus Christ was the Yahweh of the Old Testament. And he did it by revealing within there what's known as the seven major I Am's in the Gospel of John.

Let's go to John chapter 8 and verse 56 and just set up the context here so we understand why this phrase I Am is so powerful in what John was revealing in his gospel. John chapter 8, our final scripture today, verse 56.

John 8, 56. Jesus Christ is having a discussion with the Jews. He said, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. When did Abraham rejoice to see his days?

Because when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac as the father was willing to sacrifice his son Jesus Christ. God knowing that Abraham would have gone through with it of course stopped it and provided a ram instead of him needing to sacrifice his own son. But God gave him a vision and helped Abraham to understand, ah, that's why you asked me to do this. That's why that command, to sacrifice my own son. Because you are going to be doing this in the future so that he can shed his blood for the sins of mankind.

So Abraham was given a vision of the future of the time and the role of Jesus Christ and he saw it and he was glad. And the Jews said to him, you're not yet 50 years old and you've seen Abraham? Jesus said to them most assuredly I say unto you before Abraham was I am. After the Jews that was blasphemy. He was saying that he was the Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament.

So how did they react? They took up stones to throw at him but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by. Here's what the Believer's Study Bible says about this scripture. The absolute emphatic declaration I am is reminiscent of Exodus chapter 3 and verse 14 where the words stand for the eternal person of Yahweh.

Jesus asserts he existed even before Abraham was. His claim is inescapable. Jesus is God the Yahweh of the Old Testament. So it is no coincidence that John uses this same I am phrase as recorded in Exodus 3 to refer to God and to say that Jesus Christ was God. It's through John that he reveals in his Gospel the seven major I am's. And I'm just going to read them very carefully.

You can find these in many biblical commentary so I wouldn't worry about writing them down at this point. But he said, I am the bread of life. That's chapter 6 and verse 35. He says, I am the light of the world. That's chapter 8 and verse 12. He says, I am the door of the sheepfold. That's chapter 10 and verse 7. Jesus Christ said, I am the good shepherd. That's chapter 10 verses 11 through 14.

He said, I am the resurrection and the life. That's chapter 11 and verse 25. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. That's chapter 14 and verse 6. And he says a seventh time, the number of completion, I am the true vine. That's chapter 15 and verse 1. Well, brethren, I am sorry. I'm out of time. And I hope this brief survey of John has helped all of us to better understand the unique, inspired way that he viewed life that affected how he wrote his gospel and how he lived as an apostle. Perhaps we can better understand the relationship that existed between John and between Jesus Christ by the biography that we looked at today.

You know, every character in scriptures was unique and had a purpose to fulfill. And I want you to realize that you, too, are unique. And in God's church, you have a purpose to fulfill. You are not an accident in God's eyes. The fact that God called you is no accident. The things that we're doing today may be recorded in the next edition of scripture. If you look at the book of Acts, it doesn't end. It just stops. The book of Acts doesn't have an ending because the book of Acts is probably being finished in the 21st century. So again, the things that we're doing today, warts and all, may be recorded in the next edition of scripture.

The things that we say or think today may be recorded in the next edition of scripture. So therefore, let us live lives that give praise and dignity to our God as the disciples of Jesus Christ. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.

Well, brother, we have one last opportunity now to praise God. And if you would please rise and join me. Hymn number 138. Praise ye the Lord.