12 Disciples – John – Monday 23rd October 06
John is the 4th disciple mentioned in Matthew 10:3
The name ‘John’ means “grace of the Lord”, or “Jehovah’s gift” John was the younger brother of James, son of Zebedee and Salome (we saw last week how some believe that Salome was Mary’s sister and therefore James and John were earthly cousins of the Lord)
1. Occupation & Call
John was a fisherman like his brother James. They worked with their father Zebedee. (Matthew 4:21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father,)
When John the Baptist began his ministry John was one of his disciples along with Andrew. When Christ is pointed out as being “The Lamb of God” John and Andrew follow the Lord for a time (John 1:36 – 37) before returning to their fishing nets (how long is uncertain, John Phillips commentary – about 1 year) and then Jesus calls John to full time service (Mat 4:21; Luk 5:1 – 11)
2. Sons of Thunder
We saw a bit of the temperament of the brothers James and John last week and how the Lord called them “the Sons of Thunder” because they wanted to call down fire from Heaven on the unbelieving Samaritans.
In Luke 9:49 and Mark 9:38 we see John “the Son of Thunder” in action again. Jesus was still leading His disciples to Jerusalem, and as they went, He reminded them of what would happen to Him there. Even after they heard what Jesus had said about His own suffering and death, they carried on the dispute over which of them was the greatest! Perhaps the fact that Peter, James, and John had gone on the mount with Jesus had added some fuel to the fires of competition.
To teach them (and us) a lesson on honour, Jesus set a child before them and explained that the way to be first is to be last, and the way to be last is to be the servant of all. The unspoiled child is an example of submission and humility. Christ’s message is that greatness comes from our serving others.
At this point, John felt it necessary to defend the disciples (Mark 9:38-41) by pointing out their zeal. Imagine telling a man to stop casting out demons when the nine disciples had failed to deliver the deaf and dumb boy from Satan’s power! To use the name of Jesus is the same as working under His authority, so the men had no right to stop the man.
Mark 9:40 should be compared with Matthew 12:30, “He that is not with Me is against Me.” It is impossible to be neutral when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. The anonymous exorcist was bringing glory to His name, so he had to be for the Saviour and not against Him.
Jesus did not treat John’s statement lightly; in fact, He went on to explain the danger of causing others to stumble and therefore stop serving the Lord (Mark 9:42-50). “These little ones” refers to all God’s children who follow Christ and seek to serve Him. The way believers treat others in the family of God is a serious thing, and God wants us to “have peace one with another” (Mark 9:50). The disciples did not get along with each other, nor did they get along with other believers!
Instead of rebuking others, the disciples should have been examining their own hearts! It is easy to lose our “saltiness” and become useless to God. Commitment and character are the essentials, if we are to glorify Him and have peace with each other.
3. Peter & John (Inner Circle)
a. Prepare Passover (Luke 22:8)
b. In the Garden
The three disciples who consisted of the “Inner Circle” were Peter, and the two brothers James and John. 3 times we see these disciple go with the Lord when the others didn’t.
• Jairus’ daughter being raise from the dead
• The Mount of Transfigeration
• Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36, Mark 14:32)
Take His 3 with Him and goes to pray. Then finds them asleep… He tells them to watch and pray…. They fall asleep again …. The church is sleeping today,
c. At the cross
John is the only disciple mentioned at the cross – where were the other 10? What did they do for the three days Christ was in the tomb?
John 19:26 – 27 Christ sees His mother and John, the disciple whom He loved, standing by the cross. Why did the Lord call her woman? It wasn’t disrespectful, it meant the same as us saying madam, but it also shows that the natural relationship was ending. His hour is come. He is to die, but He will rise again. He is to be glorified. His relationship to His mother is to be severed. To her, as well as to us, He is to be the glorified Christ.
He puts His mother into the care of His beloved disciple John. Some say she lived with John at Jerusalem, and there died; and others say, that she died in the twelfth year after the resurrection of Christ, and was buried by John in the garden of Gethsemane: where his house was is not certain, whether at Jerusalem or in Galilee, nor how long she lived with him; but this is not to be doubted, that he took care of her, and provided for her, as if she was his own mother; and by doing this he shows his great love for Christ. This could be the reason that he died a natural death.
d. Mary tells of resurrection (John 20:1 – 10)
We find Simon Peter and John together. Apparently John has taken him in. I wonder if some of the other disciples, when they heard of Peter’s denial, had pushed him to the outside. Thank God, John took him in at a time when Peter desperately needed someone to befriend him. John, the son of thunder, has become the apostle of love. What a wonderful thing that is.
Mary tells Peter and John that the tomb is empty; she thought that the religious leaders had taken the body, the religious leaders thought the disciples had taken the body. Peter and John run to the tomb.
John outruns Peter and when he sees that it is empty believes straight away..
e. Early Church
John is then found in Peter’s company many times in the Acts of the Apostles. He is with Peter in Acts 3:1 as the y go to the Temple to pray and heal the lame man.
In Acts 4:13 they are arrested together a preach with boldness to the council
In Acts 8:14 together they visit Samaria where Philip is leading a revival. How interesting that the one disciple who wanted to destroy Samaria because of their unbelief would soon visit the place because of their belief in Christ.
Then in Galatians 2:9 we see John with Peter and James (the Lord’s brother) meeting with Paul and Barnabas. Paul describes these men as Pillars..
The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.
Spiritual Lessons from John.
John learnt to love his enemies, went from a son of thunder to Apostle of love.
Whatever Christ asks us to do, we need to obey His voice.
A love for God and others is a distinguishing mark of the Christian.
