(70) The Books of John

The books of fellowship.

Perhaps the same man who wrote a gospel and the man who wrote the book of Revelation also wrote these three small letters.  Some think it may have been a different John since he refers to himself as an elder not an Apostle.  But as a technicality, the two terms could be used interchangeably given the right circumstance.  These were written between 85-95 AD from the city of Ephesus.  Although they are grouped together they tend to talk about three different themes and probably were not meant to be grouped together.

The first letter deals with our fellowship with God Himself.  This letter has two themes throughout:  light versus dark and love versus hate.  The second letter deals with our fellowship with false teachers.  The third letter deals with our fellowship with other believers.  Fellowship is our bond between each other.  Bond does not necessarily mean a good thing.  The second and third letters are the shortest books in the Bible

John at this time was not the same man he was during the time of his fellowship with Jesus the man.  He had stayed in Jerusalem unlike the other Apostles.  He stayed because Jesus had told him at the cross to take care of Mary (John 19:25-27).  Although he had a few appearances in Acts (all of them with Peter), he is never heard of again after the 8th chapter.  That is approximately 35 AD.  Paul mentions him in Galatians (49 AD).  Peter and James, the other two of the inner circle, had problems.  James was martyred in 42 AD and Peter was consistently thrown into prison.  John had the duty to take care of Mary on his own.  Assumable after Mary had died John then goes on to Ephesus once Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans and Nero.  Tradition says that John dies of old age, perhaps the only one of the 12 that did so.  Other books are credited as John but not accepted by the Church.

Some of the main points are:

1. What you do in the dark always come out in the light. (1 John 1:6-10)
2. Jesus being our advocate is the only way to God (1 John 2:1-2)
3. Being children of God has more in store for us than we can comprehend (1 John 3:1-2)
4. Love is an action verb (1 John 3:16-18)
5. Love is a command (2 John v 5-6)
6. Good deeds are a sign of a true believer (3 John v 11)

These books were written to reassure that faith is a real thing.  Faith is part of the truth we hold onto and love is part of that faith.  There are some side themes in the 3rd letter that talk about hospitality,  John was stressing how Christians must walk in the light if we have fellowship.  One of the main important ideas written in this set is that truth and love need to go together.  Truth without love leads to harshness, yet love without truth leads to insincerity.  A Christian should not be alone.  We are here for each other.  Unfortunately it is also said that Christians are the only army that shoot heir wounded.  How can we show love to the world if we do not show love towards one another?  Nowhere in history is so much said in so little words.  The books of John say it all.

(46) The Book of John

A personal friend and Savior.

John, the "disciple whom Jesus loved", was a son of Zebedee and Salome.  He was a younger brother to another Apostle named James.  He was perhaps a cousin to Jesus Himself.  Jesus called him a son of thunder.  His Hebrew name of Yochanan means, God gives grace.  John is considered Jesus' closest companion, even though Peter stands out to be the one Jesus turns to when He starts the Church.  The book was written around 90 AD, probably from Ephesus.

Here are some interesting facts about the book:

• 90% of the book is unique
• This book shows more human emotions of Jesus than the rest
• There are more direct statements from Jesus on who He was
• Focuses on people's reactions to Jesus
• God is mentioned as the Father over 100 times
• Many of his themes are collected into groups of seven
• Each chapter shows Jesus in a different role as Savior
• There are less miracles, healings, and parables in this book than the rest
• 50% of the book is about Jesus' last days
• Has two chapters that tell what happens after the Resurrection
• Last verse was probably not written by John until after his own death, only verse in the Gospels that is first person view.

Who was John?  His father was Zebedee.  His mother was Salome.  His profession was a fisherman.  No only was that his job apparently they were prosperous at the job because scripture says he and his associates had hired help.  Maybe this prosperity gave him an attitude problem.  From some of the words we read about him, he and his brother, he was egotistical; thinking he and his brother should get to sit at the right hand of Jesus (Mark 10:35-41).  Even to ask such a question took chutzpah.  He was bold by thinking they could do the same things as Jesus like driving out demons.  He felt like he was given power and authority before it was actually given to him because he was going to "call down fire" upon people.  But after all of this within a few years of following Jesus, his heart was changed.  He would eventually become the most loved and the most faithful.  He stood by Jesus' side until the end.  He was there in the Garden.  He was there at the Cross.  And he was there at the Grave.  Jesus loved him so much that at His death He handed His own mother over to John to be cared for and watched over by him.  He must have done exactly what Jesus told him to do because after the first chapters of Acts  no one hears about him again until the Revelation. Tradition says that John died of old age.  If that is so he is the only one of the 12 who did.  For more on his life see:
http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/search/label/John

What was his gospel about?  Jesus, the man.  It shows his feelings, emotions, and His his divinity at the same time.  It shows that His promise of eternal life is for everyone...who accepts it.

Why was it written?  So people who are looking for a personal relationship with God can find it.  This book is the simplest of them all to understand since it focuses on people's reaction to who Jesus was.  But unfortunately no one knows how to be in a relationship anymore since we are all viral and electronically motivated.  No one cares about relationships anymore.

(11) John

Life:

His name was John. The Hebrew translation is Yochanan which means "God gives grace".

He had a brother named James and together they are known as the sons of Thunder. There is some speculation that he may have been a cousin of Jesus but that can not be confirmed. His father's name was Zebedee and his mother's name was Salome. John, James, Zebedee, Andrew and Peter were all co-workers in the same fishing area (Luke 5:10, Mark 1:20). And since it says they had hired help apparently their work was prosperous. Later on his life though he may have stayed in the city of Jerusalem due to the fact that he was charged by Jesus to look after his mother (John 19:25-27). He replaced Jesus in the family. His brother James was the first of the Apostles to die of martyrdom around 42 AD. Peter was arrested around the same time. These two events meant John would have to watch Mary all by himself.

Beliefs:

Nothing is really said about his belief but being associated with Andrew who followed John the Baptist it's a small doubt he was hearing some stories from Andrew about the coming Messiah.

Attitudes:

John had a little bit of an ego problem. There are a couple of passages that shows he would ask to get special treatment simply because of who he was or what he was associated with. Mark 9:38 and Mark 10:35-41

• 9:38, "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
• 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
• 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
• 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
• 38 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
• 39 "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
• 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
• 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

These bold statements show how much ego he had. To actually ask the Christ to be able to take such an important chair in heaven shows a lot of chutzpah to say the least. Not many other quotes from John or other major stories about him are recorded. He has a few appearances in Acts but all of them are with Peter. After the 8th chapter of Acts we do not hear about him ever again by any other writer except once by Paul in Galatians. This date was probably around 35 AD.

His Life Changing Experience:

When Jesus took three people with Him to a high mountain, He chose Peter, James and John; a loud mouth and two sons of thunder. When they got to the top of the mountain Jesus' appearance changed right before their eyes. Jesus was met in the air with Elijah and Moses. They all three were terrified and fell down before Him. Jesus told them not to be afraid and NOT TO TELL ANYONE. Again He took with him a loud mouth and two sons of thunder (noise makers) and told them not to tell anyone. How hard it must have been for these three to keep their mouth shut. From here on out until the Resurrection John is mentioned more and he picks up a nickname: the Disciple whom Jesus loved.

His importance:

Now of course this next part of the story will be a little fabricated because no one knows exactly what John went through in his last few years but the implications were fabulous. Most scholars would say that John was last of the Apostles to die. Most would say that he died an old man around 90. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. John went on to Ephesus to live and where tradition says he would die after his imprisonment. Scripture says he was on the island of Patmos, a prison, when he got his Revelation and his Gospel visions to write. But consider this: most people think that since John lived the longest and died of natural causes that God must have loved him more than the rest. Now it does say that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. But John lived until he was at least 90...in prison, with hard labor, alone. All the other Apostles that he knew had died long ago. Not only died but got to die for Jesus' name. He had no one left to help him. One can envisioned him crying out to God, "why can't I die for you?", "why am I left here alone?". Where was John's glory? He took care of Mary for Jesus. He was the closest to Jesus. All the others got to travel and spread the news, dying for the greatest cause of mankind. But John? He died alone. No glory in this life. No doubt Jesus loved John the most. No doubt he left John here not to receive glory upon the earth but maybe John did get that seat next to Christ like he asked for. John's glory was not here on earth. His was to be one of the greatest in heaven. All because he was the most faithful companion out of all them (John 19:25-27). John was a man revolutionized by God's love.