The disciple John, also referred to as the disciple Jesus loved, writes a book where he is completely unashamed about the concrete truths of the Bible. Even when society is pushing for John to accept all religions and cave on his convictions, John stands firm.
As Jesus begins to call his first disciples, he finds two brothers who are the sons of Zebedee. James and John are fishermen like many other young men of that day. Mark 1:20 says, “And immediately [Jesus] called [James and John], and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”
When Jesus calls them, they leave behind their livelihood, their father and their friends. They are willing to leave their whole life to follow the person who would give them true life.
As the story of Jesus and John progresses, John becomes one of Jesus’ right-hand men. John is present for many of the miracles and sermons that Jesus preached and is frequently noted in the Bible.
As Jesus is hanging on the cross in John 19, he actually asks John to care for his earthly mother, Mary. The end of the chapter says that John takes Mary to his house and cares for her. This shows that Jesus places great trust in John.
John goes on to write a book that portrays Jesus as the Son of God and the source of salvation for anyone who believes. John 20:30-31 says, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John’s greatest aspiration is to tell the whole world who Jesus is, what he sacrificed for humanity and of the open invitation to all sinners for reconciliation to the Father.
The book of John leaves no room for misunderstandings about the character of God and the deity of Christ. John makes it evident that regardless of the beliefs of the culture around us, Christ and his message remain the same.
Our purpose is the same as John’s purpose, to know Jesus and make him known to the world, regardless of the consequences.
