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JOHN:
The Apostle
1. John was one of the twelve disciples of Christ.
A. He was the younger brother of James. Mat.
4:21
B. Their father's name was Zebedee. Mt.4:21
C. Their mother's name was Salome.
D. Theirs was a wealthy family with great influence.
Mk. 1:20: Mat. 27:55-56; Luke 8:3; John
18:15;
19:27
E. Greek name is Iōannas, which comes from the Hebrew, Yochannon,
Which Means Jehovah is gracious.
2. They were fishermen in partnership with Peter and Andrew. Luke
5:10
A. Probably living in
Bethsaida.
John.
1:44
B. Their father helped. Mat.
4:21
3. John and Andrew were disciples of John
the baptizer.
(probably, Peter and James also) John 1.35
4. John's first contact with Jesus was a few days after Christ's testing in
the wilderness. John 1.35-42
A. Principle: John never refers to himself by name in the hook of John.
B. The fact that one disciple is identified and the other is not, would
be consistent with John's policy of not mentioning himself by name.
C. Verse 19 is 4 days after the event of Christ's baptism as recorded
in Mt. 3:13-17.
D. Intervening is the 40 days of testing as recorded in Mt. 4:1-11
5. After this initial contact, the 4 men associated with Jesus for a while and
then went back to fishing.
A. Into
Galilee:
John 1.43
B. Wedding at
Cana:
John 2:2
C. Capernaum: John
2:12
D. Passover in
Jerusalem:
John 2.13-25
E. Into
Samaria:
John 4.3-8
F. Back to fishing: Mark 1.16-20; Mt. 4.18-22; Luke. 5. 1- 11
6. The call of John: Lk. 5.10-11
7. James and John are designated by Jesus as Sons of
Thunder. Mk. 3.17
This is an indication of their personality and zeal.
8. Jesus developed a specialized friendship and fellowship within the
group of 12 between Peter, James and John. Luke 9.28
9. Within the group of three, John enjoyed an even greater intimacy
with Jesus.
A. If it can be said that Jesus had a personal friend on earth,
John would be that friend.
B. Title: the disciple whom the lord loved, 6 times.
C. Incident of John 13:21-30
10. An early influence in John's life was his mother and brother, James,
is demonstrated by the incident of Mark 10:35-40 and Mat. 20:20-24
but the pride evidenced at that time did not become dominant
and John actually became the stronger of the disciples.
11. It appears that John was the only disciple present at the
crucifixion.
A. John 16.32 cf. Mat. 19.26 cf. Mark
14:31
B. This plus the principle of Point 9 and the fact that none of Mary's
other children were present, is the basis for the moral commitment
placed upon John in John 19:26-27.
12. After the resurrection, it took Jesus several visits with the
disciples to convince and teach them concerning the issues of
Messianic suffering and glory. John 20.1-9; Lk. 24.36-38; Acts 1.3
Even John was not fully oriented to the facts.
13. But by the time of Christ's ascension, they were all fairly well
stabilized and oriented to their new responsibilities.
Acts 1:12-14; 2.1
14. During the formative months of the
Jerusalem church, John worked in
very close association with Peter. Acts 3:1; 4.3, 19
Basically, an extension of their close friendship prior.
15. John's participation in the Samaritan
Pentecost. Acts 8.14
16. The head of the
Jerusalem church until 44 AD was probably James,
John's brother. Acts 12.1 and context.
17. From 44 AD until about 62 AD the head of the church was James,
the half-brother of Jesus. Acts 12-21.
A. It
is apparent that John as well as the other Apostles, submitted
to that authority at least until 50 AD.
B. The
Apostles were present in Jerusalem as under
the authority of
James, during the Jerusalem counsel in 50 AD. But they were still
considered as leaders in association with James.
Acts 15.4,
6:13
Gal. 2.9
C. Shortly after 50 AD, James was totally overcome by Mosaic legalism,
and it appears that at this time, the Apostles disassociated with
that church for ministry elsewhere.
D. The
church was still honored however as is indicated by the
offerings collected and delivered to them.
18. So sometime after 50 AD the other Apostles spread out from Jerusalem
to separate ministries.
A. They were not present in Jerusalem in 58 AD when Paul was there.
Acts 21
B.
The Church was in its deepest time of apostasy at this time.
However all indication is that John broke out of the
Jerusalem
apostasy early.
C.
Tradition says he ministered in
Ephesus after Paul's death,
and that the Ephesian church is the recipient of John's writings.
1. The Gospel from
Ephesus.
2. 1 John to Ephesus, and both to combat Cerinthian gnosticism.
3. 2 and 3 John to individuals in the Ephesian area.
4. Revelation, of course to the whole church.
5. But we have no indication where he was from 50 to 70 AD.
The
Jerusalem church, of course, was totally evacuated by
70 AD because of its destruction by
Rome.
19. Persecutions during the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD) drove John
from
Ephesus to Patmos where he wrote the book of the Revelation. Rev. 1.9
20. Tradition says that after
Patmos,
John returned to
Ephesus
where he died peacefully of old age.
21 The character and growth of John.
a.
Lk. 5.10-11; response to final call
b.
Mark 3.17; Sons of thunder
c.
Mark 9.38, 49: clannish
d.
Luke 9.54: impulsive and judgmental
e.
Mark. 10.35-40; Mt. 20.20-24; pride
f.
John 18.15-17; not ashamed of ID with Christ.
g.
John 19.26-27: faithful in crisis
h.
Acts 1.12-14: initial participation in
Jerusalem church.
i.
Acts 3.1; 4.19-20
j.
Failure at the
Jerusalem
church.
1. The youngest - Mt. 4.21
2. Most impressionable and greatly influenced by Peter.
3. This is the reason for John's submission to James' leadership of
the church.
a). association with Peter: close
b). in
Jerusalem:
Acts 15
c). Peter's submission to James: Gal. 2.12
d). John's compliance: Acts 15.6
k.
Probably disassociates after the
Jerusalem counsel
Again, probably from Peter's influence. Acts 15.7-11
l.
Most apparent that all the Apostles left
Jerusalem after this
and no longer directly associated with it.
m.
All of John's writings are totally free from
any hint of Mosaic legalism.
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