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Bible Question: In
the book of John, the apostle John writes many times about the
disciple whom Jesus loved. John 13:23 is one of them, " .
. . the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him." John
19:26, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple
whom he loved standing near by, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman,
here is your son'" (NIV). John 2:20, "So she came running
to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved . .
.” (NIV). Who was the disciple whom Jesus loved?
Bible Answer: While
Jesus lived here on this earth, there was one disciple whom Jesus
loved most. He loved one person more. No, He liked one disciple more!
The Disciples. Yes, Jesus loved all of the
people in the world, but He picked only twelve men to be His disciples. He did
not wait until our time and pick one of us today. Jesus did not pick a gentile
or non-Jew. Jesus did not pick a Jewish leader or Sam down the block, Charlie
who was going to seminary, or the tender hearted priest at the temple. Jesus
did not pick just anyone. He picked twelve men: Peter, Andrew his brother, James
the son of Zebedee, John his brother, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the
tax-gatherer, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas
Iscariot. Twelve men.
The Disciples. Among those twelve men, Jesus
spent more time with just three of them: Peter, John, and James. They were together
with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13). They were the only
ones with Him when He went to heal a child (Mark 5:37 and Luke 8:51). Jesus
selected them from among the twelve. They were the only ones Jesus took with
Him to pray with Him in the garden of Gethsemane.
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And
they came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His
disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed. And He took
with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very
distressed and troubled." (NKJV) Mark 14:32-33
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Jesus
did not pick three other disciples such as Judas, Philip and Bartholomew.
He picked Peter, the one who would deny Him. He picked James who
was John's brother, and He chose
the apostle John, who would later be exiled to the island of Patmos
and write the books of 1, 2, and 3 John, as well as Revelation.
The Loved One. Of those three men, there
was one man who understood Jesus more than all the others. There was a closer
relationship between him and Jesus. He appears to have wanted to be with Jesus
more. Yes, Jesus loved all of the disciples. John 13:1 says that He did. But
Jesus was closer to this man because this man wanted to be closer to Jesus. John
21:20 says that Jesus loved this disciple. Scripture never says that about any
other disciple.
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There
was reclining on Jesus’ breast one of His disciples,
whom Jesus loved. (NASB) John 13:23
When
Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He
loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman,
behold, your son!” (NASB) John 19:26
And
so she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple
whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken
away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they
have laid Him.” (NASB) John 20:2
That
disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It
is the Lord.” And so when Simon Peter heard that it
was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped
for work), and threw himself into the sea." (NASB) John
21:7
Peter,
turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following
them; the one who also had leaned back on His breast at the
supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays
You?” (NASB) John 21:20
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