“Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self.” - Charles Spurgeon, 1869
We know him as John. That being said, you will rarely see him reduced to the single name “John”, since there are a few different individuals of that name throughout scripture. For this reason, we may know him as John plus a descriptor of sorts to differentiate him from John the Baptist, for example. The Bible calls him John the son of Zebedee, John the Apostle, John the Disciple, and John the Son of Thunder. He is also the author of 1st, 2nd, 3rd John, the Gospel of John, and Revelation. Interestingly, all these names show up in other scriptures written about John. John does not call himself any of these things. In fact, every single time you see the name “John” in the gospel which he himself wrote, it is not speaking of the author. There is no introduction to the gospel with his credentials, no sign off with one of his many titles. Instead, he starts his writing by skipping directly to glorifying the deity of Christ, and then proceeds throughout his summary of Christ’s earthly ministry to highlight Jesus as the Son of God. As he does this, he hardly places himself in the story at all. Many of the specific questions and conversations involving John are found in the other gospels, but in his own, he is largely a quiet bystander. When he does mention himself, it isn’t by name or title. He simply addresses himself in third person using an interesting descriptor. We call him many things, and we know him as John. He did not call himself John, or any other title, but largely only one name: The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved.
A name isn’t everything, and titles can sometimes be misleading. In the case of John, however, his decision to call himself only by his relationship to Jesus gives us one of the best examples in scripture as to who we want to be in our walk with Christ. Charles Spurgeon called true humility the “right estimate of one’s self.” John brings to life this idea by removing his own name from the equation, and instead identifying himself through his position in Christ. When John was in a room, he had no personal objectives or agenda. His purpose was whatever Jesus was pursuing. And when no clear purpose was presented, John’s priority was what Jesus wanted. And when we see in scripture the group simply fellowshipping together, John’s place was as close to Christ as he could be. This ought to be our own goal for our personal identities. Our life’s goals, priorities, and location ought to be driven by how close to Christ we can get.
John’s Place
John’s identity as one loved by Jesus leads us to look at him as a disciple who positioned himself near Christ physically, spiritually, and emotionally. His physical proximity to Christ is one of the easiest to track, so we will start with that one. John’s place was where Jesus was. No matter what the situation was, during Jesus’ time on earth, John was glued to him. During the three years of public ministry, John was time and time again one of the three who was included when Jesus sent everyone else away (Mar 5:37, Luk 8:51, Luk 9:28, Mat 17:1). Up a mountain? In a garden? To a house? For a meal? John was with Christ. When times were good, and Christ and the twelve were enjoying a meal together, John could be seen leaning on his chest (John 13:23). When things grew hard, John was there with Christ not only in the trial (John 18:15), but at the cross itself. Peter made it to the door of the trial, but none of the other disciples but John made it to the cross. John stood at the foot of it (John 19:26), as close as he could be to Christ. Even after the resurrection, it’s a fitting thing that when Peter and John heard news of Christ’s vacant tomb, he left his friend behind in pursuit of his place by Jesus' side. Do we pursue our relationship with God the way that John did? Do we run to the Word when we’ve been away, and do we make sure that we are always just a few steps away from where Christ is working?
John’s Priority
Matthew 6:21 tells us that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” John was constantly in close proximity to Jesus, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that we see John with close emotional goals and passions to those of Jesus. John’s priority was what Jesus wanted. This wasn’t something John naturally fell into. He didn’t just happen to be of the exact same mindset that Jesus was when they first met. This was a process of loving Christ, being near him, and adjusting his heart to that of Christ’s over time. The first thing we see about John’s desires and personality is in Mark 3, Jesus gives John and his brother, James, the title of “Boanerges” which is translated in the verse as “The sons of thunder.” This is my favorite name for the brothers. I was surprised to see some commentators speak of this title as if it were a condemnation! They point to Luke 9:54, where John and his brother asked the Lord if they ought to call down fire from heaven for the people rejecting Christ. It seems pretty drastic, right? Christ appropriately rebuked them, letting them know the Son of man had not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. However, I would be hesitant to apply malice to the Boanerges’ question. Instead, I would look to the passion and faith they had in the conversation. They asked: Lord, WILT thou… John’s heart wanted to see what Christ desired! This was not John asking for power or destruction. This was John seeing what Christ’s response would be, and appropriately adjusting his heart. This comes to a culmination by the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when on the cross he invites John to be his brother, as the son of his earthly mother. John’s heart was so aligned with Jesus, that Jesus entrusted his prior spot as a son in the family to him. Do we pursue Christ’s desires and heart in order to make them our own? Do we look for those that Jesus loves and cares for, in an effort to love and care for them on Christ’s behalf?
John’s Purpose
John was physically close to Christ, and emotionally shared the same heart. This contributes to the fact that spiritually, John also adjusted his perspective to that of Christ’s. John’s purpose was what Jesus pursued. Once again, we see a boldness in John that some criticize. In Mark 10:37, the Boanerges asked to sit at the right hand of Christ! What a lofty desire. Again, Christ responds to adjust their mindset. Just as in the prior question of calling down fire, John was desiring to know Christ’s heart and expressing bold faith in asking the impossible. In both of these cases, ironically, the heart of John was actually in line with the end plan of God. It is difficult to condemn the Boanerges when one day those who reject Christ will face fiery consequences for their sin. And as for his desire to be seated with Christ, we as the church currently have what John was asking! We are seated with Christ in heavenly places according to Ephesians 2:6. Do we have bold faith for what Christ desires to do through us? Do we allow our comfortability in ministry to be an excuse for faithlessness in our requests to him?
We should pursue the same heart John had towards Christ. Where we see Christ move is where we want to be. When we see Christ’s heart, we should adjust ours to be closer to his. When we think about our future, it ought to be a future that looks more like what Christ wants and less what we want. One day in eternity we will be glorifying God, and no earthly name will be lifted on our lips. We will praise the name of Jesus for what he has done, and identify ourselves gratefully as simply the Disciples Whom Jesus Loved.
Andrew Best leads the foster ministry and is a children’s ministry administrator at Midtown Baptist Temple.
