The name John is translated from the Greek
Iōan[n]ēs, from the Hebrew Yohanan or y’hohanan, meaning “Yahweh has favored.”1 Being a fairly common name in ancient Palestine,2
this study concerns John the son of Zebedee and Salome and younger brother of
James (Matt. 4:21; 27:56; cf. Mark 15:40). He worked as a fisherman on the Sea
of Galilee with his father and brother, plus Simon [Peter] and Andrew and hired
servants. One day as John was mending fishing nets in a boat on the shore, Jesus
invited him to join his newly developing band of followers, and John dutifully
complied (Matt.
4:18-2; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11).
Boanērges, Aramaic for "sons
of thunder," is the description Jesus applied to John and his older brother
(Mark 3:17), presumably because of their explosive dispositions. They were easily
angered and brash (Luke 9:54), not to mention pretentious and self-seeking
(Mark 10:35-44). One might wonder why these two volatile individuals, along
with the erratic Simon Peter, were allowed
into Christ’s “inner circle” and afforded opportunities unavailable to anyone
else (Mark 1:29-31; 5:37; 9:2; 13:3; 14:33). Perhaps it was due to the fact that they
were especially flawed and thus required
the Lord’s extra attention.3
John was married and owned a house, and he
was responsible and gracious enough to take in Jesus’ mother and siblings after
the Lord’s death (John 19:25-27; 20:10; 1 Cor. 9:5; cf. Acts 1:13-14). He would
go on to prove himself as a pillar in the Lord’s church (Gal. 2:9) and contribute
five documents to the New Testament: a Gospel, three epistles, and the book of
Revelation.5 His self-description as “the beloved disciple” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2;
21:7, 20) may seem a bit arrogant from a
modern, westernized perspective, but within the context of John’s particular life-setting
it is seen as a humble and appreciative way of saying, “Christ loved even me.”
John’s brother was brutally martyred (Acts 12:1-2), but that did not deter John from faithfully continuing his apostolic
ministry. According to tradition he moved to Ephesus in the Roman province of
Asia during the Jewish War of 66-70 and spent the remainder of his days in that
area.5 His writings were said to be at the request of area
congregations as a summary of his teachings to meet special needs prominent
near the close of the first century.6 In his latter years he was banished to the Mediterranean isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:9),
a rugged, rocky island about 40 miles/24 kilometers southwest of Ephesus in the
Aegean Sea, used by the Romans as a place of exile (cf. Pliny, Natural History 4.23).
John’s ministry spanned an impressive seven decades.
He reportedly lived into the reign of
Trajan (98-117),7 and Jerome marks the apostle’s death at the year
98 (De vir. ill. 9). It is commonly
believed that John is the only apostle to have died naturally of old age,
although an alternative tradition (attributed to Papias of Hierapolis) claims
that he was murdered by the Jews.
John’s initial self-centeredness and ill
temperament were no match for the transforming influence of Jesus Christ. John will
always be affectionately remembered as the apostle of love.8 At the
same time, his writings vigorously challenge anyone who misconstrues biblical
love as a soft, permissive, or shallow ambiguity. The inspired words of the apostle of love are simple yet forthright, authoritative, absolute, and uncompromising. As one
whom “Yahweh has favored,” we will do well to learn from John’s example and to
diligently study and apply his perpetually-relevant teachings.
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 It is possible that the name
is also a variant form of Iōnas or Jonah (Heb. Yonah =
dove/pigeon). Compare Matt. 16:17; John 1:42; 21:15-17.
2 John Hyrcanus, John the
baptizer, John the apostle, John Mark, an associate of the high priest (Acts 4:6), etc.
3 See Christ's Inner Circle. John, James, and Peter are the only original apostles mentioned by name in the New Testament outside the Gospels and beyond Acts 1:13.
4 The author of the
Fourth Gospel was a Palestinian Jew (1:19-28; 4:9, 20; etc.), an eyewitness (1:14;
19:35; etc.), and one of the twelve (13:23; 18:15-16; 19:26-27; 20:2-9). The
epistle of 1 John shares a number of striking similarities in theme,
vocabulary, and syntax with John’s Gospel, and the other two epistles are
linked to 1 John in vocabulary and theme. Revelation explicitly claims to be
from John (1:1, 4, 9; 21:2; 22:8).
5 See
Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.31.3; 5.24.2;
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.1.1.
6 Sources include Clement of
Alexandria (cf. Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 6.14), the Muratorian Canon, the
Anti-Marcionite Porlogue, Jerome (Comm. Matt. Prol.), Epiphanius of
Salamis (Adv. Haer. 41.12), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 3.1.2), and
Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 3.1.1; 3.24).
7 Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 2.22.5; 3.1.1; 3.3.4;
Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.23.3.
8 Cf. John 5:43; 8:42; 10:17; 13:34-35; 14:15, 21, 23, 31; 15:9, 10, 12, 13,
17, 19; 17:26; 21:15-17; 1 John 2:5, 15; 3:1, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 23; 4:7-12,
16-21; 5:2-3; 2 John 1, 3, 5, 6; 3 John 1.
Related Posts: Christ's Inner Circle, The 12 Apostles (Part 1)
The scripture in Acts referring to the death of James should be Acts 12:1-2.
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