The disciple Jesus loved
Could it be me?
http://youtu.be/VU_rTX23V7Q - Who am I - Casting Crowns
Who am I that Jesus would love me? On my own, I'm nothing. But the love of Jesus can change even me. How do I know?
His love changed the coldest heart (Paul), it even lifted the broken woman who was burdened with past sin. And He took a hothead like John and make his name synonymous with Love.
Mark 3:16-17 ESV
He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
Sons of Thunder
What does that mean? Commentaries explain that this expression given to James and John reflected a loud, rowdy, quick to fight attitude. It appears that our apostle John was a "hot head", always ready to overpower anyone who would speak against what he believed. Jesus would show John and James a better way to deal with disagreements. John was willing to learn. He sat at Jesus' feet and listened.
Jesus called John
When Jesus chose John and his brother James, they weren't homeless, living on the streets, no where to go men. Apparently, Zebedee, their father, had a thriving fishing business. But when Jesus called, John and James both left the security of their family fishing business. They left their family and followed Jesus. These two men - these two "hotheads" - followed without question. God had called them and they answered.
And they followed Jesus.
Matthew 4:18-22 ESV
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
It wasn't long before John and James let their "human side" take control. Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Jerusalem. They could have taken the long route going around Samaria instead of through it. Almost every Jew would travel out of the way in order to avoid going through Samaria because they considered Samaritans to be the scum of the earth. But Jesus sends messengers ahead, right into Samaria, to find lodging for the night. This was unheard of! When the Samaritans wouldn't accommodate them, John and James were ready to blast them off the face of the earth! A bit of an over reaction I'd say. Jesus rebuked them. He had a better way. John trusted Jesus and learned to follow Jesus' directions rather than following his own understanding.Luke 9:51-55 ESV
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them.
"Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!"
John was not tolerate of others who weren't in his little group. He tried to stop people from doing a good thing because he didn't recognize them as true Christ followers. But Jesus told him to leave them alone. Jesus taught John to stand against the real Enemy, not against those who do good.
Could there be a lesson here for me? If someone is not speaking against Jesus, maybe I shouldn't spend quite so much time trying to "shut him/her up". John would learn a different way of dealing with others through Jesus' example and teachings.
Mark 9:38-40 ESV
John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us."
"Me first!"
Matthew 20:20-22 ESV
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able."
There's two ways to consider this passage. As a mother myself, I can understand this mom wanting to secure the best possible position for her sons. On the other hand, as we read Mark's gospel, we see that Mark
shares the same story but he puts all the blame on James and John, leaving out their mother's part in the request. Either way, obviously, James and John were focused on themselves, on what Jesus could offer them. They saw status and power, and they wanted to take the places of honor - right next to the Source of all that power. But Jesus quickly explains that place of honor and power will come to whomever God decides. To share in the power requires sharing in the suffering, too. Would John be willing to suffer?
Mark 10:35-41
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" 37And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
After reading about John, I wonder why Jesus would choose such a man to be one of His closest friends. I'm afraid my first impression of John would have caused me to discount his value for the Kingdom. He was selfish, hotheaded, intolerant, quick to intimate, and not afraid to use violence to make others see his point. Yet this same young man would grow into a man who understood that true power comes from love.
Several passages in the bible refer to John as the apostle whom Jesus loved. But Jesus loved them all. Right?
Notice who is describing John as the one Jesus loved:
John 13:23
One of Jesus' disciples, the one Jesus loved, was sitting next to Jesus at the table.
John 19:26
When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, "Woman, he is your son."
John 20:2
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, "They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!"
John 21:7
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore.
John 21:20
Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them--the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, "Lord, who among us will betray you?"
It was John himself! John repeatedly described himself as "the one Jesus loved". I don't think that came from a pompous attitude of his heart. I think John understood better than most of us how much he was loved by Jesus. I don't think John thought that Jesus loved him more than than he loved the others. He just knew that he was loved. He knew the incredible blessing of being loved by God.
Read John's words and see how this man's heart was changed by Jesus' love. John wants us to understand the amazing power of love - the love we receive and the love we give away.
1 John 4
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God.
If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist. You have heard that he is going to come into the world, and he is already here.
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
These people belong to this world, so they speak from the world's viewpoint, and the world listens to them.
But we belong to God; that is why those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.
This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.
Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
All who proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.
Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.
We love each other as a result of his loving us first.
If someone says, "I love God," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen?
And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.
No More Son of Thunder - John is the Apostle of LOVE
John learned from Jesus what it meant to love others and what it meant to be loved unconditionally by His Savior. John understood that Jesus knew him - with all his faults and shortcomings, yet Jesus still loved him. John knew the difference the love of Jesus had made in his life. He was a changed man. John was no longer a "son of thunder", he became "the Apostle whom Jesus loved". Not only is John known for being the apostle Jesus loved, John is now the Apostle of Love. His books talk about love more than any other book in the New Testament. The Gospel according to John, 1,2,3 John and the book of Revelation were written by a man who knew he was greatly loved. His response to that love was to love Jesus with all his heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love others as himself.
Luke 10:27
And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
When I started to write this devotional, I wanted to make the point that God can use any of us - even a hotheaded, violent, intimidating man like John. Jesus called John because God had a plan for him. That plan included transforming his brutishness to make people conform to his thinking, into a man who will be forever known for his love. That's what love can do for me, too. It can change my heart and conform me into the likeness of Christ.
Maybe John called himself "the disciple Jesus loved" as a reminder. He didn't want to ever forget how much Jesus loved him. I don't want to ever forget how much Jesus loves me, either.
Holy Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for changing my heart with Your love. Thank You, Jesus, for loving me, proving your love through Your death on the cross. Thank You for loving me even when I'm not so lovable. I may not be a hothead like John was, but, like him, I, too, can be self-centered and quick to judge others when they don't live up to my expectations. Help me to remember that "I am the disciple Jesus loves". Help me to share that amazing love with everyone I meet. Thank You for believing in John. What a wonderful man he must have been! I'm so thankful that You used John to write Your inspired words about the importance of love. Thank You Lord for showing me that You can change anyone with Your great love.
Forgive me when I fail to love others, when I fail to remember how much I'm loved by You. Today, please help me love like You love, without conditions or reserve. In the blessed name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
http://youtu.be/EdSM3RQhlu8 - Unfailing Love - Chris Tomlin
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