Let Us be the Special Disciples (1) (John 20:1-10)
When we look at the entire book of John, the word “disciple” appears twenty times. Of those, “beloved disciple” appears five times and “the other disciple” appears seven times. The disciple that was called “beloved disciple” and “the other disciple” was John. Thus, John was the “special disciple” who received special love from Jesus. Let us look at John’s family and progression of faith to learn how he was able to become the “special disciple.”
I. John’s family and the faith of his mother.
John was the son of Zebedee and the brother of James. He was a fisherman of Galilee lake (Mt 4:21-22) and his father was wealthy enough to own boats and hire labor. His mother, Salome (Mt2 7:56, Mk 15:40), had great faith who was able to understand the heart of Jesus and his Word. Behind Jesus’ special love for John was the prayers and efforts of John’s mother Salome.
Salome, the mother of John, was one of the women who saw Jesus through his suffering to the end, and went to see Jesus’ tomb in the morning of his resurrection (Mk 16:1). Also, she asked Jesus to sit her sons James and John on his left and right side in his kingdom (Mt 20:20-23). This was not simply out of human desire, but from the understanding through hearing the Word and asking to achieve what will happen in the future.
In the entire bible, we cannot find another believer like John’s mother Salome, who bravely and clearly asked for things to achieve her goal that she realized. The faith and power of prayer of this mother was part of what made John special.
II. John was distinguished from the other eleven disciples as “the other disciple”.
John was disciple of Jesus just like the eleven other disciples, but as a special disciple who was different from others, he was able to understand the heart of Jesus and thus, received special love from Jesus. Here, ‘different’ is not referred to by nature, but by superiority. He was a disciple like the rest of them, but he was different in that he was their leader. In general, it seems like Peter is the leader of the disciples. However, looking at the bible carefully, we can see that John is the special disciple who was more superior than Peter. This is the same principle as how Joseph, the eleventh son, became the true first born even though Reuben was the physical first born among the twelve sons of Jacob.
In John 14:16, “another counselor” is the same as holy spirit in its nature, but different in its role. The Counselor holy spirit tells the future, acts as mediator, and is with us all the time. It is different from other holy spirits in its role.
On the other hand, “different spirit, different Jesus, different gospel” in 2 Cor 11:4 is different in nature and they are not disciples of Jesus at all. They do not know how to understand the heart of God and are outside God’s interest. They think they are good believers but they will be judged by God, who says to them, “I do not know who you are” (Mt7:21, Mk1:19).
3. John received the nickname of Boanerges.
John was a disciple of Jesus just as the other eleven. However, there were many differences. As for his personality,
(1) he was easily angered
(2) he was alienating
(3) had lack of tolerance
(4) he easily regrets
(5) was full of greed.
Lk 9:51, 56 says that because people did not welcome his people, John asked Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven and destroy them. However, after he came to Jesus and received his grace, just like his nickname “Boanerges” (son of thunder, Mk 3:17), he quickly repented and with burning passion, believed in Jesus. Furthermore, when it came to understanding the Word, unlike the other disciples he understood instantly like lightening. Jesus said he will work through John, which will astonish the world.
Likewise, with the grace of Jesus, John’s original personality changed to be able one that can receive the name of “beloved disciple” and “the other disciple.” He understood the will of Jesus from his heart and stood on the blessed place of always understanding his heart.
Conclusion:
As we saw today, John was hot tempered and lacked tolerance. However, after he received grace he repented completely and became a disciple who passionately loved Jesus, was able to understand Jesus’ heart always, and became his comforter. After Jesus died on the cross, he even took care of Jesus’ mother as his own. Likewise, we must follow after John’s faith and receive the love of Jesus to become the “special disciple.”
Original Text (Korean): http://www.pyungkang.com/logos_01/170171
Translation by Kim Yeon Hee (Orlando Green Hill Church, USA)