John the Apostle's role in early Christian ministry and the New Testament

¶ … New Testament: The Life of John the Apostle

The Life of John the Apostle: The New Testament

John the Apostle

John and his brother James are called by Jesus to follow Him; they immediately and without question leave their fishing nets and follow Christ (Mat 4:18) (Brownrigg, 2002).

John is one of three disciples' in Jesus' inner circle. He, alongside Peter and James are with Jesus when He raises Jairus' daughter from death (Luke 8:49 -56; Mark 5: 53-43), during the transfiguration (Luke 9: 8; Mathew 17: 1; Mark 9: 2), and in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest (Mark 14: 33). Moreover, John is chosen by Jesus to prepare the Passover celebrations (John 13: 23) and is the first to see Jesus' empty tomb (John 20: 1-10)

John is referred to, time and time again as 'the disciple that Jesus loved' (John 13: 3; 21: 20); however, he was not without his share of weaknesses. He is rebuked by Jesus for forbidding a man to cast out demons in Christ's name (Luke 9: 49) and for asking for prominent positions in Jesus' kingdom (Mark 10: 35).

John's ministry continues in the life of the early church -- he and Peter heal the lame man at the temple (Acts 3: 1-10) and are brought before the Sanhedrin for teaching about the resurrected Christ (Acts 4: 1-31). They refuse to budge insisting that they were obliged to obey God only, and not man (Acts 4: 1-22). He is arrested for continuing to preach, but is released by an angel (Acts 5: 18-41), a sign that God never forsakes those who stand by His name (Whalde, 1995) .