¶ … 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) .
John continues to preach amidst threats and persecution. He writes letters to the early church proclaiming Christ's messianic reign and rebuking the false prophets, the deceivers and the antichrists such as Cerinthus, who were tainting Jesus' name in the name of 'truth' (2 John 7)
In Revelations 1-3, John, in old age, writes letters to the seven churches in Asia about visions he had showing God's righteous power in delivering the saints; an indication that age need not be a barrier to God's service
References
Brownrigg, C. R. (2002). Who's Who in the New Testament? London, UK: Routledge.
Whalde, V. C. (1995). Community in Conflict: the History and Social Context of the Johannine Community. Interpretation, 49 (1), 387-389.
