St. John the Apostle and Evangelist — The Disciple Jesus Loved
- Ken Kalis
- Dec 27, 2025
- 4 min read
The Bible tells us John was the disciple Jesus loved. We see this
When he leans on Jesus' breast at the last supper
When he comes to the cross, and Jesus gives him His mother.
Later, when He visits John and commissions him to write Revelation.
This is the fullest expression of that love, the privilege of revealing Him as He is now - In His glory.
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Each of the apostles uniquely met Jesus, but John — the son of Zebedee, brother of James — seems to have known Him most intimately. He was there from the very beginning: a young fisherman called from his nets on the Sea of Galilee, becoming one of Jesus’ “inner three,” present at the raising of Jairus’ daughter, at the Transfiguration, and in the Garden of Gethsemane.
But John is remembered above all for this title he quietly gives himself in his Gospel: “the disciple Jesus loved.” It is not the claim of a proud man — it is the humble confession of someone who never got over the miracle of Jesus’ love.
At the Cross — and At the Empty Tomb
When the others fled, John followed Jesus all the way to Calvary. It was to John that Jesus entrusted His mother:
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’”— John 19:26–27
Love stayed.
And love also ran — ran to the empty tomb on Easter morning. John tells us that he outran Peter but waited for him before going inside.
Reverence and eagerness together — a beautiful picture of faith.
The Gospel of Love — Without Sentimentality
John’s Gospel is unlike the others. It begins not with Bethlehem but eternity:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”— John 1:1
John wants us to know that the Jesus he followed was no mere rabbi or prophet — He is the eternal Son, the Word made flesh.
John also writes more than anyone else about love — but never the soft, sentimental love of modern imagination. John’s love is rooted in truth, obedience, and the Cross:
“We love Him because He first loved us.”— 1 John 4:19
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”— 1 John 3:18
And perhaps most searching of all:
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.”— 1 John 5:3
The Revelation — A Final Testimony
In his old age, exiled on the rocky island of Patmos, John received the vision we call Revelation — not speculation, not myth, but testimony:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…”— Revelation 1:10
There, John saw Jesus not as the humble carpenter — but as Lord of glory: eyes like fire, voice like many waters, the Alpha and the Omega. The Gospel shows us the humbled Christ; Revelation shows us the reigning Christ.
This was not the disciple Jesus loved embracing his old Friend:
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: - Revelation 1:17
This was not Jesus of Nazareth as John knew Him on earth. This is Jesus as He is now:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; -- Revelation 1{17-19
The Old Apostle’s Final Word
Church tradition says that John lived to a great age in Ephesus, too frail in his last years to preach long sermons. They would carry him into the congregation, and he would simply say:
“Little children, love one another.”
When asked why he repeated the same words, he answered:
“Because it is the Lord’s command — and if this alone be done, it is enough.”
What John Teaches Us Today
Christianity is first a relationship with Jesus, not merely a system of belief.
That truth and love belong together — never separated.
That love perseveres — it follows Jesus to the Cross.
And that our hope is not in this world, but in the Lamb who reigns.
May we — like John — rest our heads upon Christ, receive His love deeply, and reflect it faithfully.
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For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
(Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!)
Hallelujah!
The kingdom of this world;
Is become
The kingdom of our Lord
And of His Christ
And of His Christ
[Verse 2]
And He shall reign for ever and ever
And He shall reign forever and ever
And He shall reign forever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And Lord of lords forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
King of kings forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And Lord of lords forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
King of kings forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And Lord of lords
King of kings and lord of lords
[Verse 3]
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
He shall reign
And he shall reign forever and ever
[Refrain]
King of kings forever and ever
And Lord of lords hallelujah hallelujah
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings and Lord of lords
King of kings and Lord of lords
And he shall reign forever and ever
Forever and ever and ever and ever
(King of kings and Lord of lords)
[Outro]
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
-------Handel's Messiah
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