Do you remember about two brothers being in a fishing boat at the sea of Galilee, when the Lord Jesus walked on the shore and said for them to follow Him? The name of one brother was James, the other, John. They worked with their father, and two other men, Andrew and Peter, were partners with them.
It seems these young men had already believed. the words of the earnest prophet that the Messiah had come, and that Jesus was that holy One. Then they had just seen His power to cause the-fish to come in great numbers into the net; they did not wait, but obeyed Him at once.
They knew, to go with the One sent by God was far more important than their business. Jesus told them they should be “fishers of men”; the “net” they would use would be words of the glad tidings of Him as Saviour to draw people to Him, and they later went everywhere to do that great work.
The leaders of the temple thought Peter and John were “unlearned”, but they had no doubt, been taught to read the Scriptures and to write, as all Jewish boys in the synagogue school in the towns. They would also learn the words of God from their parents, and hear it read on the sabbath in the synagogue and in the temple at the feast times. Best of all they learned from the Lord Jesus those last three years they were with Him, and then by the Holy Spirit.
A great work given John was to write the life of Jesus, which is called “The gospel (glad tidings) according to John”. Its words are so easy to read many children have learned reading while it was read in the home; yet it has truths as great as can be told, and the wisest people have read it over and over, and there was still more to learn and enjoy.
John did not name himself in the book, only as “the other disciple”, (with Peter, Luke 22:8) and “the disciple. whom Jesus loved”. It seems he prized. the love of the Lord Jesus so much he wanted to be known only as Jesus loved (john 20:2-4: 21:20, 24).
It was that same love of Jesus that John wanted others to know too, Thai: was why his book was written:
“These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye nigh; have life through His name.” John 20:31.
John suffered with the other disciples after Jesus’ death; they were put in prison and badly treated, because they told people of Him. For that reason James was killed by the king, and John was kept on a lonely island “for the testimony of Jesus Christ”, or because he spoke for Christ. That is the last known about John.
What were James and John doing when rests called them, and who was their father? (Mark 1;19, read also Luke 5:1-11; Matt: 4:19).
On what island was John kept? (Rev. 1:9).
ML 05/05/1946