1 John 1:1 – 4 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life. And this is the life that was revealed; we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write these things so that your joy may be complete.”
Matthew 4:21-22 “Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.”
When James and John came back from fishing that morning and began mending their nets, they had no idea that their lives were about to change forever! They were sitting there minding their own business when Jesus the carpenter’s son from Nazareth came by. But when Jesus called, there was something so compelling about his voice that they had to follow him. And follow him they did, for the rest of their lives.
Had you been picking disciples, James and John might not have made the cut. For one thing, they were working men with only basic educations. For another, they both had tempers! Jesus himself nicknamed James and John “Sons of thunder.” But John became the disciple who was closest to Jesus. John was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. It was John to whom Jesus revealed the name of Judas as His betrayer. It was John who followed Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest and who spoke to the guard so that Peter was allowed to come into the courtyard. It was John who followed Jesus to Calvary. And it was John to whom Jesus gave the care of His mother Mary.
King Herod killed James during the early days of the church; however, John lived a long and productive life, albeit a tumultuous one. At one point, John was exiled to the Island of Patmos in about 95 AD, and it was there that he had the visions that are discribed in the Book of Revelations. It’s likely that John wrote his letters to the early Christians shortly before he was sent to Patmos.
John might have had a temper, but he could love passionately and persistently. The Gospel of John and the epistles shine with love for Jesus. John has the same sense of urgency that Peter had when writing his epistles. John wants his readers to know that he has been an eye witness to everything he is describing. You can hear the voice of a working man, a fisherman, who has no time for fancy phrases but who is telling the truth plainly.
ETERNAL LIFE! FELLOWSHIP! JOY! These are the things that John wants his readers to grasp and to experience. John spent three of the most important years of his life living closely with Jesus, absorbing His teachings and observing His way of life. John wants everyone who reads his writings to feel the same wonder and exhilaration that he has felt.
As we continue to study John’s epistles, please give your imagination free play. Join James and John as they sit in that boat in the shallows of the Sea of Galilee. Listen to the seagulls crying. Hear the waves lapping on the shore. Smell the tang of the water. And look! There on the shore someone is coming! The morning sun is gleaming on His face. You don’t know what is about to happen, but you are sure of one thing: your life is about to change forever!
PRAYER: Father God, thank you for John’s faithfulness. Thank you for your love, for your fellowship, and for your joy! Let all who read this seek you and know the wonders of eternal life in You. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
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