The Apostle John The Disciple Jesus Loved

It’s a scene out of a movie, perhaps: Someone is at work when a teacher walks by and says, “Follow me.” The worker responds without questioning, leaving their job for a life that, on the surface, appears uncertain at best.

If such a thing happened to you at work today, would you drop everything to follow a new leader? What if you knew that it was God the Son who was passing by?

John was one of the two sons of Zebedee, a prominent fisherman of Galilee and, it is believed, a man of some affluence. After all, the Zebedee Fishing Co. had hired help, and Salome, Zebedee’s wife and the mother of James and John, was able to spend time on the road supporting Jesus’ ministry.

But before Salome went along with the disciples, John and James had to be converted. John was first to follow of these two to follow Jesus; we read in Mark 1:19, 20: “When He [Jesus] had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

Jesus called. John and James responded and followed.

It’s one of the shortest conversion narratives in the Bible. There’s no report of John pondering the invitation, no deliberation, no debate. John didn’t perform a Google search to check out Jesus’ background, he didn’t look in the morning newspaper, or scan the cable news channels. John knew, clearly by special revelation, that Jesus was no capricious charlatan, but was in fact the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Throughout John’s life and ministry—which extended from the windswept plains of Palestine to the island of Patmos to the city of Ephesus—his devotion never wavered, and his influence grew. Jesus was especially fond of John, as noted in the references to his being the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” not least because John wanted to remain close to Jesus. John wrote one of the gospel accounts and three epistles. His commission to write Revelation capped a lifetime of study and service; its words still guide believers today.

Jesus called, and John answered. May we each be as responsive to God when He calls us!

Reflect: Is there a call from God you need to answer today? The more we respond to Christ’s continuing calls to follow Him, the closer we want to be to the Savior.

Key Bible Texts

Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. (John 13:23 KJV)