Why does Jesus have a “disciple He loves”?

[fide]

Yes, we understand Thomas the same way. I stated my paraphrase very poorly, such as to lead to misreading/misunderstanding. Thank you for the correction. The example you gave is very good.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Because we all have friends who are closer to us. A core group of your closest friends, Jesus had this with John, Peter and James. And in that core group, one best friend. It is not wrong to have a best friend, in fact, it is good for us!