Why was John the favorite?

[eddy714]

I was reading my bible and this question just popped in my head I googled it but didn’t get a

clear answer so thats why I am posting it here.

When I googled this question it also came with a question mark saying if he was the beloved

one, or if it was another disciple and now I am .

So any feed back would be great.

God Bless

praying for the souls in purgatory.

 

[valentino]

I’m not sure if the bible gives an answer for this.i guess some people are just attracted to a certain person for some reason or another.Most of us are attracted to someone who others aren’t so attracted to.Maybe Jesus just saw something in John that he liked.

 

[EricFilmer]

I was reading my bible and this question just popped in my head I googled it but didn’t get a

clear answer so thats why I am posting it here.

When I googled this question it also came with a question mark saying if he was the beloved

one, or if it was another disciple and now I am .

So any feed back would be great.

Eddy, your confusion is well-founded. Scripture scholars have debated for centuries over the exact identity of the Beloved Disciple of the Forth Gospel, and why he was called “the one whom Jesus loved.” The most common belief is that the author of this gospel as well as the identity of the Beloved Disciple is John the Apostle. But from a purely textual examination of the Forth Gospel, it is anonymous and the name of the Beloved Disciple is not revealed.

Most Bible commentaries on John will present various scholarly opinions on the matter. I am away from my personal biblical library for the next few days, so I will have to leave it to others to weigh in on this.

But I can tell you this - some notable Bible scholars see the Beloved Disciple as a historical person who is presented in the gospel in a symbolic way. He serves to represent the Church. Therefore, in loving him, Jesus loves all of us. Likewise, whatever Jesus does for John in the Forth Gospel, he does for the whole Church. Whatever we see the Beloved Disciple doing in the Forth Gospel, we are to imitate. For example, the Beloved Disciple attended the Last Supper with his head upon the chest of Jesus. We are to go to Mass and be close to the Heart of Christ. The Beloved Disciple ran to the empty tomb but let Peter enter first. We are to be zealous and impassioned in being spiritual witnesses of the Resurrection (i.e., “Have you heard the Good News? He is risen!”), but must always defer to Apostolic authority in the Church. And when we read about the Beloved Disciple taking Mary into his home to be a son to her, we are to practice Marian devotion and honor her as our mother.

 

[Waiting]

I’m not sure if the bible gives an answer for this.i guess some people are just attracted to a certain person for some reason or another.Most of us are attracted to someone who others aren’t so attracted to.Maybe Jesus just saw something in John that he liked.

The Bible doesn’t say why John was the favorite, but I suspect there were a number of reasons: John was the youngest. He had an energetic personality; Jesus called John and James “Sons of Thunder.” I can imagine that John was an earnest, excitable, stimulating disciple. He was most likely the favorite of several of the group.

 

[m_crane]

I can’t give a scholarly answer to this question. But I do have an opinion. I always thought that John was the Apostle who was the most innocent and childlike. The others seem to have been older and more worldly, maybe more familiar with sinfulness. And perhaps their worldliness created a barrier to their ability to fully express their love for Jesus.

I always imagined John more pure of heart, so he was more able to love and be loved by Jesus. The other Apostles were just recognizing this as a fact and relating it to us.

Of course, Jesus loved all of the Apostles with infinite love, as He loves us.

 

[Moontown_Rabbit]

Although the name of the apostle is not mentioned, in John we read that Christ’s mother (Mary) and his mother’s sister (also Mary), and Mary of Magdala are all standing near the cross. In addition to the three Marys, “the disciple whom he loved” is also standing there. If you look at icons of the crucifixion, you often see two or three women and one man standing near the cross. Although not explicitly stated in scripture, it is often inferred that the man is John the Apostle. Assuming this is the case, it is not hard to see why John would be the most beloved - he was the only apostle who had enough love for Christ to stand by Him while He died. It seems fitting that Christ would favour the apostle who loved Him the most.

 

[Poof]

I remember my grade 7 religion teacher telling us that john was jesus’ favorite, but he never got into any of the details.

 

[Little_One0307]

This question kinda relates to this topic. I was going to post it as a new thread but decided it would go better in this topic as it relates to it.

If John wrote the fourth Gospel, why do you think that he may have referred to himself as the beloved disciple? Was this for humility?

Thanks. If I need to start another thread will please someone let me know and I will do it.

Little One0307

 

[RosaryFan]

I was reading my bible and this question just popped in my head I googled it but didn’t get a

clear answer so thats why I am posting it here.

When I googled this question it also came with a question mark saying if he was the beloved

one, or if it was another disciple and now I am .

So any feed back would be great.

God Bless

praying for the souls in purgatory.

John, who remained with Our Lord during his passion and death, and who received our Blessed Mother as his own at the foot of the cross, represents all of Christ’s diciples. Therefore, I believe he is the “beloved disciple” because he represents all of us.

Of course, this is just my opinion.