The word beloved means to be loved much. Imagine that word being tagged with your name. Obviously, someone loved you very much if that is the way they described you. Now, imagine that, in the framework of scripture, in the context of being a disciple of Jesus! The one with “the beloved” tagged to his name is the Apostle, John. John was responsible for the gospel of John, I John, II John, III John and the book of Revelation.
John was a fisherman. Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee when He saw John mending his fishing nets, with his father and brother James. Jesus called them to come and follow Him. He had just called Peter and Andrew while they were fishing. The Bible says they immediately left their nets and followed Jesus. All four left their profession to follow Jesus.
Mat 4:19-20 “And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
Matthew 4:21-22 “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
I find it interesting that James and John also left their father to follow Jesus. They laid aside their occupation, and their family to be fully committed to Jesus and the ministry. It reminds me of the verse in Matthew 10:37, where Jesus says that if we love father or mother more than Him, we are not worthy of Him. John knew exactly what it meant to abandon everything for Jesus.
Matthew 10:37 “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Scholars say that John was more like Jesus in his personality traits than any of the others. John was milder and seemingly more levelheaded. He was not impetuous like Peter. It was John and Peter who were the first disciples to the tomb. John ran ahead of Peter and stopped at the door, but when Peter got there, in his style, he crashed on in. John was a thinker, and I imagine him processing this scene before he acted.
It is John that was leaning on Jesus at the Last Supper. He describes himself in John 13:23 as the disciple that Jesus loved. We know we are all loved by Jesus. It goes without saying. Therefore, I believe there was a connection between Jesus and John that did not exist with the others. Peter was also in this scene, knowing Jesus was right beside John, he wants John to ask Jesus who it was that was going to betray Him. Again, Peter can’t wait, he wants the inside scoop.
John 13:23 “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
Jesus also trusted John to take care of His mother after his death. Jesus knew He would rise again, but not long after that, He would ascend to His Father in Heaven, where He would take His rightful place seated at the right hand of the Father. What an honor for John to be loved and trusted to take care of Mary.
John 19:26-27 “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
We can have the same relationship with Jesus if we are willing to love Him supremely. John reminds us that real love is shown by our obedience. The level of your obedience is in direct correlation to your love. We can be as close to Him as we want to be. His Holy Spirit dwells within the Christian and no matter the circumstances, or where we are, He is with us. If we don’t feel that deep abiding love, it may be that we treat Him like a family member that we don’t see very often. We go to church, put our best foot forward, talk to Him in prayer, or through a song, act excited to be in His presence, then go home and wait another week to visit Him. That is acting out of habit, not love. If we want to be known as beloved, we must be loving. When Christ is supreme, we will love others, we will be kind and compassionate to people we don’t even know. Our love will be a selfless love, that reaches beyond those that love us. Our love will be a trusted love where others trust us with their deepest needs, just like Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to John.
John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
When we love Jesus intimately and compassionately our obedience will be a joy. We won’t have to tell others who we belong to, they will know by the love we show. What an honor to have Jesus think of us as the beloved!
