JOHN – Chapter 21
What/who was important to Jesus?
His disciples/followers, which includes us
What needs did Jesus meet?
He provides our daily sustenance---both physical and spiritual
What did Jesus ask or require of his followers?
To follow Him as in living by His example and meeting peoples’ needs, wherever they are
What issues did Jesus address (relationships, work, money, character, religious practice, etc.)?
“Feeding the Sheep”
What is compelling to you about Jesus in this section?
Jesus, once again, invites us to follow Him and His Way
How do followers respond to Jesus?
Most bible scholars believe that John 21 is an appendix to John, so that the second ending to John is verses 24-25, which state: “This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (RSV)
What in this section challenges us to respond/ imitate/obey?
As above---here we find that “the disciple” is the ‘Beloved Disciple,’ who is unknown/never identified (but commonly thought to be John) bears witness to Jesus and that he is most likely the first author of John---and that the “we” in the verses are the church/believing Christians who affirm the disciple’s witness to Jesus and are called also to bear witness to Jesus---finally, the “I” in the verses is the second and final author/scribe or redactor of John, who edited the text together so that the Gospel of John could guide us into bearing witness to Jesus
How did Jesus change the world (for an individual or for a community)? He showed us the Way to live and meet our needs by following Him
What vision of being missional do you glimpse for yourself? For the church? The church has been called to follow Jesus by bearing witness to Him and following His example and meeting peoples’ needs where they are
You wrote: here we find that “the disciple” is the ‘Beloved Disciple,’ who is unknown/never identified (but commonly thought to be John)
ReplyDeleteThere's no good reason not to subject EVERY idea to Biblical scrutiny -- "prove all things" -- and we do that by checking ideas against the facts that are recorded in the plain text of scripture. For example, it is made clear in the third to the last verse in his gospel the "other disciple, whom Jesus loved" reports that he was the subject of the FIRST FALSE TEACHING among the New Testament brethren. So why in the world would anyone think that men who lived a hundred years later couldn't possibly teach a wrong idea about this unnamed author? Before Jesus even left the planet we see the beginning of a false teaching about the one whom "Jesus loved" being spread!
The truth is there is not a single verse in scripture that would justify teaching that John was the unnamed "other disciple, whom Jesus loved" and yet most simply assume that this tradition cannot be wrong and then reinterpret scripture to fit this idea. NON-Bible sources continue to parrot the unbiblical John tradition but the facts found in the plain text of scripture prove that WHOEVER this anonymous author was he most certainly was not John -- because this would require the Bible to contradict itself.
We're told, "[It is] better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man". Given this explicit statement (along with similar statements in scripture on this matter) it is clear that one should be leery of those who encourage people trust in NON-Bible sources and put their confidence in unbiblical man-made traditions. To show respect for the word of God we need to heed the Biblical admonition to "prove all things" - and not simply be repeating the ideas of men but rather looking to scripture and searching the scriptures to see if what we have read or have been told can stand up to Biblical scrutiny. The John idea cannot.
Since you will discover that you cannot cite a single verse of scripture that would justify promoting the idea that John was this unnamed “other disciple”, you may be led to take another look at what the Bible has to say on this matter. If so instead of looking to the writings of men try a Bible-only based strategy; examine the facts stated in scripture and compare what the Bible says about "the disciple whom Jesus loved" with what it says about John. If we want proof that the vast majority of religious leaders/scholars can be wrong all we have to do is look at the Bible, when they too made void the word of God by their tradition and resisted the truth. The Bible evidence proves that whoever the one who "Jesus loved" was he could not have been John -- because the Bible cannot contradict itself as the John idea requires. The Bible says what it says. So no matter how many men one can find parroting the ideas of men found in NON-Bible sources the fact is the Biblical evidence proves that John was not the "other disciple whom Jesus loved" (the anonymous author of the fourth gospel). The John idea comes from NON-Bible sources and the hand-me-down ideas of men but scripture says otherwise.
Thanks for stopping by---this should help you: TheoPoetic Musings: LAZARUS AS A BIBLICAL AND NON-BIBLICAL MOTIF: Intro
ReplyDeleteAlso, the bible does contradict itself especially in it's human produced translated form. Thirdly, scripture doesn't teach bible onlyism/bible alone as the bible is a composite of different writings by different authors from different places reflecting different viewpoints about their personal experiences with God's self-revelation as fully found in Christ. Finally, thanks for your insights as they aid in promoting different viewpoints here!