The apostle John never refers to himself by name in his gospel. Moreover, he never mentions his brothers' name or his mother's name. He rather hides in the shadows and in the "we" passages in his gospel (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:20-24). He has powerful keen spiritual insight and rare intellect. He is the keenest interpreter of Christ. He is perhaps the "greatest of all mystics." John saw more than anyone else in the person and work of Christ. John is never visible in his gospel, but Jesus is never invisible. As a disciple of John the Baptist he learned that Jesus "must increase, I must decrease."

He has been described by scholars as a dreamer, a mystic, seer, poet, philosopher and fisherman. His personality reveals an intuitive thinker. "When he saw, he saw far more than others did. When he heard, he heard what others did not hear. When he handled, he became conscious of matters not patent to the common crowd. John was a man who was ever looking for the invisible, and seeing it; listening for the audible, and hearing it; feeling after the intangible, and sensing it," observed G. Campbell Morgan.

John was melancholic temperament, genius mind and rarest soul. He keeps silent in the shadows and broods like a genius of the greatest philosophers. Like the Hebrew prophet Isaiah he was deeply stirred by the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He had been a disciple of John the Baptizer until he was called by Jesus to come and follow.

A. T. Robertson said, "The young John had in him the finest kind of stuff that appealed to the heart of Jesus and made possible the highest and holiest friendship that earth has known." John's keen mind was ready for the touch of the Master Teacher. He responded quickly to His teaching and coaching. Robertson adds, "His knowledge ripened and mellowed through a long life" till he produced "the greatest book of all time."

Peter, James and John were the inner three in the circle of close companions of Jesus.

At the cross of Jesus, John is alone of all the apostles, with the group of faithful women, including probably Mary the mother of Jesus and his own mother (John 19:25-27). He was the first of the disciples to believe in the fact that Jesus was risen from the dead (John 20:8).

THE MAN JOHN

We know him as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" and "the other disciple." John was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, and he was probably the youngest son of Zebedee and Salome, and the youngest of the disciples. Many scholars think Salome is the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (Mark 15:40; John 19:25). If so, then James and John are cousins of Jesus. John's mother followed Christ, ministered to Him, was at the cross and among those who went to anoint the body of Christ.

John's father was a successful fisherman, owning his own vessel and prosperous enough to have hired servants. John followed in his father's trade and was apparently successful since he also had a home in Jerusalem where he took Mary the mother of Jesus after her son's death.

As a disciple of John the Baptizer he was a thoughtful, earnest, pious Jew who was prepared for the coming of the Messiah. His contact with Jesus convinced him that Jesus Christ was "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

We know on occasion that John and James were intolerant of other believers. John spoke up and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us" (Luke 9:49). Jesus told him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you." (v. 50). Old Adam's nature has a subtle way of coloring much of what we do. It has to be tamed by the love and power of God. That trait came out later when he dealt with the antichrist teachers and gnosticism in the First Epistle.

John is a man of religious influence and contacts who had access to the high priest and his court when Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin (John 18:15). He knew his way around the courtyard and went into the room where the trial was taking place.

John is revealed in the Scripture as full of natural energy (Mark 3:17), intolerant at times (9:38), vindictive (Luke 9:54), ambitious (Mark 10:35-37), eager to learn as a student (John 13:23; 1 John 2:9), sympathetic (19:26) with mature love for the Master and others (1 John 4:7-21).

"He was a mystic in the highest sense, a seer with a prophet's vision, a historian with an eye for the essential facts, and an artist with dramatic skill able to reproduce Jesus as the Incarnated Son of God, made flesh and moving among men whom He came to save" (Robertson).

Jesus called James and John "Sons of Thunder" or Boanerges, which is a modified transliteration of the Hebrew Bene Regesh. Regesh literally means "tumult" or "uproar." Rogez means the "rumbling of a storm." This is probably a reflection on the temperament of John. John and his brother "could flash fire at times." "A man cannot flash fire unless he has some flint in him. It runs up and down his backbone and it shows in his face," says Hayes. Zeal and enthusiasm were part of their personalities. When a man seals his testimony with his very life, you know he is in dead earnest about what he believes. John's brother James was the first of the apostles to seal his testimony with his death as a martyr.

Jesus takes the intensity of their personalities, develops it and uses it for His work. Someone said, "When God makes a prophet, he does not unmake the man." God takes all that is good in our personalities, talents, gifts, abilities, interests and hones them into instruments for His glory.

How did Jesus tame the fire in John? How did He turn the son of thunder into the apostle of love? Only the love of God can tame the fiery zealous personality and channel it in the right direction. When the soul is in close and constant touch with the Master it will be evident in the changed life.

THE METHOD OF JESUS WITH JOHN

What did John "see"?

I think John was one of the two disciples of John the Baptizer who "followed" Jesus when they heard the Baptizer calling Jesus the Lamb of God (John 1:35-42). They joined themselves like glue to Jesus. From that point on John was led into a fuller light of understanding and deeper experience with his Master. His spiritual growth is an example and encouragement for us. With each new experience, we see John growing in his faith and convictions about who Christ is. Every response to light brought enlarged capacity for further revelation. John never lost his power to see spiritual truths. Whenever John received a new vision of the Lord in His glory, he was called upon to trust his Master and grow spiritually and personally. When that truth comes it will always demand a decision on the part of the recipient. How tragic when we halt before God. With each new truth comes new responsibilities to trust and obey, a new area of sacrifice and obedience and some new area of spiritual growth. When I disobey I loose the power to see and grow.

It is vital for all disciples to enter into a fuller, deeper, and richer knowledge of Jesus Christ. What were some of those experiences that made John the apostle of love?

John grew spiritually when He saw the "signs" of the glory of the Son of God.

After the miracle of creating wine John writes, "This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him" (John 2:11). The "signs" Jesus performed were "attesting miracles" which pointed to the "supernatural power of God in redeeming grace" (NASB margin note). These tokens of divine authority "manifested" the glory of the Son of God. John saw the hidden glory of Christ made visible. To John it was clear that Jesus was essentially God. John saw in the miracles the demonstration of the glory of the Son of God.

His whole gospel is a presentation of the evidence of the character of Jesus Christ revealed as the Son of God. "Many other signs [same word] therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (20:30-31).

One of the great principles in the Christian life is seen in the life of John. In proportion as we obey the Word we are enabled to understand still more of His truth and grace. It is a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

W. H. Griffith Thomas observed, "our Lord's miracles were wrought almost exclusively for the purpose of strengthening the faith of His disciples and not for the purpose of winning over the outside world. These men were already His disciples, . . . It was only afterwards that they had miracles to confirm their faith." On various occasion Jesus warned them "see that you tell no man." Thomas adds, "there are few more convincing proofs to the believer himself than the constant experience of God's grace in his soul." Jesus' sign to the lost word was and still is, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Everyone must begin at the death and resurrection of Christ.

It was a personal and growing experience with Christ that changed John. Each miracle along with the teaching of the Master Teacher reinforced his convictions. He was in the presence of Christ and surrounded by His grace and influence. It was through this fellowship with Christ that the rough edges in John's personality were knocked off and his attitudes changed and behaviors modified.

The disciple John saw the Creator at work in changing the water to wine. It was evident to John's sharp mind, "All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being" (1:3).

John grew when he saw Jesus' power over death

John with Peter and James saw Jesus raise Jairus' daughter from the dead (Mark 5:36-37). Jesus said to the synagogue official after he had received word that his daughter had died, "Do not be afraid any longer, only keep on believing" [margin NASB]. John saw Jesus take the child by the hand and say, "Talitha kum!" "arise!" "And immediately the girl got up and began to walk; for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this; and He said that something should be given her to eat" (vv. 41-43).

In John chapter eleven Mary and Martha sent word that their brother Lazarus was sick. Jesus told the disciples, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it" (11:4). Jesus waited two more days and Lazarus died. It was not because He didn't love them. John says, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus (v. 5). He tarried that they might see His glory and know who He is.

We see Jesus encouraging their faith when He meets with Martha and He tells her, "Your brother shall rise again. . . I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John quotes Martha saying, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world" (vv. 25-27).

In the next scene, we hear Jesus commanding the men to remove the stone from the tomb entrance. John vividly recalls Martha saying, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench; for he has been dead four days." Jesus replied, "Did I not say to you, if you believe you shall see the glory of God?" Jesus prayed and then cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus come forth." John tells us Lazarus "came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.' Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him" (vv. 38-45).

Would John pass the ultimate test that would come when Jesus died? How good was his vision?

John saw the glory of the cross

However, like Peter and the other disciples, John still had not grasped what it meant for Jesus to be Lamb of God.

After Peter's confession of Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus "began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31). Mark tells us Jesus "was stating the matter plainly" (v. 32). You remember, Peter reacted angrily and violently. We don't know John's reaction to those words.

John was there at the transfiguration and Jesus, "Was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten then" (Mark 9:2-3). Elijah appeared with Moses and "they were conversing with Jesus" (v. 4). It scared the life out of Peter and he got to talking out of his head. "Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!' And all at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus only" (vv. 7-8). Then Jesus "gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man should rise from the dead" (v. 9). When would they be permitted to talk about that experience? Only after Jesus had died and risen from the dead.

Jesus was glorified before their very eyes in a way they had never realized before. The three were permitted to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God as He was in heaven before He became flesh. John saw that Jesus was the Son of God in contrast to the Moses and Elijah, who were only servants of God. However, the disciples were stumbling over the cross and Moses and Elijah were discussing the coming death with Jesus. Luke tells us that from that point on, "He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem" (9:51).

Years later John would write, "We beheld His glory" (1:14). John reminds us in his gospel that there were many other experiences that were too sacred to write in his book. "A true disciple always knows more than he can tell." The important thing for us to learn is Christ always becomes more precious to those who are in an intimate fellowship with Him. The more intimate and personal is our fellowship with Christ the more precious He will be to our own souls, and the more powerful will be our witness for Him.

John grew when he saw himself

Luke tells us that about this time Jesus met up with some hostile Samaritans who "did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem" (Luke 9:52-53). John and James were ready to intervene. "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" I always grin when I read those words. Who has the power to command such judgment? Not the disciples. Jesus got stern with them and rebuked them. This rough edge needed to be knocked off. We need the exhortation that comes from the Lord. Like John, we have blind spots that we don't see but others do, and these need to be revealed and changed through God's grace and power so we can become better witnesses for Christ.

Growing through service

We see more rough edges being honed off of John when his mother went to Jesus asking for a special seat in the kingdom for her sons. She said to Jesus, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left" (Matthew 20:21). Jesus responded, "You do not know what you are asking for. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?"

Jesus worked at clarifying the values of James and John and Salome. "Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (20:26-28). Service, not power and control is what Christ demands. Not greatness, but service. He calls for "unconscious self-forgetfulness." Before it was over, I think John was probably saying, "I am glad the Lord did not answer my prayer."

How easy it is to get side tracked off into the oblivion of power, politics, little personal kingdoms, making people into prodigies of ourselves, thinking that is what makes us great in the kingdom. Green-eyed ministerial jealousy in the kingdom never serves any good purpose. Opportunities for service is the sign of growth. When God has prepared our hearts He will invite us to come and join Him in what He is doing.

Growing through obedience

Someone has candidly said, the angels do God's will "without asking any questions." Another responded, "They must not be Baptists!" When God speaks we form a committee and discuss and argue about it for weeks before we get around to doing it. It will be different in heaven.

The night before the crucifixion, Judas was exposed for what he was, and Jesus sent John and Peter to prepare for the Passover. Jesus gave specific detailed instructions according to Luke 22. Keep in mind women, not the men, usually carried the pitcher of water. However, Jesus told them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' And he will show you a large furnished upper room; prepare it there." The amazing thing John discovered was "they departed and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover" (vv. 10-13). The information Jesus gave was exact and complete.

Can we trust the details to Him? Are we willing to obey? The critical question is "Lord, Jesus, where are You at work? What are you doing in the world about me?" Let's see if He will not invite us to come and join Him in what He is doing.

The greatest need of the disciple is for a greater knowledge of the Teacher and this mutual knowledge comes only by means of close discipleship and obedience. It is only those disciples who are willing to enter into the closest possible oneness and friendship with Christ will ever learn His deepest truth and enjoy the most blessed experiences of His grace. There must be an intimate fellowship with Christ if we would know, enjoy, and practice the will of God and realize His glory in our life.

Love grows through obedient service to the Master.

Growing through commitment

While Peter is denying the Lord Jesus at the trial, John doesn't hesitate to let it be known that he was "one of this man's disciples." John could say, "I am not ashamed" of Christ. "If we are not ashamed of Christ, He will not be ashamed of us."

John describes the scene for us in chapter nineteen. "There were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own household" (19:25-27). Why wasn't Mary placed in the care of her other sons and daughters? Probably it was the attitude of the other children toward Jesus. It does not appear that they were there at the scene of the crucifixion. They would have been too embarrassed at the scandal of the cross, or out of fear for their lives as members of His family. The rest of His family did not believe on Him until after the resurrection. John was spiritually prepared for this special ministry to a hurting mother, and Jesus gave him the responsibility and opportunity to serve. John was a committed friend in time of need.

It took courage for John to be there when all the rest of the disciples had left and hid themselves from the authorities because of fear.

John grew in his faith when he saw what was in the empty tomb

John was there and could testify to the death of Jesus. John took Mary to his own home and then returned in time to hear Jesus say, "It is finished!" and bowed His head and give up His spirit (John 19:30). A couple of verses later John writes, "And he who has seen has born witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe" (v. 35). John was an eye witness to the death. He "has seen" and it was so vivid that it is still vivid before his eyes years later as he writes. Pilate made doubly sure Jesus was dead before releasing the body to Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They took the body down from the cross and "bound it with linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of Jews" and laid it in a new tomb (v. 40-41).

No one seemed to really believe that Jesus would rise from the dead, except perhaps John. He was the first of the disciples to believe. Let's face it, no one was there at the tomb waiting for Jesus to rise from the dead and greet Him! The women returned after the Sabbath on the first day of the week to continue with the burial procedures. Mary Magdalene was at the tomb early on Sunday morning and discovered the stone rolled away and came to the conclusion that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. She immediately went and found Peter and John and they ran to the cemetery. John tells us that he outran Peter, but when he arrived at the tomb he just bent over there looking in. "Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in" (v. 5). John bent over and looked in to get a better look. A natural feeling of awe would have arrested John (Westcott).

However, Simon Peter went boldly in, as we would expect. He "came following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself" (vv. 6-7). Both of them saw the same evidence, but their spiritual processes were different. Up to this moment they had no idea of the resurrection.

"Peter saw all this by careful scrutiny, but drew no conclusion from the facts observed. The courageous impulsiveness of Peter overcame John's timidity so that then he also went on into the tomb at once without a look or a pause" (Westcott).

John saw precisely what Peter had already seen, but the result was different. John at once "believed." John says, "Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who had first come to the tomb, and he saw and believed" (v. 8). John "saw" means to perceive to the point of belief and understood what had happened.

What did He "see and believe"? Certainly not that someone had stolen the body as Mary had concluded. All the teachings, observations and experiences of being with Jesus over the past three years came to a full conviction that Jesus had risen from the dead.

John especially calls our attention to the head "napkin," turban or face–cloth that had been rolled up around the head of Christ. Why is it singled out for our attention? It is the convincing proof that launches John's faith in Christ's resurrection, even before he has had a chance to see that Jesus was alive with his own eyes.

The face–cloth or turban was rolled up around the head of Jesus like the bandages wrapped around a person who has sustained a severe crushing head injury. His whole head was rolled up with linen as well as the rest of His body. The reference to "a place by itself" simply means separate from the rest of the linen cloths which were used for the body wrapping. What Peter and John saw as they continued to gaze were the linen cloths in the actual shape of the body of Jesus. The wrappings around the head of Jesus naturally were where the head had lain. The other cloths were still remaining in the exact place and shape of the body of Jesus.

Jesus evidently had been raised from the dead by the power of God during the night, and had left the linen cloths exactly as Joseph and Nicodemus had placed the body in the new tomb.

John saw the position and condition of the burial wrappings in the form of the body in the grave where Jesus had been laid. The grave wrappings were in the actual shape in which they had been about His body. The head–cloth was not unwrapped and folded up nicely and laid aside. It was exactly where it had been about His head. Every fold of His grave clothes was unmoved, as it was around His body. John saw the grave clothes wrapped as they had been about the body, still there in place, but the body was gone. It was all the evidence John saw of the resurrection, but it led him to be the first disciple to believe that our Lord had been raised from the dead. His quick mind processed that Jesus was alive.

John drew an inference from the orderly arrangement of the head wrapping that showed that no rude or rough hand had removed it. Only the living Lord Himself could have thus slipped out of or passed right through this head bandage and left it undisturbed. Westcott adds, "The undisturbed grave-clothes shows that the Lord had risen through and out of them. The face-cloth carefully rolled up, the action of the living Lord." There was no evidence of haste. "The deserted tomb bore the marks of perfect calm. It was clear, therefore, that the body had not been stolen by enemies; it was scarcely less that it had not been taken away by friends."

This was the most revolutionary moment in the life of John and Peter. As Stalker says, "There, standing alone in the tomb in the morning light, they saw the glory of their Master as they had not seen it even on the Mount of Transfiguration. . . "

Robertson reflects on John's belief, "Here, before he saw the Risen Christ, he 'believed' that He was alive. In his old age he cherished this item in his life as one that gave him joy. He did not wait, like Thomas, for ocular demonstration before he believed. He believed without seeing."

Mark tells us Peter soon received a special message from the Risen Lord (Mark 16:7), and sometime later that day the Lord appeared to him alone (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).

I agree with A. T. Robertson, "But John anticipated all these proofs and was the first of the apostles to believe that the Master was alive. One is entitled to think that John did not regard the report of the women as 'idle talk' (Luke 24:11) and did not 'disbelieve' (Mark 16:11) the words of Mary Magdalene. . . the circumstances that induced belief in John were not such as to convince the others." John's belief was growing. The confirmation would come before the day was over. However, in the mean time "as yet they did not understand the Scriptures, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes" (vv. 9-10). That night "his faith became the knowledge of actual experience" (Robertson). Jesus came and stood "in the midst" of the disciples (20:19, 26), and later John recognized Him on the lake while they were fishing (21:1, 7). This was the greatest day of John's life. "John saw the glimmer of hope and his heart leaped in faith to greet it. . . John was the first of the apostles to revive his faith from the wreck of their hopes."

We sit back two thousand years later and wonder why they didn't believe and expect it because Jesus constantly taught them that it was going to happen just like this. But lest we get too cocky what do we really believe about His Second Coming? Do we live in daily expectation of His arrival? Since He has told us to be ready for His appearing, how then should we live?

John grew when he saw what God did at Pentecost

After Pentecost and the "one baptism, and many fillings" of John and Peter by the Holy Spirit the Jewish officials "observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). His presence is still with them. Something evidently had happened to these men. There was no fear, no hesitation at speaking up for Jesus.

The Holy Spirit transformed the ordinary and uneducated individual into able, courageous witness for Christ. His ministry hasn't changed. Ordinary disciples have exactly the same experience today. He empowers and emboldens our witness.

To this apostle was given the boldest revelation of Christ in all His glory and majesty in eternity. "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen" (Revelation 1:7). I don't think for one moment John had any intellectual problems with that revelation of Christ. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Even today, come.

THE MESSAGE FOR US TODAY

It is a mark of a growing disciple that he does not want anything that will interfere with his fellowship and growth in Christ. The growing disciple can recognize the presence of the Lord and discern that which interferes with that rich fellowship. His daily prayer and attitude is, Lord Jesus, will I see You today?

We learn from John that in proportion as we obey the Word we are enabled to understand and apply to our lives still more grace and truth.

Campbell Morgan made an excellent observation on sanctification growth, and it was true in John's life and it is still true today in ours. The Holy Spirit is always bringing the child of God some new vision of Christ. Whenever a new vision is presented to the trusting soul a new crisis is created for that soul, and the soul will either obey and march into larger life, or disobey and turn backward. The man or woman who has the largest, fullest knowledge of Christ is the man or woman who is most conscious that he or she has hardly yet begun to see His glory. The Holy Spirit . . . is forever unveiling to the eyes of the faithful, watching souls the glory of Christ; and as each new glory is revealed it calls the soul to some new adventure, to some new sacrifices . . . to some new area of spiritual growth.

Every response to light means fuller understanding and enlarged capacity for further revelation. The true Christian life is a growth, which finds no maturity in this world; the ultimate is never reached in this land of shadows. There is no exhausting of the light and glory and beauty of Christ, and if he has not startled and shamed me recently it is because somewhere in the past I disobeyed and have lost my power to see. Sanctification is progressive, the Spirit of God is patiently leading us from point to point in life of faith and light and love, and forevermore astonishing us with new unveilings of the glory of our Master.

When Christ comes into our lives, He changes our life from the inside out.

Do I speak to a son of thunder? Do you have a fiery, revengeful, "get even with you" temperament? Do you have a spirit that needs to be tamed? Is there a need to be transformed into a loving, forgiving, tolerant and accepting person? This is the beauty of God's amazing grace in the believer. You can also become an apostle of love. It is a long growing process. Yes, new birth is required. It is the beginning and there should be immediate change, but it takes time to grow.

The way to position in the kingdom of God is by way of the cross.

The secret to power is to die to self. Jesus taught John to keep his focus on "the Messiah, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31).

Success in the kingdom is substituting for the Substitute.

Jesus expressed His confidence in John when he trusted His mother to John's care. The son of thunder is full of love and compassion.

Our power and influence for Him will be in exact proportion to our fellowship with Him.

John learned that strength and character of our work will never be greater than our fellowship with the Lord.

God made love perfect in John

The love of God reaches its height and crown in the experience of the believer. In the life of John we see what grace can do in the life of a sharp-tempered man. Jesus Christ changed John and it is hard to argue with a changed man. God did not destroy John's human nature, he took and deepened and intensified, and sanctified it.

Go to John 20:4-8 for a more detailed examination of this passage.

A Free Gift for You will give you information on how you can have an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ.

Title: John 1:14  "We Beheld His Glory"

Series: People in Life of Christ