Among the four Gospels, only John mentions “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” But does he clearly identify him? In his award-winning book, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, Richard Bauckham makes eye-opening claims about the beloved disciple and back them up with strong support. I will incorporate his insights below.
John 13
The first explicit reference to “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is found in John 13.
23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” (vv. 23-25 NIV)
Rather than sitting in chairs, ancient Middle-Eastern people reclined on their sides on the floor while eating. In this scene, Jesus and his disciples were reclining at a meal. And one disciple was especially close to Jesus so he only had to lean back to ask Jesus a question.
John 19
The next explicit reference occurs while Jesus was being crucified.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
According to the Gospel of John, the beloved disciple was the only male follower who stood near the cross of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus spoke directly to this disciple before he died.
John 20
The accounts of Jesus’ resurrection appearances also include references to “the one Jesus loved.”
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
The anticipation is building. Will the author reveal the identity of “the one Jesus loved” before concluding his book? Here are the references to this mysterious figure in the final chapter of John’s Gospel.
John 21
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
So after Jesus’ resurrection seven disciples went out on a fishing expedition: Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Who are the sons of Zebedee? John doesn’t name them, but they are repeatedly named in the other Gospels (cf. Mark 1:19-20). They are James and John. Together with Peter, James and John, were three of Jesus’ closest disciples. That still leaves two other disciples who are unnamed, but verse 7 identifies one as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”
Six verses remain.
Who is this disciple?
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25Jesus did many other things as well. If all of them were recorded, I imagine the world itself wouldn’t have enough room for the scrolls that would be written.
Did you catch that?
“The disciple whom Jesus loved” is “the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down.” In other words, this special disciple is the author of the Gospel of John.
This is incredible stuff. The author, who is claiming to be an eyewitness, has woven his own identity into his Gospel in a highly dramatic and climactic way. If the claim in verse 24 is accurate, reading the Gospel of John puts us into direct contact with an eyewitness.
But why does he refer to himself in the third person? Richard Bauckham writes,
This is in accordance with the best and regular historiographic practice. When ancient historians referred to themselves within their narratives as participating in or observing the events they recount, they commonly referred to themselves in the third person by name . . . (393)
Bauckham continues by listing five ancient authors who used this technique, including Julius Caesar and Josephus.
What else do we know about this author?
Although the authorship of John has traditionally been ascribed to John, son of Zebedee, we saw in the list of fishermen that the sons of Zebedee are distinguished from the “two other disciples,” one of whom is “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Hence the one who wrote the Gospel could not have been John the son of Zebedee.
Papias (c. AD 60-130)
Papias was an early church father whose written works have not been recovered. However, the ancient historian Eusebius (AD 265-339) quotes him as saying the following:
I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
Note the reference to “John” followed by another John— “John the Elder.” After referring to another fragment quoted by Eusebius, which simply says “the Elder,” Bauckham explains:
This usage of Papias corresponds rather strikingly with the usage of the second and third Johannine letters, whose author designates himself simply as “the Elder” (2 John 1; 3 John 1). This is a remarkable usage, because it is hard to find a parallel to the use, in the prescript of a letter where the author and recipient(s) are specified, of a title of this kind without a personal name. One would expect either just a personal name or a personal name with an identifying title, as in all the other New Testament letters. The very unusual usage by both Papias and the author of 2 and 3 John makes a plausible case for identifying the latter with John the Elder. (421)
Muratorian Canon (AD 170)
The Muratorian Canon, the earliest surviving list of New Testament books, says:
The fourth of the gospels is of John, one of the disciples. To his fellow-disciples and bishops, who were encouraging him, he said, “Fast with me today for three days, and whatever will be revealed to each of us, let us tell to one another.” The same night it was revealed to Andrew, one of the apostles, that all should certify what John wrote in his own name.
Note how the author of John is called a disciple not an apostle. Andrew is “one of the apostles.” In other words, this John could not have been John the son of Zebedee, who was recognized as an apostle.
Irenaeus (c. AD 130-202)
The church father Irenaeus (c. AD 130-202) says that John’s Gospel was “the last of the four Gospels to be written and that its author lived longer than most of his fellow disciples (Irenaeus says he lived into the reign of Trajan, which began in 98 CE)” (Bauckham, 420).
If the author was twenty years old when he met Jesus, he would have been about ninety in the year 100. Thus, he received the appropriate designation as “the Elder.”
Polycrates (c. AD. 130-196)
Polycrates was bishop of Ephesus in the second century. He is quoted by Eusebius as saying, “John also, who leaned back on the Lord’s breast, who was a priest, wearing the high-priestly frontlet both witness and teacher. He has fallen asleep at Ephesus.”
According to this reference, this John was a priest. As a result, some interpreters have connected this John with the John in Acts 4:6: “Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family.”
This corresponds nicely with the access “the other disciple” had to the high priest’s courtyard in John 18.
15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
What do we know for certain about this mysterious disciple in John 18? He was close to Peter and had special access to the high priest’s courtyard because the high priest knew him.
Conclusion
Based on the internal and external evidence, the author of the Gospel of John was probably John the Elder not John the son of Zebedee. This author was an eyewitness of Jesus’ life and enjoyed an especially close relationship with Jesus. (For more detail see Bauckham’s book.)
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.