John Zebedee 

John Zebedee was born in 2 CE in Galilee, a region about fifty miles north of Jerusalem. His mother was Salome, and his father is known only as Zebedee. John was brother to James, David, and their four sisters. For their livelihood, the Zebedees fished and built boats along the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The family home and base of business was in a little fishing village on the outskirts of Capernaum, and this is where John grew up.

Jesus lived and worked with the Zebedees for a year (21-22 CE), during which time he and John became friends. Later, when John was twenty-four, Jesus selected him and his brother James as the third and fourth apostles. After all twelve apostles had been chosen, Jesus asked Andrew, the first apostle, to appoint three of their number to be Jesus’ personal aides. Andrew selected John, James, and Simon Peter.

John trained and worked with the other apostles under the direction of Jesus for more than four years. As Jesus’ close associate, he was witness to most of the episodes that mark Jesus’ life and teachings, including his death and resurrection. John lived more than a hundred years and inspired the writing of the New Testament’s fourth Gospel. He also wrote the three Johannine epistles, plus the last book of the Bible, Revelation.

Jesus’ father, Joseph, was friends with Zebedee, a fisherman and boatbuilder with shops along the northwestern shore of Galilee. When Jesus was 27, he set out to travel. One of his first stops was at the Zebedee home at Bethsaida. There he lived and worked at boatbuilding for more than a year, between January, 21 CE and March, 22 CE. And it was during this year when Jesus and John became friends, a mutual trust developed between them. When it came time to leave, Jesus gave John his savings and asked that payments be made each month to his family living in Nazareth. After becoming an apostle, he continued as Jesus’ personal agent in dealing with his family’s needs and he did so even after Jesus’ death.

When Jesus returned from his travels, the summer of 25 CE, he and John went together to Jerusalem for three weeks’ vacation during the festive season, the feast of the tabernacles and the day of atonement. During this trip, John realized a great change had come over Jesus. After this short period of relaxation, they went back to Bethsaida where Jesus and John worked until the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry the following year.

When Jesus’ “hour had come,” he began by selecting six helpers. John and his brother James were welcomed as apostles on February 23, 26 CE. John was the youngest of the apostles at age 24, unmarried, and living at his parents’ home at Bethsaida. John and James were the third and fourth to join the apostolic group, after Andrew and Peter. But they were saddened for not being chosen first. They voiced their disappointment to Jesus who patiently explained that they, his longtime friends, were already “in the kingdom.” He also admonished the brothers that they should not be concerned about their place, that there will be no preferences among his followers.

One of the first events in which the six apostles participated was the wedding at Cana. These new apostles were hoping Jesus would announce he was the expected messiah at this wedding, and when the water was turned into wine, their hopes soared. But Jesus dashed their hopes the next day at one of the most important conferences of his life. At this conference, he told the six who he was and what his mission was to be, and how it might end. They did not understand and held onto the messiah idea no matter how many times Jesus tried to make plain his true mission. And when the other six apostles joined, they too held tightly to this belief that Jesus was a political liberator and predicted king.

After Andrew, Peter, John, and James had been selected, Jesus chose two others, Philip and Nathaniel. Before he sent these six men into the field for two weeks on a teaching mission, Jesus told them each to choose one other from the early converts who would join the apostle group. John and James went to Kheresa, on the eastern shore of Galilee, where they met James and Judas Alpheus, twins who were fishermen living at Kheresa. John and James chose the Alpheus twins as the ninth and tenth apostles.

When all twelve apostles had been selected, Jesus asked Andrew to appoint three of their number to be Jesus’ personal aides. He chose John, James, and Peter. For that reason, John worked closely with Jesus on many occasions, even more than James and Peter. And because of this close working relationship, and the fact that Jesus charged John with the responsibility of looking after his family before and after the crucifixion, John, later in life, thought of himself as “the beloved disciple” and “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” But a close examination of Jesus’ life and teachings shows that he loves all with an equal affection, including apostles, disciples, and even sinners.

The traits John most admired in Jesus were his love and unselfishness. These qualities impressed John so much that he became a devotee of love, talking and writing about it later in life. This is the reason he became known as the “apostle of love.” And, among the apostles, John became the outstanding theologian. But, like most humans, John had another side that was in evidence during his younger years: he was intolerant and superior-minded. He and his brother James once asked Jesus for permission to “call down fire from heaven” on the Samaritans when they disrespected Jesus. That is why Jesus nicknamed them “sons of thunder.” And, on another occasion, John forbade a strange preacher at Gamala from teaching in Jesus’ name, believing only he and the other apostles had that right.

Jesus’ influence on John changed him for the better. As John lived and worked with Jesus, he became more reliable, fearless, and wise. These positive traits increased and the negative traits decreased during his time following Jesus. But John’s characteristic conceit resurfaced in his later years. This is evident in the gospel of John, composed when he was ninety-nine, where John six times refers to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.”

Even though John was less than perfect in character and wisdom, he became spiritually attuned thanks to his ministry under Jesus’ direction, and he was the first apostle to recognize Jesus after his resurrection. He was also dependable, which is why Jesus asked him to watch over his mother and siblings following the crucifixion. Jesus’ mother Mary lived at John’s home until she died about a year after her son. Besides caring for Jesus’ family, John worked closely with Peter in establishing the Christian movement. He became one of the chief supporters of the church at Jerusalem.

John outlived all the other apostles. He survived a hundred and one years because he learned to be tactful and apply wisdom, even though he was thrown into prison several times. He learned to represent the church as a “spiritual brotherhood devoted to the social service of mankind” rather than as “the kingdom of heaven.” And when he appeared before the authorities, he practiced the ancient proverb “a soft answer turns away wrath.” His brother James was not so wise, and it cost him his life. Several years after James’ martyrdom, John married his widow.

After Jesus’ death, John traveled and worked tirelessly, preaching and spreading fraternal love. Late in life, he was exiled to the Greek island of Patmos for four years. And it was there that he wrote the Book of Revelation. Following the Patmos exile, he was made bishop of the churches of Asia and settled at Ephesus, a Grecian city at that time.

The most significant event in John’s life was spending four years traveling and ministering in the company of Jesus and the other apostles. But there were many profound events within that span, beginning with the selection of the twelve. The first six were chosen in February, 26 CE, John among them. After the other six had been selected, and all twelve went through a period of training, they were ordained by Jesus on January 12, 27 CE in Galilee. In his ordination sermon, Jesus delivered the beatitudes and the sermon came to be called the Sermon on the Mount. This year was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in which he and the apostles traveled to Jerusalem, Samaria, the Decapolis, and back to Galilee.

In January, 28 CE, there was the healing at sundown in which 683 afflicted ones were made whole. The apostles were thrilled by this exhibition of miraculous power but could not understand why Jesus was downhearted. Early the next morning, John, James, and Peter went out and found Jesus at a place where he often prayed. For four hours, Jesus tried to explain that healings should not become the focus of his ministry, that he came not to heal their bodies, but rather to save their souls. And this was not the only occasion when John and the others were disappointed by Jesus’ reaction to apparent miracles.

Another well-known event occurred when John and James’ mother, Salome, requested that her sons be given special status in the kingdom. She asked that John and James be awarded honored places, one on Jesus’ right hand, the other on his left. Jesus said he could not do that and asked the brothers if they were willing to “drink the cup” he would soon have to drink, the cup of persecution and death. They replied immediately that they were. Jesus said he was disappointed by this request for preference, but he knew that they loved him, adding only: “Such honors are reserved for those who have been designated by my Father.” When the other apostles heard about this request, the Zebedee brothers apologized and never again asked for preference. Salome, later on, joined the women’s corps.

Between May and October 28 CE, at Jesus’ evangelist training school, a temporary tent city near Bethsaida on the northern shore of Galilee, Jesus sometimes spoke privately with individuals. One evening, while alone, John asked Jesus why innocent people suffered. Jesus responded with a discourse on Job. In this discourse, he explained the mission of affliction and concluded with this statement: “Man’s miseries are not a personal visitation of divine judgment.” John was forever changed by this lesson on the source, nature, and purpose of suffering and he did much to influence the other apostles to change their views on affliction.

Between January, 28 CE and March, 29 CE, John and the other eleven apostles were sent on three preaching tours. All three were to cities and villages in Galilee. The first tour was to western and southern Galilee and lasted almost two months. On the second tour they were sent to the northern and eastern regions of Galilee for about three months. The third tour lasted seven weeks and was in central and southern Galilee. On these tours, they encountered both acceptance and rejection and were thus prepared for the final stages of Jesus' life and teachings.

John, James, and Peter were present at the Transfiguration. John and his fellow apostles beheld Lazarus’ resurrection, and they witnessed many other extraordinary events; two being the feeding of the five thousand and the Sermon on the Mount. John was present when the Jerusalem temple was cleansed and at the Last Supper. And he was the only apostle to remain at Jesus’ side after his arrest, during his trial, and at the crucifixion. And John was the first of the apostles to recognize the resurrected Jesus. John and the other apostles saw the risen Jesus seven times in all. And he was with the other apostles (except Judas Iscariot) at the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, forty days after the Master’s death, on the day of Pentecost, May 18, 30 CE. The coming of the Spirit of Truth energized the apostles to go out and preach, boldly and publicly, at the Jerusalem temple. Later that day, John, James, Peter, and Andrew led more than two thousand to the pool of Siloam and baptized them in Jesus’ name.

On the evening of April 6, 30 CE, Jesus arranged a final meal alone with his apostles at the home of the Mark family in Jerusalem. Before Jesus arrived at the upper room, a private chamber and site of the Last Supper, the apostles argued about where they should sit, John included. When Jesus appeared, he was disappointed, but went on to wash their feet. He then went around the table and spoke final words to each of the apostles before his arrest later that night. He said this to John:

“You, John, are the youngest of my brethren. You have been very near me, and while I love you all with the same love which a father bestows upon his sons, you were designated by Andrew as one of the three who should always be near me. Besides this, you have acted for me and must continue so to act in many matters concerning my earthly family. And I go to the Father, John, having full confidence that you will continue to watch over those who are mine in the flesh. See to it that their present confusion regarding my mission does not in any way prevent your extending to them all sympathy, counsel, and help even as you know I would if I were to remain in the flesh. And when they all come to see the light and enter fully into the kingdom, while you all will welcome them joyously, I depend upon you, John, to welcome them for me.

“And now, as I enter upon the closing hours of my earthly career, remain near at hand that I may leave any message with you regarding my family. As concerns the work put in my hands by the Father, it is now finished except for my death in the flesh, and I am ready to drink this last cup. But as for the responsibilities left to me by my earthly father, Joseph, while I have attended to these during my life, I must now depend upon you to act in my stead in all these matters. And I have chosen you to do this for me, John, because you are the youngest and will therefore very likely outlive these other apostles.

“Once we called you and your brother sons of thunder. You started out with us strong-minded and intolerant, but you have changed much since you wanted me to call fire down upon the heads of ignorant and thoughtless unbelievers. And you must change yet more. You should become the apostle of the new commandment which I have this night given you. Dedicate your life to teaching your brethren how to love one another, even as I have loved you.”

As John Zebedee stood there in the upper chamber, the tears rolling down his cheeks, he looked into the Master’s face and said: “And so I will, my Master, but how can I learn to love my brethren more?” And then answered Jesus: “You will learn to love your brethren more when you first learn to love their Father in heaven more, and after you have become truly more interested in their welfare in time and in eternity. And all such human interest is fostered by understanding sympathy, unselfish service, and unstinted forgiveness. No man should despise your youth, but I exhort you always to give due consideration to the fact that age oftentimes represents experience, and that nothing in human affairs can take the place of actual experience. Strive to live peaceably with all men, especially your friends in the brotherhood of the heavenly kingdom. And, John, always remember, strive not with the souls you would win for the kingdom.”

After the Last Supper and just before his arrest, Jesus took John, James, and Peter a short way from their camp in the Garden of Gethsemane, to a spot where he often prayed. Jesus sought confirmation from God about “drinking the bitter cup” of crucifixion. The three apostles were exhausted and fell asleep while Jesus prayed. When Jesus finished praying, he forgave them and sent them to their rest. He then went alone to be arrested, waiting at a nearby olive press. John and the others awakened when they heard the commotion and saw the Roman guards approaching the press. John, unlike Peter, went to the scene of the arrest unarmed.

John had a unique role in the final episode of Jesus’ life in the flesh. After Judas Iscariot’s betrayal and Jesus’ arrest, John was permitted by the Roman centurion in charge to remain at the side of his friend and master. All that night he stayed near as Jesus was passed from one authority to another. After this ordeal and the pronouncement of death, just before the crucifixion, he turned to John requesting to see his mother Mary before he died. John rushed to her and together they went to see Jesus at Golgotha. Hanging on the cross, Jesus spoke final words to his bereaved mother. He then asked John to take her away. John escorted Mary to a safe place in Jerusalem then returned to Golgotha. John was the only apostle to witness the crucifixion. He stayed until Jesus died in midafternoon, April 7, 30 CE, and he remained until Jesus’ body was taken down and moved to a tomb.

After the resurrected Jesus twice appeared to Mary Magdalene, she told the apostles. They did not believe her, but John and Peter ran to the tomb to find it open and empty with only the grave cloths remaining. Later, on this resurrection Sunday, Jesus appeared to the apostles where they were hiding in the upper room of the Mark home, the site of the Last Supper. In all, Jesus appeared before John and the other apostles seven times at various locations. At his thirteenth appearance, on the shore of Galilee (April 21, 30 CE) he spoke to them all, two at a time. It was there that he said this to John:

“John, do you love me?” And when John answered, “Yes, Master, with all my heart,” the Master said: “Then, John, give up your intolerance and learn to love men as I have loved you. Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world. It is the love of God that impels men to seek salvation. Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.”

John traveled and ministered tirelessly after Jesus died. He and Peter worked together organizing the early activities of the Christian movement and in the establishment of a church at Jerusalem. Later in life, after four years’ exile on Patmos, he was made bishop of the churches of Asia and settled at Ephesus, a city of Greece at that time.

One of John’s granddaughters cared for him during his last twenty years. He served devotedly until age one hundred and one, then died of natural causes, at Ephesus, in 103 CE. His last words to the church members at Ephesus were, “My little children, love one another.”

Late in life, John inspired the writing of the gospel bearing his name, the fourth book of the New Testament. It contains much about Jesus’ work in Judea and around Jerusalem that is not in the other three “synoptic” gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It was during his time at Ephesus, when John was ninety-nine years old and bishop of the Asian churches, and with the help of an associate, that the gospel according to John was created.

Five books of the New Testament are attributed to John, his gospel being the first. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth books are three epistles, or letters, which he sent to early Christian leaders. The first epistle is a sermon on love and fellowship intended as an introduction for his gospel; the second and third epistles are the shortest books of the Bible. 2nd John and 3rd John are in fact brief letters of encouragement ending with an announcement that John will soon meet with the epistles’ recipients.

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, was written by John during his exile on the Greek island of Patmos. It is probably the most debated of all Biblical texts, as to both content and authorship. An analytical examination of Revelation suggests these cryptic writings were altered, fragmented, adulterated, and distorted after John wrote them.

John is regarded as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and other traditions. His feast day is December 27th in most of them. John is the patron saint of love, loyalty, friendships, authors, booksellers, burn-victims, poison-victims, art-dealers, editors, publishers, scribes, examinations, scholars, and theologians. There are other texts besides the Bible that declare John is their author. Latter Day Saints claim he appeared to Joseph Smith, founder of that religion. The Quran mentions Jesus’ companions or apostles but does not name them.