Who: John,
the brother of James (Jacob),
son of Zebedee,
a Galilean fisherman
by trade
1. Was the fourth person called by Jesus Christ as a disciple, after Andrew, Simon Peter, and John’s brother James (Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19; Luke 5:10);
2. Was identified along with Andrew, Peter, and James as a partner in the fishing business on Lake Galilee (Luke 5:10);
3. Was named among the original twelve disciples (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17; Luke 6:14);
4. Witnessed Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51);
5. Witnessed Christ’s Transfiguration, along with Peter and James (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2, Luke 9:28);
6. With his brother, asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven on disbelieving Samaritans (Luke 9:53-56);
7. With his brother, asked Jesus for the places at His right and left in His kingdom (Mark 10:35), with the compliance of his mother (Matthew 20:20);
8. Was rebuked for forbidding an outsider to speak in Jesus’ name (Mark 9:38);
9. Along with Peter, James, and Andrew, asked Christ to explain his apocalyptic parable (Mark 13:3);
10. Is described as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23);
11. "Reclined next to Jesus" during the Last Supper (John 13:23);
12. Was asked by Simon Peter to ask Jesus to tell who would betray him (John 13:24);
13. Witnessed Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33);
14. From the cross, Jesus entrusts John to Mary as his mother, and Mary to John as his son, from which point John took her into his home (John 19:26-27);
15. Is mentioned among the surviving eleven apostles after the Resurrection (Acts 1:13);
16. Witnessed the healing of a man lame from birth at the Temple’s gate (Acts 3:1);
17. Was arrested and interrogated along with Peter, after the miracle (Acts 4:13);
18. Was sent by the apostles with Peter to investigate reports of Samaritan believers (Acts 8:14);
19. Lost his brother James (Jacob) to execution at Herod’s hands (Acts 12:2);
20. Is mentioned by Paul as a “pillar” of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9);
21. Received the “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1);
22. Wrote to “the seven churches which are in Asia” (Revelation 1:4);
23. Was imprisoned “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9);
24. Saw “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God” (Revelation 21:2);
25. Swore to what he saw in the revelation (Revelation 22:8).
26. John the Apostle is not mentioned at all by name in the Gospel which bears his name.
What: According to tradition,
John wrote
27. The Gospel bearing his name,
28. One general epistle (1 John),
29. Two personal epistles (2 John and 3 John),
30. The Book of Revelation.
When: John was,
according to church tradition,
31. A younger contemporary of Jesus
32. The only one among Jesus’ original twelve apostles who survived to an old age.
Where: John appears in scripture
33. On the shores of the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel.
34. He follows Jesus to Jerusalem, which apparently was his home base until at least the Jerusalem conference of Acts 15.
35. We last hear of him in scripture on the island of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey.
Why: In John 20:31,
the author states,
36. “ ...these words are written, that ye might...
37. "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
38. "...and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Who: John,
What: According to tradition,
