THREE INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLE JOHN
THREE INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLE JOHN
Mark 1:19, 20; John 13:23-26; Revelation 1:17,18 †
We have in these three passages three distinct incidents in the life of the apostle John.
In the first, the Lord’s call is evident. James and John are attracted to Jesus; and feeling this attraction, they abandon their nets and leave their father Zebedee in the boat.
†This is an unrevised short summary, made from memory, of an address at Fay-le-Froid in France, June 30th, 1902.
[p. 283] In the second, John is leaning on Jesus’ breast, and in the sense of His love, the beloved disciple has the consciousness of the Lord’s affection.
In the third, the apostle falls as dead at the feet of Jesus, struck by His majesty. But the Lord lays His right hand upon him, saying, “Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of death and of hades”.
Let us now apply these grand truths to ourselves. The beginning of our christian path is attraction to Jesus. He calls us; we are attracted to His blessed Person, and thus we leave all to follow Him. In our case, we leave all that is perishable in this world to follow the blessed Saviour.
Then, secondly, we find out that He loves us. He makes us feel His love toward us. No doubt the full expression of His love to us is seen in the cross, but He would have us to feel His love now.
To make an application of the third incident to our own case, we must think of death. If the Lord come not first, we shall fall asleep, and so this passage may be taken figuratively. But He will raise us up with His mighty right hand. He is the resurrection and the life; He has annulled death and brought life and incorruptibility to light through the gospel. Death is conquered, and Jesus, who holds the keys of death and hades, will know where to find our souls and bodies in the day of resurrection.
This third incident, then, is a figure of the crowning joy and triumph of those who have been attracted to Jesus, and kept in the sense of His love. They shall rise and be glorified to be with Him for ever.