From familiar Scripture as a young man near Jesus,
or an old man on Patmos;
or do you see a faithful man following Jesus on an extraordinary journey lasting many years?
INTRODUCTION to JOHN’s Apostolic Faith
late A.D. 20’s at the Jordan river near Bethany
John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following.
“What do you want?”
“Rabbi”
“where are You staying?”
“Come and see,”
So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him.
Gospel of John 1:35-39 excerpt, BSB
James and his young brother John were not sleeping when the Messiah of Israel came to their Rabbi, John the Baptist.
In fact, these two sons of Zebedee had sought the savior of Israel, and then found and followed John the Baptist (who many Jews believed could be the one).
Then they would join the Master of whom John spoke, and follow Him when the Lord sought His own disciples from their own little fishing village far removed from Jerusalem.
Introduction to Jesus’ Disciple John
John is a familiar and beloved Disciple of Jesus, well-known to Christians and unbelievers alike through the Gospels, as well as numerous illustrations and paintings often commissioned by the Roman or OrthodoxChurch many centuries later.
~ in the year of our Lord 30
He and others likely didn't have a visible halo over their heads. And art such as DaVinci's, 'The Last Supper,' — with young John clinging to Jesus, which illustrates John's actual devotion — shows a long table and chairs never used in upper rooms of the A.D. first century.
A.D. 30’s – A.D. 50’s
Perhaps Christians will recall that prior to His crucifixion, JESUS sent the Twelve out to some cities to proclaim the Gospel.
And some may recall that the APOSTLE John was with Peter when both Apostles had been sent to preach in the Temple after Pentecost (~A.D. 30), were witnessed to work miracles.
“How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?
Followers of Jesus Christ in these last days will generally picture the Apostle Jesus loved as he began his faithful path of life in the early years of John’s life (when he was only in his twenties).
Even in Acts of the Apostles, our early focus turns from Peter (and John, somewhat) primarily to Paul.
Although John’s Gospel details key witness of the Lord Jesus Christ prior to the Lord’s death, resurrection and ascension, the Apostle wrote his Gospel for the Church many years later, around the year of our Lord (A.D.) 85 – fifty some years after Pentecost.
~ A.D. 50 – ~ A.D. 100
The Apostle John wrote his final letters near the end of the A.D. First Century!
Written between a mid-first century Council in Jerusalem and his own natural death near the end of the A.D. First Century, the Epistles of John reveal a familiar festering of indignancy between Jerusalem’s Jews and occupying Roman legions.
Christians were caught in a new light leading them to dangerous intersections of worldly clashes affecting the lives of Jews, Romans, Greeks and every saint seeking Christ.
Pictured: A.D. 70 burning of the Temple in Jerusalem by the occupying Roman army.
Writing to the Jews, the saints and the Romans
The saints of the Church witnessed Apostolic faith in a Roman governed world with diminished Jewish influence throughout Syria, Asia, and Europe (including Rome) — and even in Rome’ s local Herodian tetrarchies which included Galilee and Judea, with the city of Jerusalem.
The Apostle John wrote to saints who came to Christ from all of these varied backgrounds — saints and their Elders new to the Gospel, in need of sound teaching and vulnerable to temptations of false teaching.
Introduction to John’s Epistles
In order to further understand a turbulent historic setting for this SERIES on the final LETTERS of JOHN, we will first take a brief look at the first century Church and also look ahead to John’s other well-quoted book, Revelation.
FINALLY — with God’s help and that of theologians more studied than me —I hope to tie it all together by studying the two briefest letters in the New Testament: the Epistles of Second John and Third John.
COMMMENT with your QUESTIONS and observations about the THREE Letters of John at anytime. Your input may be important to our understanding of John's letters.
NEXT: Reintroducing John, the man, disciple, Apostle and Elder
21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
[No mention here of Silas, Luke or Timothy also part of this 2nd mission. Email me or comment if you know where these apostles of the church might be as Paul begins his 3rd missionary journey. – Roger@TalkofJesus.com ]
Notice where Ephesus fits into our A.D. 51-52 timeline as the noted Jewish teacher Saul of Tarsus [Paul] departs and Apollos, another notable Jewish apostle to the gentiles begins working alongside disciples of The Way of the Messiah Jesus.
Priscilla and Aquila (also Jews) remain in Ephesus as Paul sails back to Jerusalem and Antioch, Syria [his home church].
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey Begins
23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
As you can see on a map more familiar to Saul of Tarsus than 21st century christians who simply see modern Turkey, the Apostle Paul has once again set out to visit the churches of his Second Missionary Journey.
Ephesus is miles ahead where Paul will journey through the mountains to the Aegean coast where Apollos has already arrived and preached.
Luke continues his detailed account of Acts of the Apostles by way of introduction to Apollos.
Who is this Messianic Jew Apollos?
24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus.
He was an eloquent man,
competent in the Scriptures.
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord.
(Not by Paul, but by other disciples of the risen Christ.)
And being fervent in spirit,
he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus..
We'll leave it there for the moment.
Pretty good credentials for a new Preacher of Jesus to the Jews in Asia Minor (Ephesus).
Apollos the Baptist
Now, perhaps, some controversy might arise from calling apollos a ‘Baptist.’ This is no mere division of denomination of an early church in Asia Minor. No, the Baptist moniker in the year of our Lord 52 would have referred to the preaching of John the Baptist.
MANY would have heard of the Baptist, perhaps even hearing him preach prior to Herod beheading him.
A.D. 30 - Twenty some years earlier from Luke's Gospel (yet to be published ten years from now along with ACTS of the Apostles sometime between A.D. 60 and A.D. 62.)
And it happened that while He [JESUS] was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying,
“Who do the crowds say that I am?”
And they answered and said,
“John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
But He warned them and directed them not to tell this to anyone..
AND suppose that Apollos and other disciples had heard The Baptist preach and yet as must have been the case for many never heard the Christ of God preach in Person?
What might these disciples of JESUS recall some twenty years later?
[John] .. came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
Now unlike most 21st century christians, these 1st century Jews knew their SCRIPTURE!
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.
‘EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED,
AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW;
THE CROOKED WILL BE STRAIGHT,
AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH.
AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.’”
Luke 3:6 LSB quoting: Isa 40:5; Isa 49:6; Isa 52:10
a response to Apollos OR The Baptist OR JESUS
“But indeed the ax is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what should we do?”
Luke 3:9-10 LSB
John answered, saying to them all,
“As for me, I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
“His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn,
but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the gospel to the people.
Gospel of Luke 3:18 LSB of the preaching of John the Baptist
26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
It is expected that mature believers must instruct new followers of JESUS Christ more accurately.
Even as Aquilla must have given exhortation to Apollos, the Apostle Paul on the way to Ephesus is most like doing the same as he revisits the new churches of previous missionary journeys (some to whom the Apostles has already written an Epistle).
27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.
God-willing, ACTS of the apostles Paul, Apollos, Aquila and many others — To be continued
Have you ever considered that Jesus may have called James and John the ‘sons of thunder’ because their father Zebedee, a businessman and owner of a Galilean fishing fleet may have best described as thunderous?
And He appointed the twelve:
Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),
and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James
(to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”)
Mark 3:16-17 NASB
Zebedee’s story
In the introduction to our fictional story about this real father of two of Jesus’ Disciples, Zebedee had thoughtfully asked:
“Where shall I send my sons to learn the faith of our fathers?”
and
“What is the will of the Lord God for my sons James and John?”
Now we progress further into Zebedee’s first century considerations for his two beloved Jewish sons, both young men sent to learn more of the Lord God through known mentors of the faith.
A History of our Faith
Some thoughts of Zebedee
I know that we no longer have the faith of Abraham and Moses. We’re just a reconstructed people, continually broken by our own unfaithfulness to the Lord. My daily life on the Sea of Galilee centers on trade with men from every direction and faith, including Jewish merchants from far away.
Sea of Galilee, with port of Zebedee’s fleet in the north
After Solomon’s sons separated Israel from Judah, many kings and most men refused to listen to God’s Prophets, so we became a divided people. Jerusalem’s two tribes distant to us now look away from our ten tribes of families here.
Our Israel long ago cut-off from Judah, our own fathers and the generation of my father reap the consequences sown by Israel’s long forgotten faith in the LORD.
Assyria takes Samarian captives 722 BC & Babylon takes Judah’s captives 607-537 BC
Between Two Temples
Our faith remains, but never the same since Israel’s defeat some seven centuries ago and later in 586 BC when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem and destroyed our Temple.
Few of the faith even remembered our Hebrew language and traditions, though at one time some of Jerusalem recovered the Law buried in the rubble of the Temple.
In general, it is of the greatest importance to remember in regard to this Eastern dispersion, that only a minority of the Jews, consisting in all of about 50,000, originally returned from Babylon, first under Zerubbabel and afterwards under Ezra.
THE JEWISH WORLD IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST – THE JEWISH DISPERSION IN THE EAST – ALFRED EDERSHEIM
Ezra, a Scribe of the Law of Moses from Babylon, restored some of our faith to a new Temple in Jerusalem. But after later Prophets like Micah, our faith disintegrated into little more than discussion.
This map shows the vast empire conquered by Alexander the Great in red highlight. The extent of the empire is an approximation of 320 BC.
Alexander III of Macedon helped preserve our Hebrew Law in the great library at Alexandria. But because all the world has gone after their culture, philosophy and gods, our religion is translated into Greek. At least some Jews who know longer know Hebrew can hear some of the Law and understand it in our Synagogues.
The Israel of Zebedee
My dilemma instructing James and John really lies in the diverse schools of Judaism in our captive land ruled by Rome.
When we had no Temple we practiced our faith without the LORD’s prescribed sacrifice. Now we learn the faith of our ancestors through study, obedience and prayer only.
Many of my Jewish brothers speak only Aramaic and cannot even read Hebrew. Even our everyday language was imported from the east or Greek from the Roman language from the west.
Who is King of the Jews?
David and Solomon once sat on the Throne of the LORD in Jerusalem. We were then a United Israel under the King anointed by the LORD. Now the question of King depends on who you ask.
Who is King of the Jews since the LORD dethroned our former kings of Israel and Judah?
After King Josiah of Judah died Jerusalem became subject to Egypt. Then Nebuchadnezzar II defeated them and destroyed the first Temple.
Babylonians took charge in the east, allowing some Jews to return to Jerusalem with their language and culture to rebuild our second temple. The Law was unearthed at the site of our Temple, only to have Jerusalem’s second temple destroyed once more.
Now they have a third grand enough for a Roman Jerusalem, but here in the north we cling to a distanced faith in the LORD.
Zebedee’s Galilee, Samaria & Judea
Our forefathers who had remained in Samaria (as my ancestral lands were called by others) were hated by Babylonian Jews when they returned to Judea with their eastern ways.
Three centuries ago Jerusalem and our land surrounding the Galilee capitulated to Alexander of Macedon. Our fathers were like the rest of the world around us now dominated by this man some still worship as ‘Alexander the Great.’
But after Alexander died, Jews populating the entire world were still caught strategically in the middle of all the changing empires. Egypt ruled us again. Seleucids dominated our land just a couple of hundred years ago, before Rome defeated them.
The Maccabees once led a revolt to retake Jerusalem from the Seleucid idolaters. Then we held a measure of independence for about four generations.
But now that less-than-pure Herod has again rebuilt the Temple under the thumb of his friends in Rome.
Zebedee’s family perspective
My grandfather told us stories of Herod coming into power after the Roman Pompey appointed our High Priest.
He sent more than eight Legions here then made our king his Syrian vassal. What right does Rome have to appoint our king or choose the LORD’s priests?
To this day, Rome remains ruthless against most ordinary Jews, especially national zealots. Their Prefects administer our so-called Syrian provinces and our king collects their taxes.
Schools of Jewish Thought
I have several school choices where I could send my sons James and John to learn our faith. Trouble is that they vary greatly in what Jewish worship of the LORD has become in this day.
Pharisees, Sadducees & Essenes
The Ḥasidim ha-Rishonim helped bring about the revolt against the Hellenists, but years ago their school faded into a sect of the Pharisees.
I could send James or John to a well-known teacher of the Law, Philo, in Alexandria in nearby Egypt. Although there too, as with Rome and the Hellenists, they teach a different faith than that which spread back toward Galilee from the fertile crescent of Abraham.
Some Sadducees descended from Zadok are Elders teaching strict adherence to the Law, but their rich lives reflect liberal interpretations when it comes to political compromise.
In Jerusalem I have heard some good things about Gamaliel the new Elder descendant of Hillel, whose brother a trader from Babylon I have met. The religion of Jerusalem (and Herod) though are too tainted by politics away from which I hope to keep my sons.
Beit Shammai most likely would never admit sons such as mine unworthy of Jerusalem’s religious elite. They seem to be Zealots of a sort without the sicarii concealed under their tasseled cloaks.
And then there are the Essenes, who remain faithful to Scripture but hardly fit in to the day to day lives of merchants like us who must make a living by trade with others.
Historical Differences
Most jews have become proselytized Hellenists! Some four million of the seed of Abraham in the Empire now.
I trade mostly with Jews from the diaspora to the east. They too debate this and argue that, so I’m not sure who to believe from conversations with merchant Jews from all over the Empire and beyond.
‘Houses of Instruction,’ as they are now called. In which school of Jewish thought should I raise my sons James and John?
Zebedee’s Prayerful Choice of Schools
John is very young but like when we work in our fishing fleet, John will be in the capable hands of my eldest son James. I have prayed to the LORD to place them both into His care and teaching.
Alexandria and even Jerusalem seem to far from us in many ways. We still have to make our living on the sea.
The quiet places seem less likely to draw my sons away from the LORD. So after much prayer I lean toward a rabbi preaching repentance among the Essenes. This John is quickly gaining in fame and followers all up and down the Jordan.
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
I had heard a story some time back from a merchant traveling back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. My wife had also heard rumors of the words of a prophetess well-known in Jerusalem.
Prior to the Baptist’s Birth
There was a priest named Zacharias who was performing his priestly service before God in the Temple. Many witnesses in Jerusalem, including the man who told this to me, supposed that this priest saw an angel of the LORD in the Holy of Holies.
The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute. When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.
My wife later told me of a story that she had heard of this priest’s barren wife.
She was of the line of Aaron and even in her advanced years later had a son. And her husband commanded her to name their son, John.
The second amazing thing about this is that Zacharias had not been able to speak since that day my friend told me about him in Jerusalem. But on the day he named his son John, his voice returned!
Others have confirmed this story about John son of Zacharias, who his followers call “JOHN THE BAPTIST.”
The Lord though my own prayer has directed me to send my sons to this rabbi in the wilderness of the Jordan. For John preaches to all a calling to all faithful Jews:
“I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
James and John followed John the Baptist and it was not long until the Lord confirmed our choice to send them to this great teacher, who Herod now as already killed. Both of our boys told us of their God-led calling while John still preached at the Jordan.
I will tell it to you from my own son’s Good News of the Messiah.
35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
(Of course my son John was one of these and he immediately told his older brother James.)
38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them,
“What do you seek?”
They said to Him,
“Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
Zebedee – Father of Apostles
My dear wife, mother to James and John, joined me in following our Messiah Jesus, whom our sons follow.
I plea to you to hear John’s Gospel or this Good News through any others of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus the Messiah.
Beloved brothers and sisters, chosen by the Lord God, I pray that the LORD will bless you and keep you and be gracious to you as He has done for me and my family.
Amen.
God willing, we will return to John's Gospel
from where we paused after the Holy Spirit
in my next post.
Roger
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