John : The Apostle of Love
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John: The Apostle of Love
2 John
Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567
Ever wonder what kind of personality is best to have to serve God in His kingdom?
While those who have a passionate, zealous and ambitious personality have the drive to “push”
others to obey God’s commands and accomplish His goals, in their aggression they are often too
legalistic, reckless, volatile and brash to be effective in God’s kingdom. While those who mourn
with those who mourn, bless and pray for those who persecute them and practice hospitality
towards all people in the church (regardless of position) certainly fulfills the command to love
one another; without passion for the truth such people often promote the “social club”
atmosphere of a church that is either lukewarm and/or full of heresy! Is it possible to develop a
personality that has a balance of both passion for the truth and love and grace for all others?
Apostle John certainly did! This sermon is going to begin by describing the background and
leadership style of John and finish with how John balanced truth with love, ambition with
humility and suffering with glory and in doing so became known not only as one of the “Sons of
Thunder” but also the “Disciple Jesus Loved.”
Background
John’s family lived close to Bethsaida where he and his brother James had a fishing
business (Mark 1:21, 29), with Andrew and Peter as likely partners (Luke 5:10).1 John’s father’s
name was Zebedee (Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:1920) and most likely his mother’s name was
Salome (Matthew 27:56).2 Because Zebedee
had hired servants and Salome often cared for
the needs of Jesus (Mark 15:40, Matthew
27:55-56), John most likely grew up in a
relatively prosperous middle class home.3 His
father Zebedee was not only well to do but also
had enough status that John was “was known
to the high priest.”4 Walking beside the Sea of
Galilee, Jesus called John and James who
immediately left the boat and the fishing
business (Matthew 4:18-22). John is always
listed in the top three names of the apostles, along with Peter and his brother James (Matthew
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Peter, The Apostle,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House, 1988), 1659.
2
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, 1089–1090.
3
Donald A. Hagner, “James (Person),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York:
Doubleday, 1992), 617.
4
John F. MacArthur Jr., Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He
Wants to Do with You
1
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10:2-4; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13-14)5 who were part of Jesus’ inner circle.6 According to
tradition John was banished to the island of Patmos, wrote the book of Revelation and then
returned to Ephesus where according to Eusebius, Tertullian, Polycrates and Jerome7 he ended
up dying at an old age and of natural causes.8 Even though historical criticism suggests John did
not write any books of the Bible, early church tradition has John as the author of John, first,
second and third John and the book of Revelation. 9
Leadership Style
Upon the start of their ministry John and James had similar personality traits and
leadership styles.10 Like James, John was part of Jesus’ inner circle of three who alone got to
accompany Jesus in the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51), to witness the
transfiguration of Christ (Mark 9:2;
Matthew 17:1; Luke 9:28) and to
accompany Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane (Mark 14:33).11 Also, like
James who was often brash, clumsy, hasty
and impulsive; John could be described with
similar traits such as “narrow-minded,
unbending, reckless and passionate.”12 John
was so passionate that Jesus gave him and
his brother James the title of “Boanerges”
(Mark 3:17) which meant “Sons of
Thunder.”13 For having asked Jesus to kill
the people of a Samaritan village, for having
sought a position of authority over the other
disciples and for having rebuked a man for casting out demons in Jesus’ name, John
demonstrated the dangers of having “unbridled” passion without grace! And yet by allowing the
Lord’s strength to be made perfect in these weaknesses,14 later in life John learned to balance
truth with love, ambition with humility and suffering with glory and as a result ended up
personifying his title “The Disciple Jesus Loved!”
George W. Knight, “Andrew, The Apostle,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House, 1988), 87.
6
Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, 1089.
7
R. V. G. Tasker, “John, the Apostle,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England;
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 593.
8
Raymond F. Collins, “John (Disciple),” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York:
Doubleday, 1992), 885.
9
Ibid.
10
John F. MacArthur Jr., 96.
11
Donald A. Hagner, 617.
12
John F. MacArthur Jr., 97.
13
Donald A. Hagner, 617.
14
John F. MacArthur Jr., 97.
5
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Balancing Truth with Love
7I
say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as
coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the
deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have
worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and
does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever
continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes
to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or
welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.
2 John 7-11
In his letter to the church of the Johannine community,15 John showed how passionate he
was to proclaim and protect the truth concerning the incarnate Jesus and His teachings. Anyone
who “advanced” beyond the limits of Christ’s teachings16 according to John were not to be even
welcomed in a person’s home for to do such an act would be paramount to sharing in the work
of deceivers and antichrists! From this
passage we learn that John wrote and
thought in absolutes as can be seen
elsewhere in his writings.17 Those who do
not walk in the light, walk in the darkness
and have no fellowship with God (1 John
1:5-7). Only those who believe in Jesus
(John 3:18) are born of the Spirit (John 3:56), declared children of God (John 1:12) and
receive eternal life (John 3:36). Only those
who do not sin (1 John 3:9),18 love others (1
John 4:7-8), forgive others (John 20:23) and
have evidence of fruitfulness in their lives
(John 15) can claim they have passed from death to life (John 5:24). While those who refuse to
refuse to hear and obey His commands do not love Jesus (John 14:23-24); those who hate a
brother or sister (1 John 2:9-11) and love this world (1 John 2:15) belong to the Devil (John
8:44) and stand condemned (John 16:11) to be thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6).
15
Thomas F. Johnson, 1, 2, and 3 John, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 2011), 147.
16
Glenn W. Barker, “2 John,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E.
Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 365.
17
John F. MacArthur Jr., 97.
18
John certainly believed Christians sinned (1 John 1:9) but does not go into details like Paul did to explain the
difference between those who have never surrendered their desire to sin to God and those who struggle with sin as
in Romans 6 and 7.
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In today’s world we need people like John who know God’s word and are not scared to
preach the truth that sets us free (John 8:32)! We live in an age when people no longer believe
in absolute truth. Postmoderns believe it is
only through individual experiences,
emotions and intuition that one derives truth
from reality.19 As a result, most people and
yes even Christians no longer put up with
sound doctrine but instead prefer what their
“itching ears” want to hear (2 Timothy 4:2)
… that sin in my life does not exist! This
era needs to be told that truth is not based on
the unending viewpoints and perspectives of
individuals,20 and illusion of this perceived
chaotic world;21 but on the Bible as the final
arbiter of truth.22 Like the Psalmist we are
not only to delight and meditate on His word day and night (Psalms 1:2) but are to invite the
Spirit to search our hearts (Psalms 139:23-24) so that the planks in own eyes that we so easily
justify (Matthew 7:3-5) might be seen for what they are: sin that must be confessed (1 John 1:9)
and no longer cherished (Psalms 66:18)!
While it is not a bad thing to have passion to know and want others to obey God’s word,
without a balance of love for one another it can lead to “judgementalism, harshness and a lack of
compassion.”23 For example, when a
Samaritan village refused to provide
lodging to Jesus and His disciples because
they were going to Jerusalem to do God’s
will, the “Sons of Thunder” asked Jesus if
He wanted them to call down fire and kill
the villagers (Luke 9:51-56). Even though
the Samaritans were guilty of
intermarrying with foreigners and
embracing foreign gods (2 Kings 17:33),24
did not mean that Jesus wanted them
destroyed for His mission was not to judge
the world but to save them (John 12:46-
19
Grenz, Stanley J. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids, MI: Willian B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1996, 43. Wells, David F. The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emgergents in the
Postmodern World. Grand Rapids, MI: Willian B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008, 97.
20
Ibid., 19.
21
22
Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago:
Moody Press, 1999, 76.
23
John F. MacArthur Jr., 100.
24
John F. MacArthur Jr., 81.
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47).25 When we attempt to force others into obeying the letter of the law26 one can easily forget
that while God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), He prefers to show them grace by
giving them every opportunity to obtain “full maturity, perfect Christlikeness” (Ephesians 4).27
This does not mean that we have a license to sin (Romans 6:1) but merely that we sill be given
every opportunity to repent (1 John 1:9). Early in John’s ministry he had not learned this lesson.
4 It
has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth,
just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you
a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love
one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.
As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
2 John 4-6
In his letter to the church John shows a genuine balance and passion for both the truth
and love for others. For a church facing schisms from foreign teachings,28 John recommends
they rely on the truth that has set them free but only in the context of a voluntary, selfsacrificing, deep love for each other.29 While
brash words of an unloving, self-exalting,
hypocritical person cripples the desire of
others to hear the truth, love breaks down the
barriers of self-justification so that with
gentleness, humility and respect removing the
planks of sin becomes a reciprocal process of
building one another up in the faith! “It is not
that love precedes truth or belief, but that love
offers the clearest test of the truthfulness of the
confession and the sincerity of the obedience
30
given to God’s commands.” “Truth without love has no decency; it’s just brutality. On the
other hand, love without truth has no character; it’s just hypocrisy.”31 As can clearly be seen in
the above epistle, John learned these lessons well for this “Son of Thunder” rejoiced in God’s
people as they walked both in the truth and in love for one other!32
25
Ibid.
Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies
(London: Martin Manser, 2009).
27
John F. MacArthur Jr., 106.
28
Thomas F. Johnson, 1, 2, and 3 John, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Books, 2011), 148.
29
Thomas F. Johnson,.
30
Glenn W. Barker, 363.
31
John F. MacArthur Jr., 106.
32
John F. MacArthur Jr., 107.
26
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Balancing Ambition with Humility
To be truly effective in ministry we learn from John how important it is to balance our
ambition with that of humility. Early in his ministry, John and James enlisted their mother
Salome to secretly go to Jesus and ask for the
top positions in His kingdom (Matthew
20:20).33 Should not those who were part of
Jesus’ inner circle not only get to sit on one of
the twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel
like the other disciples (Matthew 19:28)34
but also sit on the left and right hand of Jesus
(Mark 10:37)? In response to the subsequent
dispute that broke out about who was the
greatest amongst the disciples, Jesus rebuked
them for seeking positions in His kingdom
only to lord power over others (Mark 10:4245). John also got rebuked for having told a
person to stop driving out demons in the name of Jesus merely because he wanted to keep the
status of the 12 for themselves (Mark 9:38-41). John learned that “ambition without humility
becomes egotism, or even megalomania,”35 for the kingdom of God will not advance through
“politics, status, power or dominion” but through serving one other in love!36 John learned this
lesson so well that humility became one of his greatest virtues as demonstrated in his refusal to
sign his writings as anything but anonymously as the “one whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23;
20:2; 21:7, 20).37 Those who have “acquired” their positions of power inside of the church only
to lord their positions over others can learn a lot from John’s servanthood attitude!
Balancing Glory and Suffering
To effectively serve in God’s
kingdom John learned that one must be
willing to suffer for His name’s sake! While
it was easy for John to accept a position as
one of the twelve disciples, being a judge of
one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one who
has received the promise of eternal life
(Matthew 28:28-30); to suffer for the sake of
the kingdom was a cup hard to accept!
Likewise, is it not easy for us today to accept
being chosen in Christ before the creation of
the world to be adopted in His family and to
33
John F. MacArthur Jr., 109.
John F. MacArthur Jr., 90.
35
John F. MacArthur Jr., 108.
36
John F. MacArthur Jr., 110.
37
John F. MacArthur Jr., 111.
34
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receive the glorious riches of His abundant grace (Ephesians 1), but quite another thing to
receive “fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10)? To be
“heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” means we must suffer with him so that we may be
glorified together with Him (Romans 8:17). While John abandoned Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane (Mark 14:50), this “Son of Thunder” participated in Christ’s baptism of suffering
(Matthew 20:23) at the foot of the cross (John 19:25-27) and on the Island of Patmos (Revelation
1:9). While suffering is far from pleasant, like Apostle Paul one must never forget “the
sufferings in this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
Conclusion
While there is no one kind of personality that is best to serve God in His kingdom, one
should seek a balanced approach to ministry. Since truth without love has no decency; it’s just
brutality and love without truth has no character; it’s just hypocrisy; we are to passionately
proclaim the truth concerning God with voluntary, self-sacrificing, deep love for one another.
Since “ambition without humility becomes egotism, or even megalomania, we are to serve in the
kingdom of God not for positions of power and authority but for the privilege of serving He who
adopts and calls us His children. And lastly, those who share in the glorious riches of His
abundant grace are to be willing to be baptized unto His suffering. If you have an extreme
personality do not worry for He who changed Apostle John to be both a “Son of Thunder” and
the “Disciple Jesus Loved” can and will change you if only you ask!
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