THE APOSTLE OF LOVE

The Gospel-writer John has often been nicknamed “the apostle of love.” Indeed, he wrote more than any other New Testament author about the importance of love – laying particular stress on the Christian’s love for Christ, Christ’s love for His church, and the love for one another that is supposed to be the hallmark of true believers. The theme of love flows through his writings.

But love was a quality that he learned from Christ, not something that came naturally to him. In his younger years, he was as much a Son of Thunder as James. If you imagine that John was the way he was often portrayed in medieval art -- a meek, mild, pale-skinned, effeminate person, lying around at Jesus’ shoulder looking up at Him with a dove-eyed stare -- forget that caricature. He was rugged and hard-edged, just like the rest of the fishermen-disciples. And again, he was every bit as intolerant, ambitious, zealous, and explosive as his elder brother. In fact, the one and only time the synoptic Gospel writers recorded John speaking for himself, he displayed his trademark aggressive, self-assertive, impertinent intolerance. (See Mark 9:38.)…

So it is clear from the Gospel accounts that John was capable of behaving in the most sectarian, narrow-minded, unbending, reckless, and impetuous fashion. He was brash. He was aggressive. He was passionate, zealous, personally ambitious – just like his brother James. They were cut from the same cloth.

But John aged well. Under the control of the Holy Spirit, all his liabilities were exchanged for assets. Compare the young disciple with the aged patriarch, and you’ll see that as he matured, his areas of weakness all developed into his greatest strengths. He’s an amazing example of what should happen to us as we grow in Christ -- allowing the Lord’s strengths to be made perfect in our weakness. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9.) 

-- John MacArthur (1939-2025) in “Twelve Ordinary Men: How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness and What He Wants to Do with You”

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TRANSFORMED IN CHRIST

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

This is essentially Jesus' work during His earthly ministry.  He makes people whole.

He takes a brash, boisterous braggart named Peter who is spiritually as shifty as sand, and fashions him into a solid rock, so that thousands will hear the gospel through him.

He takes a John of boiling temperament and fiery disposition and channels that fire into love and gives gentleness in place of harshness.

He takes a sinful woman twisted in all her thoughts, torn apart in her conscience, tormented by seven demons, and releases Mary of Magdala from her captivity, even gives her the honor of being the first to see Him risen from the dead.

He takes a greedy, selfish, despicable tax collector and transforms Zacchaeus into a person of Christian charity and benevolence who in turn makes a deep committal:  "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." (Luke 19:8)

He transforms men and women by the power of His love.  A group of very ordinary people are forgiven for their sins, changed in their goals, given a vision, empowered with His Holy Spirit, and these Christians turn the world upside down, or shall we say, right-side up? 

-- H.S. Vigeveno in “Jesus the Revolutionary”

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