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Episode Two: The Beloved Disciple

For reference, this idea became bigger than a ramble: it became a research paper. Thus, this one is formatted a little differently. I was limited to only articles available in our library database. Our regularly scheduled nonsense will commence eventually.

For the Bible Tells Me So: Investigating the Mystery of the Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John 

  The Gospel of John is perhaps the most unique of the gospels offered by the modern New Testament canon. It is unique in that it holds several stories and pericopes that are not found in the other three “Synoptic” gospels, of which it is possible to find a recurring theme of stories. Because of this, John has a dedicated community of scholars that try to understand the mysteries of the gospel. Upon reading the gospel myself, I found one of these mysteries. Multiple times throughout John, and in nowhere else within the Bible, an unnamed disciple makes an appearance. Normally, this would not raise suspicion, as Jesus quite often had a number of unamed followers with him along his travels. However, what is attributed to this disciple is what makes them such a mystery: they are consistently referred to as the “disciple Jesus loved.”[1] Ignoring the potential for sexual connotation, I found myself wondering who such an important person could be. So, I turned to the Bible myself and put up a metaphorical stringboard to find out.  

Scanning the entire Gospel of John produces six specific mentions of the BD. They are as follows, in chronological order: 

“One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to Him” at the Last Supper, where Jesus announces that he will be betrayed by one of his own followers; the BD is the one that specifically asks who.[2]  

At the crucifixion, the three Marys (Virgin, Magdelena, and of Clopas) are said to be witnesses along with the BD. Jesus, dying on the cross, charges the BD with taking care of His mother now, saying, “Here is your mother.”[3] 

Mary Magdelena is the first person to see the empty tomb, and in her panic rushes to Simon Peter and the BD, who rush to confirm what she says. In their disappointment, they return home.[4] 

Post-resurrection, a group of disciples go on a fishing trip on the Sea of Tiberias (also known as Galilee), where a risen Jesus blesses them with a catch of many fish. Among the disciples present are Simon Peter (who is naked for some reason), Thomas, Nathanael, the Zebedee brothers, and two unnamed disciples, one of which is the BD.[5] 

Jesus stays with them for the night, and in the morning after breakfast, (a now-clothed) Simon Peter has a discussion with Jesus, where Jesus reminds him to “feed” and “tend His sheep” three times, as a chiastic reference to the denial of Jesus during the Passion. Peter, in his own chiastic reference to the Last Supper, asks Jesus who will betray Him, hinting at the BD. Jesus responds that he could keep the BD resurrected until His second coming if He so wanted to, which stats a rumor that the BD is at least somewhat immortal.[6] 

As a final, fourth wall aside to the audience, the narrator (claimed, of course, to be John) claims that the source of the material he writes down comes directly from the BD.[7] 

With this information given, as well as other information given throughout the gospel, we can create a quick miniature biography of the BD, to further conclude who they are through means of deduction.  

The BD is a member of at least the late ministry of Jesus. It is unknown when he joins the ministry but is quickly realized as a close confidante of Jesus, having the seat of honor next to Him at the Last Supper.[8]  The BD is also present at the crucifixion; the Gospel of John mentions no specific witnesses (i.e. followers) other than the BD and the Three Mary’s (as mentioned above).[9] The BD is also unique as he is a direct witness to the empty tomb on (what is traditionally) Easter Sunday, which means that he cannot be any of the other witnesses, logically (of which there are Simon Peter, Mary Magdelena, and someone else). During the stint on the Sea of Tiberias, the previously mentioned people are present. Thus, the BD is limited to these people (save for Simon Peter, who has already been ruled out). The BD is not assigned to any of the people, named or not, so theoretically the BD could be any of these people. We also know that John is writing with the testimony of the BD and trusts his story. Given all of this information, I narrowed down the suspects to one man: Lazarus, At this point, I realized my potential for self-research was running thin, so I looked to my fellow scholars for evidence as well. 

Lazarus seems like an unusual suspect at first glance. Why not it be one of the specific twelve chosen by the Lord? The problem arises in the fact that almost always, members of the Twelve are specifically named within the Gospel. There are some actual textual evidence that lends to Lazarus, however. There are two main pieces: the timing of the appearances of the BD, and the language used when describing him. Lazarus is raised in John 13, and the last mention of the BD in the actual story is the conversation with peter that alludes to the possible “immortality” of the BD. From a standpoint of logistics, Lazarus could in fact fit that bill. We know that Lazarus dies an untimely death, and if he is about Jesus’ age, would have had much of his life ahead of him. The unknown variable is the limit (or lack thereof) Jesus’ power. How much “life” is infused back into Lazarus? Does he live the normal lifespan, or has Jesus’ power of resurrection removed his biological clock? Furthermore, Lazarus is one of, if not the only one that Jesus claims to directly love within the Gospel of John.[10] Even Martha and Mary realize it, and let Jesus know of his passing. It even brings Jesus to tears.[11] Given the significance, it makes sense that Jesus would resurrect Lazarus, demonstrating his power over death. Floyd Filton of McCormick Theological Seminary also notices that it is merely two chapters from the introduction of Lazarus, who Jesus loved, to the BD.[12] 

Of course, two millennia of discussion have caused many theories to flow, but I have not the virtual pages to cover them all. The popular opinion is that John himself is the BD, given his authorship of the gospel the BD appears in. Many of the church fathers back up this idea. There have also been plausible theories for Thomas, James (brother of Jesus), as well as the thirteenth apostle, Mattias (who replaces Judas Iscariot). We may never know. The mystery begs a second question. Why? What purpose does the BD’s anonymity serve? 

There are some theories I can come up with. If we assume the BD is Lazarus, it could very well be possible that Jesus wanted to lessen the importance of the BD among his followers at the time. Lazarus certainly never received the same commission that the Twelve do. If he’s not Lazarus, then it is probable Jesus wanted the identity to remain hidden forever; however, it was also probable that everyone knew to the point that the BD’s name didn’t even need to be stated to be realized. Henry Shea of the Society of Jesuits argues that the BD is anonymous as a literary device, and that he is a point of self-insertion for all future followers.[13] 

Another possible theory is that the BD is a point of reflection among the disciples, specifically Peter. Edmund Little considers the discourse that Jesus gives to Peter in John 21 is a means to realize there are different methods of following Jesus. The BD is a passive disciple that cares for others and remains contemplative in Christ, but Peter ends up as the most active of the disciples, the one with the keys to the kingdom.[14] 

In conclusion, the character of the Beloved Disciple is one that is as important as it is mysterious. John clearly knew this disciple, and trusted him enough to use his testimony. Jesus loved him enough to entrust him for caring for his mother. But, the disciple has faded into obscurity, simply because he has no name to latch on to. Many have guessed, none can be correct bar the invention of time travel. We will never know who it is, and that is something we must find comfort with. It also is important to realize that what we don’t can tell us just as much as what we do.  

Endnotes.

1 John 13:23-25 et al. All verses and quotes come from the NRSV unless otherwise stated. From this point forward, the “disciple Jesus loved” will be referred to by BD, which comes from the academic use of “Beloved Disciple.” 

2 John 13:21-30. The story continues into the announcement of Judas as the traitor. 

3 John 19:26-27 

4 John 20:1-10. The story also continues further into verse 18, where angels and Jesus comfort Mary Magdelena and then she passes the comfort (and news of His resurrection) to the Disciples.  

5 John 21:1-8.  

6 John 21:25-23. Although this is in the same chapter, time has passed since the previous event, which is why I signify it by it’s own separate mention.  

7 John 21:24-25. This is an aside that pulls the reader from the story, so it is it’s own separate mention. 

8 The Greek text even references him reclining within “the bosom” of Christ, which raises the potential for sexual connotations, but due to lack of space and derailing of the topic, I will leave that proverbial sleeping dog to lie. I specifically look at the Greek from the Nestle 1904 Greek New Testament, as used by BibleHub’s online interlinear text, available at https://biblehub.com/interlinear/. 

9 I say this to allude to the fact that the Twelve are absent. Jesus actually predicts this in John 16:29-33, and given that the disciples were probably likely to be persecuted as well (see Peter’s Denial in John 18:15-27, for example), it is reasonable that they would lay low for a while. However, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. 

10 Of course, it would make logical sense for Jesus to have love for his family, like his mother and siblings. Lazarus, however, is specifically given the role of beloved. It should also be noted that there are multiple terms for love in the Greek the Gospel is written in; however English just has the one.  

11 John 11:35, notorious for being the shortest English verse.  

12 Filson, Floyd V. “Who Was the Beloved Disciple?” Journal of Biblical Literature 68, no. 2 (1949): 83–88. https://doi.org/10.2307/3261994. 

13 Shea, Henry J. “The Beloved Disciple and the Spiritual Exercises.” Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits 49, no. 2 (2017). https://doi.org/10.6017/ssj.v49i2.10120. 

14 Little, Edmund. “Peter and the Beloved Disciple: Unfinished Business in John 21.” Stimulus (Masterton, N.Z.) 18, no. 4 (2010): 36–43. 

Thanks for Reading.

For other writings more of the creative types, you can find me at @oliversutcliff. For my very sporadic fandom activities, I'm at @kingofallvibes. Otherwise, on the internet I'm @dazzaroop.

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Episode One: Asherah

So, I find myself laying on my bed, sick, and kicking myself for not taking proper care of my body. So I figured while I waste another day of my life I’ll rant in order to feel at least a little more useful.

Before conforming to monotheism, the people who would become the Israelites were once polytheistic. For clarity’s sake, I’ll refer to pre-covenant individuals as Hebrews, the people of the covenant as Israelites, any modern worshipper as a Jew, and any modern worshipper who is a member of the post 1948 state as an Israeli [Jew]. Clear? Clear. So, open your books.

So, modern worship of the G-d of Israel starts with a little man named Abram. Abram is a steadfast and devout man, the descendant of Noah, who is descended from Adam and Eve (but aren’t we all? That’s not worth the bragging rights.). Sure, you could argue that Noah had a relationship with G-d, and he does (as well as Adam and Eve, of course), but it’s Abram that really gets down to clown with G-d.

But let’s back up with some more background.

Noah’s sons get busy after the flood (Genesis 6-9( and due to the magic of ancient cosmological exposition, make the kingdoms of the surrounding areas. Yay, procreation. For the Lore™️, look at Genesis 10.

So, we’ve established that all of these people in the Levantine are distantly related. Keep that in mind.

For reference, here is how they spread out. Ham, Japheth, and Shem are the three sons of Noah.

Why is this important? Well because Abram is descended from Shem. G-d, perhaps because he is bored, perhaps because he is angry, singles out some random dude in Ur (which is more commonly known as Chaldea or Babylon) named Abram, and is like, “Hey. Want to be one of the most important people EVER? Move out to Bumfuck nowhere for me ;)” He says it much more suave and succinctly but that’s the just. (Gen 12:1-3) And, as a mortal does to an infinitely more powerful G-d, he agrees.

So, to make a long story short, G-d makes a bropact with Abram, he changes his name to Abraham, and he becomes the father of many nations. And now you’re probably thinking “Dazz, shut the fuck up what about that Asherah person?” First of all, she’s a G-ddess. And second of all, that’s the neat thing. She’s always been there. “What!?” You say as you clutch your pearls?

Like I mentioned, the lore of the Bible states that all of these people are related. In academic terms, they have a cultural ancestor. So, we can compare religions of the Levantine and find that the pantheons are quite similar. Where does Abraham move to, you ask? CANAAN!

Now, I could look up the academic discourse but that’s go over a lot of peoples heads. So let’s, for now, go to where all modern research papers start: Wikipedia! Wikipedia states, ”Canaanite religious practices included animal sacrifice, veneration of the dead, and the worship of deities through shrines and sacred groves.”

“But, Dazz, that sounds kind of like the Israelite religion!” It sure does. There are a few key things that are tweaked however. Let’s take it line by line. Animal Sacrifice? Proper Semitic culture. Most of Leviticus is dedicated to stuff like that. Cleanliness, purity, bloodshed, all the stuffs.

Veneration of the dead? Well, yes. As much as the Israelite religion puts the ick on the dead, they do very much venerate them. This has survived into Judaism and modern Jewry as well, as any remarkable person is given a posthumous honorific. If you ever see “Z’’L” or “ז’’ל��� beside a person’s name, that means “זכרונו לברכה” zikhrono livrakha which means may their memory be a blessing. This is usually used for a great or holy person, usually the ancestors of the TaNaKh. There are similar honorifics for everyday folk. Needless to say, they had tremendous respect for the dead. But funerary practices are another rant.

Now to that last line. It’s a bit tricky. ”Worship of deities through shrines and sacred groves.” shrines and sacred groves make sense when you realize how many altars Abraham and Co. set up in the desert, and a sacred grove sounds suspiciously like Genesis 1-3… There are also “pagan” statues and shrines mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, usually conglomerated under the term אשרה… Asherah, plural asherim Wait a fucking second…

But hey, we haven’t even looked at the pantheon yet. Someone made a good Reddit post of the family tree. Wait… Asherah!? And Asherah is married to… El!? Who’s El? Well. We know of a couple of “gods” in the Bible, and G-d doesn’t reveal his true name until Moses. But, He has to have a name before that, right? The Hebrews called Him אֱלֹהִים, which is plural proper noun. They called Him Elohim. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for Reading. For other writings more of the creative types, you can find me at @oliversutcliff. For my very sporadic fandom activities, I'm at @kingofallvibes. Otherwise, on the internet I'm @dazzaroop.