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John (the apostle).

John, son of Zebedee, is one of the Twelve apostles and identified in the fourth Gospel as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Member of the inner circle (with Peter and James), present at the Transfiguration, at the Last Supper reclining on Jesus's breast, at the cross when most had fled. Tradition attributes the fourth Gospel, the three Johannine epistles, and Revelation to him. Banished to Patmos under Domitian, he received the apocalyptic vision. He alone of the Twelve died of natural causes, in Ephesus around 100 AD.

Timeline

• Called from his fishing nets with brother James (Mark 1)
• Member of the inner circle (Peter, James, John)
• At the Transfiguration (Matthew 17)
• At the foot of the cross (John 19)
• First to reach the empty tomb (John 20)
• Exiled to Patmos (Revelation 1)
• Final years in Ephesus, dying of old age (~100 AD)

Key verses

• John 1:14 →
• John 21:24 →
• 1 John 4:7-8 →

Why John (the apostle) matters

John's Gospel — with its high Christology ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God") — is the most theologically sustained of the four. His epistles concentrate on love: "God is love." His Revelation is the only sustained apocalyptic book in the NT and the basis of every later Christian eschatology. Living longer than any other apostle, he is the bridge between the apostolic generation and the second-century church fathers.

Related tools

• All 29 figuresThe full index
• Bible verse lookupAny reference, ESV
• Trivia categoryApostle