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THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
came a follower and pressed steadily onward un til th e goal was reacted . Christian a rt has so fam iliarized us w ith a form of almost fem inine sweet ness as representing th e beloved dis ciple, th a t th e strong energy, and even, vehemence of his character is almost lost sight of. In his w ritings as well as in what is recorded of him, we find both sides of his character appearing. A fter rem aining w ith Jesus for ' a tim e he seems to have gone back to his old employment, from which he was again called (Mt. 4 :21 ; Lk. 5:1-11) to become an apostle and fisher of men. Then the group of th e chosen th ree is formed. On th ree different occasions the burning tem per of th e “ sons of th u n d er” displayed itself (1. Mk. 9:38; Lk. 9:49; 2. Lk. 9 :54 ; 3. Mt. 20:20; Mk. 10 :35 ). John and P eter prepare th e last supper (Lk. 22 :8 ) a t which P ete r gets him to ask who is the tra ito r, and afte r the betrayal, John gets his friend introduced into the high p riest’s palace. He followed his Master to judgm ent and death and received His m other as a farewell charge (18:15;. 1 9 :26 -27 ).' His friend’s fall does not break th eir friendship and they visit th e sepulchre together on E aster morning. We find them still together in Galilee seeking refreshm ent in th e ir suspense by re suming th e ir old calling, (2 1 :2 ) and here again th e ir different ch aracter istics show themselves. The Gospel closes w ith Christ’s gentle rebuke to P e te r’s n atu ra l curiosity about John. In Acts, John appears bu t seldom, always in connection w ith, and always playing a second p art to, his friend (Acts 3, 4, 8:14-25). We lose sight of him a t Jerusalem (8 :2 5 ) a fte r the re tu rn from Samaria, bu t he was not th e re a t the tim e of P au l’s first visit (Gal. 1:18-19). Some twelve or fif teen years, la ter he seems to have been a t Jerusalem again (15 :6 ) bu t for how long we cannot tell. Excepting his own notice of him self as being in the island called Patm os for th e word and testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1 :9 ), th e New Testament tells us nothing fu rth e r re specting him. W hat persecution drove him to Patmos or caused him to be ban ished th ith e r is uncertain, as also is th e date of his death, which may be placed somewhere near A. D. 100. In ten sity of action, in ten sity of though t and word, intensity of love and hate— these are th e characteristics of
PERTINENT QUESTIONS (1 ) Are God’s ways th e same as m an’s wayn in the call to Chris tian service? And how do they differ? (2) W hat do you suppose was the greatest te st in John ’s Chris tia n career? (3> W hat do you suppose was th e greatest tem ptation w h i c h came to John? (4 ) W hat do you consider th e es sentially high ideals for Chris tia n service today? (5 ) Is th ere an inner circle for "the followers of Christ, and w hat characterizes it? The date of Jo h n ’s b irth cannot be determ ined. He was probably younger th a n his Master and th an th e other apostles. He was th e son of Zebedee and Salome, and COMMENT b ro th er of James. SELECTED By who was probably K eith L. Brooks the older of th e two. Zebedee was a fisherman of the lake of Galilee, who lived in or near Bethsaida (Jn. 1:44) and was well enough off to have hired servants (Mk. 1 :2 0 ). Salome was prob ably th e sister of th e Virgin, and in th a t case, John was our Lord’s first cousin. This relationship harmonizes well w ith the special intimacy granted to the beloved disciple, w ith th e fact of Jam es also being among th e chosen three, and w ith th e final comm ittal of th e V irgin to Jo h n ’s care. John, like th e others except Judas, was a Galilean and th is fact may be tak en as in some degree accounting for th a t fierceness of tem per which earned for him and his b ro th er th e name, “ sons of th u n d er” (Mk. 3 :1 7 ). The Galileans, uninterested alike in politics and philosophy, preferred th e sword to in trigu e and indu stry to speculation. To th is industrious, h ardy and warlike race John belonged by b irth and resi dence, sh aring in its characteristic en ergy and its impatience of indecision and intrigue. Hence, when th e Baptist proclaimed th e kingdom of th e Mes siah, th e young fisherman a t once be
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