THE MAN WHO LEANED ON JESUS

By John Stallings

Now there was one leaning on Jesus’ bosom, one of His disciples whom Jesus loved. –John 13:23

Did you know?

· The gospel of John doesn’t contain one parable?
· The only way we knew Jesus’ ministry lasted three & a half years is because John records three Passovers. If we only had Matthew, Mark & Luke we’d think Jesus ministered only one year.
· If we didn’t have John’s gospel, we wouldn’t know about the wedding of Cana,-- the raising of Lazarus, --the women at the well,--- the new birth discourse with Nicodemus,--- the lame man at the pool of Bethesda,--- the washing of feet,--- the women caught in adultery, ---the upper room discourse, --or that Jesus baptized.-3:22
· If we didn’t have John we’d think that Jesus ministered mostly in Galilee? John shows us His ministry in Judea, mostly around Jerusalem.
· John was the first disciple to believe in Jesus,
· the only disciple at the cross,
· the first one at the empty tomb,
· the second one to enter the tomb, &
· the first one to the last communion.
· Although he never takes credit for his gospel, John called himself “The disciple that Jesus loved” no less than five times.
· John was the first disciple to recognize Jesus when He appeared to them after they’d fished all night.—21:7
· When Jesus was on the cross, He placed His mother into the hands of John.

The Holy Spirit knew exactly what He was doing when He inspired the four gospels. When we look at them we see that each is unique, diverse & distinct in character from the other three.

Consider Matthew. Matthew portrays Christ in His kingly office—He is prophet, priest & king. Matthew starts off with the genealogies because the Jews were looking for the fulfillment of the everlasting kingdom of David. Matthew shows that Jesus indeed came through this lineage.

Then look at Mark, the shortest gospel. This gospel doesn’t begin with the linage of Jesus & makes no mention of His ancestry; it begins by showing Jesus as the Servant of Jehovah. The very first things he tells us is how John the Baptist baptized Christ & how Christ is taken into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted of the devil. Mark tells us about the ministry of Christ & how He began preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

Now, consider the perspective of Luke. This gospel shows us Jesus in His humanity. Luke contrasts the perfect nature of Jesus with the sinful nature of fallen man. Luke tells us that Jesus’ response to Satan was, --Get thee behind me Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God & Him only shalt thou serve. Luke 4:8

The fourth gospel, the gospel of John, reveals Christ as the heavenly one who came to earth to tabernacle with men. John is easily the simplest yet most theologically profound of the gospels. In John we see Christ revealed as the Son of God. The first three gospels teach Jesus’ humanity & His relationship with you & me as man. However, in the gospel of John we see Christ as God, Christ in His divinity, and Christ in His deity. In a day when our world seeks to gainsay God’s word as well as the person of Christ, how we need John’s gospel. You see Christ’s deity in the very first of verse of John,--In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with God & the Word was God…..This shows us that Christ is preexistent, predating creation. John tells us that Christ was the creator of heaven & earth. In John’s gospel we see Christ unveiled in all His glory, dwelling within the Godhead before time began.

· Only in this gospel do we see Jesus in the beginning. How did creation began - It began with the words of Jesus. He spoke, & it was.

John stressed that this man who walked & talked with the common man was actually co-equal with God the Father. In John we are given perhaps the most quoted verse in the Bible,- For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 3:16

John is “the different gospel.” As you read it, contrast it with the other gospels & see how different it is. The author of this book has one intention & that is to establish with crystal clarity that Jesus Christ was & is indeed the “Son of God,” & was sent by the Father as a divine transmitter of His love to give eternal life to believers. John puts it succinctly when he writes these words; --But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. 20:31

As you probably know from your own reading of this book, John reads different. Jesus seems different in John. It’s interesting that the book of John, so precious in its intimacy, was written by the man who was closest & actually “Leaned on Jesus’ breast.”

Scholars say that John wrote this book toward the end of the first century A.D. Some also say he wrote it because so much information needed to be added. John tells us in the last verse of his book that very little was written about Jesus, & if all He did was written down, the world couldn’t hold all the books. John was the youngest of the disciples; just a lad when chosen by Jesus. He lived to be almost one hundred & also wrote the three Epistles of John & the book of Revelation. His youth & subsequent longevity was probably one reason he was chosen.

It’s easy to forget that this young man who “Leaned on Jesus’ breast” was the same man who, at the end of his life -fell at Jesus’ feet like a dead man in the “Revelation of Jesus Christ.”-Rev.1:17 .-Some of the deepest truths about God in the entire Bible can be found in the four chapters of the upper room discourse in John 14, 15, 16 & 17.

John contains,

SEVEN SIGNS

Miracles are kept to a minimum in John & he refers to Jesus’ miracle as signs. The signs are given to confirm the deity of Christ. They are,

1. 2:1-11
2. 4:46
3. 5:1-9
4. 6:1-14
5. 9:1-7
6. 6:16-21
7. 11:1-46


SEVEN “I AM’s”


1. 6:35
2. 8:58--….before Abraham was, I am.
3. 10:9
4. 10:11
5. 11:25
6. 14:6
7. 15:1

SEVEN “SHALL NOTS”

1. 3:16
2. 4:14
3. 8:12
4. 10:28
5. 6:35
6. 5:24
7. 11:25-26


John tells us what true worship is, --But the hour cometh & now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit & in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. --- God is a spirit: & they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit & in truth. 4:23-24.

The biggest dissimilarity between John & the other gospels is the language he used. John loved to use words like, Life, Light, Love, Darkness, Hate, Death & Believe. Some of his favorite phrases are Life in God, Life with God, Life by God, & Life for God. John never tires of using these words & phrases. The shortest verse in the bible is John 2:35,--Jesus wept.

John’s gospel doesn’t go deeply into subjects like prayer, fasting, alms giving, marriage, wealth, the trinity, & divine sovereignty. John leaves out the transfiguration, Christ’s temptation, His baptism, His agony in Gethsemane, the selection of the twelve, & the sending out of the seventy.

· In John, Jesus explains to us the new birth.—3:7-8
· The plan of salvation comes through so beautifully in 1:11,
· -He came unto His own & His own received Him not.12-But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. 13- Which were born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
· John records Jesus’ words,-No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him; And I will raise him up at the last day. 6:44-45

· John records for us the great priestly prayer Jesus prayed in chapter 17. –These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify they Son that thy Son may also glorify thee. (Note that Jesus never says he’ll be crucified, but rather glorified.) As thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.
· John records for us the Christian’s infilling of the Holy Spirit.

14:15,--If ye love me, keep my commandments, & I will pray the Father& he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for he dwelleth with you, & shall be in you.
As we can see, John is a gospel apart.

· It is 92% original & unique compared to the other gospels. Because of its richness & simplicity, this book makes a masterful gospel tract. Isn’t it amazing that these rich truths weren’t unveiled in the other gospels, (as rich & God-breathed as they are,) but were given to us by this disciple who “Leaned on Jesus’ breast?” Read & re-read this book & know you are reading from a source closer to the beating heart of our Lord than any man who ever lived.

Do you have a need; a petition to lift up to God? John records Jesus’ words of assurance,

--If you abide in me & my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will & it shall be done unto you. 15:7

We don’t hear much these days about heaven or the reality of someday being reunited with our loved ones who died in Christ. What a void there would be if John hadn’t included these words of Jesus; ---

Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also. --14:1-3