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Hello
Good to see you, we are here today to talk about the twelve disciples of Jesus
(Pastor Lee Dongwon) Each person here represents one of the twelve disciples
Today we are going to talk about one of the twelve disciples, John
who has the nickname, the disciple of love or the apostle of love
John not only wrote the Book of John in general
(The Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, Revelation) but he is also recognized as the author of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John
The life of love that defined Apostle John
and the message of love in his heart is exemplified in the passage
from 1 John chapter 4 verses 7-12, which we will now listen to
(4. House of John Author Park Younggyun)
'Beloved, let us love one another'
'for love is from God'
'everyone who loves is born of God and knows God'
'Whoever does not love does not know God'
'because God is love'
'This is how God’s love was revealed among us:'
'God sent his only Son into the world'
'that we might live through him'
'This is love, not that we loved God'
'but that he loved us'
'and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins'
'Beloved ones, since God loved us so much'
'we also ought to love one another'
'Although no one has ever seen God in the present'
'if we love one another, God will lives within us'
'and his love will be whole within us' [1 John 4:7-12]
John (God’s grace)
Key events: Jesus favor of Mary, discovery of empty tomb (with Peter)
Book of John, Revelation earned the title of Apostle of Love
Family: mother Salome - father John - father Zebedee, job fisherman
The three main disciples: the youngest, the one who leaned into Jesus, the beloved
Disciple of John the Baptist [John 1:35-42]: Andrew, Philip
(CGNTV prayer gathering for those wanting to learn about the lives of the twelve apostles) Amen, do you say Amen?
(Twelve saints from 'Dream On Mom' joined us today) Generally, when we think of the chapter on love in the Bible
what is the first chapter that comes to mind?
(The typical 'chapter of love') 1 Corinthians chapter 13
However, actually, 1 John chapter 4 can be considered
more than 1 Corinthians 13
the true "chapter of love" that testifies even more profoundly to God’s love
Here, it says that God is love
and that He loved us and sent His only Son, Christ to us
This core message of love is contained in 1 John chapter 4
Today, we will start by looking at the Apostle John, the name "John"
and how he met Jesus and became His disciple
This is what we will be discussing today
They say that a survey was conducted among Westerners
The most common names held by Westerners
the most frequent, common names, what are they?
For example, among Korean women, although the trends are changing these days,
what was the most common name in the past?
Yeong-ja and Myeong-ja, are there some here too?
My wife's name is Myeong-ja
It's a common name, you know
But one of the most common Western names is
John, they say, John
And then, James
James
Then comes Peter, it goes in this order
Anyways, John is the most common
This shows that people love the name John the most
Perhaps because of the impression and inspiration left by John's life in the Bible
people have chosen that name often
That’s what we could say
The original meaning of the name John is "God is gracious"
That's the meaning of John’s name
God is gracious
"God is gracious"
It holds that meaning
As I've mentioned, he is the author of the Book of John
(The Gospel of John, the Epistles of John, Revelations) and the author of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John
Even as the author of the Bible's last book, Revelation
he is known as Apostle John
In the Gospel of John, written by Apostle John
What kind of disciple did John refer to himself as?
Israel, in fact, is more akin to the East when we divide East and West
So, Eastern beliefs and humility
might have influenced them
It's not easy to introduce oneself openly
So, when Apostle John refers to himself in the Book of John
he simply says 'Jesus' disciple' or 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'
That refers to Apostle John
When referring to another disciple about Jesus
phrases like "another disciple of Jesus" appear, but it’s John speaking about himself
As you read the Gospel of John, keep this in mind
The most dramatic moment to understand John's character
is in John chapter 13, where Jesus washes the disciples' feet
Right before the crucifixion
he washes his disciples' feet
and shares a last supper with them
This scene is described in John chapter 13
Within the chapter, there is a verse in John chapter 13 verse 23
"One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved..." [John 13:23]
Who is this talking about?
It's about John himself
'One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved'
''was reclining at the table at Jesus’ side' [John 13:23]
It may seem strange, a man leaning on another man’s chest
There were some might misinterpreted this scene
suggesting homosexuality or other distortion
But it was a just pure friendship
There can be pure friendship and pure love between a teacher and a disciple
and a disciple can also show affection towards his teacher
So, the image of John, Apostle John, l eaning on Jesus’ chest
is a very impactful scene
This disciple, who could show such physical affection with his teacher
was Apostle John, who was filled with the idea of love
Near the end of the Gospel of John
Jesus is crucified and then resurrected
After the resurrection, Mary appears
The first person the resurrected Jesus meets
is not a male disciple, but a female disciple
He met disciple Mary Magdalene first
When Mary confirmed Jesus’ resurrection through her own eyes
we can't imagine how shocked she must have been
But within her astonishment, Mary, as the Bible describes in John chapter 20 verse 2
"So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple"
"the one whom Jesus loved..." [John 20:2] Who do you think this was?
It was John
Mary brings the news to John
that Jesus has risen, asking if he knows
She has met Him herself, and that he has truly resurrected
The first person Mary shared this news with was John
Perhaps, because of his special relationship with Jesus
this disciple, who always expressed love
was the one Mary wanted to tell first, we can interpret the scene like this
But the next verse, John 20 verses 3-4
'the other disciple...' [John 20:3]
John, upon hearing the resurrection news from Mary
in the chapter, it says
'...but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first' [John 20:3]
John and Peter had a bit of a rivalry
When they heard the amazing news
of Jesus’ resurrection, the one who was in the grave
John, hearing this incredible news next to Peter
ran ahead of Peter to Him
So, he speaks of himself here in the Book of John
That’s how he reached the tomb and met the resurrected Jesus, as recorded in the Bible
Not only that, but at the Sea of Galilee
when the disciples were still uncertain of the risen Lord
feeling a sense of emptiness, frustration, and discouragement,
Peter suggested
'Let’s go back to fishing like we did before'
Many of the disciples were fishermen, right?
Fishermen as their main profession
They decided to go fishing as the used to in the past
but they couldn’t catch anything
Then, someone appeared
suggesting they cast the net on the right side
They didn’t know who it was, but they somehow wanted to obey him
So, they cast their net as instructed
But surprisingly, they caught many fish
In that scene, the one who realizes it was the Lord speaking to them
Who was the disciple who recognized that He was the risen Lord?
I would ask this because it was John, right
'It is the Lord' he said
'It must be the Lord'
He recognized Him
([John 21:7]) This time, it was John who first recognized Him
([John 21:7]) and Peter was the first to jump into the water
In any case, it was the Lord
The disciple who recognized the Lord first
and opened his heart to Him
We can see that this was Apostle John
But how did he become a disciple of Jesus?
In John chapter 1
it records that the first time Apostle John heard a concrete message about the Messiah, the Christ
([John 1:35-37]) was through John the Baptist
When John the Baptist preached about the coming Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior
what was the representative message he proclaimed about Him?
'..Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' [John 1:29]
So, Jesus came as the Lamb of God
bearing our sins and becoming the Lord of atonement on the cross
He heard the news about the Messiah through this message
in detail
So, this is Jesus
and he came to believe that this was the Messiah, the Christ they had been waiting for
Having heard this news first
he thought, if He is the Christ
he wanted to meet Him closely and get to know Him personally
So, after hearing John’s testimony, he began to follow Jesus
together with Andrew
Another man named Andrew, Andrew was Peter's brother, right?
So, they followed Him
As they followed, Jesus turned and
asked Andrew and John
(Jesus) “What is it that you want??”
To which John replied
(Apostle John) “Teacher, where are you staying?”
Do you live in Seobinggo?
He asked where He lived
This is because he thought that Jesus was not someone he wanted to meet just once and then leave
He had a desire to meet with Jesus continuously
and a longing to know Him deeply
So, a meeting was created out of that longing
So after meeting Jesus
John began to follow Him from that then on
So, after hearing the message that Jesus is the Savior, the Messiah
he started following Him to know Him more deeply
and that is how John began his life as Jesus’s disciple and apostle
When we look in the Bible
there is an important scene that lets us understand John’s character
John had a brother
Who was that brother?
James, yes, James
The sons of Zebedee, James and John, it says
The sons of Zebedee, James and John
But these brothers were given the same nickname
What was that nickname?
The sons of thunder
In our terms, we could say sons of thunder, sons of lightning, something like that
Maybe because they had a thunderous, stormy personality
they were given such a nickname
How did a man with such a passionate personality become the apostle of love?
Passion, after all, is a deep emotion
If this is not controlled, it can lead to a destructive personality
but when that emotion is well-controlled and refined
it can transform a person into one of profound love and deep affection
John fits into this case
He was a person of passionate emotions
but through meeting Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit
he came to deeply love Jesus
and to love his neighbors
Finally, he shared with us the great message, “Dear friends, let us love one another” [1 John 4:7]
He transformed into an apostle of love, able to give us this message
It was a transformation of personality
In his heart, there were such emotions, thunderous, passionate emotions
Because of this passion, he couldn’t hide his desire to be close to Jesus
and he would rest his head on Jesus’s chest
In the end, he received the Lord’s love deeply
and he recorded and conveyed that love
In John chapter 13, in a passage well known to us
In John 13:34-35, we see Jesus' message relayed by the Apostle
‘A new command I give you: Love one another…’
'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another...' [John 13:34]
Why is it a new command?
Was this command given for the first time then?
One Bible scholar said, “Well, it was in the Old Testament, too but"
"but this command is one that must be obeyed anew every day"
“So He gave a new command: Love one another” [John 13:34, 'New Command']
So John conveys this message
Also, in John 14:21, it says
'Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me...'
"and I will love him and manifest myself to him" [John 14:21]
So, only those who truly love can meet the Lord
experience Him, and become people who proclaim Him
John spent his whole life proclaiming such a message
He was an apostle of passionate love
someone who later demonstrated love in action
and eventually was able to be well sanctified into such a character that pleased the Lord
That was John
Biblical scholars, while studying John’s character and personality
testify that though he is a man of love
in various aspects
he had well-formed personal balance
What kind of balance? For instance, the balance between love and truth
Some people seem to have love, but lack truth
Such love can only become a cheap, sentimental type of love
But then, some people know and teach the truth very well but lack love
Would you want to be close to such a person?
They emphasize truth alone without love
Looking at such people, that truth often ends up wearing us down, doesn’t it?
Isn't that so?
So, the balance between truth and love
this balance is so essential
But John was someone who taught truth while containing it in a vessel of love
At first, he was a man of great ambition
But gradually, he transformed into a humble man
The balance between ambition and humility
And finally, he enters into the glory of the Lord
But before he enters into glory, he also walks a significant path of suffering
The balance between suffering and glory
We can think about John’s life in connection to three significant cities where his ministry unfolded
(The cities of John's ministry) The first is Jerusalem
In the Book of Acts
we see Peter and John, John and Peter
actively evangelizing and transforming Jerusalem
(The cities of John's ministry) Afterward, he goes to Ephesus
In Ephesus, which was considered the new Rome at that time
he attempts to evangelize Asia
If you go to Ephesus on a pilgrimage, you’ll find Mary’s house there
You might wonder why Mary’s house, the house of Jesus' mother, is there
When Jesus was on the cross, he thought about his mother in his heart at the end
He wanted to entrust his mother to one of his disciples to take care of her
To whom did he make this request?
To John. Why do you think it was him?
Because he was the disciple who would live the longest, Jesus knew this
To the disciple who would live the longest, he said, "Behold, your mother" [John 19:27]
Not only my mother but now also your mother
So he cared for her
While ministering to all of Asia from Ephesus, he took care of Mother Mary
So we can see that Mary’s house was there
(The cities of John's ministry) Lastly, Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation
Temporarily, he was arrested in Ephesus and was sent to Patmos, where he lived in exile
It was there in Patmos that he wrote the Book of Revelation
And then he was released
Among the disciples, he was the only one who was not martyred but released
He returns to Ephesus
So, back in the city of Ephesus, during his last ministry, he reportedly gave the same sermon repeatedly
(Apostle John) "Little children! Love one another!"
People would say, “You preached that last week too"
Do you have a new message?
Then he would deliver a 'new' message
(Apostle John) "Little children! Love one another!"
And so, delivering his final message of love, he was called by God
The famous John chapter 3 verse 16
'For God so loved ithe world, that he gave his only Son...' [John 3:16]
He gave us this message
And it’s not just John 3:16
1 John 3:16 is also important
What does it say?
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters" [1 John 3:16]
I believe that 1 John 3:16 defines the actions of those who accept John 3:16
Who delivered this message?
John
So, the Apostle John, who ultimately fulfilled his mission as the apostle of love
isn’t it right for us to follow him as well?
- Doesn't the story of John inspire you? - Yes
Now, let’s move on to the disciple Philip
Philip has a nickname
he is called the cautious perfectionist apostle
The cautious perfectionist apostle, Philip
We see Philip’s first encounter with Jesus
in John chapter 1 verses 43-45
Let's listen to the words that testify to that scene
'The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee'
'He found Philip and said to him, Follow me'
'Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter'
'Philip found Nathanael and said to him'
'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law'
'and also the prophets wrote'
'Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph' [John 1:43-45]
How many disciples did Jesus have in total?
Twelve disciples
The number twelve is representative
In the Old Testament, how many tribes represent the people of God?
Twelve tribes
In the New Testament, how many disciples?
Twelve disciples
Later in Revelation, almost at the end, in chapter 21
when we see the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem
there are twelve stones, twelve precious stones, and twelve gates
bearing the names of the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles
These twelve are symbolic
representing the twelve apostles as representatives of all Christians across all ages
The twelve disciples can be divided into three groups.
If we divide them into groups of four, we get three groups
The first group, who are they?
Peter and Andrew, these two are brothers, right?
And then James and John, also brothers
However, these four people all had the same occupation. What was it?
They were fishermen
So, the families of fishermen probably got to know each other well while fishing together
This forms the first group
Peter, Andrew, James, and John
Among them, Peter played the role of the leader
In fact, Peter was the leader representing all twelve disciples
Now, the second group includes
Since we're starting to talk about this second group today
it includes Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew
This group is considered the second group
Philip is said to have played the role of the leader in the second group
You can say it like this
As we’re discussing the story of Philip today
I wanted to introduce this second group
Of course, the third group includes the remaining four disciples
Who remains?
There is a disciple named James the Lesser
Then there’s Thaddeus, also known as Judas
Then Simon, and finally Judas Iscariot
These are the remaining four disciples
Today, as we begin the story of the Apostle Philip
we’ll look at the meaning behind his name
and how he met Jesus and became His disciple
Firstly, Philip
called Philippos or Philip in English
This name, Philip, was a very common name in biblical times
Why was it so common?
At that time, the most famous person in the world was
not Jesus but Alexander, Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great had practically conquered the entire world
Alexander the Great's father was named Philip
And in Eastern cultures, we temd to admire famous people
wishing our children would become like them
and we tend to name our children after famous figures
That's why there were so many people named Philip
The name Philip literally means 'horse lover'
someone who loves horses
Perhaps, since Alexander and his father were good at riding horses, it would makes sense
This is just an assumption, though
Anyway, with this background, the name Philip was given to this disciple
For a family to name their son Philip, there’s something we can assume
They probably weren’t traditional Jews
Philip is a Gentile name traditionally
Since it’s a foreign name, families who priorities traditin
wouldn’t use the name of someone unrelated to their country
So, the family of Philip was likely not traditional
and they were probably open to foreign culture
That’s why they named their son Philip
How, then, did the family of Philip, and Philip himself, first hear about Jesus?
In John chapter 1 verse 44, as we read, t’s recorded
'Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter' [John 1:44]
He was from Bethsaida in Galilee
Before Philip met Jesus, Andrew and Peter, who were brothers, had already met Him
Andrew and Peter met Jesus first
Andrew was the first to be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah
Andrew introduced his brother Peter, saying, “I have met the Messiah"
Now, who was living in the same town?
Philip, as we’ve mentioned
So, undoubtedly, Philip must have first heard
about Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, through Andrew and Peter
It is recorded in the Bible like this
Later, as Philip began to follow the Messiah, he was deeply moved and met someone else
The person Philip went to find was Nathanael
Philip went to Nathanael and said
'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote' [John 1:45]
He said he found the Messiah that Moses testified about in the law
Philip must have said this because he was confident
So Philip also believed and was sure that Jesus was the Messiah
Then, when it comes to actually following Jesus
if you look in John 1, one day Jesus meets Philip suddenly
The chance meeting of Jesus and Philip
Of course, we can’t just call it by chance
But Jesus meets Philip
and says
“Follow me” [John 1:43]
The Bible says that Philip followed Him at these words
How could he follow after hearing only “Follow me”?
How could Philp follow someone
without knowing who He was?
Although the Bible only briefly mentions it, omitting the background
Philip probably already heard about Jesus
Through whom?
From Andrew and Peter, who lived in the same town and had met Jesus first
And he must have been curious
He was a person who read the Bible
and he had interest in the Messiah
Jesus as the Messiah? And then He appeared before him
He looked at Philip intently and said “Follow me"
So, he followed
I believe this shows something about Jesus, which I’ll explain shortly
Jesus understood Philip’s personality exactly
He challenged him in just the right way
What did I say about Philip’s personality earlier?
A cautious perfectionist
People like this tend to keep hesitating, thinking, and analyzing
So, if Jesus had told him, “Take your time to think and then follow me"
Philip would have spent his whole life just thinking
Knowing this, Jesus challenged him with “Follow me"
This challenge stirred his heart
And it led him to make the decision to follow Jesus
When we look at Philip’s personality
We see a scene in John chapter 14
'I am the way, and the truth, and the life'
'No one comes to the Father except through me' [John 14:6]
Philip stands out in this scene
'...Lord, show us the Father' [John 14:8]
It's like he was saying, 'Do you have proof? I can’t believe without proof'
Philip was the kind of person who wanted confirmation
So, how did Philip finish his ministry and go to God?
Philip appears in the Book of John
And also in the Book of Acts, but they’re different
The Philip in Acts is Philip the deacon
and the Philip in John is the Apostle Philip, the disciple
Later, he goes to Asia Minor (now known as Turkey)
You remember Laodicea, right? In the Bible
Colossae, and also Hierapolis
When we go on a pilgrimage to Turkey today, there is a city called Pamukkale known for its limestones
In Hierapolis, there remains a martyrdom memorial site for the Apostle Philip
That place remains to this day
Though he also went to Greece and France
It is believed he was finally martyred in Asia Minor, in Turkey
To summarize the final lesson his life leaves us with
He always had a good friends by his side
This helped his faith
Someone like Andrew
Later, he’s always seen with Nathanael
And he had doubts, but he was someone who knew how to ask questions
Through those questions, he confirmed the reality of his faith
He was a cautious person
But he was someone who knew how to make decisions when needed
And that ultimately made him the great Apostle Philip
This is how we can summarize his life overall
Did he have a reason to earn the nickname “sons of thunder”?
Yes, as I mentioned in a previous discussion about the disciples
(Jesus and) the disciples
were passing through a place called Samaria
At that time, the Samaritans
Through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem
Jesus was traveling
But the Samaritans disrespected Him
At that moment, John and James
said, “Teacher, let’s call down fire on those people!"
"Are you going to leave such people be?"
"Just bring down fire to clear them out!”
That temper
That fiery personality was the reason for the nickname “sons of thunder”
It seems this is how they got the nickname
That was a good question, any other questions?
When Jesus chose His disciples
Did He have a specific criteria?
When He chose Peter
(Or when He said) to Philip
“Follow Me,” as He said to them
And to Peter as well
“I will make you fishers of men…”
When the Lord chose his disciples
did He already know each disciple’s path
Or did He choose them because He had
the power
to change anyone?
(Q: What were Jesus’ criteria in choosing His disciples?)
Yes, that’s an excellent question
The twelve disciples were representatives of Christians in all ages
As I mentioned
Perhaps Jesus intentionally
called people with different personalities
not all the same people
Because He uses people in different ways
I think He considered diversity
because he uses us in diverse ways
The first thing He said to Peter wasn’t
“Follow Me"
or “I will make you fishers of men"
Before that, what He said was
“You are Simon, son of John"
"You will be called Cephas (Peter)"
That was the first thing He said
“You will be…” not now, but eventually
Cephas is the same thing as Peter
It means ‘rock’
But this doesn’t fit Peter at all
Peter wasn’t like a rock
He was an emotional person who changed easily
But for him to become the rock
that would form the foundation of the church
(Peter) That was the vision for his life
Looking forward, He said
“You will be called Cephas…” This shows us that
Jesus called each disciple, knowing their background and personality
and to use them in ways suited for God’s Kingdom
I believe that’s how He chose them
John received the Revelation
while he was on the island of Patmos
We thought he would end his life there
(Q: How did John return to ministry after being exiled on Patmos?)
At that time, the most important thing in the Roman Emperor’s command was
In the Roman Empire, they worshipped the Emperor as god
Since Christians did not worship the Emperor as god
they were arrested
and that’s how John ended up
exiled to Patmos
But when that Emperor died
A new Emperor took the throne
And John’s exile was lifted
So he returned to where he originally ministered
Which was near Ephesus
Today, if you go on a pilgrimage
there’s a port called Kusadasi near Ephesus
From there, you can take a boat to Patmos
Patmos belongs to Greece
But John returned to Ephesus to complete his final ministry
He passed away naturally
Close to the age of 100, though we don’t know exactly
Somewhere between 95 and 100
He was called to God
and went to Him
Today, we have explored the lives of the two apostles, John and Philip
The Apostle of Love, John, and the cautious, perfection-seeking Apostle Philip
We looked at these two figures’ stories
Philip was martyred, right? Yes, he was martyred
John, however, died a natural death
He seemed to have had a mission to live out
which gave him no choice but to die a natural death
He cared for Mary until the end
And he wrote the Book of Revelation
Each of them fulfilled their missions
John in his way, and Philip in his way, served their generation
They each fulfilled their mission to spread the Gospel in their time
We need both a powerful message and a message of love today
We are in need of a John and Philip of this age
I hope we take the lessons of John and Philip to heart
and live faithfully as Christ’s disciples
Let us pray
Heavenly Father
Thank You for allowing us to share the lives of the apostles John and Philip today
In each of our lives, in our unique situations, You have called us
To become Christians and disciples of Christ
Help us to follow You faithfully
(Next time) Help us to finish our lives
(Lesson 4 will be broadcasted) To be able to stand before You as good and faithful servants
(will broadcast) Help us to complete our lives
without regret, without shame and present our lives to You
We pray in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ
Amen