What we've launched into a new week with a wonderful Bible question.

It comes to us from Juliet in Canada.

Dear Pastor John, hello in John 217, we read about a disciple whom Jesus loved.

Can you tell me who this is?

Who is this disciple whom Jesus loved?

And why is he referenced like this?

I assume Jesus loved all his disciples.

Is there any takeaway for us in the love designation directed to this one disciple?

I have always wondered about this and I thought if I am ever going to ask, you would be

the person to ask.

Thank you Juliet.

Perhaps the first thing to observe is that whoever this disciple is, namely the one who

has identified five times in this gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved, we know he

was the one who wrote the gospel.

In the last chapter, chapter 21, it says in verse 20, Peter turned and saw the disciple

whom Jesus loved following them that is following Peter and Jesus.

And then four verses later, it says this disciple, namely the one who was following Peter,

this disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, is the one who is bearing witness about these

things and who has written these things 21, 24.

So there is an explicit claim in the gospel that this particular disciple, the one whom

Jesus loved, is the author of the gospel.

Now, before we move toward an identification of who it is, let's just be clear that when

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