John started out hot-tempered. Jesus nicknamed him and his brother “Sons of Thunder,” and once John wanted to call fire down on a village that turned them away.
He ended as the apostle who wrote more about love than anyone. He never names himself in his gospel. He simply calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. That was the identity that changed him.
“
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God.
Name means
“The LORD is gracious”
Home
Galilee
Role
Fisherman, apostle, writer
Read in
John; 1–3 John; Revelation
John's story
The low point: A seat of glory
Beginning
Called from the boat
Mending nets with his father and brother, he leaves the boat to follow Jesus.
Turning point
Fire from heaven
When a Samaritan village rejects Jesus, he wants to call down fire. Jesus rebukes him.
Low point
A seat of glory
He and James ask to sit at Jesus' right and left in glory.
High point
At the cross
He alone of the twelve stands at the cross. Jesus entrusts His mother to him.
High point
The empty tomb
He outruns Peter to the tomb, looks in, sees, and believes.
Ending
Patmos
Old and exiled for his witness, he receives the visions of Revelation.
Starts as a young fisherman with a short fuse. Ends as the old apostle who wrote “God is love”.
Where John lived and went
Only places Scripture records. Softer, dotted pins are traditional or uncertain sites. Tap a pin for the passage.
HomeMinistryKey momentTraditional or uncertainPinch or use + to zoom. Tap a cluster to spread it out.
How John is wired
The Individualist
Enneagram 4, Investigator wing
Longs to be uniquely known and loved, and finds his identity there.
This one is debated. Here's why we land here.
At their best, toward 1 Under stress, toward 2
Why we think so
1
Identity in being loved. He refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” ()
2
Depth and mystery. His gospel opens with the Word who was with God from the beginning. ()
3
Intense feeling. He wants to call fire down on those who reject Jesus. ()
Reflective and inward. His writing returns again and again to seeing, knowing, and abiding. ()
The Reformer. Grounded, practical love. “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” ()
The Helper. Grasps for closeness and position, asking for the seat beside Jesus. ()
The case for a 2
His focus on love and closeness could make him a Helper. The way he locates his identity in being loved tips it toward 4.
Other lenses
Big Five. Read from the Gospels, his letters, and Revelation.
ReservedOutgoing
SteadyReactive
ChallengingAccommodating
SpontaneousDisciplined
TraditionalCurious
DISC style: Thoughtful and intense.
Strengths & struggles
What's good in John
Depth, loyalty, spiritual insight, faithfulness to the end.
Where John struggles
Early on, a fierce temper and a desire for a seat of honor.
John was changed by being loved. That's how Christ changes anyone.
John didn't become loving by trying harder. He was loved first, and it remade him. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” ().
Questions to sit with
1
Do I see myself first as someone Jesus loves?
2
Where is my temper asking for fire instead of mercy?
Study John with your group
Ready-to-lead group studies with discussion questions and a leader's note are on the way.
