Beloved Disciple

• This page is edited by James E. West, Quartz Hill School of Theology, United States of America.
• ANCIENT SOURCES: see Beloved Disciple (sources)
• SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Beloved Disciple (subject)

The Beloved Disciple is a character in the Gospel of John, traditionally identified with John.

Overview

The Beloved Disciple is usually regarded as the author of the Fourth Gospel and identified with Jesus' disciple John son of Zebedee and John of Patmos, the author of Revelation. However, there is no reliable corroboration of these notions from extra-biblical sources and even the Bible itself never identifies either the 'beloved disciple' nor the author of the Fourth Gospel. Therefore, it is unsafe to equate the Beloved Disciple with John the son of Zebedee, or John of Patmos, or any other known figures. More likely, it seems, is the belief that the Gospel and the Epistles and the Revelation all flow from a 'Johannine School' of theology. R. Alan Culpepper is perhaps the best known representative of this line of thought.

The Beloved Disciple in Scholarship

There have been as many attempts to identify the Beloved Disciple as there have been commentaries on the Gospel of John.

In 1985, James H. Charlesworth argued that the Beloved Disciple should be identified with the disciple Thomas. Other scholars (Eller, Waejen, and most recently, Ben Witherington III [see http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/2007/01/was-lazarus-beloved-disciple.html]) have seen in Lazarus a more likely candidate. None of the suggested hypotheses has gained consensus.

Most recently, The Gospel of John (2010 Michaels), book goes into the various possibilities (see pp. 17ff). Ramsey maintains that the Beloved Disciple is not Andrew, Philip, Nathaniel, Judas Iscariot, Thomas, Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Judas-not-Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, or a son of Zebedee. He was male, but other than that, he remains anonymous. Ramsey concludes his discussion on the identity of the Beloved Disciple as putative author of the Fourth Gospel as follows: ... he tells his story freely, yet... he retains his privacy, a privacy that even the most inquisitive commentator will do well to respect (p. 24).

The Beloved Disciple in Fiction

Fictional accounts on the Beloved Disciple have usually followed the traditional story of John. However, in recent years, the character seems to have take a life of his own (see, notably, The Beloved Disciple and the House of Hippo (2001 Harwood), novel).

In 2000 James Twyman produced a musical CD which was titled The Order of the Beloved Disciple, with tracks including, 1. Our Lady Of The Universe; 2. The Hail Mary; 3. Ave Maria; 4. Fr. Joso's Prayer; & 5. The Message. John, The Beloved Disciple by Dan Palmer was produced in 2008 and is another musical rendition relating to the Beloved Disciple.

After the pioneering Corpus Christi (1998 McNally), play, the Beloved Disciple has an established status in contemporary gay culture. Jesus in Love (2006 Cherry), novel, and The Gay Disciple (2007 Henson), novel are among the fictional retellings of the Jesus story to present the Beloved Disciple as a young male homosexual.

Related categories

• John / John of Patmos

External links

• Wikipedia

Select Bibliography (articles)

1960s

• Who Was the Beloved Disciple / S. Lewis Johnson / In: Expository Times 77.5 (1966) 157-158.

1970s

• Der Jünger, den Jesus liebte / Rudolf Schnackenburg / Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament. Vorarbeiten 2 (1970) 97-117

• Beloved disciple in the gospel of John: some clues and conjectures / Paul Sevier Minear / In: Novum Testamentum 19.2 (1977) 105-123

1980s

• The relation of the beloved disciple to the twelve / John J. Gunther / In: Theologische Zeitschrift 37.3 (1981) 129-148

• Der Jünger, den Jesus liebte / Eugen Ruckstuhl / Studien zum Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt. Aufsätze 11 (1986) 131-167

• The Function and Background of the Beloved Disciple in the Gospel of John / Hans-Martin Schenke / in:Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, and Early ChristianityHedrick, Charles W. - Hodgson, Robert, Jr. (eds.), Peabody (Mass.), Hendrickson, 1986, p. 111-125.

• Le disciple bien-aimé / Jean Zumstein / In: Cahiers Bibliques de Foi et Vie 86.5 (1987) 47-58

• The Beloved Disciple and Implied Readers: A Socio-narratological Approach / William S. Kurz / In: Biblical Theology Bulletin 19 (1989) 100-107

1990s

• The Beloved Disciple as Ideal Author / Richard J. Bauckham / In: Journal for the Study of the New Testament 49 (1993) 21-44

2000s

• 'Der Jünger, den Jesus liebte': Ideale Nachfolge im Johannesevangelium / Philip Müller / In: Geist und Leben 78.2 (2005) 81-91
  • The Beloved Disciple might be a historical figure but in the Gospel of John represents the ideal post-Easter disciple of Jesus

• "The Disciple Jesus Loved". Witness, Author, Apostle - A Response to Richard Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses / Andreas J. Köstenberger / In: Bulletin for Biblical Research 18.2 (2008) 209-231
  • Supports the identification of the Beloved Disciple with John son of Zebedee against Bauckham's identification with "John the Presbyter" mentioned by Papias.

• The Chiastic Key to the Identity of the Beloved Disciple / Daniel F. Stramara / In: St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 53.1 (2009) 5-27

2010s

• Whom Did Jesus Love Most? Beloved Disciples in John and Other Gospels / Marvin Meyer / In: The Legacy of John. Second-Century Reception of the Fourth Gospel (NT.S 132), Rasimus, Tuomas (ed.), Leiden / Boston, Brill, 2010, p. 73-91.

• "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved" / Philip Müller / In: Theology Digest 54.2 (2010) 157-163