1.) GG Questions
12/1/19
Pastor Jonathan Markham
1. The Disciple Jesus Loved: Jesus, without ceasing to be fully God, became fully man. Like all humans, Jesus
was closer to some people than He was to others, and, it seems, He even had what we might call a ‘best
friend’ (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20). What does the gospel of John teach us about this ‘disciple Jesus
loved’? Outside of your family members, who are you closest to? What are some of the blessings of intimate,
David-Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:1) like friendships?
2. Bye-bye Boanerges: I don’t know how Zebedee did it… His two boys, James and John, were a couple firey
rascals. Jesus called them ‘Sons of Thunder’ (Mark 3:17). They tried to pull an Elijah and call down fire on
some rabble rousers (Luke 9:54). And John even wanted to stop a Jewish exorcist (Luke 9:49). But, after
walking with Jesus for a few decades, he goes on to write 1 John which uses the word ‘love’ fifty-three times!
‘My little children, love one another…’ What happened? How do you explain such a change? Where have
you changed most since becoming a Christian?
3. Truth and Love: In Ephesians 4:15, Paul wrote, “Speak the truth in love.” He probably got that one from John.
In addition to ‘love’, another of John’s favorite words is ‘truth’. Read John’s little letter, 2 John (the shortest
book in the Bible!) and look for all references to John’s favorite two words (look for the concept as well as the
specific word). How did the situation inspiring this little letter necessitate a beautiful balance of truth and love?
Of these two, which do you lean towards? What can you do, practically, to better your balance?
4. Right Hand Man: During Jesus’ earthly ministry, John, it seems, was his closest companion. After
Jesus’ earthly ministry, in the book of Acts, it appears John attached himself to Peter – the two of them are
mentioned together (“Peter and John”) seven times in that book, and always in that order (Acts 3:1, 3, 4, 11;
4:13, 19; 8:14). While all Christians must ‘play the background’ to Jesus, sometimes our ministry role is to
support another believer in their ministry. Has this ever been your experience (or have you witnessed it, either
positively or negatively), either as a Peter or as a John?
