Why he didn’t mention his name, and maybe we should follow his example

By Dean Collins

I think it was likely maturity and not ego that led John to refer to himself as “the one Jesus loved,“ or as some translations put it, “the beloved.“

How many times did Jesus hear the disciples, in particular Peter and John, arguing about seating placement and who would be the highest-ranking member of the group then and ultimately in Heaven? (Matthew 18:1-4, Mark 9:33-36, Luke 9:46-47). In a way we can understand. Have you ever enjoyed a moment where you had the inside scoop about something? You enjoyed the adrenaline rush that comes from being in the room where it happened or at least where it was discussed.

Have you ever felt the rush that comes from being in the room where something big happened?

John was in what appeared to be the inner circle. He was one of only three disciples who saw the transfiguration. Jesus asked John, with Peter, to go ahead of the others and prepare the room and the Passover feast (Luke 22:8). It was John’s mother who also asked Jesus about her son’s position in Heaven. And it was John who was given responsibility for Mary, the mother of Jesus, as Jesus spoke from the cross. It’s easy to see how all of this could feed a person’s ego.

But maybe John wrote “the other disciple” and “the disciple Jesus loved” without naming himself, because John recorded these events years after they happened, and he had finally come to the place of maturity that Jesus wants for each of us. Maybe John’s humility caused him to omit his name.

Maybe he had come to the place of maturity that he humbly omitted his name.

According to the example and the words of Jesus, it is actually never about us. It’s about Jesus. (For Jesus, it was about God, as he obeyed his Father’s will all the way to the cross.) Maybe John fully realized that as he sat down to tell us about his life with Jesus and our life with Jesus in the world to come.

The empty tomb was too much to grasp. John tells us the disciples went back to their homes after discovering it, because they really didn’t understand yet what Jesus had told them about his resurrection. The very thought of the resurrection should, as the old song says, cause us to tremble, tremble, tremble. This is powerful stuff. This is the kind of event that changes a person’s course. It’s the event that intersects time and space. It is beyond human explanation. The resurrection is the power of God in action. And when we by faith accept this truth from God, it changes us.

The very thought of the resurrection should cause us to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Easter Sunday is already in the rearview mirror. Don’t allow the reality of the resurrection to fade into just another nice or even inspirational story. We must allow it to continue to inform our thinking and, more importantly, our behavior. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead and that our belief in him will one day bring about the same for us changes everything. It should change us from being a self-promoter to becoming a servant like John who didn’t even want to use his name as he told his story.

We don’t need anyone to know our name. Jesus already knows it and he will never forget our name. Today let’s make his name our focus. And as we lift up the name of Jesus, we will joyfully see others experience the grace and mercy and love of God.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭John‬ ‭20:8-10; ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-8‬‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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