John's Pain

John was an incredible man. Not just as one of Jesus’ disciples, but for the fact that he chose to pass on the tradition that he learned from Jesus. Think about it. He learned from the best mentor he could ever have as far as how to become a disciple. He saw everything, and he took the good with the bad. With the privilege of  being with Jesus and learning  everything from him, he also saw the pain and grief  Jesus experienced from rejection.  In the previous chapter, I talked a little about John’s willingness to witness the gut wrenching event of Jesus’ crucifixion. In every account,  we see the pain and feel the sorrow of every labored breath and stream of blood.  And rightfully so.  It is his gospel.  But, there is a lot the Bible doesn’t talk about and a lot of perspectives we don’t see. For example, why doesn’t  John talk  about his own pain?  I can’t imagine what John must have been  feeling to watch his  best friend  brutally beaten and battered to the point of being barely recognizable.  When Jesus says “ Dear woman,  this is your son”, John knew what was coming. He knew the end is near.  In that culture, as in our today, it was customary to make arrangements to take care of what and whom we love.  Jesus was entrusting his mother to John’s care because he knew he could take care of her . And he did. Most scholars assert that John took Mary to live out the rest of her days in Ephesus.  He couldn’t just say he was a disciple. Jesus had just given him a great responsibility that he could not take for granted.