Favorite disciple

In art, the favorite disciple is often depicted young and particularly close to Jesus, here in the example sitting on Jesus' lap at the Lord's Supper ( Hans Schäufelin , 1515).

The favorite disciple of Jesus is an anonymous figure from the Gospel of John . It occurs at important moments in the Passion story , usually with the expression: " the disciple whom Jesus loved ". As the only disciple at the foot of the cross , he is an exemplary believer. He is mentioned several times in relation to or in competition with Peter (for example Jn 21 : 2–20 EU ). However, the gospel does not reveal who this person is.

Occurrence in the Gospel

Although the Gospel of John tells several times that all disciples are loved by Jesus ( John 13.1 EU ; John 13.34 EU ), the favorite disciple is given a prominent position. The term “ the disciple whom Jesus loved ” occurs a total of five times . In the ancient Greek text, two different verbs are used for “love”, which can only be differentiated to a limited extent in the German translation: ἀγαπᾶν agapan , lovingly receive, love, appreciate 'and φιλεῖν philein , love, love to have, lovingly receive'.

Jn 13 : 23-26 EU	"Μαθητὴν, ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς"	(during the farewell meal)
Jn 19 : 26-27 EU	"Μαθητὴν, ὃν ἠγάπα [ὁ Ἰησοῦς]"	(during the crucifixion)
Joh 20 : 2-10 EU	"Μαθητὴν, ὃν ἐφίλει ὁ Ἰησοῦς"	(at the discovery of the empty grave)
Joh 21,7 EU	"Μαθητὴς, ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς"	(Appearance of the risen Jesus at the lake of Tiberias)
Joh 21.20 EU	"Μαθητὴν, ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς"	(Question of following Jesus)

The last two passages are in chapter 21, which is an editorial addendum to the existing gospel text. Following on from John 21:20, John 21:24 EU emphasizes the testimony of the favorite disciple and, with a view to the whole Gospel, it is stated that he wrote “this”. This gives rise to the tradition that the favorite disciple is also the author of the gospel.

Theories about the favorite disciple

The identity of the favorite disciple has long been discussed in biblical exegesis . Tradition sees him as the apostle John , who with the apostles Peter and James the Elder had a special relationship with Jesus ( Mk 5.37 EU ; Mk 9.2 EU ; Mk 13.3 EU ; Mk 14.33 EU ; Mt 26.37 EU ; Lk 8.51 EU ; Lk 9.28 EU ). Since the Gospel of John in John 21:24 EU identifies the favorite disciple as his author, the apostle would then also be identical with the evangelist John . Other interpretations see in the favorite disciple one of the other apostles or a symbolic figure created by the evangelist who cannot be historically identified. The expression favorite disciple can also be seen as a prototype of a disciple of Jesus: it is the person who lives in personal friendship with him and knows that he is unconditionally loved by Jesus. In this sense, everyone can become a favorite disciple.

Richard Bauckham refers to reports from Papias of Hierapolis , Irenaeus of Lyons and Polycrates of Ephesus and identifies the favorite disciple with the presbyter John of Ephesus, who was a Jewish high priest after Polycrates, which historically could mean a son or grandson of the Jewish high priest Anna .

Rudolf Steiner recognized Lazarus, who was raised by Jesus, in his favorite disciple . The private scholar Reinhard Nordsieck also advocates such a theory. Walter Simonis suspects the evangelist Mark to be in his favorite disciple .

literature

Martin Hengel : The Johannine question. An attempt at a solution. With a contribution to the Apocalypse by Jörg Frey . WUNT 67. Mohr, Tübingen 1993 ISBN 3-16-145836-2
Peter Hofrichter : Disciple whom Jesus loved (JohEv). In: Josef Hainz , Martin Schmidl, Josef Sunckel: Personen-Lexikon zum New Testament , Patmos, Düsseldorf 2004, ISBN 3-491-70378-6 , pp. 169–171
Reinhard Nordsieck: The Secret of Lazarus. On the question of the author and origin of the Gospel of John. Lit, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-643-10538-7 , pp. 1–20 ( limited preview in Google book search)
Walter Simonis : Mark, the evangelist and disciple whom Jesus loved. Frankfurt a. M. 2004, ISBN 3-631-52463-3

Web links

Wiktionary: Favorite disciple - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

References and comments

^ Wilhelm Gemoll : Greek-German school and hand dictionary . G. Freytag Verlag / Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Munich / Vienna 1965.
^ Zenit edition, July 5, 2006: General audience of Pope Benedict XVI. on July 5, 2006 . Retrieved on Feb. 4, 2016.
^ Richard Bauckham: Jesus and the Eyewitnesses , 2006.
↑ Rudolf Steiner: The Gospel of John. Dornach 1995 = GA 103, pp. 62-82
↑ Reinhard Nordsieck: Johannes. On the question of the author and origin of the fourth gospel. Neukirchen 1998
↑ Walter Simonis: Mark, the evangelist and disciple whom Jesus loved . Frankfurt a. M. 2004

[GEMOLL-1] Wilhelm Gemoll : Greek-German school and hand dictionary . G. Freytag Verlag / Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Munich / Vienna 1965.

[2] Zenit edition, July 5, 2006: General audience of Pope Benedict XVI. on July 5, 2006 . Retrieved on Feb. 4, 2016.

[bauckham-3] Richard Bauckham: Jesus and the Eyewitnesses , 2006.

[4] Rudolf Steiner: The Gospel of John. Dornach 1995 = GA 103, pp. 62-82

[5] Reinhard Nordsieck: Johannes. On the question of the author and origin of the fourth gospel. Neukirchen 1998

[6] Walter Simonis: Mark, the evangelist and disciple whom Jesus loved . Frankfurt a. M. 2004