安德肋與伯多祿是兩兄弟，而雅各伯和若望是另一對兄弟。是安德肋介紹耶穌基督給伯多祿的（若1:41），可以說是伯多祿的引薦人，甚至是啟蒙導師。但很奇怪，在初期教會中，與伯多祿合作無間的竟是若望而不是雅各伯。難道在聖經中，祗能找到兄弟之爭，而找不到兄弟同心嗎？
在若望福音之中，祗有提及洗者「若翰」，完全沒有提及「若望」。而歷代的學者，大部份都同意福音中所提及的「主所愛的門徒」是指若望。即是說，若望福音的作者以「主所愛的門徒」作為自己的代名詞。我們很難猜透為何若望以「主所愛的門徒」自居，難道主耶穌不愛其他門徒嗎？當然愛。那麼，可能是親戚關係，可能是性格關係，或者其他原因了。
耶穌基督曾否認了親戚血緣關係在天國中的重要性（谷3:33-35）， 所以親戚關係不能令若望成為「主所愛的門徒」。是性格嗎？耶穌稱若望為「雷霆之子」（3:17）。有一次他曾經想降火焚毀那拒絕接待他們的撒瑪黎雅村莊（路9:54），他衝動的性格，可想而知。耶穌又怎會愛這種性格的人呢？會！
耶穌基督愛我們，包容我們的不是之處，因為我們每個人在祂心目中都是一個獨特的天主肖像。當前我們可能是衝動、怯懦、貪財、好色、狂妄自大等等，但我們藉著皈依悔改，謙遜地追隨主，我們便可以達到天主在創造之初為我們每個人所定下的理想肖像。且看伯多祿與若望這一對新拍擋。伯多祿三次不認主，即使安德肋不唾棄他，他也沒有顏面與自己的兄長合作。當他提出到墳墓驗証瑪達肋納的說話時，可能祗有若望響應。為甚麼若望會響應呢？與其說若望是「主所愛的門徒」，不如說他是「最愛主的門徒」。因此，這位沒有名字的「主所愛的門徒」，實在有如「德敖斐羅」一樣，是所有信徒的典範，是「愛主的門徒」。你和我都是若望！
聖若望聖史，請為我們轉禱，讓我們像你一樣熱愛我主耶穌基督。亞孟。
The Disciple who Loves the Lord (John 20:2-8)
Andrew and Peter were brothers. So were James and John. It was Andrew who made Jesus Christ known to Peter (John 1:41). To a certain extent, Andrew was a sponsor or even a mentor for Peter. But it was strange that during the early Church, Peter worked closely with John instead of Andrew. Can we only find sibling rivalry but not brothers working together in the Bible?
The gospel of John only mentions John the Baptist by name and does not mention John the Evangelist explicitly. Most scholars throughout the ages identify "the disciple whom Jesus loved" as John the Evangelist. That is to say, the author of the gospel of John employed "the disciple whom Jesus loved" as his label. It is difficult for us to speculate why he crowned himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved". Did Jesus not love the other disciples? Of course he loved. Then, perhaps it was because of family tie, or personality or some other reasons.
Jesus Christ has denied the importance of family tie in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 3:33-35). Thus family tie could not make John "the disciple whom Jesus loved". Was it personality? Jesus called John one of the Boanerges, sons of thunder. Once John even wanted to bid fire come down from heaven to consume a Samaritan village because the villagers denied them hospitality (Luke 9:54). You can imagine how impulsive he had been. How could Jesus love such people? Jesus could!
Jesus Christ loves all of us, tolerates our iniquities because each one of us is a unique image of God in His heart. At present, we may be impulsive, weak, greedy, lustful and arrogant etc. But when we follow the Lord with repentance and humility, we can attain the ideal image God ordained us at the beginning of Creation. Take a look at the new partnership between Peter and John. Peter has denied the Lord thrice. Had Andrew not denounced him, Peter would not have had the face to work with his own brother. When Peter proposed to verify Mary Magdalene's claim of what had happened at the tomb, probably only John supported. Why did John support? Instead of saying "the disciple whom Jesus loved", it is better to say "the disciple who loved Jesus the most". Thus, this anonymous "disciple whom Jesus loved" is like Theophilus, an exemplar of all disciples who love Jesus. You and I are John!
St. John the Evangelist, intercede for us so that we love our Lord Jesus Christ as passionate as you are. Amen.
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