Mark 3:13-19
The Appointing of the Twelve Apostles
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
1 John 4:7-21
God is Love and About God's Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
St. John wrote so many verses about Love that he is called the Disciple of Love...When he wrote his Gospel According to John, he often writes (about himself) the disciple whom Jesus loved...John seems to be so impressed by the friendship and love of His Great Teacher, that he felt a certain love from Him -that was different from the other disciples and the people who followed Jesus...You feel it in the fourth gospel as you read it...St. John's Gospel seems different than the other three gospels...St. John, to me, depicts Jesus as more Divine than the other gospels...But the other gospels do have the Messiah as Divine, but John reads and feels different (at least for me, when I read it)...
When I read the four gospels I also get the feeling Peter and John, as well as James and Andrew are especially close to Jesus...But Peter and John seem to be the ones that are closest to their Teacher...Do not get me wrong Jesus hand picked His Twelve Students and Disciples...Jesus knew all His Disciples personalities...It may be that Peter and John were more sensitive, more emotional than the others...Jesus knew the two would go on to lead and write about Him, differently than His other disciples...We, also, know that the disciples were all different men, even though Jesus chose two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew and John and his brother James...But again, Jesus seemed to be closest to Peter and John...Peter and John, as well as Andrew and James were with Jesus when He did certain healings, more than the others...John, James and Peter were at the healing of Peter's Mother in Law (Mark 1:29-31)...John was at the transfiguration of Jesus with Peter, and James (Luke 9:28)...And during the crucifixion of His Master, John was chosen by Jesus to take care of His mother, Mary -after He would die on the cross (John 19:26)...
Jesus gave John and James the nickname Sons of Thunder...So even though John is the beloved disciple, and also known as the Disciple of Love, Jesus called him Son of Thunder...John's nickname Son of Thunder is a sign of his strength... Being sensitive and emotional and writing and talking about love, may not always be seen as a sign of strength, but it is...So to called the Disciple of Love is a sign of great strength...He teaches us that there is no fear in Love, because pure Love drives out all fear...This is because perfect belief in God, drives out all fears...God has no fear, because He is pure Love...And all believers know about the strength and power of God...
John wrote that Jesus was the way, the truth, and our very life...St. John throughout his gospel and two epistles writes about love...He tells us that God so loves man -His very creation that He sent His Son to save us (John 3:16)...He also is the one who writes God is Love (1 John 4:8 and 1:John 4:16)...John wrote his gospel and his two letters to preserve the Love and the Truth of God...