Film Focus: In this video, Rev. Dr. Jayme Mathias discusses the authorship of the Gospel of John and proposes the idea that the “beloved disciple” in this Gospel is a symbol of a good Christian rather than an actual historical person. He concludes the video by discussing some of the unique things we learn about the author of the book of John.

Text Focus: Pages 390-392

Discussion Questions:

1.   Why do we assume that John is the character that we call the “beloved disciple”?

2.   Who else might be considered as the ‘beloved disciple”? Why might these be good suggestions?

3.   Discuss the idea that the “beloved disciple” is not an actual person but rather a symbol for the

good believer? What do you think of this interpretation?

4.   What are some other interesting things we learn about the author of the Gospel of John?