WAS LAZARUS THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED?


It is commonly accepted that the apostle (or disciple) John humbly identifies himself in the Gospel of John as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," or simply as "that disciple," rather than by name. And we know for certain that this disciple whom Jesus loved indeed wrote the Gospel of John, as we read in the closing of the book in chapter 21:20,24:

Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following....This is the disciple which testifies of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. (John 21:20-24)

So the disciple whom Jesus loved closes out the book of John with the acknowledgment, again unnamed, that he is that disciple who was inspired to write the words contained in it. And his anonymous self-designation is understood to be a reflection of his humility and thankfulness that he had been included amongst the close inner circle of Christ -- a great honor, of course. He did not want to draw any attention to himself, all attention should be focused on Christ. Here are several verses where he mentions himself as "the (other) disciple" or "that disciple" or "one of his disciples" whom Jesus loved:

Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. (John 13:23)

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! (John 19:26)

Then she ran, and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (John 20:2)

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [his] fisher's coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. (John 21:7)

Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, who is he that betrays thee? (John 21:20)

However, there are some outliers who believe that this disciple whom Jesus loved was actually Lazarus and not John. Does the Bible support this hypothesis?

Those who believe this disciple is Lazarus emphasize the great love that Christ had for Lazarus, as we find in John 11:

Now a certain [man] was sick, [named] Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha . . . . Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. (John 11:1,3,5)

Then, as Christ approached the tomb where Lazarus was laid after he had died:

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! John 11:33-36

God highlights and underscores Christ's great love for Lazarus here, and the language "he whom you love" (is sick) is very close to the language "the disciple whom Jesus loved." As with the unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved, Lazarus' sisters didn't need to mention his name when they reported him sick, simply calling him "he whom you love." This certainly lends some initial confidence to the idea that Lazarus might be this unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved.

It must be said, of course, that Christ greatly loves all of His people eternally. The Bible teaches that Christ is Love, and that He loved His own unto the end in providing them eternal life through His atonement on their behalf because of their sins (John 13:1). If we are saved, we are adopted into His family forevermore and are greatly beloved.

So, despite the parallel language between the disciple whom Jesus loved and Lazarus as "he whom you love," that alone doesn't really prove that Lazarus is this unnamed disciple. So let's take a brief, closer look at this disciple whom Jesus loved.

Turning to the end of the Gospel of John, we find the account where the disciple whom Jesus loved was with the other disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, when Jesus appeared to them after a night of fishing. We read in chapter 21:

1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he [himself].
2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a-fishing. They say unto him, We also go with you. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt [his] fisher's coat [unto him], (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
(John 21:1-7)

We see in verse 7 that the disciple whom Jesus loved was there. And from verse 2, we read that the following people were present for this event:

There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the [sons] of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

Out of this group, Peter, and at least one, if not both, of the sons of Zebedee were there. And we know from other passages that the sons of Zebedee were James and John. Peter, James and John were commonly together with Christ as His close, inner circle of disciples. They were alone with Him, for example, on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-2; Mark 9:2). And they were partners in their fishing business together from before the time Christ called them into His ministry (Luke 5:10).

Thomas and Nathanael were also here with them at the Sea of Tiberias, according to John 21 verse 2. But then there were 2 other, unnamed disciples here as well. Since the disciple whom Jesus loved characteristically remains unnamed, was that disciple one of these two other disciples? We might really think so since this disciple whom Jesus loved isn't identified.

Even so, we really don't have scriptural authority to say who either of these two unnamed disciples were. One of them could have been Lazarus, but there is no specific evidence for this. Yet, we know James and/or John were present for certain on the basis of this Scripture since they were the sons of Zebedee.

But there's something more to observe in this event. Notice that the disciples went fishing and caught nothing that night. But once Christ came on the scene the next morning, He told them to cast the net on the right side of the ship, whereupon they caught a multitude of fish. Once this happened, the disciple whom Jesus loved instantly recognized that it was the Lord:

And he (Jesus) said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.

How did the disciple whom Jesus loved so quickly realize that it was the Lord?

Remember that a very similar event occurred earlier in Christ's ministry. Peter, James and John had toiled all night fishing but caught nothing. But once Christ arrived and directed them to launch out into the deep and to cast their nets, they caught a great multitude of fish. We read in Luke 5:1-11 (remember that Simon is Peter):

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing [their] nets.
3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.
6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.
7 And they beckoned unto [their] partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw [it], he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10 And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth you shall catch men.
11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Now, of course there are a few differences in detail since this was a different but similar event at an earlier time. Nevertheless, both instances involved Peter and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, having fished all night to no avail until Christ directed them to cast in their nets -- at which time a great multitude of fish were caught. So, when the latter event occurred at the Sea of Tiberias, of course the disciple whom Jesus loved -- likely one of the sons of Zebedee -- and Peter immediately recognized that it was the Lord. They had already experienced this before when they were called into His ministry as fishers of men.

We don't find anywhere in the Bible where Lazarus was involved in that first fishing event, or even that he was a fisherman. In fact, all that we read of Lazarus is found in John 11 and 12, and that's it. Perhaps Lazarus was told of this event by Peter, James and John, so that might qualify him to know this was an obvious act of Christ and thus putting him in the place of this disciple here at the Sea of Tiberias. But that's going beyond what we know directly from Scripture itself. Based on the evidence in the Bible so far, the disciple whom Jesus loved (and thus, the Spirit-inspired author of the Gospel of John) would most likely be either John or James. So we begin to suspect that the early Christians who were led to name the Gospel of John were most likely correct.

Now it should be noted that not only did this nameless disciple call himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved," but sometimes he would simply and generically call himself "that disciple" -- again avoiding the use of his name. And notice how in each case he is mentioned in association with Peter:

And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and [so did] another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spoke unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. (John 18:15-16)

Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, [and looking in], saw the linen clothes lying; yet he went not in. Then came Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre, and saw the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. (John 20:3-8)

Peter, James and John remained close as colleagues and friends in the inner-circle of Christ. So it is not surprising to find this "other disciple" mentioned with Peter, seeing that he is very likely John. It's interesting to note that neither James nor John are mentioned by name within the entire Gospel of John, and the [sons] of Zebedee just the once in John 21. This would align with the motivation to remain anonymous. It would be difficult to mention one without the other, so both simply remain obscure throughout the Gospel of John.


2012, Last updated 2.25.2023