Who was Jesus's favorite disciple?

Answer 1

Jesus did not play favourites. He believed in building the strengths of each of his disciples, but his "inner circle" comprised Peter and the brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee. However, there exists a belief that John was his "favourite" disciple, because John refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" several times in the Gospel of John.

Answer 2

It would seem arrogant for an author of The Bible to identify themselves by name. John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved as a first person identification.

Another Answer:

The Apostle John is called the "disciple that Jesus loved". In reality, this is a literary device to call attention to the author but not identify him by name.

Answer 3

A:

The 'disciple whom Jesus loved is found in the fourth gospel, which was, like the other three gospels, originally anonymous. Later in the second century, as the Church fathers sought to establish who in their opinions probably wrote each of the gospels, they noticed that the disciple John was never mentioned within this gospel. This led them to believe that the beloved disciple was probably John, and furthermore that John himself wrote this gospel. The logic was that John must have been too modest to use his own name in the gospel that he wrote.

Modern scholars say that the gospel could not have been written by an eyewitness to the events portrayed. Elaine Pagels (Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas) says that although the author of John's Gospel grudgingly accepted Peter as leader, he frequently has the 'disciple whom Jesus loved' surpass Peter, as if the author wished to undermine Peter. On this view, the beloved disciple was created by the author for theological purposes. John can be ruled out, both as author and as the 'disciple whom Jesus loved'.

Answer 4

Jesus did not explicitly state a favorite disciple in the Bible. However, he had a close relationship with Peter, James, and John, whom he often took with him for special events like the Transfiguration or the Garden of Gethsemane. Each disciple had a unique role and connection with Jesus.

Answer 5

Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, because love is the foundation of righteousness, and he came to save his brother from destruction.

Answer 6

Simon Peter