Apostle John

“ . . . for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” —Apostle John

“ . . . for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” —Apostle John

We can stand at the edge of Niagara Falls, watching millions of gallons of water rush forward, yet remain untouched behind thick glass. We can hear the thunder of the water colliding, but feel none of its mist on our skin. That’s what YHWH’s love can feel like when we know about Him intellectually but have never truly experienced Him. The apostle John, who walked with Yeshua and leaned against his chest, understood the difference—he knew that YHWH is love and longs to pour it into our lives.

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When John wrote those words, he was not offering a theological statement—he was sharing a personal revelation. He spoke this truth to new believers after years of walking with Yeshua. John had eaten with Him, traveled dusty roads beside Him, and witnessed miracles that defied logic and awakened the soul. He had stood so close to the Son of YHWH that he could hear and feel His heartbeat.

John saw love with eyes that had watched Yeshua kneel to wash his feet. He heard love in the gentleness of Yeshua’s voice as He told the weary and brokenhearted, “Your faith has made you well.” He felt love standing at the foot of the cross as his teacher and friend hung dying, still forgiving. Yeshua did not come to impress the powerful or gain favor among the religious elite. He came to heal the broken, lift the weary, and extend compassion to those pushed aside. He came for us—you and me. John’s message is one of love that is both seen and felt.

John felt love standing at the foot of the cross as his teacher and friend hung dying, still forgiving.

During his years with Yeshua, John came to understand that divine love is not simply something YHWH gives; it is who YHWH is. That understanding compelled him to write, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1a, ESV).

John’s journey began beside the Sea of Galilee. He and his brother James were mending nets with their father when Yeshua called to them: “Follow me” (Mark 1:19–20). Without hesitation, they left everything behind. Imagine being at your workplace—mid-task—when someone you barely know invites you to abandon your routine and follow Him into the unknown. Would you go? John did. Perhaps he sensed something holy in that moment, something in the way Yeshua looked at him—a love deeper than reason.

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From that moment, John’s life transformed. For three years, he and the other disciples lived with Yeshua. They listened, learned, and observed Him closely. They saw what compassion looked like when embodied in human form. Yet John’s relationship with Yeshua went even deeper than most.

Three key events in Scripture highlight this closeness. The first is the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21–43). Jairus, a synagogue leader, pleaded with Yeshua to heal his dying child. When news came that she had died, Yeshua pressed forward anyway. Only John, Peter, and James were invited to witness the miracle firsthand. John saw the power of love that conquers death.

The second is the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–11). On a high mountain, Yeshua took the same three with Him to pray. His face shone like the sun, His clothes radiant as light, and Moses and Elijah appeared beside Him. A cloud enveloped them, and the voice of YHWH declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” The men fell in awe. John didn’t hear about YHWH’s love—he heard it spoken.

The third is the Garden of Gethsemane, hours before the crucifixion. Yeshua brought all His disciples but chose John, Peter, and James to go farther with Him into the garden. There, under the weight of sorrow, Yeshua confided, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death . . .” (Matthew 26:38, NIV). John saw love under pressure—love that agonized, yet obeyed.

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Through these experiences, John witnessed both the glory and the grief of Yeshua. Several times in the Gospel of John, he refers to himself as “the one whom Yeshua loved.” Though it may sound odd today, in ancient writing, the third-person reference was common. More importantly, it reveals John’s identity—not in what he did, but in who loved him.

At the Last Supper, that love was visible. Reclining around the table, Yeshua announced that one of them would betray Him. Peter motioned to John, seated beside Yeshua, to ask who it was. Scripture describes John as “leaning close to Yeshua” (John 13:25, NOG). Only one who feels utterly safe leans in that way.

Later, at the cross, love reached its fullest expression. As Yeshua hung dying, His mother and a few faithful followers stood nearby, including John. Seeing them, Yeshua said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother” (John 19:26–27, NIV). In that moment, Yeshua entrusted what was most precious to Him—His mother—to His beloved disciple. From that day, John cared for her in his home.

John had seen love in every season—teaching, healing, suffering, dying, and rising again. So when he later wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God,” he was not offering an ideal but a reality he had lived. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us” (1 John 4:7–10, ESV).

If YHWH is love, whoever abides in love abides in YHWH—and YHWH in them. John’s message was both simple and radical: to know YHWH is to love, and to love is to know YHWH. Yet we often resist this truth. From Eden onward, people have turned from love, choosing independence over intimacy. YHWH has never rejected us—we have rejected Him. Still, His love remains, waiting for us to return.

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For many, the idea of YHWH’s love feels distant. We may know about it intellectually, yet not experience it fully. I first sensed YHWH’s love as a child, sitting in church, singing hymns on a wooden pew. It was a quiet, steady warmth, something sacred and unseen that settled deep in my soul. That memory became an anchor through years of striving to feel it again. For a long time, wounds from rejection kept me from experiencing it fully.

The danger of glass is its illusion of closeness. Like standing behind a window watching Niagara Falls, you see the power, beauty, and motion—but feel none of its mist on your skin. YHWH’s love is like that waterfall—unceasing, powerful, overflowing. When pain, shame, or rejection build a glass wall in our hearts, that love only reaches us from a distance.

Breaking through that glass is not a single act—it’s a process of healing and surrender.

What would it look like for you to let that glass shatter? To let His love rush in like water over the edge of Niagara, drenching every part of your soul?

John’s life testifies that divine love is not distant—it is tangible. It leans close. It whispers truth. It walks with us through grief and joy alike. John didn’t hear Yeshua say, “Abide in my love” (John 15:9, ESV); he lived it.

When I imagine John in his later years—his hair silvered, his hands weathered by work—I picture him reflecting on the days he walked with Yeshua. Perhaps he remembered the warmth of that upper room, the light in Yeshua’s eyes, the sound of His laughter. And maybe he smiled, realizing that what he once felt beside him now lived within him. That is the mystery of love John understood: YHWH is not simply with us—He is in us.

Have you felt that kind of love—one that doesn’t merely surround you, but fills you entirely?

John wanted his readers to know that love is the evidence of YHWH’s presence. “No one has ever seen God,” he wrote, “but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12, ESV). When we love others, we reveal the invisible. Love makes YHWH visible through our lives.

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To love is to open ourselves—to risk being hurt, misunderstood, or rejected. But when our love flows from YHWH’s love, it is no longer fragile. It is infinite, drawn from an eternal source. Like a waterfall that never stops pouring, YHWH’s love keeps flowing, cleansing, and renewing everything it touches.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for showing me what true love looks like through Yeshua. Help me to receive Your love fully, so that it can fill every part of my heart. Heal the wounds that have kept me from experiencing Your presence and help me trust in Your perfect care. Teach me to love others from the overflow of Your love, not from my own strength. May Your agapaó guide my words, actions, and thoughts each day. Let Your love shine through me, revealing Your presence to those around me.

Application:

Embody YHWH’s love today through a simple act of kindness—something unexpected, perhaps to a stranger.

Journal prompt:

How did the above activity make you feel? What shifted in you?

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To read more about healing from early childhood rejection in this series, click on the links: Introduction, Distrust, Worthlessness, Loneliness, Depression, Hopelessness, Anxiety, Fear, Anger, Grief, Unforgiveness, Love Oneself, ‘aheb, hesed, racham, Hosea, Messiah, Agapaó