The Footrace & The Beloved (John 20:1-8)

A unique detail about Johns gospel is that it never actually mentions Johns name. Instead, every time John is referred to in Johns Gospel, he is simply called “The one whom Jesus loved.”

That is his entire identity.

Other disciples are mentioned; Peter, for example, is a main feature in Johns Gospel and he has a strong identity as a leader and a thinker and as a struggling disciple who is working hard to build something wonderful and change the world. In church history, he becomes a symbol of the catholic church, who is said to be the one upon whom Christ will build his church. Peter is the stereotypical disciple of Christ, both striving and flawed at the same time, doing his best to follow Jesus while tripping over his own shortcomings.

But John has no identity, no big role his own Gospel. He only shows up only at a few key moments, and never with a central or speaking role:

• John 13, he reclines next to Jesus while he teaches.

• John 19, he shows up at the foot of the cross among the women.

• John 21, he recognizes the risen Jesus.

Johns Gospel is doing something different.

If one reads Johns Gospel in a certain way, it can be an interactive book. With Johns name excluded, the reader can substitute their own name into the story, identifying as the one whom Jesus loves. The reader can see themselves in the story in place of John.

The importance being that the Gospel of John represents a form of Christianity that is practiced by millions of marginalize people around the world today. The powerless Christians —the ones just trying to live day in and day out, not trying to change the world. They look around at other Christians who seem to have a whole lot going for them, those who feel small and incapable.

Those with less to lose are often more open to radical trust in the divine than those who have much to lose. This is why Johns Gospel centers the marginalized more-so than the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The parables center on outsiders, sinners, and marginalized people understanding deep spiritual truths long before those with status and even education. The divine activity in John is centralized among the those at the lower end of social, economic, and political power (the Samaritan woman, the man born blind, etc) —they often recognize and respond.

Identity is Always Gods First Move

There are someone who believe that the worth of their faith lies in their ability to cultivate influence. They strive to win people over and build a large following, they feel that their importance rests in their ability to cultivate influence.

Others might feel that they have to be useful and build something with their faith. Perhaps they think their worth is wrapped up in their usefulness to others —and their spirituality is wrapped up in their usefulness to God. Gods desire is not that we should necessarily see ourselves as useful, but rather, as loved. Someone who’s identity is only “I am loved” will be drawn towards loving those who feel unloved.

We are described as adopted, chosen, worthy of love… “Blessed are the poor, blessed are the sad, blessed are the lowly, the hungry, the persecuted” (Matthew 5)…etc.

The Foot Race

In the race to the empty tomb of Christ on that first Easter morning, we are given some details to ponder:

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
(Jn 20:3–8)

It’s not an irrelevant detail that John arrived at the tomb first. Church history is filled with debate about the subtle meaning of details like this, but I think it is worth pointing out that John, a man not known for his giftedness or leadership and who doesn’t have an intellectual faith comes to the correct conclusion almost immediately, that Jesus has defeated death and risen. He doesn’t need to investigate the tomb, like Peter who seems desperate to make sense of things/ He doesn’t need to see a miracle like Mary and the other disciples who need to see Jesus before they will believe, or even Thomas who needs to touch Jesus’ side.

It is the one who’s only understanding of God is that He is love is the quickest to arrive at the hopeful truth —though they all started from the same place and ran the same distance. The “beloved disciple” gets there quicker; he has spent enough time with Jesus to simply say “of course, He is risen.”

Early Christianity grew first —and rapidly— among enslaved people, women, the poor, immigrants… etc, those who did not know love and acceptance until they met the Christians.

The poor and marginalized, those with no power and no identity except that they are loved are often the first to understand the movements of God throughout history. They are often the first to see the needs of the people and to strive to meet them, often the first to accept the outsiders and stand up for the oppressed. That is because hope springs from love, not achievement. If you want hope, cultivate love.

The cultivation of love fills the disciple of Jesus with more hope than any miraculous experience or foolproof evidence could ever grant. Institutions, power, leadership, intellect, devoted action, and zeal—none of these will get you to hope the way love can. Love itself is the greatest evidence that God is at work in this world. The empire has taught us to measure numbers, bodies, eyeballs, metrics of all kinds; but the true measure of Gods work in this world is whether or not more people feel loved.

Discussion Questions:

	1.	John never names himself, only calling himself “the one whom Jesus loved.” How does that land on you? What would it be like to actually see your primary identity that way?

	2.	When you think about your own life, do you tend to measure your value more by influence, usefulness, or something else? Where does that come from? 
Did you learn that from Jesus, or did you default to culture? (Obviously a loaded questions!)

	3.	The “beloved disciple” seems to recognize what God is doing faster than others, even without needing proof. Have you ever had a moment where something just clicked for you like that?

	4.	This passage suggests that love—not intellect, power, or achievement—is what leads us into hope. Where have you seen love create clarity or hope in your own life?

	5.	If the true measure of God’s work is whether more people feel loved, what might it look like for you to live that out in a real, everyday way this week?