Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Neither Matthew, Mark, nor John identified themselves in the first person (that is, as "I") in their gospels, although they appeared in each one (Matthew 9:9 and Mark 14:51-52, as well as the multiple third-person references that John made to himself in his gospel as "the disciple whom Jesus loved").

In my opinion, this was done both out of a sense of personal modesty (which is why neither Mark nor John even identified themselves by name), and so that they would not draw the reader's attention away from Jesus as the central focus of their narratives. 

(John also completely omitted multiple episodes in which the other gospels indicate that he and his brother James personally participated, such as the account in Matthew 20:20-23 and Mark 10:35-40, as well as the separate incident noted in Luke 9:51-56.) 

(It is similar in my view to Julius Caesar in the commentaries that he wrote about his military campaigns never referring to himself in the first person, but always in the third person (as "Caesar").)

May 17 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Guy Hawthorne Supporter Student

It is generally acceped that the Apostle John was that Apostle referred to as the "one Jesus loved". Although Jesus loved all equally.

June 14 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report