Imagine spending three years as one of Jesus' most intimate followers—being asked to join him as he raises a young girl from the dead, witnessing an amazing mountaintop transformation during which he talks with ancient prophets, praying with him in the hours before he is captured and crucified. Now, decades after that crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, accounts of Jesus' ministry abound. But you have a different view of its significance. What do you do? If you're John—who, according to tradition, authored the Gospel that bears his name, as well as the epistles of John and the book of Revelation—you write your own version.
The Gospel of John, written after its three counterparts, was penned anonymously. And scholars are unable to confirm that the man behind it was, in fact, the Apostle John. They do agree, however, that this unique account of the teachings of Jesus was based largely on the memory of someone who traveled with him, See The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1952), p. 448 . which means that the fourth Evangelist could have been John.
While the apostle is not mentioned by name in the Fourth Gospel—which refers only to a disciple "whom Jesus loved" John 13:23.—he does appear in the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke as one of the two fishermen sons of Zebedee who left their trade to become followers of Jesus. Thought to be the youngest disciple, John was Jesus' cousin, the son of Mary's sister, Salome. David Noel Eerdman, ed., Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000). p. 727. And he enjoyed an especially close relationship with his illustrious relative. Only John, his brother James, and Peter were present on three key occasions: when Jesus first raised someone from the dead, when he was transfigured, and when he awaited crucifixion in the garden of Gethsemane. John is also portrayed as sitting next to Jesus at the "last supper," just before Jesus' crucifixion. And he was entrusted with the care of Jesus' mother when Jesus was on the cross.
