LESSON 19
WITH THE REDEEMER
"Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth."
"Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues."
Modesty.
In the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, we read that two disciples of John the Baptist heard their master bear witness to the divinity of Jesus. Said the Baptist, referring to Jesus walking alone in the distance, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." One of the two disciples who heard this testimony is named; he was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.[[1]] The other is not named. Indeed throughout the entire book, which undoubtedly, was written by St. John, himself, the name of John, son of Zebedee, is never once written. In the account of the Last Supper, we read of a "disciple whom Jesus loved," who sat so near the Lord that his head could rest on Jesus' bosom.
These two instances, and others that might be named indicate to us a prominent trait in St. John's character; viz., an unassumed modesty that won him the respect and love of all who knew him.
Fearlessness.
But John was the son of Salome and Zebedee, and the younger brother of James, with whim he was called "Boanerges," or son of Thunder. This gives us a little insight into another phase of his character. Like his brother James, he was evidently fiery in his zeal in whatever he undertook to do, and fearless in doing what he thought was right.
