He was known as the ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’ (John 13:23; 21:20), so this author apparently was in intimate contact with the Divine One whom he treasured, and who caused him to exclaim ‘Behold What Manner of Love!” (1 John 3:1), a transformative phrase that 20th Century musicians like Patricia Van Tine (1978) and Reid Lancaster (1993) have adapted for song. (See the beloved apostle – John – reclining against Jesus in this 17th Century artwork by an anonymous painter, a depiction of the scene in John 13:25.) He’d had several decades to ponder what this unique individual meant to him, and his heart still effervesced when he reasoned with others about Him. That’s a special kind of bond, when someone can write about himself in the third person, as this Son of Thunder named John did on two occasions in his remembrance, and then to describe his extraordinary relationship with Jesus with confidence. How would John know that Jesus loved him so? After three years walking and talking and watching Jesus, John had had lots of evidence upon which to make such a buoyant assertion.
Historical evidences and opinions suggest that John wrote this bold statement in the middle of a letter sometime in the latter portion of the 1st Century, perhaps between 85 and 95 A.D. By this time, it is apparent that John, with a former reputation as one who desired to punish Jesus’ doubters (Luke 9:51-56), and who sought His exclusive heavenly favor over the other Apostles (Matthew 20:20–22 and Mark 10:35–45) that caused sparks of anger, had matured. Perhaps these two incidents, among probably others in which John’s impudence earned him Jesus’ rebuke, had actually compelled John to reflect and later marvel at the patience and grace of this God who appeared to him. Certainly, part of Jesus’ personal value for John was the capture and control of his inner self. And later, it was no longer about himself, once he lived with and ultimately saw the extent of Jesus’ commitment to not just himself, but to all mankind. Jesus was the immortal Creator – though in-the-flesh -- so John probably reasoned earlier in this three-year journey that what this God-Man suffered would have been too much for any mere human like himself to mimic. Watching Jesus as the Arisen One, and then learning that he himself would live longer for some yet undefined reason (John 21:22-23) must have put some question marks in John’s head; but these did not forestall John’s trust in Him as the True One (John 21:24). His mission of love and rescue remained clear and distinct. For John, it was a personal and poignant encounter – particularly when Jesus asked John to take care of His earthly mother (John 19:26-27) – but also a relationship in which John would suffer a brutal empire’s exile and imprisonment in a lonely penal colony (Patmos) because of his affiliation with Jesus. This was some love that propelled John!
It is in perhaps the last decade of John’s life that he wrote to others this letter, to extol the Godly love that he’d taken inward. Check out your bible search software, and you will discover the extent of John’s discussion of love in that letter, perhaps written while he was in Ephesus and addressed to Asia Minor churches at the time to counter an early form of Gnosticism. Love appears some 26 (or 27, depending on how you count) times therein, second only in the bible (in the New International Version translation) to its usage in Deuteronomy, which has love 29 times. Given the much more compact nature of 1 John compared to Deuteronomy (25,494 words in Deuteronomy, and 2,141 words in 1 John), one would have to say John was really overflowing with love, wouldn’t you? Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him (1 John 3:1, in the New King James Version). John really was looking to stop some heretics (see the link to a description of Gnosticism below), by telling them they had not seen the true God-Man as he and the others had, and therefore could not possibly understand others like himself either, after they had ingested Him. John’s message? Take in God, and get in touch with real love. It might not make earthly sense, but if you want more than what this terra firma offers, is it not wiser to aim at another plane of existence?
Read about the heresy that John was apparently countering with this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism
Bible commentary is from the NIV Study Bible, general editor Kenneth Barker, and associate editors Donald Burdick, John Stek, Walter Wessel, and Ronald Youngblood; Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985.
See information about the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An%C3%B4nimo_-_A_%C3%9Altima_Ceia.jpg … This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer… {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States….found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Apostle
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