John the Apostle was one of the original 12 apostles. He is the author of this book and four other in the New Testament.
John, his brother James and their father Zebedee were Galilean fisherman. Jesus called John and James to leave their careers as fishermen and to become His apostles. Soon after, John and James became part of an inner circle around Jesus with Peter and sometimes Andrew.
John and his brother James were called the “Sons of thunder” by Jesus (Mk 3:17).
John along with Andrew had been disciples of John the Baptist and became followers of Jesus after He was baptized by John the Baptist.
John was the “beloved disciple” who:
– leaned on Jesus during the Last Supper (John 13:23), – was “known to the high priest (John 18:15), – was entrusted by Jesus with the care of His mother Mary (John 19:26), and – outran Peter to the empty tomb (John 20:2-4).