In the Synoptics, Peter is emphasized as the most important disciple. This is especially in Mt and Lk-Acts. In Jn, there is more of an emphasis on another disciple, who is referred to as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (13.23; 19.26). The Beloved Disciple is never identified by name.
Who was the BD? Traditionally, he has been identified with John, the son of Zebedee. Others have proposed Lazarus, Jn Mark, and Thomas. However, there is not adequate evidence to definitively indicate that the gospel writer had any of these in mind. He is referred to as an eyewitness at the foot of the Cross (19.35), a detail absent from the Synoptics.
Some scholars have understood the BD as a symbol. He is a model of the perfect disciple. The fact that he is never named, as well as the fact that he appears alongside Peter in scenes where he is not present in the Synoptics, indicate that he might simply be a fictional character. However, the mother of Jesus is also never named in Jn, and she is certainly not a fictional character. The BD was probably not one of the Twelve, because he is at the foot of the Cross after the Twelve have fled.
Other scholars, including Raymond Brown, believe that the BD was a minor figure during Jesus' ministry, and that he was too unimportant to be remembered in the Synoptic traditions. This figure, however, became important in the Johannine community, and so he figures into Jn's gospel.
The BD was most likely not the gospel writer. He may, however, have been a witness and the source of the tradition that we see in Jn. See 19.35. The gospel writer may have been a follower of the BD.
The Beloved Disciple
Sources:
Bassler, Jouette. Lecture on the Gospel of John, 11/18/00. Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX.
Brown, Raymond.
Introduction to the New Testament.
New York: Doubleday, 1997.
