Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

The phrase the disciple whom Jesus loved (Greek: ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ho mathētēs hon ēgapā ho Iēsous) or, in John 20:2, the Beloved Disciple (Greek: ὃν ἐφίλει ὁ Ἰησοῦς, hon ephilei ho Iēsous) is used five times in the Gospel of John, but in no other New Testament accounts of Jesus. John 21:24 claims that the Gospel of John is based on the written testimony of the "Beloved Disciple".

Since the end of the 1st century, the Beloved Disciple has been considered to be John the Evangelist. Scholars have debated the authorship of the Johannine works (the Gospel of John, First, Second, and Third epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation) since at least the 3rd century, but especially since the Enlightenment. Some modern scholars now believe that he wrote none of them. Opinions continue to be divided, however, and other renowned theological scholars continue to accept the traditional authorship. Colin G Kruse states that since John the Evangelist has been named consistently in the writings of early church fathers, "it is hard to pass by this conclusion, despite widespread reluctance to accept it by many, but by no means all, modern scholars." Thus, the true identity of the author of the Gospel of John remains a subject of considerable debate.