In contrast, Daniel Völter (1904), Julius Wellhausen (1908) and Johannes Weiss (1917) held that the Beloved Disciple was JOHN MARK, who came from a family of means and could have taken Jesus’ mother to be part of his household in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12).    Pierson Parker (1960) notes that the Last Supper could have been held at his home, with John Mark acting as host and included as a guest of honor.    Parker also holds that John Mark was the author of the Fourth Gospel, as well as being the Beloved Disciple.³³    Although John Mark is given an unpromising start in Acts (15:37-39), Paul later praises his devotion to the ministry (2 Tim 4:11).    Carl Erbes (1916) further theorized that John Mark was not only the Beloved Disciple, but also the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-23); and F. Warburton Lewis (1922) speculated that these two were one and the same with Lazarus, as well.³⁴    Still, John Mark remains an obscure figure, and his youthful immaturity in the middle of Acts (15:36-41) argues against him being a witness of Jesus’ whole earlier public ministry, as is noted of the Beloved Disciple (John 21:24).    Also, Maurice Goguel (1924) pointed out that if John Mark was the author of the Fourth Gospel, it is difficult to reconcile this with the solid tradition that John Mark wrote Mark’s Gospel, which is so different in content and character from John’s Gospel.    Even J. March (1968), who supported John Mark as the Beloved Disciple, finally acknowledged that “no positive evidence can be offered for this conjecture.”³⁵    E. G. King (1909) contended that the Beloved Disciple was the RICH YOUNG RULER, who came to Jesus inquiring what he must “do to inherit eternal life” (Mark 10:17-22).    King holds that Jesus’ ‘look of love’ (v. 21) haunted him until he became a believer and follower; and then much later he wrote the Fourth Gospel.    H. B. Swete (1916) suggested also that as a wealthy person he might have had a home in Jerusalem where he took Jesus’ mother.³⁶    Yet, as Donald Guthrie (1970) notes, the Gospels give us no impression that the rich young ruler ever gave away all of his wealth to follow Jesus.³⁷    Still others hold that the Beloved Disciple was not an apostle and also cannot be identified—although Eugen Ruckstuhl (1988) felt that it might be suggested that he was a converted Essene, who lived in the Essene quarter of Jerusalem.³⁸    However, D. E. H. Whiteley (1985) believed the Beloved Disciple was a Sadducee, perhaps a member of the great Sanhedrin council in Jerusalem.³⁹    To sum the matter up, as Raymond Brown (1997) noted, “[I]f the long tradition behind John is rejected, [then] one is “reduced to guessing.”⁴⁰ 

Mary Magdalene, or Lazarus.    Ramon K. Jusino (1998) and Esther A. de Boer (2000) suggest that MARY MAGDALENE was the Beloved Disciple.⁴¹    Mary Magdalene, or Mary from Magdala (a town on the W shore of the Sea of Galilee), is described as one out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons (Luke 8:2), who was present at the Cross (Matt 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25), and who visited the Tomb (Matt 28:1; Mark 16:1,9; Luke 24:10; John 20:1,18).    Robin Griffith-Jones (2008) notes that according to the Gospel of Mary (a fusion of two Gnostic texts from the second century) Jesus loved Mary Magdalene more than any of his male disciples, he entrusted secrets to her that no one else knew, and she is presented as a figure of authority.    Moreover, the Gospel of Philip presents her as “the Savior’s companion,” whom he “often kissed,” and so therefore she must be the Beloved Disciple in the John’s Gospel.⁴²    However, Ismo Dunderberg (2006) points out that these later references provide “no solid basis” for proving that she filled this role in John’s Gospel.⁴³    Also, Jusino’s contention that the author of the Fourth Gospel changed the pronouns referring to the Beloved Disciple from female to male and added the Beloved Disciple to the Cross and Tomb scenes (where Mary Magdalene is already present) with the purpose of hiding the Beloved Disciple’s female identity⁴⁴ is ‘untenable’ and ‘unconvincing’ (Dunderberg).⁴⁵    Mary Magdalene appearing alongside the Beloved Disciple at the Cross (John 19:25-27) and near the Tomb (20:1-2) instead shows that she could not have been the Beloved Disciple.    Also, Mary Magdalene would hardly have been out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, with a naked or nearly naked Peter, fishing all night (John 21:3-8).    And if a woman had been present at the Last Supper, she surely would have washed Jesus’ and the disciples’ feet when they first arrived, since this was viewed as women’s work (1 Tim 5:10).⁴⁶