Hello TBP, thanks for responding.

Yes, Jesus certainly loved all the disciples. I never claim He loved them any less.

But Jesus was closest to John, among the twelve.

Jesus had an “inner circle” of Peter, James, and John. He took them up the Mountain in Matthew 17, and invited them closer in Gethsemane, for example.

But even among those three, Jesus was closest to John. John was with Him longest and was His closest friend among the disciples.