John 1: 35-42 35 Again the next day John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “ Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, teacher) “Where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (Now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother, Simon and said to him, “We have found the messiah” (which is translated, the Christ) 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah, you shall be called Cephas” (Which is translated. A stone). There is a leap from verse 34 to 35. Verse 35 says “the next day” but that is figuratively speaking. John 1: 32-34 runs parallel to Matt 3: 16-17 and according to Matthew chapter 4, immediately after the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, came down on Him and Jesus goes into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days. So, the ‘next day’ could mean, the next day they see Him, or the next day after the temptation. In any case Jesus comes back to John the Baptist and his followers. This is the point when Jesus is starting His ministry among us. After proving Himself, He begins recruiting His apostles. John the Baptist sees Jesus walking along the shore line. When John proclaims Him, ‘The Lamb of God’ it is because Jesus was made ready for His calling of self-sacrifice. One more point about verse 35, who were the two disciples standing with John? The one is evident, Andrew, he is identified in verse 40. The other isn’t named but I believe it was John son of Zebedee. John is a humble man, and never mentions himself in his Gospel. John the Apostles writes all of this narrative as if he is a firsthand witness. Another point is that Andrew and Simon Peter where brothers who worked as fishermen alongside John and his brother James, all four were seeking the Messiah. What John the Baptist did in versus 35-37 is what we are supposed to do with new disciples today. He prepared his disciples for the Master! John and Andrew were seeking for the Messiah and the Baptist taught them and prepared them for their ministry. Once the Baptist knew who the “Son of God’ was, he turned them over to Him. This is what we should be doing with new converts. Train them and prepare them for discipleship. Then turn them over to Jesus for Him to decide what ministry He prepares for them. In verse 37 the two disciples cut ties with John and immediately begin following Jesus. In verse 38 Jesus spoke the first words recorded in this Gospel. “What do you seek?” The question is quite profound. Are you seeking a new cult? Are you looking for a secure religion? Do you know what you’re getting into? Do you really know what you’re getting into? John and Andrew really had no idea what transformations would occur in their lives and the pain and suffering they were going to face. They answered the question with a question, “where are You staying?” It sounds to me that they weren’t sure how to answer His question, but they trusted Him!! They are saying, “We don’t know what to expect, but we trust You. Show us where to go.” (Those are my words, not the Gospels) but that’s how I see this working out. That is the way we all come to Christ, we don’t know all the answers or where we are headed in our new life, but we trust Jesus! They also refer to Him as “Rabbi” In the King James Version it is translated “Master” and another version it is “Great One” and another “Teacher”. But, whichever way you look at it, John and Andrew submitted themselves from the very start into the hands of Jesus. In verse 39, Jesus accepted them when He said “come and see.” Incidentally, they were chosen long before this day. In John 6: 65 Jesus said, “And He said, ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him by My Father.” John and Andrew were granted to Jesus by God in advance. This is true today. We are led by God our Father, to follow Jesus. We are chosen by the creator of the universe to be His children and followers of Jesus Christ. How awesome is that!? Another point about verse 39 is the length of time they spent with Jesus. I assume they met him in the morning while they were with the Baptist. Then they followed Jesus to where He was staying and was taught by Him until the ‘tenth hour’, which is four in the afternoon. Just imagine all that He taught them! The wonders of life they learned! This is evident by the excitement that filled Andrew in verse 41 when he raced to his brother Simon and exclaimed “We have found the Messiah!” Andrew was certain by all that he witnessed and all that was taught him that Jesus was indeed the Messiah they were looking for. Again John’s humility prevented him from writing his experiences, but I am sure that he ran to his brother James and proclaimed the same message! In verse 42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. At this point I would like to quote Roger L. Fredrikson, the author of “The Communicators Commentary, John” page 59. He explains this passage better than I can: “And he brought him to Jesus” Isn’t this the heart of all our evangelistic endeavor? Jesus looked at Simon—searching and penetratingly---and saw what no one else could see. He saw not only what Peter could become, but what he would become. This big blustering, erratic fisherman would become a leader among men, the first among the Apostles, and finally, a martyr because of his love for Jesus. Jesus claims him with a new name, Cephas, which signifies what he will become, a stone. “In designating him by his new name, Jesus takes possession of him and consecrates him, with all his natural qualities, to the work which He is going to entrust to him.” Each follower of Jesus Christ has ‘natural qualities’ and they are expanded upon by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus can use us as He sees fit. Jesus knows what we can become and what we WILL become. God has a great blue print of life that cover eternity and we all have our part in it. Cling to your calling and follow the will of the Father and allow the guidance of Jesus in your life!
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 02:11:46 +0000
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