John 1:35-42
35 The next day John was there again with two of
his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of
God!” 37 When the two disciples heard
him say this, they followed Jesus.
1. The
background here is that Jesus had just before this incident had been baptised
in the Jordan by John. They had seen the
dove and heard the voice of Father. The
next day John was by the Jordan with two of his disciples. These were young men who had attached
themselves to be taught and serve John as apprentices. To be a disciple means to be a follower,
student or learner of a teacher, leader, or philosopher. You listen and pattern your life after
them.
2. When
John saw Jesus he said, Behold the Lamb of God.
John was saying look the Messiah.
This meant that the Messiah, who would bring forgiveness through His
sacrifice had come in living form. This
is God with a face, the pure, holy, spotless, stainless, and free from sin
individual. This person standing here is
the perfect representation of God. This
is a person with the character, nature, and essence of God. Now the fact that John said it this verified
and authenticated what was spoken.
3. When
the two disciples heard this, they left John and followed Jesus. This meant they did not miss the spiritual
signals. Did you know God sends all
kinds of spiritual signals? Let me
illustrate. God spoke directly to Noah
and Abraham. An angel came to Gideon, Hannah,
and Mary. David used the Urim and
Thummin which were black and white stones which in the way they were thrown
indicated yes or no to the will of God. God
used Isaiah, Nathan, and prophets to speak to David, and Hezekiah. A burning bush got a hold of Moses
attention. A dream got Joseph attention
about Jesus. A vision spoke to John and
Ezekiel. The word or law spoke to Josiah
and Nehemiah. Prayer spoke to
Daniel. Jesus himself spoke to
Paul. In this incident it was John said
that got their attention. Don’t miss the
signals God sends. Today it is primarily
through prayer, devotions, and the preaching of the word that most information
and signals come. Could also be
authority figures and circumstances as well.
38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and
asked, “What do you want?” They said,
“Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they
spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
1. Jesus
is walking along, and he asks them,” What do you want?” I mean you have these two guys invading His
personal space. So, it was natural to
ask what they wanted. They then responded by calling Him Rabbi or
teacher. Currently, they did not recognize
who he was but by saying this and by asking where he was staying, they were
saying, “We want to hear what you have to say and learn more about you.” They heard what John said, they were tuning
into the spiritual signals now it was time to go further and learn more.
2. Jesus
replied, “and you will see.” This was Jesus’
way of saying okay boys I will talk with you and share with you what you need
to know. Jesus who knew who He was and
now he was going to share it with them.
3. They
went saw where He was staying, and they spent the day with him till about four
in the afternoon. We are not sure what
Jesus shared with them. Here is what we
do know, they heard what John said, they recognized he was a teacher or rabbi,
they wanted to learn more, they spent the day getting to know him, what he
believed, taught and how he lived. This
was an introductory meeting.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the
two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing
Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the
Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
1. Now we are introduced to one of the two of
John disciples and his name is Andrew.
He was Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew
heard what John said, he followed Jesus.
In Gospel days to follow Jesus meant.
It has four meanings.
a. Pick
up your cross. Forsake all. Be willing to give up all.
b. Count
the cost before you make your decision. Weight
the pros and cons. Do a thorough thought
analysis. Think it through.
c. Means
to repent, change your mind, and make a 180 degree turn to God.
d. Follow
His example, imitate Him and make a radical decision to forsake all for Him. It like the old chorus said, “Though no go
with me still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back.”
2. The
result of that day with Jesus is Andrew goes and finds his brother Simon and
tells him. We have found the Messiah in
Hebrew or the Christ in Greek. He is the
one we have been looking and waiting for.
That is the pattern of what we do.
We find Christ and then we tell others in our world about who and what
we have found. We love them enough to
bring them to Jesus. In our world today
we think it is media that will do all the work but 95% of all who come to Christ
come through personal one to one contact that Andrew showed us today. Love people enough to tell them. If they don’t receive then look at the
encounter as an opportunity to sow seed.
You job is tell others and invite. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict
and convince.
3. The
Holy Spirit does it three ways. He shows
people what sin is and that they are sinners.
He reveals that there is judgment waiting or a time of accountability. A
Hell to shun and heaven to gain. He then
reveals that they can be righteous.
Right with God and each other.
That there is love acceptance and forgiveness.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of
John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter.
1. Jesus
then looks at Peter and sees Him not as he is but what he shall become. His was Simon the Son of John and brother of
Andrew but he will be called Cephas which is Aramaic for stone, rock, or
cornerstone. His name was changed by
Jesus. Jesus would call Him the rock on
which the church would be built. It
means people like Him the church would be built. His zeal, determination, passion, and
humanity. Peter was as human as possible
and despite all his faults God could use Him because He saw his heart.
2. Jesus
sees us the same way. He sees our
heart. He sees what He can make us to
be. We need to let Him do it. Be mouldable, willing, obedient, faithful,
and yielding. Grow in the grace and
knowledge in Him. Remember you are work
in progress. You will not be complete
until Christ comes for you either through the rapture or death. Look at yourself as a Gideon, a mighty person
of valor. Remember you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood a holy nation and a unique individual. Like Peter you will make mistakes, have
doubts, and be rash but remember God sees what you are becoming so be patient
with yourself and others. By the way the
other disciple was John the brother of James the sons of Zebedee.
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