THE STUDY THEME IS: WHAT TO DO WITH THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS.
“FOLLOW JESUS THE MESSIAH” JOHN 1: 35-50.
JOHN 1: 35-39, 40-42, 43-44, 45-46, 47-48, 49-50.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO JOHN 1.
In last Sunday’s lesson John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River those who repented and lived a different life-style as evidence of the change made by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Today’s lesson is about some of the first men to follow Jesus. Each of these men made a personal commitment that lasted for a lifetime. Their examples serve as a reminder that an appropriate response for those who encounter Jesus is to follow Him as the Messiah. Messiah or Christ means, “Anointed one.”
Jesus of Nazareth came to John and was baptized. Jesus then went to the Jordanian Hills near Jericho to be tested by Satan for 40 days. At the conclusion of the testing by Satan Jesus returned to John. At this time Jesus had no followers or disciples. John evidently had many disciples. Two of them were John the author of the fourth Gospel, and Andrew, the brother of Peter. They were with John when Jesus approached.
This brings us to vs. 35 where we stopped at vs. 34 last Sunday.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 35-39.
The next day was the third in a string of important days. The first day was the questions to John in John I vv. 19-28. The second day was John’s announcement that Jesus is the Lamb of God in vv 29-34. The third day was John’s private witness to two of his disciples. John not only proclaimed Christ publicly but also testified to Him privately.
John was standing with two of his disciples when he saw Jesus walking by. Jesus was starting on the pathway of His public ministry. John used the same words he had used when he publicly said of Jesus, Behold the Lamb of God. In effect he said, “There He is!”
The two disciples, John the son of Zebedee: brother of James, and Andrew, brother of Simon Peter had heard John’s public proclamation that Jesus was the One who takes away the sin of the world. This suggests that the first reason for following Jesus is so that He can take away our sins. All are sinners and need to be saved from their sins. Only Jesus can do this. Being saved and becoming a disciple go together.
One thing this passage shows is that John had disciples of his own. They are mentioned here and in some later passages. The word “disciples” was used of the pupils and followers of a great teacher or leader. The word “followed” occurs several times in describing following Jesus. It is used in John 1: 37 concerning the response of John’s two disciples when John pointed them to Jesus.
In Matt. 8: 18-22 we have the story of two would-be-followers of Jesus. The first, a teacher of the Law said, “Teacher, I am ready to go with you wherever you go.” When Jesus pointed out that He had no home of His own, we find no further mention of that religious teacher.
Another would-be-follower said in vs. 21, “Sir, when my father is dead, then I will follow you.” Jesus replied, “Follow me now! Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead.” He didn’t follow either.
It is interesting to hear the excuses given by would-be-followers today. “I am waiting until I am older.” “I don’t want to change my life style at this time in life.” “I just don’t have the time to devote to church.” “I feel that I am as good as many in the church already.” “There are too many hypocrites.”
People in our postmodern culture are generally not discerning about who or what they follow. Many feel that as long as they are sincere and tolerant of others it really doesn’t matter who or what they follow.
The two disciples of John realized that John was only a voice, calling people to follow Christ. When John pointed them to Jesus, they followed Jesus. They had been loyal to John: and by following Jesus, they were honoring John by following what he told them to do. John set a good example for every preacher. Rather than building a personal following John pointed his followers to Jesus. He wanted them to follow Jesus.
Unlike those interested in making a name for them selves or building a personal empire, John was willing for his loyal and gifted followers to transfer their allegiance to Jesus. He was willing to decrease so Jesus might increase. He knew Jesus’ ministry would supersede his own. We must never forget that ministry is about Jesus and not about us.
Sometimes people become so attached to one earthly leader that they almost worship the leader instead of the Lord. For example, one of the problems in the Corinthian Church was that their loyalty to the one Lord was shattered by their unyielding loyalty to Cephas, Apollos, and Paul. The two disciples of John did not make that mistake. They realized that only Jesus deserves our ultimate loyalty.
Jesus responded to them following behind Him and asked, “What seek ye” or “What do you want? Those who take Jesus seriously must face the same question. “What do you want?” Dr. H.A. Ironside says he is grieved when people are invited to come to the prayer room to be counseled and receive Christ as their Savior, only to find when they get there, they are far more concerned about temporal needs than about their spiritual condition.
He said, “I would rather a man come to me and say honestly, “I am not concerned about my soul, but I am greatly concerned about my body; I need a place to sleep, or I need food.” “I am glad to do what I can for a man who come to me like that.”
Jesus of course knew why they were following, but He wanted them to say is for their own good. They addressed Jesus as Rabbi, the word for Master or “Teacher.” This is the first of several titles for Jesus the disciples used. He is the great Teacher, but He is far more. They asked Jesus, “Where are you staying.” Jesus had been at this location on at least two successive days. They assumed that He was staying nearby, at least temporarily.
Jesus answered their query by saying, “Come and see. Through His Spirit and through His church Jesus still invites seekers to “Come and see.” Jesus was inviting them to come with Him and decide for themselves. They accepted His invitation and spent some time with Him. John tells us that it was about the 10th hour.
Bible students do not agree whether this was l0 o’clock in the morning or 4 o’clock in the afternoon. He difference depends on whether John used Jewish time or Roman time. The Jews began counting hours at the beginning of the day (6 a.m.). The Romans began with midnight. If John was using Jewish time, the tenth hour would have been 4 p.m. If he used Roman time, it would have been 10 a.m. In either case the two disciples would have spent time with Jesus. This illustrates another reason for following Jesus. Disciples spend time with Jesus.
When Jesus chose the twelve disciples, Mark 3: 14 says,” He also appointed 12---He also named them apostles---to be with Him, to send them out to preach.”
During His earthly ministry, the disciples spent time with Jesus, learning from His teachings and example. After He ascended to heaven, followers of Jesus spend time with the Spirit of the Lord. He speaks to us through His Word, and we commune with Him through prayers.
The text does not record the conversation that took place between Jesus and His two guests. However, as a result of the time they spent together, these men concluded that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah. The quiet moments with Jesus led to their commitment to follow Him for a lifetime. The best way to get to know Jesus is to spend time with Him in His Word.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 40-42.
In vs. 40 Andrew is identified as one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. Andrew and his brother Simon were from Bethsaida, a small town located on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name Bethsaida means “house of fish.”
Andrew and his brother Simon were fishermen by trade. Jesus called Andrew and his brother to leave their vocation as fishermen to become “fishers of men.” Andrew lived up to that call. The first thing Andrew did after meeting and spending time with Jesus was to find his own brother Simon.
Although Andrew began with his immediate family, his concern did not stop there. The other two times John’s Gospel mentions Andrew he is bringing someone to Jesus. Some have called him the first home missionary, and others a natural recruiter. Little did Andrew realize the impact that bringing his own brother to Jesus would have on the first century church and on the kingdom of God. We must never underestimate the importance of personal witness and friendship in bringing others to Jesus. Nor must we underestimate what Jesus can do in and through those we bring to Him.
Andrew first sough and found his brother Simon. Telling his brother had priority for him. Some old copies of John have, “He was the first to find.” This implies that John also told his brother James about Jesus. But according to vs. 41 Andrew was the first to find his brother.
This shows that both disciples of John believed in Jesus. What they found was far more precious than any amount of gold.
Andrew’s simple message was, “We have found the Messiah.” Because John was writing for mostly Gentiles, he explained that the Messiah is the Christ. One reason for following Jesus is that you come to know Christ and can tell others the good news. Every witness for Jesus knows the sense of exhilaration that Andrew felt when he told his brother the good news. Andrew began by telling his brother. Sometimes the hardest kind of witnessing is to family members, but it can also be the most fulfilling. If you have unsaved family members, follow Andrew’s example.
Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, and Simon came. He would not have come if he had not been open to receiving Jesus for himself. We are told what Jesus said to him. Jesus said that Simon’s name would become Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone. Peter is the Greek word for stone.
These words of Jesus were a prophecy of the kind of person Simon would become. Jesus sees people not as they are but as they can become. It was a long process of transformation that finally made Simon live up to his new name.
Here then are two more reasons for following Jesus. For one thing, He sees us not as we are but as we can become. He sees the moral and spiritual potential in each person. Second, He enables us to be transformed into the best that we can be. This transformation takes time. Commitment to Christ can take place in a moment, but transformation is a lifetime venture. This is the meaning and test of true discipleship. Disciples enroll in a lifelong school of learning about Jesus and from Him.
Recall the story of Peter’s discipleship. It was full of ups and downs. His lowest time was his denials of Jesus. His highest moment was preaching in the power of the Spirit at Pentecost. Yet even after that, the Lord’s Spirit continued to teach and transform Peter.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 43-44.
As before, in vs. 29 and 35, the phrase the next day marks a transition in the story. Jesus left Judea and traveled north to the region of Galilee. The trip involved walking about 50 miles and must have taken about two days. There Jesus found Philip. Philip plays a more prominent part in John’s Gospel than in the other Gospels.
Jesus said to Philip, Follow Me! The invitation clearly expressed a call to discipleship. This likely means that Philip already knew Jesus. John 1: 40-42 indicates that Jesus encountered Andrew and Simon in Judea, but while in Galilee at a later time Jesus called them to follow Him as disciples. Since it is clear that Jesus encountered some individuals in Judea and extended the call to them later in Galilee, perhaps He did so with Philip as well.
Bethsaida was a small fishing village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee just east of the place where the Jordan flows into the sea. Peter and Andrew also came from Bethsaida, though at the time of Jesus’ ministry Peter had a house at Capernaum, a neighboring village. Although three disciples came from Bethsaida, the town as a whole did not respond so positively to Jesus’ ministry. Jesus later, in Matt. 11:21 denounced the town.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 45-46.
Philip’s first act as a disciple of Jesus was to share the good news. He found Nathanael. The N.T. only mentions Nathanael in this account of his call and in the list of disciples who went fishing with Peter after Jesus’ resurrection in John 21:2. The other Gospels never mention him.
Similarly, John’s Gospel never mentions Bartholomew. The other Gospels associate Bartholomew with Philip, just as John’s Gospel associates Nathanael with Philip. Also, while Nathanael is a personal name, Bartholomew could be a family designation meaning “son of Tolmai.” As a result it seems likely that these two names refer to one person, Nathanael, son of Tolmai, or Bartholomew.
Philip told Nathanael that we have found the One of whom Moses wrote in the law. By calling Jesus the One of whom Moses wrote, Philip was identifying Jesus as the Messiah. This comment may indicate that Andrew and Nathanael often searched the Scriptures because they were eagerly anticipating the coming Messiah and trying to discover as much about Him as they could. We are not told which Scriptures in the Law Philip had in mind, but he and Nathanael must have considered the Messiah the subject of numerous prophecies. Philip was already convinced that Jesus fulfilled those prophecies.
You say, “Why does he call Jesus the son of Joseph? He was actually the Son of God. But Joseph, you see, by marrying Mary, had become the legal father of Jesus, and it is this, which Philip recognizes. Philip had probably not yet learned of the virgin birth of Jesus.
Philip named the Messiah for Nathanael: Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth. Jesus was a common name, and the personal name alone was not enough for identification. Son of Joseph rightly identified the family of which Jesus was a part. John began his Gospel with the revelation that “the Word” who “became flesh” was also “the One and only Son from the Father. But Philip would not have known this about Jesus at this point.
Nazareth was a small town about 15 miles S.W. of the Sea of Galilee. Most agree that the modern city of Nazareth marks the general location of the ancient village. The town is not mentioned in the O.T. or in any historical document except the N.T. until the second century A.D.
Most take this absence from historical records as an indication that the town was extremely small and of no particular importance. Nazareth was not situated on a major trade route. Also, the region had few natural resources of water, and this would have limited the growth potential of the village. Given Nazareth’s small size and limited potential, Nathanael’s question “Can any thing good come out of Nazareth?—was probably a sentiment shared by many.
If the Nazareth of today with its filthy streets resembles the Nazareth of old, it is no wonder that Nathanael asked that. It was the time for Philip to begin an argument, but he was too wise for that. He simply said, “Come and see.”
Philip’s response was short and to the point. He did not preach a long sermon; he just said “come and see.” Psalm 34:8 used different words to make the same challenge: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Rather than trying to persuade Nathanael, Philip chose to arrange an encounter. Meeting Jesus changes people.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 47-48.
Nathanael was a sincere man who accepted Philip’s challenge. He did come and he did see for himself. Jesus’ first words to him grabbed his interest. The Lord said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile or deceit.” Jesus complimentary remarks must have taken Nathanael by surprise. This statement undoubtedly was intended as a contrast to the Patriarch Jacob, who by duplicity or guile deceived his father and cheated his brother out of the blessing, to say nothing of his dealings with his uncle Laban. Jesus designated Nathanael as a true or authentic Israelite in whom there was no deceit or guile.
Nathanael did not debate the truth of the description. He expressed no false modesty or embarrassment at being identified as a person concerned with righteousness. His question was, “How do you know me?” His response implies that he had never before met Jesus, yet Jesus claimed to know his heart. Who can know the heart but God?
Jesus’ explanation amazed Nathanael and convinced him of Jesus’ identity. Exactly how it touched Nathanael so deeply is something of a mystery to us today. In later Judaism devout students and teachers or Scripture used the shade of a fig tree or something similar as a place of meditation and study.
Jesus may have used His knowledge of Nathanael’s habit to affirm him as a serious student of Scripture. But how did Jesus know Nathanael spent time under the fig tree? Jesus’ statement that He saw Nathanael on an earlier occasion seems to have impressed Nathanael as much as Jesus’ insight into his character. Who can see into hidden or distant places except Someone with amazing powers---someone like the Anointed One of God whom Nathanael longed to see?
According to Romans 10:17 “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” So in faith Nathanael was added to the little company of believers.
PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 49-50.
Jesus’ greeting and penetrating insight convinced Nathanael that Jesus was the Messiah---the One who embodied Israel’s hopes. Nathanael respectfully addressed Jesus as “Rabbi.” He then confessed, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”---Both of which are titles for the Messiah. Son of God denotes the Messiah’s relationship with God. King of Israel denotes His relationship with God’s chosen people. The people would later hail Jesus as the King of Israel during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem in John 12:13.
The word You in Nathanael’s confession serves as a reminder that Jesus and no one else is the Messiah. In an age that celebrates tolerance and pluralism, we must witness faithfully to Christ’s exclusive claims. He alone is the Son of God. He alone is qualified to be the Savior of humankind. Salvation is found in no other name. (Acts 4:12)
Nathanael had confessed Jesus as the Son of God because Jesus had demonstrated supernatural knowledge about him. Jesus assured Nathanael that he would see greater things than this. Nathanael, and the other disciples who took their first steps with Jesus on this and the previous days, would indeed see greater things in the years ahead as Jesus’ plan for their lives unfolded. They would come to understand that Jesus is the true Jacob’s ladder bridging the span between heaven and earth.
Two days after this there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the 6 disciples witnessed Jesus perform His first miracle of turning the water into wine and “His disciples believed on Him.”
NEXT SUNDAY WE HAVE THE CHRISTMAS STORY FROM LUKE 2.