John 1:19-51: “John The
Baptist, The Humble And Faithful Witness / The First Disciples”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at the introduction of the book of John as well as verses 1-18 of chapter 1.
1.1.1. We concentrated on the fact that John introduces Jesus as the ‘logos’
or ‘word’ of God, and that the Greek definition of this word meant that
Jesus is the full and complete expression or communication of God to
mankind. If you want to know who God is
you just need to take a long look at Jesus Christ.
1.1.2. We saw that John wrote his gospel after up to 65 years of living and
thinking about all that Jesus said and did and that John’s gospel was different
that the other gospels because he sought to reveal the spiritual nature of
Jesus and things that He did and taught.
John’s gospel was much more theological in nature than the other
gospels.
1.1.3. We saw that about 93% of John’s gospel is unique to it and that it also
does not include many events that occurred and things that Jesus taught that
are included in the other gospels.
1.1.4. We saw that John began his gospel teaching that Jesus was pre-existent
before any creation.
1.1.5. John wrote that Jesus was with God and He also was God, which was a
depiction of the Trinity.
1.1.6. John wrote that Jesus was God the Son from all eternity.
1.1.7. We saw that John told us that in Jesus was life and the life was the
light of men.
1.2.
In our study today we are
going to look at verses 19-51.
1.2.1. We will observe this man called, “John the Baptist.” We will see that he is a humble and faithful
witness of Jesus.
1.2.2. We are also going to see John’s account of Jesus’ disciples who first
began to follow Him.
2.
VS 1:19-21 - “And this is the witness of John, when
the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from
2.1.
The apostle John now introduces us to a man whom the
gospels refer to as John the Baptizer.
He was a man who was called by God to be Jesus’ forerunner.
2.2.
Strong’s Greek Dictionary states that the name ‘John’
means “Jehovah is a gracious giver.”
2.3.
According to chapter 1 of Luke’s gospel we learn that
John’s parents were Zacharias and Elizabeth, and that
2.4.
Curious and suspicious as to who John the Baptist
claimed himself to be in God’s prophetic scheme, the Jews (or Jewish leaders)
sent men to ask John who he claimed to be.
They asked him three questions, each of which he responded with a denial
:
2.4.1.
They first asked him if he was the “Messiah.”
2.4.1.1.John told
them that he was just the Lord’s messenger, not the Lord Himself.
2.4.2.
Then they asked him if he were ‘Elijah.’
2.4.2.1.The
scriptures prophesied in Malachi 4:5 that Elijah would be sent before the
Lord’s return, “5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”
2.4.2.2.The Jews
apparently believed that all of the prophets as well would appear before the
Lord returned.
2.4.2.3.John the
Baptizer was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophesy, but he was not a
reincarnated or resurrected Elijah, rather he came in the spirit and power of
Elijah, as Luke 1:17 tells us.
2.4.2.4.John denied
that he was ‘Elijah.’
2.4.3.
Then, they asked him if he were ‘the prophet.’
2.4.3.1.This is most
likely a reference to Moses’ prophecy in Deut. 18:15 that God would in time
send to the Jews ‘a prophet’ who would explain everything about God to
them, and they were to listen to him.
2.4.3.2.Moses was
prophesying about the Messiah when he called him, ‘the prophet.’
2.4.3.3.John denied
that he was ‘the prophet.’
3.
VS 1:22-23 - “They said then to him, ‘Who are you, so
that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am a voice of one crying in the
wilderness, ‘’Make straight the way of the Lord,’’ as Isaiah the prophet said’.” - John tells
us that John the Baptizer explained himself and his ministry by saying only
that he was a voice crying in the wilderness to make straight the way of the
Lord
3.1.
When pressed by these ones who had been sent to him
from the Pharisees to ascertain who he was and what the nature of his ministry
was, John quotes from Isaiah 40 which is a prophecy concerning the Messiah’s
coming. John understood that his ministry
was a fulfillment of part of the Isaiah 40 prophesy.
3.2.
In fulfilling the role of Elijah the prophet in
calling the nation to repentance, John says of himself and his ministry that he
is just ‘a voice,’ one ‘crying in the wilderness.’
3.3.
John the Baptizer was God’s spokesman preaching repentance,
the message which is encapsulated in the words, ‘Make straight the way of
the Lord.’ Things were very crooked
in John’s day, crooked from the ways of the Lord, and the nation needed to be
brought to repentance towards God or everyone might have been completely blind
as to who Jesus is and what was the nature of Jesus’ message. Even with John’s great ministry of preaching
repentance and leading people all throughout Israel to partake in a baptism of
repentance in the Jordan River, very few did turn to Jesus and be saved during
Jesus’ ministry days.
3.4.
John the Baptizer was of the order of Levi, following
in the footsteps of his father Zacharias, and as such he could have lived a
life of a fair amount of leisure and comfort.
However, John the Baptizer was a man who was faithful to his calling and
chose instead to live in the wilderness eating locusts and wild honey, and
wearing camel’s hair for clothing.
3.5.
John was willing to simply be God’s ‘voice,’
even if it cost him his life, as we find out later that it did when he was
beheaded as a result of denouncing the sin of Herod.
4.
VS 1:24-27 - “Now they had been sent from the
Pharisees. And they asked him, and said
to him, ‘Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor
the prophet?’ John answered them saying,
‘I baptize you in water, but among
you stands One whom you do not know, It
is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to
untie’.” - John tells us that some sent from the
Pharisees came to John the Baptizer asking him why he was baptizing people
4.1.
John the Baptizer was not following the Old Testament
laws in his baptizing, nor the tradition of the Jews. So, these Jews sent from the Pharisees wanted
to know by what authority he was bypassing the laws of Moses and their
authority in his baptizing of people, since he claimed not to be the Messiah,
Elijah, nor the prophet?
4.2.
John answers the questions of these men sent from the
Pharisees by avoiding their questions.
4.2.1.
He told the men that he was baptizing in water, but
among them was a man (Jesus) whom they did not know who was pre-eminent above
John the Baptizer in every sense.
4.3.
Because John the Baptizer was a faithful and humble
witness he says that he is not even worthy to do the lowliest of servant’s jobs
and unloosen Jesus’ sandal.
4.4.
O’ Christian, let me ask you a couple of questions :
4.4.1.
Are you a humble servant who sees yourself as unworthy
of anything that the Lord has given you?
Do your see your ministry as being something that you are totally
unworthy to perform?
4.4.2.
Do you point others to Christ and never take credit
for anything that the Lord Himself has done in your life?
4.4.3.
There will always be great sacrifice for being willing
to be God’s spokesman. It will cost us
our flesh life and our pride, much less the ease of worldly living. Are you willing to pay the price to be God’s
‘voice’ to this lost and dying world who in its present state is
condemned to hell?
5.
VS 1:28-31 - “These things took place in
5.1.
One of the things that you discover as you study and
read through the gospels is that there are many witnesses to Jesus Christ that
are brought forth by the writers in order to demonstrate who Jesus really
is. There is the testimony of angels,
such as Gabriel, about Him. There is the
testimony of Jesus’ disciples about Him.
There is the testimony of those whom Jesus’ healed about Him. There is the testimony of those who heard
Jesus’ teachings about Him. There is the
testimony of Jesus’ enemies about Him.
There is the testimony of those who tried Jesus about Him. There is the testimony of those who crucified
Jesus about Him. There is the testimony
of those who saw Jesus after His resurrection about Him. There is the testimony in Acts 1 from those
who saw Jesus’ ascension up to heaven about Him. Here in this chapter of John you have the
testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus as John tells those who are his
own disciples, ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’
5.2.
John gives the setting where this story concerning
John the Baptizer and Jesus took place, it was in ‘Bethany beyond the Jordan,’
where John the Baptizer was baptizing.
5.3.
This incident must have taken place after Jesus was
baptized by John, because John says that he ‘did not recognize Him’ as
the Messiah until the Holy Spirit descended upon Him at His baptism, when John
baptized Jesus.
5.4.
Even though Jesus and John the Baptist were related
and perhaps half cousins (remember Jesus’ Father was not Joseph but was God),
they evidently had not spent extensive time together, or at least hadn’t seen
each other in some time, therefore we read here that John the Baptizer did not
recognize Jesus.
5.5.
In this section, John the Baptizer acknowledges two
things concerning Jesus :
5.5.1.
John knew that Jesus was that sacrificial lamb that
would be slain for the sins of all mankind in order to make full payment for
the debt of every man’s sins.
5.5.2.
Jesus was pre-existent from all eternity, in other
words he acknowledges Jesus’ divinity as the eternal Son of God.
6.
VS 1:32-34 - “And John bore witness saying, ‘I have
beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon
Him. And I did not recognize Him, but He
who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit
descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy
Spirit. And I have seen, and have borne
witness that this is the Son of God’.”
- John tells us that John the Baptizer
told them that he personally had witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus at
His baptism
6.1.
John the Baptizer, again as a faithful witness,
recounts the events that had occurred when he had baptized Jesus. The apostle John records for us how that the
Lord had revealed to John beforehand that the one for whom the Holy Spirit
would descend upon and remain, this was the one who would baptize in the Holy
Spirit.
6.2.
John the Baptizer regarded this baptism of the Holy
Spirit by Jesus as being superior to mere baptism in water, as he was
baptizing. Those who would be baptized
in the Holy Spirit would be supernaturally invaded and forever changed by
God. John knew that his baptism was only
a precursor, for he saw his ministry as fading in favor of the One who would
come after him.
6.3.
John also recognized the ‘sonship’ of Christ,
that Jesus is the ‘only begotten’ or ‘unique’ Son of God!
6.4.
I would like you to consider what ‘baptism’
John the Baptist is referring to when he says that Jesus is the one who will ‘baptize
in the Holy Spirit’ ?
6.4.1.
First of all, it is important to realize that the word
‘baptism’ simply means “immersion,” and at times both secularly
and in the scriptures the word ‘baptism’ was used in a generic sense
referring to “immersion,” not necessarily either water baptism or
baptism of the Spirit.
6.4.1.1.For instance,
Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 about the Jews having been baptized
into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea.
6.4.2.
Some believe that what John the Baptizer is speaking
of is what happens to every believer when they come to Christ, they are ‘baptized
in the Holy Spirit,’ as Paul wrote about in 1 Cor. 12:13: “13 For
by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks,
whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
6.4.2.1.This verse
in 1 Cor. 12:13 teaches that every single person who is a Christian has been ‘immersed’
into the body of Christ. This ‘baptism’
evidently occurs at the moment of salvation and thus every Christian has
experienced it.
6.4.2.2.In 1 Cor.
12:13 however Paul is speaking about the Holy Spirit doing the baptizing, and
it is a baptism into the body of Christ. Here Jesus is the one who is doing the
baptizing and it is baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, I believe that there are two different baptisms being
referenced in these New Testament passages.
I would ask you to consider if there might be another experience of the
Holy Spirit for believers subsequent to salvation, one which is a ‘baptism’
of the Holy Spirit? I contend from the
scripture that this is clearly the case.
6.4.2.2.1.In John 20:22, we
see that after Jesus had been raised from the dead that He appeared to the
apostles as they were gathered together.
When He came to them on that occasion He breathed on them and told them
to ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ I
have to believe that if Jesus says to a person, ‘receive the Holy Spirit,’
that the person receives the Holy Spirit.
However, if they had already received the Holy Spirit, and thus they had
been baptized in the Holy Spirit, then why in Acts 1:8 are the disciples told
by Jesus to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, for
the Holy Spirit would come upon them in power, and it would be at that time
that they would be able to be powerfully used by God as His instruments to
preach the gospel to all creation, “8 but you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the
earth.”
6.4.2.2.1.1.When the Holy Spirit fell upon all of the believers
gathered together in the upper room in Acts chapter 2, this “immersion”
was a subsequent experience of the Holy Spirit for them. They were “baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
6.4.2.2.2.There are three prepositions used in the New Testament
to describe the various works of the Holy Spirit in the apostles lives: ‘with,’ ‘in,’ and ‘upon.’ The
Holy Spirit had been ‘with’ them and He had also come ‘into’ them (John 20:22), as Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would do in John
14:7, “17 that is the Spirit
of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know
Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.” However,
in these words in Acts 1:8, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would also come ‘upon’ (the Greek word “epi”) them. I believe that this is the ‘baptism of the
Holy Spirit’ that is for believers, and also subsequent to salvation, that
John the Baptizer is referring to in this story.
6.5.
What is
the difference then between what the New Testament refers to as the ‘filling
of the Holy Spirit,’ and is this the same thing as the ‘baptism of the
Holy Spirit’ ?
6.5.1.
We are
commanded to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ in Eph. 5:18, “18 And do not get drunk with
wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
6.5.1.1.To be filled with the Holy Spirit means ‘to be
controlled and empowered’ with the
Holy Spirit. Therefore, when Jesus is on
the throne of our life, and when we are walking in obedience and faith in Him
we are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit.’
6.5.1.2.In Galatians 5:16-23 we read about the fact that within the Christian there is a continual
battle going on between the flesh (old sinful nature that still lurks) and the
Spirit, and in those verses Paul has given us a very concise description of
life lived in both realms. When we are
allowing the Spirit to have the control and thus are dying to the old sinful
nature, then we are ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-23 reads, “16 But I say, walk by the
Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh
sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these
are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you
please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now
the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity,
sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of
anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that
those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
6.5.1.3.Since it is
a command for us as believers to be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” it is
also the case that the Lord gives us the power or ability to do this, and, it
is our responsibility to make sure we are “filled with the Holy Spirit.”
6.5.2.
In the
book of Acts, the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ always occurred according
to the sovereign work of God when He just fell upon the people, or it is
recorded that ‘they were filled with the Holy Spirit,’ indicating that
it was a sudden work that just seemed to come upon them.
6.5.2.1.I like the definition that Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives
for the difference between the filing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He says that it is like the difference in
rainy days. Some rainy days there is
just a light drizzle, other days it is a steady light rain, and then some days
there is just a downpour or deluge of rain.
The ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ is like the deluge of rain, for
when the Holy Spirit baptizes a person He comes upon them in power and they are
used in a mighty way by God.
6.5.2.2.In every case in the book of Acts where the Holy
Spirit fell upon people, the people were immediately used in a great way in
service for the Lord, a powerful evangelism of some sort occurred through them.
6.5.2.3.We Christians need power from the Holy Spirit in our
lives each day in order for us to live
holy lives and be powerful and effective witnesses for the Lord, as He calls us
to be.
6.5.2.4.Unlike the “filling of the Holy Spirit,” the ‘baptism
of the Holy Spirit’ is a sovereign work of God and thus we cannot cause the
experience to happen (as is the case with the filing of the Holy Spirit which
we are commanded to have moment by moment in our life each day), however there
are things that we can do to both hinder that work from happening as well as to
encourage it to happen.
6.5.2.5.The people upon whom the baptism of the Holy Spirit
occurred in the book of Acts experienced some phenomena associated with the
experience. Usually they spoke in
tongues when they had this experience (see Acts Chapter 2 for instance),
however there are some instances where other phenomena occurred when they were
“baptized in the Holy Spirit.”
6.5.2.5.1.For instance, in Acts 4:31 we read that when the Holy Spirit fell upon the church (indicated by this
sudden experience of them all being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’) they
began to speak the Word of God with boldness, “31 And when they had
prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with
boldness.”
6.5.2.6.In the book
of Acts, the Holy Spirit didn’t just fall on the disciples once, He just kept
fall upon them as God was working in powerful ways to bring people to salvation
through the gospel.
6.6.
Here are some testimonies of the experience of the
baptism of the Holy Spirit in believer’s lives :
1.1.1.1. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones writes of the stories of
men who were greatly used of God in times of revival through the incredible
power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, “And in the accounts of
revivals I have often heart it from people whom I have known well and
intimately, who experienced something of the Revival in Wales in 1904/5. It was frequently said, too, about Mr Evan
Roberts who was so signally used in that revival—people were amazed when they
just saw his face and this ‘shining’ quality.
Then we are told about the saintly Robert Murray McCheyne in his church
in
1.1.1.2. R.A. Torrey writes of this same thing, “Biographies
abound in instances of men who have worked along as best they could, until one
day they were led to see that there was such an experience as the baptism with
the Holy Spirit and to seek it and obtain it and, from that hour, there came
into their service a new power that utterly transformed its character. In this matter, one thinks first of such men
as Finney, and Moody, and Brainerd, but cases of this character are not
confined to the few exceptional men.
They are common…to do effective personal work, we must be baptized with
the Holy Spirit.”
1.1.1.3. D.L. Moody, the great American preacher of the previous
century, wrote of his own experience as quoted from Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “I
began to cry as never before, for a greater blessing from God. The hunger increased; I really felt that I did not want to live any
longer. [He had been a Christian, and
not only a Christian but a minister, and in charge of a Mission for some
time; he was getting conversions, but
still he wanted more.] “I kept on crying
all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day in the City of
6.7.
O’ Christian, do you recognize your need for supernatural
power and impetus in order to enable you to live the Christian life in a
dynamic sort of way as a disciple and a witness for Christ?
6.8.
Have you had an experience where you recognized the
power of God come upon you mightily as in the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
6.9.
Galatians
5:22-23 lists the fruit which the Holy Spirit produces in the
life of the believer, “22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law,
” so is your life very fruity?
7.
VS 1:35-36 - “Again, the next day John was standing
with two of his disciples, and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said,
‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” - John tells us that John the Baptizer again
saw Jesus and called Him the ‘lamb of God’
7.1.
Again, we see the faithfulness of John the Baptist as
a witness, as he with all his disciples gathered around him, exalts Jesus with
the title that he had previously in the chapter declared: ‘Behold, the lamb of God!’ With this title, John the Baptizer was
acknowledging what he had previously said about Jesus, namely that He was to
take away the sins of the whole world, being ‘the Son of God.’
7.2.
John the Baptizer’s disciples were so taken by John’s
declaration, that they were from that time on attached no more to John, but
Jesus. John humbly realized his position
and calling as simply going before the ‘One’ who was God’s ‘Messiah.’
8.
VS 1:37 - “And the two disciples heard him speak,
and they followed Jesus.” - John tells us that two of John the Baptizer’s
disciples then left John the Baptizer to follow Jesus
8.1.
Here we see the very first disciples who came to Jesus
and began to follow Him.
8.2.
Jesus didn’t ask these first followers to follow Him,
they were simply drawn to Christ.
8.3.
Later, as recorded by Luke and another of the gospels,
Jesus will call these same disciples to follow Him formally as their vocation,
however this commitment doesn’t reach to that extent of commitment.
9.
VS 1:38-39 - “And Jesus turned, and beheld them
following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’ And they said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which
translated means Teacher), where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will
see’. They came therefore and saw where
He was staying; and they stayed with Him
that day, for it was about the tenth hour.”
- John tells us that Jesus took these
two disciples of John the Baptizer with Him to where He was staying
9.1.
The two disciples were Andrew and most probably John the
author of the book (although he never acknowledges himself in his writings).
9.2.
Jesus as He is always faithful to do, acknowledges
these two disciples following Him. And
this being the beginning of His ministry, Jesus begins doing what we see Him
constantly doing, namely, drawing out the hearts and intentions of men.
9.2.1.
Jesus asks these men what they are seeking? Jesus does not ask them ‘whom’ they
were seeking, for that was evident.
Rather, He seeks to draw out of them why they were following Him? What did they expect to gain? And what was their true motivation for
following Him?
9.2.2.
These disciples show the deep desire that they have
not just to receive some new teaching, but rather to have fellowship and
communion with their Lord. They simply
reply to His question by asking Him where He is staying?
9.2.3.
Perhaps also, these disciples of John the Baptizer
could not put in words why they were seeking Him... Jesus response however is always consistent
to those who have a real desire to know Him, He responds in a direct and
concise manner and says to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’
9.2.4.
God knows all those who follow Him, and He will not
turn any away who earnestly seek Him.
9.2.5.
These two disciples therefore stayed with Jesus,
fellowshipping with Him, all of the rest of that day.
9.3.
To be a
follower of Christ, as this
verse says these first disciples were, means:
9.3.1.
First of all, it
means to ‘let Him be Lord of all areas of our life.’
9.3.1.1.Jesus must
be Lord of all of our life. I believe that
the saying is true, “He is not Lord at all if He is not Lord of all!”
9.3.2.
Secondly, it means ‘to
have committed ourselves to follow Him wherever He may lead is, to be willing
to let Him take us wherever He wants for us to go.’
9.3.3.
Thirdly, it means ‘to follow
His example in all areas of our life.’
9.3.3.1.If we have
committed ourselves to follow Jesus, this doesn’t mean that we shall be
perfect, it simply means that we have committed our lives in this way, and though
we may stumble, we shall always seek to have the Lord realign us upon the path
that He wants for us, after He has once again washed our repentant hearts with
His blood!
9.3.4.
Fourth, it means ‘to be with Him.’
9.3.4.1.Unless we
spend that quiet time daily with Jesus where He speaks to us through His word
and we speak to Him through prayer, we will never grow spiritually and we shall
also never really be His followers. We
need to make a vow to spend time with Jesus every single day of our lives! Then we need to keep that vow to the Lord...
9.4.
It appears that throughout history many people have
sought to follow Jesus for what they can get.
9.4.1.
Many pray for what ‘they’ want instead of
seeking to know His will so that they might pray effectively.
9.4.2.
Many praise the Lord and seek Him when things are
going well, but turn away when times get tough in their lives.
9.4.3.
Many seek the Lord only out of curiosity.
9.4.3.1.Jesus
accused the people of His day of seeking Him only for the signs that He was
performing.
9.4.4.
Few seek the Lord because they love Him with their
whole hearts, minds, and strength.
9.5.
Though we know that all of us as Christians fall short
of our goals and commitments to the Lord, I would ask you if it is your
commitment to make Jesus the Lord of every area of your life?
9.6.
Are you spending time with Jesus daily as the early
disciples who followed Him did?
9.7.
Is it your goal to follow Jesus’ example and ask
yourself in every situation, “What would Jesus do?”
9.8.
If the Lord were to ask you today as He asked these
disciples of John the Baptist, ‘Why are you following Me?’, what would
you answer Jesus?
10.
VS 1:40-42 - “One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew,
Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his
own brother Simon, and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which
translated means Christ). He brought him
to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said,
‘You are Simon the son of John; you
shall be called ‘Cephas’’ (which is translated Peter).” - John tells
us about how Jesus called Andrew and Simon to follow Him
10.1.
The natural reaction of Andrew’s finding the grace of
God, is to reach out as an evangelist to those he loved most, and tell them of
his new found faith.
10.2.
Andrew is honest and straightforward in his zeal for
the Lord, as he simply tells his brother Simon, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ Then, Andrew brought Simon to Jesus.
10.3.
The simple act of testifying brought Andrew’s brother
to Jesus. This is such a simple act, yet
what a great work of God was performed as a result.
10.3.1.All of our deepest theological arguments
are usually much less effective than simply bringing people to Jesus to find
out for themselves if He be the Lord!
10.3.2.The most effective evangelism is not
something that is fabricated or mechanical but rather it is just a natural
response to people as a result of the Lord working in our lives.
10.3.3.Effective evangelism involves simply
sharing the zeal of the Lord which we have, and bringing friends and loved ones
to the Lord.
10.4.
As a result of Andrew bringing his brother to Jesus,
Peter became that central ‘rock’ in the building of Christ’s
church.
10.5.
It says in this section that ‘He found first his
own brother,’ and this seems to imply that John (the writer of this gospel)
then went and found his brother James and brought him also to Jesus.
10.6.
We know that Peter, Andrew, James, and John had a
fishing business together at this time.
Also, it appears because of the proximity of Simon to John the Baptist,
that most likely all of these four men were at this time followers of John the
Baptist.
11.
VS 1:43 - “The next day He purposed to go forth
into
11.1.
This is the first time that Jesus actually calls
anyone to follow Him in John’s gospel, and in this case He sought out
Philip.
11.2.
Jesus says of His own work later in the gospel that He
came ‘to seek and save the lost,’ and here we see Jesus for the first time
actually seeking men out to follow Him.
11.3.
This is not Philip the evangelist of the book of Acts,
instead this is Philip the brother of Nathanael.
12.
VS 1:44-46 - “Now Philip was from
12.1.
We see the grace of God working in Philip
instinctively causing him to go and find his brother Nathanael.
12.2.
Philip appears to have been a student of the Old
Testament, for he testifies that they have found ‘Him of whom Moses in the
Law and also the Prophets wrote.’
12.3.
Likewise, Philip appears to have known Jesus
beforehand for he announces that He is ‘Jesus of
12.4.
We also know, of course, that in reality Jesus was not
the ‘son of Joseph,’ for His father was God, however either Philip
didn’t know this, or he simply is speaking of Jesus in the vernacular of the
day and is referring to the household from which Jesus was raised.
12.5.
Nathanael probably questions whether any good thing
can come out of
13.
VS 1:47-51 - “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and
said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do you know
me?’ Jesus answered and said to him,
‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you’. Nathanael answered Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the
Son of God; You are the King of
13.1.
Jesus, as the scriptures say, ‘had not need for
anyone to testify to Him of men, for He knew what was in men’ (John 2:21),
and in this section of scripture, He announces to everyone present what the
character of Nathanael is, ‘an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.’
13.1.1.Jesus says first that Nathanael is an
Israelite of true character like Abraham, who did the works of an Abraham.
13.1.2.Also, though Nathanael is not sinless,
Jesus says of him that there ‘is no guile’ in him. In other words, he has no false and
hypocritical view of himself, rather he is of transparent character, and thinks
no more highly of himself than he should.
13.1.3.If Nathaniel was filled with pride in
asking Jesus how he knew him, then this fact probably would have been included
in the gospel accounts, however it is not.
13.2.
Nathanael next questions Jesus as to how He knows his
character since they have never before met.
Jesus reveals to Nathanael His deity by revealing something of a
personal nature to Nathanael, He had seen him under the fig tree.
13.2.1.This is the first of numerous instances
in the Gospel of John depicting Jesus having knowledge about someone that
transcends human ability and experience, and we need to realize that the Lord
truly knows every hair on each of our heads, and that there is nothing which we
can hide from Him.
13.2.1.1.We
Christians need to pray without ceasing as the scripture commands, but also
pray with this in view, that the Lord knows us and everyone else better than we
shall ever know ourselves or them!
13.2.2.This revelation of knowledge which Jesus
had concerning Nathanael was identical to the working of the ‘gift of
knowledge’ that Paul mentions in his list of spiritual gifts in 1
Corinthians chapter 12. This is a
supernatural insight in truth and the true nature of things which did not come
about as a result of one’s natural thinking process. God uses this gift in our lives as Christians
at times when He is desiring to use us to minister to someone about an area of
their life known only by Him.
13.2.3.Perhaps the fig tree was a place where
Nathanael prayed to God every day, or a place where something very unusual had
happened in Nathaniel’s life. We simply
do not know though what Jesus was referring to.
Regardless of what Jesus was referring to with Nathanael, Nathaniel next
acknowledges Jesus as a teacher and ‘the Son of God’ as a result of that
revelation.
13.3.
Jesus next tells Nathanael that he believed in Him
because of that revelation, however he would see even greater things than this
from Jesus. Nathaniel will see ‘the
heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending, and descending on the Son of
13.4.
The angels are ministering spirits for the saints in
this new dispensation, and therefore ascend and descend on the son of
13.5.
Nathaniel’s testimony is amazing for he confesses that
Jesus is the ‘son of God’ and also the ‘king of
13.6.
This is the first mention of the title ‘son of man’
which was Jesus’ preferred title to refer to Himself.
13.6.1.‘Son of man’ was mentioned in
Daniel 7:13 in Daniel’s end time vision, and also in the book of Revelation
(Rev. 1:13; 14:14).
13.6.2.The title ‘son of man’ for the
Messiah, which Jesus alone used for Himself, and which masked His being called
the ‘Messiah’ in public. Jesus
wanted to use a little stealth in His teaching to keep down the publicity about
Him until the proper time.
14.
CONCLUSIONS :
14.1.
As we consider this study and how to apply these
things to our own lives, I would ask you again if like John the Baptist you are
humble are not willing to accept credit for anything that the Lord does through
your life? Are you willing to simply be
a voice for the Lord and point others to Jesus as a faithful witness for Him?
14.2.
Following in the example of Andrew, do you simply try as
an evangelist to simply bring people to Jesus so they can see for themselves
that He is the Lord?
14.3.
Are you committed to being a follower of Jesus? Do you seek to be with Him, follow His
example and teaching, and be obedient to His commands and leading in your life?