Sun, Apr 12th - 6:27PM
BOOK OF JOHN
"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where do you dwell?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where He dwelled, and abode with Him that day: for it was about the tenth hour of the day. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first went and found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jona: you shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."
John 1:35-42
Here we witness Andrew's discovery of Jesus and what his response was. Andrew's experience, surprisingly, was simple and somewhat like the experience of very many people who come to Christ. Andrew "stood" where preaching was taking place. John the Baptist had been holding his "campaign" around the Jordan River. Andrew, who had an ache, a yearning, for the Word of God, had got interested in what was happening and had attended the meetings, and at some point had become a follower of John. The point here? Andrew hungered for righteousness; therefore he took advantage of the opportunity to hear solid preaching of God's Word. He was there to hear the Messiah proclaimed.
Andrew "heard" the preacher speak. He listened to the message, staying focused upon what was being said. He was alert and aware so when the announcement that the Messiah had come, he was ready. Of course, appropriate to this time of the year is the proclamation, "Behold the Lamb of God!" We see that Andrew "followed Jesus." The word "followed" is in the Greek aorist tense, meaning a once-for -all action. Andrew turned to Jesus, ready to commit to Him. These same three steps must be taken by each of us: We must stand where the Word, Christ Himself, is preached. We must have a hunger that drives us to hear preaching, a hunger that drives us to stay alert and awake to hear the Word proclaimed. We must then hear the Word, the announcement: the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the entire world. Finally, we must choose to follow Jesus (John 8:12, 10:27, 12:26; Hosea 6:3).
Of course, people will miss Christ. Two things basically will cause us to miss Him. If we do not stand where Christ is being preached: standing elsewhere in the world, in self, in the flesh, or standing in the midst of those who do not care for Christ nor for the preaching of the Word. The other thing is if we do not hear: allowing our mind to wander or be distracted, being sleepy, disinterested, or simply not paying attention.
We should notice some significant facts about John the Baptist: first, his message was all about Christ, the Lamb of God, come to take away the sin of the world. Second, his purpose was to point people toward Christ, even his own disciples were pointed in that direction. Third, his spirit was just filled with enormous humility. He was completely selfless, without inflated ego.
All of the basics of spreading the Word are found in this passage. The invitation to come to Christ is here. Many people will behold Christ but not choose to follow Him anywhere. The work of Christ's disciples today is to look for those who hear the invitation and choose to come to Christ. Jesus' extends His invitation to "Come and see" immediately. Andrew and Simon Peter wanted to see where Jesus was staying, to discover where He was dwelling. Of course, Jesus meant far more than simply seeing where He was physically staying. He spoke of seeing the Truth and learning all about Him. These two men then chose to remain in Jesus' presence. Note here: their choice changed their lives forever. This fact remained more than 50 years later when this got written down. How is it that John, the author of this book, can remember this turning point in the lives of these two men so clearly? Could it be that he is the "other disciple" that was with Andrew? John's life was forever changed as well, this meeting of Jesus was the turning point in his life.
Andrew stated that he had found the Messiah. Witnessing of the preaching had convicted his heart of the truth. Andrew had met Jesus personally, just as each person today must still meet Jesus personally. The word "beheld" means to look upon with an intense, earnest look, to concentrate, to stare and gaze upon. Jesus, in other words, looked into the innermost being of Peter. Jesus then told Peter that "you shall be called" Cephas. This is future tense, his name would be changed. He would become changed from a self-centered, defensive, overbearing, and carnal man into a strong, solid, immovable and unbreakable rock for God.
This is exactly what Jesus will do with each and everyone who hears the Word, believes the Word, and follows Jesus in their heart. They will become changed people. This is how our world can become transformed. One changed heart at a time. This is the kingdom work that Christ assigns to believers today: pointing people towards Jesus, showing them where He dwells, letting them hear the Word of God being preached, and then allow them to meet Jesus personally.
That is all for tonight my friends. May God greatly bless you and your family during these stressful times of dealing with the coronavirus.
Amen
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Name: Eric Rajaniemi
