Introduction
After more than forty days in the wilderness, Jesus comes through the time of temptation and embarks on a mission to start making disciples. He begins by calling people to “Come and see,” to come and investigate the facts of who He is. He then opens their eyes to the truth that He is the promised Messiah they have been waiting for. As they believe, He changes His message to “Follow Me.” Two calls — one to those who have not yet believed and one to those who believe. Notice on the map where Jesus is. He returns to Bethany, on the other side of the Jordan, where John had been baptising people (John 1:28). There were several towns called Bethany in Jesus’ day. One was a few miles outside of Jerusalem, home to Mary and Martha, who we will meet later and another was on the other side of the Jordan River. It is at the latter Bethany that Jesus makes these first two calls, “Come and see” and “Follow Me.” Dive into the story and be on the lookout for words that reveal Jesus’ humanity and deity.
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
John 1:19-51
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- Who is Jesus?
- What is Jesus modelling?
- What are His new followers experiencing (learning)?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
After having His identity confirmed by God the Father and then facing the enemy who tried to call into doubt the Word of the Father, Jesus returns to call His first followers. The first call is a simple one: “Come and you will see” (John 1:39). John and Andrew decide to check out Jesus and hear what He had to say. They follow him home and spend the evening getting to know Him. What did He tell them? Turn forward a few pages in your Bible and read Luke 24:27,32,44. In this later conversation Jesus had with His followers on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection, you will discover an example of what they probably talked about that night.
Jesus’ strategy is simple. First, He challenged people to “Come and see.” Then He would spend time with them and explain to them who He was. Jesus invited these two young men to come and spend time with Him. He simply shared with them who He was, probably using something they were very familiar with — the writings of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets (just as He would later on the road to Emmaus). He took them back to their Jewish roots and shared with them that He, Jesus, was the fulfilment of every Old Testament prophesy and He was the long-awaited One — the Messiah. What an experience that must have been!
It is obvious that after spending time with Jesus, these two young men were convinced of the fact that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. We can see this in their enthusiastic acceptance of Jesus’ message. Andrew runs to find his brother Peter and says, “‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ)” (John 1:41). Andrew then brought his brother to meet Jesus. What a simple plan! It is all about challenging people to come and see who Jesus is. We don’t have to argue them into the Kingdom; we can just call them to come and check out Jesus. Some will come and others will not. To those who come, we simply explain who Jesus is in words that they will understand. Using the Word of God, we share what God has said about Jesus and challenge them to confront the truth. That is our job — to take a step of faith to believe that God will open their minds to understand the Scriptures. Check it out in Luke 24:45. At the end of the day, we can call people to “Come and see”; we can explain clearly from Scripture who Jesus is, but we are ultimately dependent on God to open their minds to the truth and move them to accept Jesus. The third root is telling others about truth of Jesus. In this story, four people give testimony of who Jesus is: John the Baptist: “‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29); Jesus: “‘Come and you will see’” (John 1:39); Andrew: “‘We have found the Messiah’” (John 1:41); and Philip: “‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the Prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph…Come and see” (John 1:45-46).
It is interesting how quickly these new followers picked up on Jesus’ simple strategy of multiplication. Jesus challenged them to “Come and see,” and Andrew and Philip did the same. Andrew called Peter his brother and Philip called his friend Nathanael. The call to follow is the first call that we received and the first call we give those with whom we come in contact with. “Come check out Jesus. Come take a look at the claims of Christ.” That is our job. Simply call people to come and see. Not too hard, is it?
“What is Jesus modeling?”
Jesus is modeling the call to discipleship and salvation. He calls us to leave our old lives behind and follow Him. We see that all the disciples were given the opportunity to find their lives in Christ with the sacrifice of losing their old lives. It shows what it means to actually follow Him & become a witness. It’s important for me to understand that not only do I need to grow in my relationship with Christ, but I’m reminded of all the people that do not know him yet. This gives me a wake up call to show my commitment and invite others along on the journey and spread the good news.
Today’s reading showed Christ in all his greatness. John’s explanation to the Pharisees when asked why he is baptizing people was brilliant. He used Christ to answer, he confessed and revealed the Son of God. John is merely baptizing people in water, Jesus is the one who is to baptize us in the name of the Holy Spirit. That is who Jesus is in my opinion. The one who saves and saved by the ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus’ new followers, who were curious and seeking to know more about Him, received a personal invitation to “come and see” and learn more about Him. Then some even got a more personal and life changing invitation to “follow” Him. And in following Him, some received a new name to signify a new life, while others continue to invite more to “come and see” who Jesus is.
Who is Jesus?
I think I saw a different aspect of Jesus today. I realized that He’s a king who knows his people. Often times I think in life we can get excited when someone we admire knows who we are. It can be our hero, a celebrity, or even the person we have romantic feelings for; when they notice us we get excited. So here is the King of the universe addresing Nathanel & Philip, he even promises them a chance to go join him in heaven. Thats like a celebrity knowing your name and inviting you to hang out with them in their crib… Except now its God, (someone who is cooler than celebs) and so we should celebrate that the ruler of the world is on our side.