Read: John 1:35-42
We live in a culture saturated with visual stimuli. You no longer have to read an account of an event or place. Just Google an image or type your search into YouTube and you can see almost anything at any time in any location. Never has the statement, "seeing is believing" been truer. While technology has increased access to events and places never before accessible to our eyes, the hunger to see the unseen remains and long preceded present technology.
John the Baptist’s disciples must have heard John speak of the coming Messiah many times. They were also present as the Pharisees questioned him at the Jordan River. While they may not have known His name or seen His face, their curiosity had no doubt been piqued by John’s description. As John is baptizing his younger cousin, Jesus, the Spirit descends on Him and John comes to know that this is the Messiah (John 1:35-37). The man the disciples had only heard about was suddenly standing before their eyes. They too witnessed the Spirit descending and heard the voice proclaiming, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Two of John’s disciples left John to follow Jesus after His baptism. Most people agree the two were Andrew and John. Andrew would later bring his brother Peter along, and John would begin to refer to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.”
The first words of Jesus in John's Gospel may have been the first words He ever directed to the Gospel writer: "What do you want?"… a simple yet profound question for anyone seeking to follow Jesus. I imagine Andrew and John stammering and stumbling over their words as they try to answer the question. What do you say to God when He asks, "What do you want?" When they finally answered, the best they could come up with was, "Rabbi, we want to know where you are staying." In addressing Jesus as "Rabbi," they were expressing their desire to become his disciples. Jesus welcomes them, not with an answer to their question, but with an invitation to "come and see," for that is truly the only way any would-be disciple of Jesus finds His dwelling place.
We live in a culture saturated with visual stimuli. You no longer have to read an account of an event or place. Just Google an image or type your search into YouTube and you can see almost anything at any time in any location. Never has the statement, "seeing is believing" been truer. While technology has increased access to events and places never before accessible to our eyes, the hunger to see the unseen remains and long preceded present technology.
John the Baptist’s disciples must have heard John speak of the coming Messiah many times. They were also present as the Pharisees questioned him at the Jordan River. While they may not have known His name or seen His face, their curiosity had no doubt been piqued by John’s description. As John is baptizing his younger cousin, Jesus, the Spirit descends on Him and John comes to know that this is the Messiah (John 1:35-37). The man the disciples had only heard about was suddenly standing before their eyes. They too witnessed the Spirit descending and heard the voice proclaiming, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Two of John’s disciples left John to follow Jesus after His baptism. Most people agree the two were Andrew and John. Andrew would later bring his brother Peter along, and John would begin to refer to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.”
The first words of Jesus in John's Gospel may have been the first words He ever directed to the Gospel writer: "What do you want?"… a simple yet profound question for anyone seeking to follow Jesus. I imagine Andrew and John stammering and stumbling over their words as they try to answer the question. What do you say to God when He asks, "What do you want?" When they finally answered, the best they could come up with was, "Rabbi, we want to know where you are staying." In addressing Jesus as "Rabbi," they were expressing their desire to become his disciples. Jesus welcomes them, not with an answer to their question, but with an invitation to "come and see," for that is truly the only way any would-be disciple of Jesus finds His dwelling place.
Rabbi Jesus,
I long to see you like John and Andrew saw you. I admit following someone you have never seen can be difficult. Open my eyes of faith and allow me to see you in ways my eyes alone cannot. I want to follow you to your dwelling place and know that my willingness to follow will always precede my ability to see.
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