Two guys have begun to follow Jesus. John the Witness points them to Jesus. Behold, the Lamb of God. The Messiah. The Son of God. They defect, abandon John entirely and begin following Jesus, Who asks them, what are you seeking? [38] What do you want? Jesus’ first recorded words in John’s book. What ARE you seeking?
They answer, where are You staying? [39 He says to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.] This is present tense. Be coming. Be constantly coming, coming to see where Jesus is. It’s open invitation, to join up WITH Him and what He’s doing. Pretty much He's giving them (and us!) a permanent open door. There is no interrupting Jesus. He’s NEVER too busy for us. NEVER scrolling thru Twitter or Insta… You and I are never an interruption. Come, and you will see. Come whenever you’re ready. Be coming. Daily bread, remember? Come right now in fact - what are you waiting for? Come and you WILL see...
Note what time it is. John tells us it was the tenth hour when Jesus invited them to come to the place where He was actually staying - we’re not sure where that was - but 10th hour means 4pm. I.e. it was late in the day, so He basically invited them to stay with Him the rest of the day. They came, didn’t know where He was staying exactly, probably camped out with Him that night. Dinner and a sleepover - at the last minute! You and I can never impose on Jesus. “Well I don’t want to impose.” You and I are never an imposition. He came for you! [Matt. 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.] C’mon over! Come and you will see.
[Heb. 11:1 Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.] Come first and THEN you see is not unusual when it comes to faith. [Heb. 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.] Go - I WILL show you when you get there. What kind of sign or proof had these two seen at this point? Nada. All they had was the witness of John the Witness.
Now, ONE of these first two disciples of Jesus was Andrew. [40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.]. Andrew is one of the Bar-Jonas brothers [Simon bar-Jonas]. Andrew’s brother Simon-Peter is better known to John’s readers, so John identifies Andrew as Simon-Peter’s brother. My lovely wife is called Coach Bug by the swim team - and since they know her much better than they know me, they get to calling me "Mr. Bug." Comes with the territory, right? Peter's brother.
What else do we know about Andrew? Well he really only appears two other times after this - once when some Greeks ask to see Jesus, and then at the feeding of the 5000: Andrew is the one who brings forward the boy with the 5 loaves and the 2 fishes (chapter 6!). But a few things here:
First, what about the second guy who leaves John the Witness to follow Jesus [40]? Author John never tells us who he is. Most commentators suggest that the 2nd guy is actually author John himself. I agree. John shows up unnamed in his book repeatedly.
But Andrew should be noted for one thing: [41 He finds first his own brother Simon and says to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus…] - he went and told his brother Peter, hey, we (John & I) found The Messiah. What does that tell us about Andrew? Andrew is a God•send. He points his brother to Jesus. He is the first disciple-making disciple of Jesus! In fact, if we each just found one other disciple for Jesus each year, we could actually disciple the whole world in 33yrs!
And these guys are all in as disciple(makers) cuz they’re convinced that they found the Messiah. How are Andrew (and John) SO persuaded that Jesus is The One? How much proof do they have? Not one sign. And to this point, Jesus has only spoken 5 words (in the Greek). Andrew and John believed the Witness… John the Witness told what HE knew about Jesus. He didn’t know everything, he didn’t have all the answers. He just told what he knew - and that was enough. He told what he knew, and people believed that. We are to tell what we know - and that is enough. Yes we keep learning, but we don’t wait to be a God•send! Blessed to be a blessing!
John tells us that Andrew went FIRST and told his brother. First before John, or first thing? NOTE: He didn’t even need the Great Commission…! John’s brother James does begin to follow Jesus, but for some reason John never tells us when or how that happens. Probably John did go and tell James, brought his brother to Jesus. Then in Acts James winds up being the first martyr. He’s the first one who is killed because they’re following Jesus. Do you think John has any regrets about being the one responsible? [no regrets, Phil 1.22-24] Probably John - who doesn’t like the limelight - is not likely to want to take credit for going and telling his brother about Jesus.
Now, look what happens when Andrew brings his brother to Jesus: [42 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).] Simon gets a new name! [The Rock] What is Jesus saying?
Simon you are rash and impulsive. There is a form of strength associated with that - but it’s not under My control. I am going to take this raw strength I’ve given you and refine it, transform it - into firmness and steadiness. IF you let Me. I’m going to make you [like a rock]. Like a piece of [granite]. Someone people can count on/look to. Simon-now-Peter will in fact become the de-facto leader and spokesperson for the disciples after Jesus ascends back to heaven. Now we may not all get a new name when we believe in Jesus, but with Jesus, we all get a new heart, a new start [2Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.].
One thing that stands out for me with Peter is that He will be the one who breaks the race barrier. He will be the one God uses, the first Jew to bring the Good News to the filthy Gentiles. Jews were supposed to bless the nations, but they had twisted their religion to where they avoided the nations. Peter becomes the first cross-cultural missionary! (altho the Lord DID have to twist his arm quite a bit?) Talk about a God•send! And talk about being a rock. He’s the one w “the stones” to cross the street to the other side of the tracks, to go to someone very different. [Granted God maybe didn’t give him much choice. But he could have done a Jonah…]
The Lord wants to do something similar with each one of us. He has given every one of us unique and special gifts. Strengths. And apart from Him, apart from His power and guidance, those strengths can be liabilities. Our strengths tempt us to trust in ourselves. To be self-sufficient. They can actually hold us back, get us into trouble. But in the hands of the Potter, we are molded into something heavenly. Someone He can use. [Metamorphosis]. Transformation. Someone through whom He can display His glory. His breathtaking goodness. God’s also given you a story, and like He did for Peter-the-piece-of-the-Rock, He will give you the stones to tell it. You & I tell what we know, and that will be enough. The Lord can and will and wants to use your unique God-given story and gifts to show His glory in and thru you in ways that help point people to Jesus - and others through them. He wants to make us each a disciple-maker! A God•send. Like Jesus. It’s hard work - but not for Jesus! Will you let Him do that…?
Relevant verses:
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Rev. 2:17 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
No comments:
Post a Comment