John 1:29-51
In the previous passage John the Baptist made it plain that he was not the Messiah but the one preparing the way for him by baptising those who would repent. Here we see the first reference to Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God’, the one who will take away humanities sin. (There are echoes in this of Abraham’s sacrifice, the Day of Atonement, the Passover, the sin offering, and Isaiah’s suffering servant). There is only one way this can happen, and so we have the first indicator of Jesus’ death. John has baptised Jesus and seen the Holy Spirit descend upon him. Jesus is anointed for his ministry and so begins to call his disciples.
As two of John’s disciples follow Jesus, we find that one of them is Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. The brothers both follow, as does Philip who is from the same town. John 1:45 tells us they are already convinced of who Jesus is. Philip in turn tells Nathaniel who is doubtful until Jesus demonstrates his supernatural knowledge of him. Jesus promises they will see the Kingdom of heaven coming down on the ‘Son of Man’.
The fact that Andrew was already following John suggests that there is a searching for truth and a hope in them that draws them to Jesus. His person, his character, words and action reveal who he is. There has been no prophetic word in Israel for 400 years, they are living under Roman occupation, there is a longing for a rescuer, the Messiah, to come. They know what the scriptures say about the Messiah and are convinced he is the one.
The invitation of Jesus and Philip is to ‘come and see’. That’s what we will do over the next few weeks.
Response: Choose a word, phrase, idea or action that strikes you as significant at this moment in your life and spend a few minutes reflecting on it.