Drawn To Jesus-4 Series

DRAWN TO JESUS—IV—John 1:35-51

Attention:

My being drawn to the field of biological oceanography.—always fascinated with the ocean & with animals.

I had no desire to be a tax consultant or an accountant—I can’t even imagine how tediously miserable I would be as either of those!

Likewise those who are either tax consultants or accountants can’t even imagine how tediously miserable they would be as a biological oceanographer!

BUT there is One in whom all men of all time should equally find fascination...They should all be drawn to Jesus Christ!

We are drawn to certain actions by what we believe.

John recalled the manner by which Jesus’ disciples first became convinced that He was Messiah.

Some will be drawn to follow Jesus as Messiah/Christ.

What draws/attracts disciples to Jesus Christ?

Why are disciples drawn/attracted to Jesus Christ?

Jn. 6:41-45—“The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father & mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus therefore answered & said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; & I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard & learned from the Father comes to Me.”

8 elements of a disciple’s draw/attraction to Christ Jesus.

We have already found that Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…

1. DIRECTION(:35-36)Discipleship

2. DISCOVERY(:37-39)

3. PRIORITY(:40-42a) Prioritize sharing

4. PROMISE(:42b)

5—Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…

INVITATION(:43-44)

Explanation:(:43-44)

:43—“The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, & He found Philip & said to him, “Follow Me.” ”

The “following” events(:43-51) occurred the day after Andrew, John & Simon Peter had become anticipative followers/disciples of Jesus.

Jesus decided to go to “Galilee.” We are not told His reason for “wanting” to go there.

“Galilee” here could be either the actual political province of “Galilee”(West of the Jordan) or the entire northern area of Palestine, inclusive of Lake Huleh(north) as well as both sides of the Sea of Galilee itself(east & west), the western portion much greater than eastern, stretching nearly to the Mediterranean sea but not including the maritime plain.—ISBE

Jesus Himself invited “Philip” to “follow” Him as He had with Andrew & John. Jesus simply states “Follow Me” to Philip. This implies Philip had some previous knowledge of Jesus’ identity or that Andrew, John, & Peter were following Jesus & influencing Philip’s decision.

“Found”(See 41, 45)—euriskw—1) To come upon, hit upon, to meet with; 2) To find by enquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, to find out by practice & experience; 3) To find out for one's self, to acquire, get, obtain, procure. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary eurw; which (together with another cognate form eurew) is used for it in all the tenses except the present & imperfect; To find (literally or figuratively).

“Philip”—Filippov—Philip = "lover of horses.” Strong—from filov[properly, dear, i.e. a friend; actively, fond, i.e. friendly (still as a noun, an associate, neighbor, etc.)] & ippov; ‘Fond of horses’; Philippus, the name of four Israelites.

“Follow”(See :37, 38)—akolouyew—1) To follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him; 2) To join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple—2a) Side with his party. Strong—from a(as a particle of union) & keleuyov(a road); properly--To be in the same way with, i.e. To accompany(specially--As a disciple).

:44—“Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew & Peter.”

North-east shore of the Sea of Galilee. Andrew & Peter were also from Bethsaida.

Bethsaida means ‘House of fishing’ or ‘Fisherman’s House,’ which is appropriate seeing that Andrew & Peter were fishermen as were James & John(Mat. 4:18-20).

“There were two Bethsaidas, one called Bethsaida Julias in Iturea(that in Lk. 9:10) or the Eastern Bethsaida, the other the Western Bethsaida in Galilee(Mk. 6:45), perhaps somewhere near Capernaum. This is the town of Andrew & Peter & Philip. Hence Philip would be inclined to follow the example of his townsmen.”—RWP

“Bethsaida” is generally considered to be located at the geographic top shore of the Sea of Galilee, though it is uncertain.—B&H Maps(The Ministry Of Jesus)

“Bethsaida”—Bhysaida—Strong—of Aramaic origin [compare tyb bah'-yith (a house) & dyu tsah’-yawd(a huntsman)]; Fishing-house; Bethsaida, a place in Palestine.

“City”—poliv—1) A city—1a) One's native city, the city in which one lives, 1b) The heavenly Jerusalem, 1c) The inhabitants of a city. Strong—probably from the same as polemov[from pelomai(to bustle); warfare(literally or figuratively; a single encounter or a series)], or perhaps from poluv[(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many]; A town(properly, with walls, of greater or less size).