Why Jesus Had To Suffer Series

Our series is devoted to enabling you to place your faith in the Lord Jesus.

I invite you to find John 1 with me.

Remember, John’s gospel was written in order that you would believe in Jesus Christ. That you would trust in Jesus. The word “believe” appears more than seventy times throughout the Gospel of John. When the Bible repeats a word so many times in such a short space, it is doing this for emphasis.

Becoming a believer in Christ isn’t like voting on Jesus. Faith links you and unites you with Jesus Christ. Believing in Christ is more than casting a vote for Jesus as if you entered the voting booth. Instead, faith unites you with Christ. There is a vital life link between you and Christ, the Lord.

We pick up our story of John the Baptist and Jesus from a week.

Today’s Scripture

“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said 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. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas’ (which means Peter).

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered him, ‘Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:35-51).

1. It’s a Real Story

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me’” (John 1:43). The Gospel of John introduces you to names that will be repeated as you read his story: Philip, Andrew, Cephas or Peter, and Nathanael. John tells a story when he lost two disciples, two of his followers to Jesus.

1.1 A Quick Rewind

The Bible says it is the next day in verse 35. Previously, John’s gospel tells about a group of low-ranking priests goes out in a trail-like fashion to interrogate John the Baptist. The second day, John tells everyone who is the Lamb of God in verse 29. So now, on the third day, is the story where John will lose two of his disciples as they follow Jesus in verse 35.

1.2 Time, Place, and Location

You may not have a lot of experience reading the gospels, but this is reporting real facts that happened on a certain day, at a certain location, and at a specific time. John gives you the day. John gives you the time. John gives you the location. This is the third day in the first full week of the public ministry of Jesus.

In verse 39, the Bible says, “for it was about the tenth hour.” Back in verse 28, John even tells you where all this took place: “These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

John gives you the day. John gives you the time. John gives you the location. This is a real story in time, place, and location.

Why do I stress this is a real story that purports the facts?

1.3 Jesus the Disciple of John?

Reza Aslan is a professing Muslim who has received nominations for an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.