Jesus, Messiah John 1:35-42
Our text today describes Jesus’ third day of ministry as the Kingdom of God is inaugurated in the very Person of Jesus Christ and it gives the context of becoming a disciple of Jesus; we read in John 1:35-42:
“The next day again John (the Baptist) was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples (John’s) 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?" 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
Steps in spiritual growth as DISCIPLES
Jesus begins to call His disciples together and begins with Andrew and one other disciple, who most say it probably of John the Apostle, the author of this Gospel. The text actually demonstrates steps in spiritual growth as DISCIPLES of Jesus. Although the Baptist had his own disciples, those who followed him and were his pupils, his own message of purpose was being the forerunner for the “The Lamb”, he knew that Jesus must increase and he must decrease: In the first day John testified to the Jews; on the second day he bore witness concerning Jesus, and on this third day, he points his own disciples to Jesus. John knew that his ministry was only a small part of the greater picture and the Son of God makes His entrance and introduces the Kingdom of God.
I imagine that John the Baptist had relayed all of his testimony face to face with his disciples, as only a good teacher would do. He probably prepared them for this moment, when Jesus walked by and he declared to them: “This is the Lamb of God!” And when they heard him, THEY FOLLOWED. “FOLLOWING” is taking that first step of faith concerning what you have HEARD and KNOW concerning Jesus. When THE Truth with a capital “T” is revealed to you, and you see Jesus for who He is according to God’s Word, you follow Him. The call of Jesus requires an urgent DECISION to turn in repentance to God, which means a life is turned 180 degrees TO God. It means that by God-given faith you can now live in the light of God’s Kingdom rule in your life. It means that you WILL center your life on the person and work of Jesus as the fullness of the “Good News”: Jesus IS the Gospel!
This is why Disciples of Jesus COMMIT to the person of Jesus: They commit to being taught by their TEACHER. Their desire is always to stay with their teacher and to learn more from Him. Matthew introduces us to Jesus as Messiah, the King of the Jews and the King of God’s Kingdom, that Jesus rules and that His Kingdom subjects humbly submit to Him alone because they KNOW that He will one day return as the VICTORIOUS KING. Mark shows that Jesus came from Heaven as the Servant of God, emphasizing His Service and Sacrifice. Luke shows Jesus as “the Son of Man” in His humanity, rejected by Israel, yet offered to the world on the cross as the sacrifice from God without sin. John reveals Jesus as the Word from God, the Christ,/Messiah, the Lamb of God and the Son of God. Disciples of Jesus are committed to Him BECAUSE He is their Messiah, God’s Servant, Your Savior, the King of Heaven come as God’s Servant, the One and Only Unique Son of God and Son of Man. It’s still the best news on earth!
And so a pattern is immediately established as God uses one disciple to find another. These disciples did not immediately KNOW and understand everything; they still had much to learn. But as Jesus teaches us all about Himself, we go into the world to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us. (Matt 28:19-20) God draws sinners into His Kingdom, THROUGH the MESSAGE of the Gospel: “We have seen the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The pattern continues today: Disciples share the great news with others that, "We, too, have found the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World"… AND…That Lamb IS MESSIAH: We have found THE “Anointed One”, the Christ (in Gr.) sent from God, not to only liberate Israel, but to be Savior from sin for all those who repent, believe, trust and obey.
“FINDING” MESSIAH
There are at least 65 Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus/Messiah/the Anointed One: Priests and kings were anointed and set aside for God’s work. Look at the Heidelberg Catechism and what it says about Jesus’ title as THE Christ:
Lord’s Day 12 of the Catechism: Question #31: Why is he called Christ, that is, Anointed (Messiah)? Answer: Because he has been ordained by God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, (1 ) to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, (2) who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption;( 3) our only High Priest, (4) who by the one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us, (His vicarious atonement; we talked about that last week.) (5) and who continually intercedes for us before the Father; (6) and our eternal King, (7) who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us. (8)”
(1. Ps 45:7 (Heb 1:9); Is 61:1 (Lk 4:18); Lk 3:21, 22. 2. Deut 18:15 (Acts 3:22). 3. Jn 1:18; 15:15. 4. Ps 110:4 (Heb 7:17). 5. Heb 9:12; 10:11-14. 6. Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 1 Jn 2:1. 7. Zech 9:9 (Mt 21:5); Lk 1:33. 8. Mt 28:18-20; Jn 10:28; Rev 12:10, 11. 32.)
Psalm 2 says this about the Messiah (selected verses): 2 “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, (God’s Anointed, His “mashiyach”, His Messiah), 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." (Defiance against the Holy God and His Christ.) 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 "I have installed my King (the Lord Jesus) on Zion, my holy hill." 7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”
Jesus Messiah is “found” by those who humbly seek Him. Isaiah 55: 6-7 teaches us to: “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way (that is, REPENT) and the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Jeremiah 29: 12-14 also says: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD.”
Truly seeking Him and FINDING Him is the strongest indication that you have been found BY HIM, and so FINDING the MESSIAH inevitably MEANS FOLLOWING HIM
The next Question in the catechism is: Why are you called a Christian? Answer: Because I am a member of Christ by faith (1) and thus share in his anointing, (2) so that I may as prophet confess his name, (3) as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him, (4) and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, (5) and hereafter reign with him eternally over all creatures. (6)” WE ENJOU OUR MESSIAH NOW, but there is much more to come!
(1.) 1 Cor 12:12-27. 2.) Joel 2:28 (Acts 2:17); 1 Jn 2:27. 3.) Mt 10:32; Rom 10:9, 10; Heb 13:15. 4.) Rom 12:1; 1 Pet 2:5, 9, 5.) Gal 5:16, 17; Eph 6:11; 1 Tim 1:18, 19. 6.) Mt 25:34; 2 Tim 2:12.)
As a FOLLOWER of Christ, I share in his anointing: Because He is my Savior, He is the center of my life. I live and exist in the light of the Gospel of His Love for me, which is in me, and as a result, I present myself as a living sacrifice, being obedient to the things He commands me to do, BECAUSE I am closely following Him. (Eph. 2:8-10) I want to choose the BEST WAY to bring Him gratitude and glory because He reigns over me and in me with His Spirit. As I continue to follow Him, maybe even to death, the promise is that I will reign with Him in His forever Kingdom, not because of anything that I have accomplished, but only because I am doing what He ordained me to do. It is only through Christ’s work of faith and being born of God, that I am cleansed and anointed with the Holy Spirit in order to serve Him.
A New Name Given by God
Verses 41-42 said: “He (Andrew) first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
Jesus gives Simon a new name, not because he is solid in his faith from the start, but Jesus anticipates the changing work in Peter by God’s Grace. He changes his name from Simon, which means “to hear, listen to, or obey” (which is CERTAINLY the starting point in faith) TO “rock or stone”) Peter was anything BUT a rock in the Gospels, but after Pentecost’s Holy Spirit empowering, he was God’s powerful instrument of the Gospel. God gave him a new identity, that he would be rock-solid in Christ. By faith, Jesus is our faithful spiritual rock, even as 1 Cor. 10:4 alluded to the Old Testament saints: 4 “and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.”
The Pre-Incarnate Christ of the Old Testament is revealed in the Flesh to the disciples of the New Testament. The Rock, Peter, would later declare to Jesus in the presence of others in Matthew 16:16: "You are the Christ,(the Messiah) the Son of the living God." Change in Peter, as in all of the disciples, would be accomplished by the Power of God through His Spirit, His Word and His Work, God’s work of Grace! Peter would later write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 2:4-5: “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Peter is an example of every true believer in Christ, royal subjects of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings…forever.
Jesus called His first disciples, not because of their credentials, but because HE HIMSELF chose them, He Himself taught them, and He HIMSELF gave them the authority to bear witness to the Truth of Himself: And so the Church of Jesus Christ would be established on the eyewitness accounts of the disciples chosen by Jesus, the giver of Life to stone-hard hearts whom He turns into Living Stones.
These first disciples knew what being a disciple of John meant, but did not fathom the extent of what it would mean to be a follower of Jesus. “Following Jesus” would take on a far deeper meaning: Jesus would say: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” For those closest to Jesus, following Christ would mean identifying with Him in suffering and eventually death, but not until Jesus FIRST GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THEM. It is no different today. May God work in such a way in our hearts and lives that we would deny ourselves in order to follow Him, that we might be effective witnesses for our Savior who first died for us, so that we might no longer live to ourselves but to Him alone.
OUTLINE:
I. The Word demonstrates steps in spiritual growth as DISCIPLES of Jesus.
A. The Baptist’s message concerning “The Lamb” points his own disciples to Jesus. B. “FOLLOWING” is taking a step of faith concerning what you have HEARD and KNOW concerning Jesus.
C. Disciples of Jesus COMMIT to the person of Jesus.
D. A pattern is established as God uses one disciple to find another.
II. “We have “FOUND” the MESSIAH”. (the Anointed, the Christ)
A. Jesus is Christ because He has been ordained by God and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be our Prophet and Teacher, our High Priest and Redeemer, and our Eternal King, who governs, defends and preserves us by His Power.
B. Jesus is “found” by those who humbly seek Him. (Isaiah 55: 6-7, Jere. 29:12-14) C. Truly “FINDING the MESSIAH” means FOLLOWING Him.
III. A New Name Given by God.
A. A new name is given, anticipating the changing work by God’s Grace.
(1 Cor. 10:4: 4 (“to hear, listen to, or obey” TO “rock or stone”)
B. Change would be accomplished by the Power of God through His Spirit, His Word and His Work. (Rev. 3:12, 2:17, 22:4, 1 Pet 2:4-5)
