Beginning in John 1:19, we find ourselves reading the events of a single week in the life of John the Baptist and Jesus. Let's start today by simply rereading 1:19-28, day 1.
(19) And this is the testimony of John,
when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites
in order that they would ask him,
"Who are you?":
(20) and he confessed,
and he did not deny,
and he confessed that,
"I am not the Christ,"
(21) and they asked him,
"Then, who?",
You, Elijah, are you?,
and he says,
"I am not."
"The prophet, are you?",
and he answered,
"No."
(22) Then they said to him,
"Who are you?",
in order that an answer we may give to the ones sending us.
What do you say about yourself?
(23) He said,
"I am a voice crying out in the wilderness,
'Make straight the way of the Lord,'
just as Isaiah the prophet said,"
(24) and they were the ones being sent from the Pharisees,
(25) and they asked him,
and they said to him,
"Then why are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
(26) John answered, saying,
"I baptize with water.
In your midst stands one whom you don't know.
The one after me is coming,
whom I am not worthy,
that I would loose the strap of his sandal.
(28) These things in Bethany happened on the other side of the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Our story continues, in verse 29, day 2:
(29) On the next day, he sees Jesus coming toward him,
and he says,
Look! The Lamb of God-- the one taking away the sin of the world.
(30) This one is about whom I said,
"After me a man is coming,
who ahead of me is,
because earlier than me he was,
and I didn't know him,
but [in order that he could be revealed to Israel] , for this reason I came,
with water baptizing,
Let's pause here. Why did John the Baptist come? Why was he sent by God? John came to reveal God's chosen one to Israel. In the gospel of John, "the Judeans" are consistently described (portrayed) negatively. Jesus came to his own, and his own didn't receive him (John 1:10-11). But this rejection was not what God wanted. God wanted Jesus to be clearly revealed to Israel, and then received by Israel. And John's role, in all of this, is simply to point to Jesus. And that's exactly what he does. "LOOK! Here is the Lamb of God, the preexistent one!"
AJ continues, in verse 32:
(32) and John testified/witnessed, saying,
"I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven,
and he abided upon him,
(33) and I didn't know him,
but [the One sending me to baptize with water] -- That One to me said,
'[Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on him] -- this one is the one baptizing with the Holy Spirit,
and I have seen,
(34) and I have witnessed/testified,
that this one is the chosen one of God.
Last week, John the Baptist had told the Jews that Jesus was standing in their midst, and they didn't know him.
Here, John acknowledges that he didn't automatically "know" Jesus either. This knowledge about who Jesus is, is something that has to be revealed to people by God. And God revealed it to John by telling him that the one had the Spirit descend on him, and abide upon him, is God's chosen one.
Now, there's a textual issue here. Some manuscripts say "the chosen one" of God. Others have, "the Son of God."
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On John 1:34:
Brannan, R., & Loken, I. (2014). The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible (Jn 1:34). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
? ???e?t?? t?? ?e??
And I have seen and testify that this one is the Chosen One of God.
One very early manuscript and a few other early witnesses have “the Chosen One of God,” but most other early and later witnesses have “the Son of God.” Both titles refer to the same person, so there is no great difference in understanding the passage. The difference is largely found in what is emphasized by the expression, whether the chosen status of Jesus or his divine sonship.
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And it's hard to know which is correct. But, it's more likely, maybe, that a copyist read "the chosen one," and changed it to language more common in John, than the reverse. So the harder reading is maybe right.
Let me just pause on this point, and talk about the KJV. One of the things that staunch King James only Bible people focus on, is how other English Bibles "change" the King James. Some of them will say that the NIV waters down the KJV here, or takes away from Jesus' glory. This is nonsense. No one who adopts the reading "the chosen one of God" argues that Jesus isn't the Son of God, or that the gospel of John isn't clear on that point elsewhere. No one is trying to subvert Christianity, or draw the church away from the truth. They just think "the chosen one of God" is the more likely reading, on balance. But either is possible.
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Now, if Jesus is being called "the chosen one of God" here, the language is echoing Isaiah 42:1-9. Let's turn there, and read (ESV):
42 Behold (LOOK!) my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
John says that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 42. He is God's chosen one. He is the one who is given as a covenant for the people, and as a Light to free people from darkness.
And, verse 1, he is the one on whom the Spirit rests (Isa. 42:1).
Now, lots of people in Israel's history were filled with the Holy Spirit at one time or another. The judges were given great strength and courage through God's Holy Spirit. The prophets spoke the words of God, as they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
But these fillings were (usually?) not permanent fillings. They were temporary, for specific purposes (I'm not sure this is right, actually). When the Spirit descended on Jesus, the Spirit came permanently. The Spirit "abided" upon Jesus. This is something new. The Holy Spirit lives with Jesus, in a way that the world hasn't seen before. This connection between the Jesus and the Holy Spirit is critical. Our lives as Jesus' disciples depend on this connection.
Now, let's pause, and step back to try to view this day as a whole. Throughout this section, what does John do? John calls people's attention to Jesus. He is a witness. He testifies to everyone about who Jesus is. He reveals him to everyone. He fulfills the purpose for which God sent him.
What John is doing, really, is pointing people to Jesus. He's doing the one job God gave him.
You cannot make too big a deal of Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God-- the one who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is God's chosen one. Jesus is the one on whom the Holy Spirit abides. And if these truths grab you the way they should, how can you not point others to Jesus? If evangelism in the local church is dead, it's dead because people don't really understand and value who Jesus is, and what Jesus came to do. And no amount of encouragement, or shaming, or training, will make anyone point others to Jesus, if they don't live in gratitude to Jesus for what he's done.
Our story continues in verse 35, day 3:
(35) On the next day, again John had been standing there, along with from his disciples, two,
(36) and gazing at Jesus walking by, he says,
"Look! The Lamb of God,"
John continues to bear witness to Jesus. Only this time, his testimony is heard, and acted on. Verse 37:
(37) and his two disciples heard [him] speaking,
and they followed Jesus.
This language about "following" is discipleship language in the gospel of John (John 6:2; 8:12; 10:4, 5, 27; 12:26; 13:36, 37; 18:15; 21:22). Part of what it means to be a Christian, is to "follow Jesus." You walk where Jesus walks. And you follow the path that Jesus walked.
And, note: These two disciples of John, leave John the Baptist, to follow Jesus (anticipating 3:30). They hear John's words, and know that they are seeing the More Important One. They understand that Jesus is the one you really want to "follow."
The story continues, in verse 38:
(38) Now, Jesus, turning around and seeing them following, says to them,
"What are you seeking?"
It's possible to read Jesus' words at a surface level. Jesus sees a couple guys following him on the road, and wonders what they are doing. If someone was following me, I'd wonder the same thing. I'd maybe ask them what they are doing.
But in the gospel of John, there is often a higher level of meaning that we are expected to catch. Jesus, understanding that these two men have made a decision to begin following Jesus, asks them the fundamental question for all of human life. "What are you seeking"? What is it that you want? What's important to you?
We all know how we are supposed to answer that. We are supposed to seek Jesus. We are supposed to follow him, and not other things. And not Jesus+ something else (as in John 6:2; 8:12).
But what's the truth? What are you actually seeking?
The two men don't answer Jesus. The question just hangs. "What are you seeking?"
Instead, we read this:
Now, they said to him,
"Rabbi-- which means, when translated, 'teacher'-- where do you abide?"
So Jesus gave them an opening, to ask or say anything they wanted. What could they have asked? They could've asked Jesus what John the Baptist meant, when he called Jesus the Lamb of God. They could've asked Jesus if he was the one coming after John, who was greater than John because he was before John. They could've asked if Jesus was Messiah (h/t Whitacre).
But instead, they ask Jesus this: "Where do you abide?"
Now, rabbis in the first century didn't normally travel from place to place. They had a home, and they gathered disciples to themselves. And if you wanted to be a rabbi's disciple, you would go to him-- to where he abides.
So what it sounds like the two men are doing here, is trying to define Jesus in ways that they can understand. They heard Jesus being called the Lamb of God-- the one who takes away the sin of the world-- but they try to view Jesus as a rabbi, and they express interest in becoming this rabbi's disciples (h/t Moloney).
So that's what the two men ask. And that's what they mean. But we, as AJ's readers, are not supposed to take this question at face value. We are expected to hear the higher level of meaning that's hidden in this question. We are supposed to hear what they are accidentally asking, and accidentally mean.
Where does Jesus abide? Let's turn back to John 1:18:
"No one has ever seen God.
"The unique son(/God), the one being toward the chest of the Father, has made him known."
Where does Jesus abide? With his Father. Toward his Father.
So the disciples ask Jesus this question-- while not really understanding who Jesus is, and where he abides. There is a lot they don't know. And so the two men are like the Judeans (John 1:26), and like John the Baptist (John 1:33). Everyone starts off, not knowing who Jesus is.
How does Jesus answer their question? Verse 39:
(39) He says to them,
"Come and see."
Jesus invites them to come with him, and see. Jesus promises them that he will reveal to them where he abides, if they come to him.
What is Jesus going to show them? We are supposed to read into Jesus' words as well. Jesus isn't just going to show them four walls and a roof. Jesus is going to show them that he abides with the Father.
AJ continues, still in verse 39:
Then they came,
and they saw where he abides,
and with him they abided that day.
It was about the tenth hour.
The two men accept Jesus' invitation, and they choose to "abide" with Jesus. This, along with "following," is discipleship language. And so what we see is two people take their first steps of faith toward full discipleship. They have come to Jesus. They are following Jesus. They are abiding with Jesus.
Do they fully understand what it means to be a disciple? Do they fully understand who Jesus is? Not at all.
But there is a huge difference between how these two men respond to Jesus, and how the Judeans responded. The two men have started down the right road-- they left John the Baptist, to follow Jesus. They've come to the right place, and the right person. And Jesus promises them that when they do that, that he will show them where he abides.
The day continues, in verses 40-41:
(40) Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter,
one of the two hearing from John,
and following him.
(41) This one finds first his own brother Simon,
and he says to him,
"We have found the Messiah," (which is translated 'Christ').
In verse 40, AJ kind of hits the pause button on the story for a second, letting us know that one of the two men who had heard from John, and had been following John, was Andrew. [And AJ shows, by this, that he is writing to people who are familiar with Jesus' story as it's told in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke).]
Andrew, having left John to follow Jesus, "first" finds his own brother Simon to tell him the good news. He says, "We have found the Messiah." The first thing you do, when you "find" Jesus, is let people know who you've found. It's too good of news not to share, right? And here, Andrew reveals what he "knows" to be true about Jesus. Even though he addressed Jesus as "Rabbi," he "knows" that Jesus is the Messiah. Now, we as readers know from AJ's introduction that Jesus is more than this. But understanding that Jesus is Messiah is a very good start.
Verse 42:
(42) He led him toward Jesus.
Seeing him, Jesus said,
"You are Simon-- the son of John.
You will be called Cephas (which is translated 'Peter').
When Christians talk about evangelism, one of the ways they often describe it is as "leading people to Jesus." (although "toward" is maybe more helpful, thinking about it). And I wonder if that language comes from John 1:42. I'm not quite sure what we normally mean when we talk that way. But what AJ means, I think, is that part of what it means to be Jesus' disciple is to lead others closer and closer to Jesus. You point them in the right direction-- toward the One who is Light, and Life. This doesn't mean that you "saved" them. It means, you lead them to the place, where they find themselves with Jesus. You bring them to the Light, and then see what happens when they, and the Light, meet.
So that's what Andrew does.
And Jesus, seeing Simon, said this:
"You are Simon-- the son of John. You will be called Cephas/Rock (which is translated 'Peter').
Jesus sees Simon, and he has supernatural knowledge about who Simon is. No one has to introduce Simon to Jesus. Jesus already knows who people are.
And Jesus doesn't just know who people are. He can look into the future, and tell who people will be. Jesus here, seeing Simon for the first time, knows that Simon is going to be called the Rock. What does this mean? Maybe, in about 6 months, we will get our answer (John 21:15-19).
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This room is filled with people who have reached different levels of understanding about who Jesus is. Some of us, hopefully, understand who Jesus is, truly, and fully. And we have made the decision to come to Jesus, and follow him, and abide with him. We understand discipleship language, and we've made the decision to live as Jesus' disciples.
Others of us, maybe, find ourselves just beginning this journey. You know enough about Jesus, to know that this is where you should be on a Sunday morning. You know enough, to know that there is truth, and light, in Jesus. There is something to all of this that's more real than everything else in the world. There is something to Jesus that you know you're missing, and you know that you desperately need. Your life is hollow. And have this vague sense that Jesus fills that empty space.
What we are going to see in the gospel of John, is that if this is you, that this is a perfectly acceptable starting point for faith in Jesus. No one automatically understands who Jesus is, or what he wants.
But if you want to really know who Jesus is, and what he wants, the first step is to come to Jesus. What does this mean? How can we do this?
You can't literally follow Jesus, right? You can't spend evenings with him at his house after work. You can't go fishing with him.
The way you come to Jesus now, is through this book (and through the church). The gospel of John works as an invitation. Come and see who Jesus is. Come and see what Jesus wants. Come and see where Jesus abides.
The fact that you are here is proof that there is a voice inside of you, calling you to Jesus. Listen to that voice-- it's the voice of God (John 6:44).
But when you read this book, and get to know Jesus, understand that you can't come to Jesus as a scientific observer. You're not in a science lab, dissecting a frog. You're not a historian, reconstructing the life and teachings of Jesus. The gospel of John is a pushy book, that demands a decision about who Jesus is. And you will either embrace this book as being God's truth, or you will reject it as being foolish lies.
My encouragement to you is this: Come toward Jesus. Come closer, and see who Jesus is. Come and see where Jesus abides. Acknowledge that there is light here, and truth.
Listen to the voice that's calling you to come toward Jesus.
Translation:
(29) On the next day, he sees Jesus coming toward him,
and he says,
Look! The Lamb of God-- the one taking away the sin of the world.
(30) This one is about whom I said,
"After me a man is coming,
who ahead of me is,
because earlier than me he was,
and I didn't know him,
but [in order that he could be revealed to Israel] , for this reason I came,
with water baptizing,
and John testified/witnessed, saying,
"I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven,
and he abided upon him,
(33) and I didn't know him,
but [the One sending me to baptize with water] -- That One to me said,
'[Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on him] -- this one is the one baptizing with the Holy Spirit,
and I seen,
(34) and I have witnessed/testified,
that this one is the chosen one of God.
(35) On the next day, again John had been standing there, along with from his disciples, two,
(36) and gazing at Jesus walking by, he says,
"Look! The Lamb of God,"
(37) and his two disciples heard [him] speaking,
and they followed Jesus.
(38) Now, Jesus, turning around and seeing them following, says to them,
"What are you seeking?"
Now they said to him,
"Rabbi-- which means, when translated, 'teacher'-- where do you abide?"
(39) He says to them,
"Come and see."
Then they came,
and they saw where he abides,
and with him they abided that day.
It was about the tenth hour.
(40) Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter,
one of the two hearing from John,
and following him.
(41) This one finds first his own brother Simon,
and he says to him,
"We have found the Messiah," (which is translated 'Christ').
(42) He led him toward Jesus.
Seeing him, Jesus said,
"You are Simon-- the son of John.
You will be called Cephas (which is translated 'Peter').
