Jesus' First Followers (John 1:35-42)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.400 If you would please turn your attention now to John Chapter One, versus thirty 2 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:10.150 five through forty two. If you have a one of the bibles from the 3 00:00:10.349 --> 00:00:16.829 cart this is on page eight hundred and eighty six. Is the Fourth Gospel 4 00:00:16.910 --> 00:00:22.899 of the New Testament. In this passage John, thirty five through forty two, 5 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:27.699 Jesus is going to introduce us to some of his first followers. We've 6 00:00:27.739 --> 00:00:32.740 already learned about John The baptist. Now we hear about Andrew, his brother 7 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:38.130 Simon and a mystery disciple as well. But, as you'll see as we 8 00:00:38.250 --> 00:00:42.850 read this passage, the focus is not so much on these followers of themselves 9 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:48.770 as it is this certain patterns of following. This passage will teach us about 10 00:00:48.770 --> 00:00:53.320 how Jesus builds his kingdom and what it means to follow him. So let's 11 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:58.679 take a look out at now John Chapter One, verses thirty five through forty 12 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:03.590 two. The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples 13 00:01:04.629 --> 00:01:08.750 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, behold the lamb 14 00:01:08.790 --> 00:01:15.069 of God. The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. 15 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:19.620 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what are you seeking? 16 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:25.260 They said to him, rabbi, which means teacher. Where are you 17 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:30.579 staying? He said to them, come and you will see. So they 18 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:34.730 came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day for 19 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:38.730 it. It was about the ten hour. One of the two who heard 20 00:01:38.730 --> 00:01:45.530 John Speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon, Peter's brother. He first 21 00:01:45.530 --> 00:01:48.439 found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, we have found 22 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:53.959 the Messiah, which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked 23 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.239 at him and said, so you are Simon, the son of John. 24 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:07.110 You shall be called Kapus or Cephus, which means rock or Peter. You 25 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:23.219 may be seated. So if you're on the Internet much, you probably know 26 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:29.460 that the language of followers is something that's a very common and popular today. 27 00:02:30.530 --> 00:02:36.889 Someone may say I have five hundred followers on such and such social media platform. 28 00:02:37.250 --> 00:02:42.689 A company might boast, boast or promise your business that they can boost 29 00:02:42.729 --> 00:02:47.639 your followers by fifty percent if you do what they say. But of course 30 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.439 you don't have to be on the Internet to know what a follower is. 31 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:58.590 A follower is someone who follow Hellos. Right. It's a very simple idea. 32 00:02:58.629 --> 00:03:02.550 Kids. Maybe there's a boy or a girl at school that lots of 33 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:07.669 people follow around. Maybe you are the boy or the girl at school that 34 00:03:07.949 --> 00:03:15.020 people follow around. You see people following you. Who you follow says something 35 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:21.379 about who you are. Of course, doesn't necessarily mean you like that person, 36 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:27.250 but maybe you're forced to follow them in some way. No matter what, 37 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:31.129 though, it impacts you, says something about your life. It makes 38 00:03:31.169 --> 00:03:36.569 a difference. Who you follow directs your mind in a certain way, your 39 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:43.439 heart in a certain way, your feet literally in a certain way. So 40 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.879 in this Gospel, John has introduced us something about Jesus and the news that 41 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:52.240 he shares. And having introduced him, now he's going to start helping us 42 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:58.870 know what it means to follow him. So let's start. What I want 43 00:03:58.909 --> 00:04:03.430 to do is just walk through this passage, set it firmly in our minds 44 00:04:03.550 --> 00:04:10.460 by understanding and considering each of these events. So first verses thirty five and 45 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:15.860 thirty six, John Sees Jesus. The new scene begins in verse Thirty Five, 46 00:04:15.980 --> 00:04:20.980 with John the Baptist being sort of classic John The baptist, as we 47 00:04:21.100 --> 00:04:26.569 see the next day, a again, John was standing with to his his 48 00:04:26.769 --> 00:04:30.769 disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, behold 49 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:34.810 the lamb of God. This is something he's already said, even in this 50 00:04:35.009 --> 00:04:43.560 passage, in another way and in similar ways. As you read various commentaries 51 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:48.439 on this text, you'll see that preachers will often pause here to remind themselves 52 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:53.629 of something, and I'm going to do that too, and it's simply this. 53 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:59.389 Just because you've proclaimed Christ once doesn't mean you don't proclaim him again and 54 00:04:59.629 --> 00:05:04.949 again and again and again. If you're a realtor, you talk about real 55 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:11.180 estate, if you're a biologist, you talk about biology, and if you're 56 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:15.139 a Christian, especially if you're a Christian preacher teacher, you talk about Christ. 57 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:21.050 You talk about him a lot. Here's how Cyril of Alexandria puts it. 58 00:05:23.290 --> 00:05:27.769 The Baptist does not repeat the same explanation about the savior in vain. 59 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:33.129 It's a mark of excellence in teaching to implant a message that is not yet 60 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:40.800 understood into the souls of learners, without shrinking from repetition, but rather enduring 61 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:45.839 it for the benefit of the students. And Cyril and others also like to 62 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:49.629 point to Paul the Apostle, Paul who says in Philippians three, to write 63 00:05:49.709 --> 00:05:54.949 the same thing to you is not a bother to me, it is a 64 00:05:55.069 --> 00:06:00.470 safeguard for you. And we see John Doing this same thing verse thirty five. 65 00:06:00.709 --> 00:06:04.779 The next day, John the Baptist is saying the same thing again. 66 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:12.779 John the Baptist doesn't move on to a new message. As a preacher of 67 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:17.649 Christ, his commission stays the same, to testify to the lamb of God 68 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:21.730 who, as he says in Verse Twenty Nine, takes away the sins of 69 00:06:21.810 --> 00:06:28.290 the world and, we might add, all the more necessary as Jesus walks 70 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:34.759 by. Whenever Christ is present, Christians should stop, take notice, focus 71 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:40.439 their attention on him so that they might proclaim him, praise him, confess 72 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:45.959 him, worship him follow him. Well, that takes us to verse thirty 73 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.709 seven. Then, as disciples, then follow Jesus. Happily for John, 74 00:06:50.870 --> 00:06:56.629 his preaching does not go unheard this time. In verse thirty seven we read 75 00:06:56.709 --> 00:07:01.939 what happens next. The disciples reheard John's simple sermon about Jesus and they followed 76 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:10.300 Jesus. That's quite a switch, isn't it? They were called John's disciples 77 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:15.889 and now they're called Jesus is disciples. They're following Jesus with their feet. 78 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:19.370 Now we don't know exactly how much they truly under stood at this point, 79 00:07:20.089 --> 00:07:25.569 but that's okay. I think it's safe to say that any commitment to Christ 80 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:30.399 is better than no commitment at all. Any following of Jesus is better than 81 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:35.000 no following him at all. Be careful, though, as we see in 82 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:41.519 the coming chapters, it's not enough to follow Jesus externally if we don't follow 83 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:46.670 him internally as well. Following Jesus in an external way, I think, 84 00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:51.230 is better than nothing, but it's not saving. Jesus wants all of us, 85 00:07:51.310 --> 00:07:57.110 not just some of us. He wants us to be going where he 86 00:07:57.350 --> 00:08:03.300 goes, yes, but also wanting what he wants, hearing what he says, 87 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:09.459 caring about the things he cares about. Now, maybe you are like 88 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:13.410 these two men. Maybe you are at a time in your life where you 89 00:08:13.529 --> 00:08:18.290 are seeing Jesus for the first time in a way, maybe you've heard about 90 00:08:18.290 --> 00:08:20.569 him for a long time even, but you are starting to see him for 91 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:26.649 the first time, you might put it that way. If that is happening 92 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:31.720 to you, then this is a good example to follow. Scripture and experience 93 00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:37.759 tell us that there are people who love to use overthinking as an excuse, 94 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.309 people who, as Second Timothy Seven, are always three seven says, always 95 00:08:43.389 --> 00:08:50.350 learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. That's a 96 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:54.870 dangerous thing. When Jesus walks by, that's not the time to say now, 97 00:08:54.909 --> 00:08:58.019 John, let's discuss this a little bit more. I want to hear 98 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:00.820 a little bit more. Tell me, what do you mean by Lamb of 99 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:05.620 God? Meanwhile, John Screaming at you. He's right there. Go follow 100 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:11.450 him right. Overthinking can be not so good. If I can quote Cyril 101 00:09:11.529 --> 00:09:16.809 again, here's what he says. Souls who love to listen and learn truly 102 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:24.440 show themselves to be this way, they do not need long discourses in order 103 00:09:24.480 --> 00:09:28.080 to profit, nor do they bear the fruit of their teaching months or years 104 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:33.799 later. Rather, as soon as the teaching begins, they attain the goal 105 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:39.429 of understanding. He quotes proverbs and saying. Give opportunity the wise and they 106 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:46.669 will be wiser. Instruct the just and they will receive more instruction. Or 107 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:50.629 think about the words of Jesus. If you go and you find a treasure 108 00:09:50.750 --> 00:09:54.620 chest in a field, what do you do? You go by the field 109 00:09:54.659 --> 00:10:00.659 immediately. You don't hesitate. If you are dying and somebody offers you life 110 00:10:00.740 --> 00:10:07.570 saving medicine, don't waste your time learning about pill manufacturing processes. Just swallow 111 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:13.210 the pill. It's really as simple as that. Jesus walks by. Follow 112 00:10:13.210 --> 00:10:18.610 him, and that takes us to verse Thirty Eight. They follow Jesus. 113 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:24.159 What's Jesus's response? Well, noticing that these men's are following him, Jesus 114 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:31.480 turns around and asks them this question. What are you seeking now? If 115 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:37.230 you don't know Jesus yet are you will come to see that this question is 116 00:10:37.509 --> 00:10:41.190 just like him. He doesn't say get off my back, leave me alone, 117 00:10:41.190 --> 00:10:45.590 I'm busy, I don't have time for this right now. I'm an 118 00:10:45.629 --> 00:10:50.419 important person. Don't bother me. He doesn't. Nor does he puff them 119 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:56.139 up and congratulate them on their amazing decision and great wisdom in following him, 120 00:10:56.860 --> 00:11:01.259 though of course, there is nothing wiser than a person could do. Nor 121 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:07.769 does he jump directly into long expositions or prayers or fantastic miracles. He simply 122 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:18.370 asks this direct, simple and searching question. What are you seeking? It's 123 00:11:18.409 --> 00:11:20.600 a question, of course, that's not just for them, but it's for 124 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:26.240 us too. What are you seeking? What do you need? What do 125 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:35.990 you want? What do you want from following Jesus? Naming things helps us. 126 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:41.669 When we name things, it helps us to know them better and then 127 00:11:41.750 --> 00:11:46.029 to decide, and that's what Jesus is asking them to do. Let's get 128 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:54.379 specific. What are you seeking? Tell me name it. When we name 129 00:11:54.620 --> 00:12:01.649 and then we act, we embrace or we reject. Interestingly, the story 130 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:05.889 begins with a certain kind of naming. John Sees Jesus, it says, 131 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:09.730 and then he was and then he says, behold the lamb of God. 132 00:12:11.169 --> 00:12:16.679 He sees any names, and this story, this passage, also ends with 133 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:20.120 a naming as well. Jesus sees the same word as used there as John 134 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.840 Seeing Jesus sees Peter, and he says you will be called Kapus, which 135 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:35.950 is Aramaic for rock or rocky, translated in Greek patros Peter. Here, 136 00:12:37.029 --> 00:12:39.669 in the middle of the story, Jesus asks these men to name themselves, 137 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:48.860 to name the things in their hearts. What are you seeking? In Verse 138 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:54.580 Thirty Eight, the second part of that that disciples then respond very simply, 139 00:12:54.940 --> 00:13:01.250 perhaps even politely. Rabbi, they say a Hebrew Word John tells us, 140 00:13:01.250 --> 00:13:07.250 which means teacher, rabbi. Where are you staying? We begin to see 141 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:16.679 what this new relationship is about in their answer there. They are not there 142 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:22.480 to ask Jesus for a dollar, or even a miracle or a moment of 143 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:26.480 teaching and then be on their way. They don't have a quick question for 144 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:31.629 Jesus, just something to get out of him and then move on. They 145 00:13:31.710 --> 00:13:35.029 want time with him, they want to be with him. They've been following 146 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:39.470 him and they want to keep following with him. They want to be where 147 00:13:39.470 --> 00:13:46.259 he is. And what's Jesus's response? Come and you will see again, 148 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:56.330 we see the patterns of following Christ developing here. You don't follow Jesus at 149 00:13:56.330 --> 00:14:03.169 a safe distance, knowing everything about him and then making your decisions. Following 150 00:14:03.250 --> 00:14:11.840 Jesus means submission. Following Jesus means humility. Following Jesus means curiosity, excitement, 151 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:20.039 wonder and trust. Some people think following Jesus means mastering him first or 152 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.669 all together, and it doesn't. Following Jesus means following him, trusting him, 153 00:14:24.710 --> 00:14:30.389 waiting for him to reveal things in his own time and his own way. 154 00:14:31.509 --> 00:14:35.149 Where are you staying? Come and you will see, and I don't 155 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.820 say we asked you a question. Why don't you tell us the answer? 156 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:45.779 No, that's rude, for one, but it's also not following, isn't? 157 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.899 It's demanding you follow me, I make the decisions. It's not that 158 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:54.970 way with Jesus. It's trusting him. It's waiting for his time and his 159 00:14:56.210 --> 00:15:03.570 desire and his goodness to reveal things when it is right now. If that 160 00:15:03.769 --> 00:15:07.360 frustrates you, let me be frank. You need to learn to get over 161 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:15.080 it. You need a higher sense of who he is and a lower sense 162 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:20.840 of who you are. He's the master, he's the teacher, not you. 163 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:24.950 He reveals things in his own time and his own way, and not 164 00:15:26.350 --> 00:15:31.110 for random or capricious reasons, but out of love, not out of goodness. 165 00:15:31.509 --> 00:15:37.019 Imagine a surfer who will only acknowledge the power of a riptide once he 166 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:41.179 decides where the best place for it, in his mind is along the coast. 167 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:46.220 Or imagine a tree that demands to understand photosynthesis before it decides to accept 168 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:52.289 the Sun's rays. This is not how things work. You don't go to 169 00:15:52.409 --> 00:15:56.450 the God who made all the universe and say well, all follow you on 170 00:15:56.610 --> 00:16:02.370 my schedule. I'll follow you when I know what this is all about. 171 00:16:03.409 --> 00:16:07.279 No, when he says come, you come. When you see him, 172 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:11.759 you follow him. If you think you've got your life perfectly under control, 173 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:17.639 that you understand this world with next to perfect knowledge, or your heart is 174 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:22.549 perfectly attuned to everything that is pure and lovely and admirable, then go ahead 175 00:16:22.309 --> 00:16:26.389 be my guest. Follow Jesus on your own terms and your own ways. 176 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:32.070 You clearly have it all together. But if you're like me and you don't 177 00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.820 have it all together, if you're like, I think, all of us 178 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:41.700 in this room, and lack knowledge and struggle with even the simple things of 179 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:48.090 life, then you have every need to follow Jesus, to find in him 180 00:16:48.090 --> 00:16:52.769 a savior. For those of us who are perfect, well, I guess, 181 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:56.529 go on your way, but for those of us who are brokenhearted, 182 00:16:57.169 --> 00:17:03.919 who are tyrannized by sin, who struggle with our physical bodies, then these 183 00:17:03.160 --> 00:17:08.440 words come and you will see, will spark joy in you like no amount 184 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:18.069 of close folding ever could. Come and see, come and see. It's 185 00:17:18.109 --> 00:17:22.349 Jesus, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, 186 00:17:23.470 --> 00:17:30.539 and he says to you, come and you will see take him up 187 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:36.740 on that. Well, continuing our story, these two men here, and 188 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:41.539 he Jesus's words, they come and see the place where he is staying and 189 00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:45.369 even stayed the night, since it was already the ten hour, which is 190 00:17:45.769 --> 00:17:51.849 about four o'clock pm on our on our clocks. Just as a quick side 191 00:17:51.930 --> 00:17:56.769 note, we might note here that all of that, their time with him 192 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:03.920 and his time with them is with thanks to the hospitality of an unknown host. 193 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:08.200 The person isn't even mentioned, but Matthew tells us in Matthew eight to 194 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:14.630 fought. In Jesus's words, foxes have holes and birds have air. Birds 195 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:17.589 of the air have their nest, but the son of man has no where 196 00:18:17.789 --> 00:18:22.869 to lay his head. Jesus was a homeless man. He depended upon the 197 00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:29.140 hospitality of other people and as he went to this place wherever he was staying, 198 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:33.779 as he had these conversations with these men, it was because somebody provided 199 00:18:33.819 --> 00:18:40.539 the space for them to do that blessing. Indeed, the hospitality of others 200 00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:47.369 has provided the space of salvation for an untold number of souls. No Wonder 201 00:18:47.410 --> 00:18:52.490 The Apostle Paul tells us to be zealous for it. Moving on, we 202 00:18:52.569 --> 00:18:56.279 come to verse forty. And here in verse forty, we start to finally 203 00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:00.960 learn a little bit more about who these disciples are. We've been hearing about 204 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:04.400 all about them and their interactions. We here we begin to learn their names. 205 00:19:07.240 --> 00:19:11.589 The first thing we notice, or rather it's easy not to notice, 206 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:17.109 is that one of the two never is named. One person, one of 207 00:19:17.150 --> 00:19:19.509 the two is named. His name is Andrew, and get some attention, 208 00:19:19.950 --> 00:19:25.259 but the other is just was not even there. It just talks about the 209 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:30.019 other disciple. Who who is Andrew? Who is this unnamed disciple? So 210 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:37.299 easy, so or sorry, so early in Jesus's ministry? The other gospels 211 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:41.210 suggest that it's either James or John, for many reasons that I can't get 212 00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:47.970 into now that the nearly unanimous testimony or conclusion of the Church has been that 213 00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:53.240 this on the name unnamed disciple was John, the author of this Gospel, 214 00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:00.319 which was written after James as martyrdom and forty two a d. So John 215 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:07.269 here is showing some we might say, authorial humility, as he does throughout 216 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:14.269 the Gospel. He remains in the background so that you can see Jesus, 217 00:20:15.269 --> 00:20:18.750 and so with that quick comment, will will let him stay there. The 218 00:20:19.549 --> 00:20:23.500 other one of the two who heard John Speak and followed Jesus, we are 219 00:20:23.579 --> 00:20:29.619 told, was Andrew, Simon, peters brother, and we are told what 220 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:34.299 then happened next. And sometime after meeting and staying with Jesus, Andrew goes 221 00:20:34.339 --> 00:20:40.250 and finds his brother Simon and says we have found the Messiah, which John 222 00:20:40.329 --> 00:20:45.769 Tells US means Christ, which is a Greek word that means Messiah. Now, 223 00:20:45.890 --> 00:20:51.440 in English these words, both Messiah and Christ, as Pastor Johnson told 224 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:57.880 us last week, mean anointed one. They refer to a figure, a 225 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:06.309 person in the Old Testament that God promised a particular person that God would send 226 00:21:06.349 --> 00:21:11.789 and install over king of his people. The Jews were waiting for this Messiah, 227 00:21:12.549 --> 00:21:18.390 this promised King, who would reinstitute the Kingdom of God, who would 228 00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:25.579 reinstitute the temple, who would give God's grace and protection. He would be 229 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:30.619 a son of David, but he would be no ordinary son, because he 230 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:34.329 would not just be anointed with the oil and a kind of kingly ceremony, 231 00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:41.769 he would be anointed with God, the Holy Spirit. Quite an amazing thing. 232 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:45.690 On Isaiah Sixty one tells about that, tells us about this and look, 233 00:21:45.769 --> 00:21:52.279 Jesus says in Luke for that it refers to him here Isaiah's words about 234 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:59.039 the Messiah, the anointed one. The spirit of the Lord God is upon 235 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:04.069 me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. 236 00:22:06.109 --> 00:22:08.430 He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to 237 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.349 the captives, in the opening of the prison, to those who are bound. 238 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:15.940 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed 239 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:22.539 me for these things. The disapointed one. It's a title. Jesus Christ 240 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:27.099 is just another way, a short way of saying Jesus. Who is the 241 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:30.970 Christ, or Jesus, who is the Messiah? Jesus, who is this 242 00:22:32.210 --> 00:22:37.210 promised anointed one? So John and the rest of the New Testament will explain 243 00:22:37.329 --> 00:22:42.410 more about what this means, about whom God has sent. But Andrew knows 244 00:22:42.450 --> 00:22:48.079 enough right now that he can look his brother and say, Simon, we 245 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:52.519 have found the Messiah, the one Isaiah prophesied about, the one the Old 246 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:56.920 Testament told us to look forward to. He wouldn't have called it the Old 247 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:02.069 Testament at that point, for the scriptures that's what he does. And then 248 00:23:02.190 --> 00:23:07.309 Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus and I want to point out. This 249 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:15.619 is an interesting shift here. Peter doesn't follow Jesus the way Andrew and John 250 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:21.579 did. He is brought to him. Right. Andrew and John See Jesus 251 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:26.180 walking by and they follow him as they ought to. Peter is then brought 252 00:23:26.859 --> 00:23:30.529 brought to Jesus. Some people see Jesus and follow him. Other Times, 253 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:37.490 before they follow Jesus, someone needs to bring them. Then, just as 254 00:23:37.569 --> 00:23:41.319 the story began with this focused look and naming the lamb of God, you 255 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:48.079 remember, so it ends, Jesus looks at Peter and says you're to Simon, 256 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:52.680 son of John. You shall be called Kafus, and Aramaic word, 257 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:56.829 as I said before, that means rock or rocky, or, to use 258 00:23:56.869 --> 00:24:03.470 the Greek word, Petros Peter. So why do Jesus Name Simon Rocky? 259 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:11.900 There are many reasons, but I think we can be sure that Peter doesn't 260 00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:14.940 really know them at this point. He just gets a nickname in a way, 261 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:18.779 and I think this is another reminder about what it means to follow Jesus. 262 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:26.089 Am I Iraq because I'm stubborn or because I'm strong, or both, 263 00:24:26.730 --> 00:24:30.569 or something else. Either way, what we see is that Jesus is the 264 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:37.089 one in charge. Jesus is powerful. He's like a King knighting someone, 265 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:42.480 dubbing them, giving them a new name, a new identity. Jesus has 266 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:48.359 a way of changing how we think about who we are when we follow him. 267 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.309 This takes us through the end of the passage. What conclusions can we 268 00:24:53.430 --> 00:25:00.430 draw from this? What is the spirit showing us in this passage about Jesus? 269 00:25:00.829 --> 00:25:04.710 I think there's a number of things we can say. One, of 270 00:25:04.829 --> 00:25:11.819 course, is that the spirit, anointed son of David, son of God, 271 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:15.500 has come into the world. We are here at the beginning of the 272 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:18.819 Gospel, but with these labels of Messiah and Lamb of God, we know 273 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:25.730 something great is about to happen. The New Kingdom is about to be established, 274 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:30.809 and in this we see the centrality of Jesus. If you want to 275 00:25:30.849 --> 00:25:33.650 know what it means to follow Jesus, you have to start with that. 276 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:41.200 It starts with Jesus. Though the disciples are introduced here, we don't get 277 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:48.000 vivid descriptions and backstories, though they are fascinating an interesting people. The focus 278 00:25:48.119 --> 00:25:52.309 of the Gospel, of the Good News, is on Jesus, who is 279 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:56.390 the Christ. If you want to follow Jesus, that's where your focus should 280 00:25:56.390 --> 00:26:02.430 be too, on him, because he's the one who saves the world. 281 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:07.619 He's the one who, through his death, makes atonement for our sins that 282 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:11.059 we can have peace with God. This is where our focus should be, 283 00:26:12.619 --> 00:26:17.420 and this is important to remember, because your sinful hearts and my sinful heart 284 00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:21.130 and this miserable world is going to tell you to look all kinds of other 285 00:26:21.250 --> 00:26:26.930 places. Without Christ, you'll be like a drug addict, always looking for 286 00:26:26.049 --> 00:26:30.809 a new high, never finding it. Apart from him, you will die 287 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:38.200 separated from God, His forgiveness, his saints, his kingdom. So don't 288 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:45.039 let the devil fool you. Your sinful appetite is just that, appetites that 289 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:52.670 will grow and never be satisfied and will ultimately gorge themselves to death. But 290 00:26:52.789 --> 00:26:56.869 when you trust in Christ, when you put your focus on him, when 291 00:26:56.869 --> 00:27:02.339 you follow him and him alone, he does all the things that the Messiah 292 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:07.660 was promised to do. He binds are broken hearts, he heals our wounds, 293 00:27:08.660 --> 00:27:14.500 he sets US free, he teaches us to hunger and thirst, not 294 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:21.769 after the things of this world, but after righteousness and life. So what 295 00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:23.569 does it mean then, to follow Jesus? Well, it means to keep 296 00:27:23.569 --> 00:27:29.970 our eyes focused on him as he moves us from one moment to the next, 297 00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:33.759 all the way to glory. The second thing I want to point out 298 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:40.559 is that following him starts by noticing him wherever he makes himself present, just 299 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:45.349 as John and Andrew did when they saw Jesus and heard the preacher proclaim behold 300 00:27:45.470 --> 00:27:49.190 this lamb of God. They looked at him, they saw him. Now 301 00:27:49.230 --> 00:27:52.829 you might ask yourself, well, how can I see Jesus? They saw 302 00:27:52.869 --> 00:27:56.789 him with their eyes and they followed him. That's easy right. I can't 303 00:27:56.829 --> 00:28:03.500 see Jesus. He's in heaven. Well, of course, one day God 304 00:28:03.700 --> 00:28:08.059 will make him known to your eyes. When Jesus comes again to collect his 305 00:28:08.259 --> 00:28:15.089 believers from this world, you will see him with your eyes. But the 306 00:28:15.170 --> 00:28:19.490 good news is that God, the Holy Spirit, has provided for us so 307 00:28:19.690 --> 00:28:22.130 another way for us to see him. And do you know what it is? 308 00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:30.480 Not with our eyes, but with our ears. Strange right, but 309 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:33.680 God, the one, God's the one who made the body. Suppose he 310 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:38.720 can make it work however he likes. Notice that this is also true even 311 00:28:38.759 --> 00:28:45.710 of these disciples. It wasn't the sight of Christ that made Andrew and John 312 00:28:45.950 --> 00:28:49.430 Follow after Jesus, but it was the preaching that John pointed to him and 313 00:28:49.549 --> 00:28:56.140 said, behold the lamb of God. Peter didn't see Jesus. It was 314 00:28:56.339 --> 00:29:00.660 Andrew's words, his brother, who said we've found the Messiah. The spirit 315 00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:06.619 tells us in Romans that faith comes through hearing, and hearing through this word 316 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:11.009 of God. In fact, so vivid is the word of God that Paul 317 00:29:11.049 --> 00:29:17.730 says to the glacians about his spoken word preaching. He says to the glacians 318 00:29:18.170 --> 00:29:25.039 it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed and crucified. It's 319 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:32.319 not that an amazing way to speak about preaching? You follow someone by being 320 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:37.559 where they are, right. That's a sort of basic following, and Christ 321 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:41.509 has promised to beware. This is a good, essential question, right, 322 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:45.829 if I'm going to follow Jesus, I need to be where Jesus is, 323 00:29:47.869 --> 00:29:51.990 I need to see him, I need to be near him. Well, 324 00:29:52.029 --> 00:29:56.539 Jesus his promised to be in his church and to be present with us through 325 00:29:56.660 --> 00:30:03.059 these means of grace, particularly the word of God, preached, sacraments and 326 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:07.130 prayer. The Church today is the house where he is staying. It is 327 00:30:07.289 --> 00:30:14.089 the temple, the scriptures say, in which the spirit dwells. If you 328 00:30:14.210 --> 00:30:18.809 want to follow Jesus, if you want to be like Andrew and call others 329 00:30:18.849 --> 00:30:25.200 to follow Jesus, bring yourselves and your friends to his house. Put yourself 330 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:29.799 in places where he is promised to be present, where he is central, 331 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:37.589 where he and and and and and where where he is focused on. Now, 332 00:30:37.670 --> 00:30:41.710 of course, not every church that says they are a Christian or a 333 00:30:41.750 --> 00:30:48.309 Christian church is proclaiming Jesus. How do you know? How do you know 334 00:30:48.430 --> 00:30:55.859 where he's present when he is not visible? I can tell you this based 335 00:30:55.940 --> 00:31:00.380 on this passage and other ones. Jesus in those is in those places where 336 00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:06.009 people are naming Jesus Christ as the son of God and are being renamed by 337 00:31:06.049 --> 00:31:11.930 him as they follow him. Jesus is in those places where he is being 338 00:31:11.130 --> 00:31:17.769 proclaimed and the people who are proclaiming him are following in his footsteps, who 339 00:31:17.769 --> 00:31:23.160 are walking in his ways and following in steps of grace and love. Because 340 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:27.279 as we follow Jesus Christ, he turns to us, just as he did 341 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:33.029 to these two disciples. Remember Psalm thirty four four. I sought the Lord 342 00:31:33.789 --> 00:31:38.230 and he heard me. How do you follow Jesus? You follow him by 343 00:31:38.269 --> 00:31:41.549 going where he is found, and he can be found, of course, 344 00:31:41.589 --> 00:31:45.750 wherever he wants, but he has particularly promised to be found in his church 345 00:31:45.829 --> 00:31:51.140 and never leave it. How do you know you've found the real church? 346 00:31:51.220 --> 00:31:53.740 You know it when you've found the real Christ. You see him. Where 347 00:31:53.740 --> 00:32:01.289 are the worship and the discipleship faithfully proclaims him in his name loved. The 348 00:32:01.289 --> 00:32:05.890 last thing I want to mention as we think about what it means to follow 349 00:32:05.930 --> 00:32:09.690 Jesus is that, though our focus is on Christ this does not mean that 350 00:32:09.890 --> 00:32:17.319 God leaves us lonely and separated from other Christians. John The apostle learned about 351 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:22.279 Jesus from John The baptist. Peter learned about Jesus through his brother Andrew, 352 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:27.079 and, as we'll see next time, the word keeps spreading, even from 353 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:30.829 family and then to friends and neighbors. Come and see, we fi on 354 00:32:31.029 --> 00:32:36.950 the Messiah. Look, it's the lamb of God. Jesus is not collecting 355 00:32:37.150 --> 00:32:42.990 followers like some people collect baseball cards, putting each one neatly into its sleeve, 356 00:32:43.230 --> 00:32:49.180 separated from all the others. Jesus draws us together into a unified, 357 00:32:49.380 --> 00:32:55.259 confessing body. He uses us to serve one another and even empowers us with 358 00:32:55.420 --> 00:33:00.930 his spirit to call those who are outside of the body into the body. 359 00:33:00.490 --> 00:33:07.130 We've found the Messiah. Behold the lamb of God. Look around you this 360 00:33:07.329 --> 00:33:15.759 morning. Look around see those who are walking alongside of you and following Jesus. 361 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:22.920 Every single one of you are here today because someone told you about him, 362 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:30.150 because even someone told you about this particular church, whether that invitation was 363 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:36.349 indure, was directly through someone you know here or indirectly through a website or 364 00:33:36.349 --> 00:33:39.509 a flyer and an invitation from us to come and follow Jesus with us. 365 00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:47.220 All of us are here, including me, because some one told me about 366 00:33:47.259 --> 00:33:53.259 what God was doing, because of the work that Jesus was doing among his 367 00:33:53.420 --> 00:34:00.130 people. You may not know the name of every single person here. You 368 00:34:00.250 --> 00:34:05.650 certainly don't know the name of every Christian who has come before you, but 369 00:34:05.809 --> 00:34:10.519 God knows them all and he's put us all in it together. Praise God. 370 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:20.559 We don't walk alone, we don't fight alone, we don't follow alone. 371 00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:24.389 We have each other. We have our Lord, who is the head 372 00:34:24.429 --> 00:34:30.710 of his church and calls us together. By listening to others, by getting 373 00:34:30.710 --> 00:34:35.630 to know others, by hosting people in our homes. We see and we 374 00:34:35.750 --> 00:34:42.900 experience the work of God in us. We follow Jesus together and we call 375 00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:49.579 other people to follow him too, and in that we enjoy the Kingdom of 376 00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:54.769 God. We find our salvation. Our hearts are healed, our bodies one 377 00:34:54.769 --> 00:35:02.449 day will be glorified, and we will glorify him together with one voice, 378 00:35:02.849 --> 00:35:07.679 singing holy, holy, holy, to our triune God. Amen.