John 1:35-51
Title: Christ calls His
Disciples
Analysis:
As
John progresses in the writing of his Gospel, he comes to the beginning of
Jesus’ public ministry which is marked by the calling of His disciples. Those
whom Jesus called did not have any hesitation in following Him and did not
doubt His authority. John and Andrew are first pointed to Christ by John the
Baptist who calls Christ the, “Lamb of God!” The disciples immediately followed
Jesus after hearing this statement and stayed with Him.
Not
only were Andrew and John immediately fixed to the Saviour, they also were
ready to spread the news about Him. In vs. 40 we see Andrew who runs to find
Simon his brother, and proclaim to him, “We have found the Messiah!” This
statement is astounding that Andrew would so readily acknowledge Jesus as
Messiah. Simon comes to Jesus, and his name is changed from Cephas (which meant
reed) to Peter (meaning rock). This is foreshadowing what Jesus is preparing to
change in Peter’s character so he will one day be a stalwart leader in the
church.
A
John continues he says that Jesus and his few disciples came to Galilee and
seeing Philip, Jesus said, “Follow me.” Of all the phrases that our Lord spoke,
perhaps the words, ‘Follow Me’ are the most compelling. With these simple words
the Lord commanded that these men leave all they had, and commit their lives to
following Him. It is even more astounding that their obedience was immediate
and not prolonged. As Philip states in vs. 45, “We have found him of whom Moses
in the Law and also the prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth…” This statement is
a partial summary of what John in this gospel is trying to convey; that Jesus
is the Son of God and has now come into the world to save that which was
lost.
Although
the statement was wholly true, Nathaniel doubts Philip’s words thinking that
nothing good can come from Nazareth. Regardless he follows Philip to Jesus.
Christ then reveals that he knew Nathaniel’s thoughts about Him and also
reveals his supernatural knowledge by speaking of things only Nathaniel knew.
Because of this he responds humbly by saying, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God;
You are the King of Israel.” His doubts were removed and he came to realize
that Jesus was in fact the Messiah.
Jesus
says to his disciples that they would see greater things in His ministry than His
knowledge of ones thoughts or activities. Just as Jacob experienced revelation
from Heaven, (Gen 28:12) the disciples would experience miracles from Heaven.
The greatest miracle being Jesus replacing the ‘ladder’ so to speak in Jacob’s
dream and being the only way to the Father in Heaven (John 14:6).
Response:
For me, this passage was very impactful. One way that I
can apply this to my own life is to realize the powerfulness of Christ’s call
in a man’s life. Jesus simply said to his disciples, “Follow Me” and they left
all they had and followed after Him. When Christ was on earth, there must
have been something so compelling in his voice, or the way he looked at them,
or perhaps the fact that he can make a sinful heart regenerate that only the
words, ‘Follow Me’ would change a man’s entire life. Although Christ is not
physically present with me, He is here with me in Spirit and He still wants me
to follow Him. This call is just as radical today as it was 2,000 years ago.
The call to follow Christ means I must deny everything, even my own self so
that I can be His disciple. I pray that God would grant me a humble heart that
is so dependent on Him; I need nothing else but to trust and obey.
Blessings,
Lucas C.
No comments:
Post a Comment