Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? (39). He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:38-39)
Explanation
These men were already described as disciples of John. Now they were following Jesus, and some discipleship oriented things are going on in these verses.
One word of note is the word “Rabbi”. This word was an honorable title from the disciple (learner, student) to his teacher. Rabbi’s had disciples and disciples had rabbis. These disciples were indicating that they wanted to be the disciples of Jesus by following him.
Another notable idea in the text is there question, “where dwellest thou?”. Disciples didn’t just attend formal lectures or class times. There was no podcast to subscribe to, youtube channel to subscribe to, radio program to tune in to, or book to buy. When you became a follower of a rabbi, you went where he went, walked where he walked, watched what he did, and did what he said. It was done more like an internship than simply a classroom setting.
One more thing of note here is the time element. When they did go with Jesus, they spent a good bit of time with him. This again is the nature of the rabbi and disciple relationship. In biblical times, the tenth hour was approximately 4:00 PM. This was calculated using the Jewish system of dividing the day into twelve hours starting from sunrise. This time is significant. It was when Jesus’ first two disciples, Andrew and John, met him. It marks a substantial amount of time they spent with him at the end of the day. The nature of the relationship is to harness time between teacher and student, rabbi and disciple. Some things can only be learned when you say them and they are heard. Some things can only be learned when you do them and they are seen.
Application
The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is marked by calling and making disciples. Not only are His words inspired. His ways are inspired, too. He showed us what to do, and taught us what to do through teaching His disciples.
Discipleship takes time. This means that to do it you have to spend time with people where they are. They need to be with you, and you need to be with them. Classroom? Good. Internship? Better. Parenting? The most intense, and the most opportunity to influence.
Response
- Can you be like Jesus and not make disciples?
- How do you manage your time when it comes to this idea?