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The Role of Relationships in Disciple-Making (John 1:44-46)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(44) Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (46) And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:44-46)

Explain

v.44 – Geography and relationships

Jesus had already impacted Andrew and Peter. Now he was calling Philip as a disciple. This new way of getting disciples was interesting to Philip. The Messiah had arrived and he was doing things differently. No doubt Philip knew Andrew and Peter which explains the next verse.

v.45 – Sharing their discovery

Philip is already imitating Jesus in that he “findeth Nathanael”. Notice the pronoun “we”: “We have found him”. Who? The messiah was written of in the books of Moses and the prophets. This would have been an expression of all of the scriptures then written. Moses wrote the first five books, and the prophets wrote the rest.

Where did Moses write about the Messiah? Insert Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Where did the prophets write about the Messiah? Psalm 22. Isaiah 53. Many more places speak of this Messiah who would come.

v.46 – A cynical response

Nathanael’s response reveals his doubt that anything of this worldwide, historic, prophetic importance could come from Nazareth. Instead of arguing, Philip simply replies, “Come and see.”

Apply

Relationships are key in evangelism and discipleship. All of these people – John the Baptist, Andrew, Peter, John, Philip, Nathanael, and even Jesus himself are interacting not only on the basis of the person of Christ, but on the relationships they had with each other.

Jesus Christ sells himself. What do I mean? Yes we proclaim Christ, and of course we “prepare to give an answer to every man that asketh…”. Yes we want to grow in our boldness and our ability to articulate. But in the sum of it all, Jesus Christ Himself can be experienced through the power of the Word of God, and through the convicting, regenerating, sealing, indwelling, and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. Philip’s answer to Nathanael before he had much training at all was enough. “Come and see.” Jesus did the rest.

Respond

  1. What relationships do you have in your life that are ripe for evangelism and “discipleship”?
  2. How are you experiencing Christ daily?
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Understanding Jesus’ Invitation to Follow Him (John 1:43)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(43) The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.  (John 1:43)

Explain

Jesus wanted to go from where he was to Galilee. Some say that he wanted to go to the wedding in Cana. He didn’t go on his own. He went and found Philip. Interestingly as he went to Galilee he “findeth Philip”.

Notice the term that he used with Philip. “Follow me”.-  ακολουθει, from the root ἀκολουθέω (akoloutheō) which means what is translated, “follow me”. Strongs concordence says that this term is closely related to keleuthos (a road); Most literally it would be like saying “come down this road with me”. Or, Follow me down the road I’m going. But like so many words that take on a culture and a context, this word was regularly used by a rabbi to a disciple as acceptance into the rabbi and disciple relationship. It would be akin to an acceptance letter into college today. “I’ll let you follow me, because you are worthy of being my disciple”. This was they typical way it was used by most rabbis.

Jesus here is different. As he was going, he finds Philip and calls him to be his disciple. This was more like an acceptance letter than it was a momentary invitation. He was calling Philip to go where he went, hear what he said, learn what he knows, and become like him. He was calling him to become his apprentice.

Apply

While most rabbis were calling the qualified, Jesus’ mode was to train those he called to follow him. He qualified the called. What an incredible privilege it is to be called to discipleship. What an incredible responsibility it is to follow Jesus in making disciples.

Respond

  1. Would you call yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ?
  2. Who is in your life that needs to be discipleship? 

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Understanding Redemption: The Costly Blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Explanation

Talk about seeing transformation happen! Jesus prophesied in a sense what he was going to do with Simon Peter in changing his name. In John 1 there is a declaration of Jesus Christ as the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Andrew witnesses this truth to Peter who hears it (Simon) and meets Jesus.

One of the amazing things to study in the New Testament is the life of Peter with Jesus in the Gospels, God using Peter in the book of Acts, and the thoughts of Peter in 1 and 2 Peter. In 1 Peter, he writes to a dispersion of believers in Asia Minor who were their because of persecution that they were facing persecution. They had been and were being transformed as well.

In this text Peter reminds them of what they already knew. They were not redeemed, a word that means bought back, with perishable things. Their sin debt wasn’t paid by things that are subject to decay. It was paid already, but not with gold or silver. It wasn’t paid by the “vain conversation”, the empty lifestyle and pagan religion that they were taught outside of Christ. The religion of their familes didn’t give them forgiveness of their sin.

So, what price was paid for their redemption? The blood of Jesus Christ was the currency of their ransom and redemption. It is called “precious blood”. It is costly, valuable, honored blood. Peter states that this blood is “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”. He’s making the same comparison that Andrew heard, and by which he was likely introduced to Jesus Christ in the first place. Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. 

[11] For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)

He was like the lambs of the sacrificial system who were required to be without spot or blemish. They had to be perfect. This redemption has already been paid for by Christ. Christ was without sin. His blood was precious because it was the blood of the only begotten Son of God. It was precious because He was without sin. His sacrifice was the sacrifice of a Savior who had merited righteousness.

Application

Simon Peter was transformed by Jesus. He went from an uneducated, salty fisherman, to an imperfect but wise leader who was used among other apostles to help establish the early church and get the Gospel to us. His challenge to those he wrote and to us is to believe in this lamb that was prophesied, who came, and died for our sins. He wants us to live a life that endures persecution, and pursues righteousness in light of the cost of our redemption and salvation- the precious blood of Christ. He encourages us to leave the vain, empty, false beliefs of who we were before we were saved. We live a life that honors Christ because the substitutionary and atoning work has already been done on the cross so that we can live.

Response

  1. Have you heard and believed (Simon)?
  2. Are you being transformed and used by God to reach others (Peter)?

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The Transformation of Simon to Peter: A Biblical Insight (John 1:42)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(42) And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. (John 1:42) 

Explanation

Simon must have taken Andrew’s witness about Jesus to heart, at least enough to come with Andrew to meet this one he claimed was the Christ.  Andrew brought Simon to Jesus, and it was an incredible moment for him.

The scripture says that Jesus “beheld him”.  It seems as if this gaze was more than just a glancing, casual look.  He sees Simon and knows him.  He knew his name, and his background.  His current identity was Simon son of John.  His new identity would be transformed from who he currently was, to someone who could and would be used by Christ to help build his assembly.  The name Cephas is the Aramaic word for stone.  The greek word is Petras, the english form being Peter.  

Peter wasn’t the foundation of the church.  But he was the first to confess what would be the foundation of what Christ was building.

[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  (Matthew 16:13-20)

It was and is by rightly identifying who Jesus really is that someone is saved.

Peter confesses this in a moment, and Jesus points again to his name change to show Him that God is transforming Him through revelation of who Christ is.

This transformation is seen even from the events surrounding Jesus death, and his denial of Christ, to his leadership on the day of pentecost and even after in the temple.  

In Acts 4, Peter and John are arrested by the very men instrumental in killing Jesus after they healed a lame man.

Here came the questions.

[6] And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. [7] And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? [8] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, [9] If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; [10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. [11] This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. [12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. [13] Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.  (Acts 4:6-13)

Now back to our text today.  When Simon comes, Jesus knows him in a moment, and can see who he was to become and how he was to be used.  He used this moment to begin to give Simon Peter a hint into the fact that there would be a transformation.

The first time Jesus changed Peters name was not when he made the statement in Matthew 16.  It was from the very moment that they met.  That transformation from Simon to Peter was happening the whole time. In a sense when we use the name Simon Peter there is a glimpse in that of the transformation that Jesus was bringing.

Do you know what the name “Simon” means?  It means “one who hears”.

In this text we know he heard from Andrew, and came to Jesus.

When Jesus referred to his name change later, notice what he says about Peter’s declaration.

[13] When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? [14] And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. [15] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? [16] And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. [17] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Notice that he is called Simon Peter in this moment. That’s interesting.

It’s also interesting that Jesus tells Simon Peter that what He declared, which would be the foundation of the assembly, was something he heard from God himself.

He heard from God and was transformed.

He went from just being Simon, to being Simon Peter, one who hears, and is transformed into someone that God uses.

Application

Jesus Christ is in the life changing business.  It starts with regeneration where someone believes and is born again.  In one sense it happens in an instance at the moment of salvation. In another sense God grows us over time conform us into the image of His Son. He transforms us. He declares who we are and then challenges us to live up to what we already are once we are saved. What he did with Peter is what He has done for so many others, and what he wants to do for us.

Response

  1. Have you put your faith in Christ for salvation?
  2. How has Christ changed you since you’ve been saved?
  3. How is Christ changing you now?