Tag: John

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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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Andrew’s Evangelism (John 1:40-41)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(40) One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. (41) He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. (John 1:40-41)

Explanation

Here we are given the name of one of those two disciples, Andrew. He was one of the 12. He is known in the scripture for bringing people to Jesus. We see that he does that here.

He experiences Jesus, and is convinced of his position as Messiah. He then goes and finds someone he loves, in this case Simon, and declares the good news to him. 

We see faith exhibited here. Andrew believes that Jesus is the Christ strongly enough to take that position with Simon.

We see the idea of going here as well. He didn’t stay silent with that good news. He went and told someone that He loved about it.

Application

Let’s not complicate our spiritual lives and our spiritual responsibilities. We who believe that Jesus is the Christ, once we have experienced Him, should share this good news of who He is with others. A good starting place may well be with our family who we have influence with and whom we love. 

Response

  1. How is your faith?
  2. When was your last trip to “go tell” someone about Jesus?