Tag: The Gospel of 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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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?
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Sending Disciples. (John 1:35-37)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; (36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (37) And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (John 1:35-37)

Explanation

In verse 35 and 36 you get a setting.  The when and the who are in view here.  John the Baptist, two of his disciples, and Jesus.  You also see John saying the same message again.  What is John’s message? “Behold the Lamb of God”.  

Here you see the disciples of become the disciples of Jesus. How?  

The testimony of John is a part of it. “Behold”….Look at… There he is… See… Come and see…

This is the “lamb of God”.  

It was the message of John’s life.  “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”

You see We learned that at the Passover, God gave instruction through Moses about the sacrificing of a lamb.

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:” (Exodus 12:5)

In Leviticus we learned about the day of atonement, and how the priest would take two goats.  One would be slain as a sacrifice to God.  The other one would have the priest symbolically place the sins of the people on it, and then would be driven into the wilderness.

When John said about Jesus that he was the lamb of God, the two disciples understood the symbolism at some level.  They understood him to be the Messiah.  They understood that he was going to deal with sin.

John’s message was “Behold”. See. Look! He experienced- Come and See. He influenced- Go and tell.

It’s interesting that John has made the effort to receive and make disciples. He had no doubt invested in these guys. 

Yet what it means to be a forerunner of the Messiah is that you understand that you are the lesser and he is the greater. That means that when John pointed his disciples to Jesus He could view their following of him as losing disciples, or as sending them.

The point of John’s life is to make much of the Messiah. This impacted his actions here.

Application:

If we are doing Christ’s mission, we are making disciples of him and not of ourselves. It’s not about making followers of us. It is about making followers of Him.

Response:

  1. What is your personal commitment to making and sending disciples of Jesus?
  2. Who can you point to Jesus today.