I Had To Tell You
I had just asked him to tell me the story of his commitment to Jesus. He answered by telling me about a long chain of discipleship, naming each person in the sequence. As he talked, I finished nearly half of my Cuban sandwich. As I took another bite, I asked him, "What's the secret? How does the chain keep going?" He laughed and said, "It's friends following Jesus. It's what you're doing. Just one person asking another person to get together and discuss the Bible. Once you get established in your faith, you go and ask someone else to read the Bible with you."
John 1:35-42
The next day John was standing there again with two of his disciples. As he watched Jesus walking by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned around and noticed them following, he asked them, "What are you seeking?" They answered, "Rabbi" (the word means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come," he said, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of the two who had listened to John and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. First he went and found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah" (the word means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Looking straight at him, Jesus said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
John's job was to point people to Jesus (John 1:23). So he took the influence he had with people, and redirected their attention. He literally said, "Look!" When John's disciples listened to him and saw Jesus for themselves, they wanted to follow him. John didn't try to hoard "his disciples"; he wanted them to follow Jesus. It's possible that one of the first two disciples to follow Jesus was John. The name is left unsaid. The anonymity suggests the writer is trying to truthfully tell the story of following Jesus without boasting that he was one of the first. But because his name isn't given, we can't be sure. Either way, a disciple didn't get named, and that hints at an important principle: those who know Jesus don't want to draw attention to themselves. Like John the Baptist, they want people to look at Jesus instead. Jesus asks the important question: What are you seeking? Or, what do you want? I've often thought of following Jesus as being a kind of intellectual puzzle. But the more time I spend with Jesus, I realize he wants more than my curiosity. He wants to address the deepest desires of my heart. He invites us to live with him, because he knows that his presence will satisfy us like no one and nothing else. After a day with Jesus, Andrew is stunned. This is not just another rabbi, but the Messiah. He had always wanted God to be involved with his life. He spent one day with Jesus, and then he had to get his brother. I wonder why Peter came? The text doesn't tell us, but Andrew must have seemed different—and alive. Sometimes "inviting a friend to church" seems like a marketing strategy. But what if our friend asked, "Wait, how has church changed you? Give me specific details." Could we share stories of how our lives have been transformed to love God and others? After Peter comes to Jesus, his life is changed too. Before Peter does anything, Jesus looks straight at him and gives him a new identity. Many years later, he will write, "His divine power has provided everything we need for life and godliness, through knowing the one who called us by his own glory and excellence" (2 Peter 1:3). Because Andrew brought him to Jesus, Peter gained a relationship with God that enabled him to live a godly life.
What does it tell you about Jesus that he asks, "What are you seeking?" and says, "Come and see"?
Who first pointed you to look at Jesus? Why did you take their invitation seriously?
What would make it hard to tell a friend, "Look at Jesus"?
Take an evening to remove all the distractions (TV, social media, etc), and spend time with Jesus. Slowly read through the first few chapters of the Gospel of John. Ask Jesus, "Make yourself so real to me that I have to tell others about you."