The First Disciples—John 1:35–39

Show Notes

Rev. Scott Wright

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

(John 1:38–39 ESV

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Speaker 0: You're listening to a sermon from the pulpit of Redeem Church, a Pc congregation in Hudson, Ohio. For more information, visit us at redeem Ohio dot org.

Speaker 1: Well, if you would turn with me in your bibles to the book of John, and this morning we'll be looking together at chapter 1 versus 35 to 39. You can find this on page 886 of the Pew Bible. We're looking at John chapter 1 and versus 35 through 39. Hear the word of God. The next day, again, John was standing with 2 of his disciples.

And he looked at Jesus says he walked by, and said behold the lamb of god. The 2 disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what are you seeking? And they said to him rabbi, which means teacher. Where are you staying?

You said to them common, you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day for it was about the tenth hour. Well, once again, we meet up with John's testimony concerning Jesus Christ. And while it is not in this particular passage, I think it's important for us to realize that following his baptism, Jesus had been led into the wilderness. Elsewhere in the gospel accounts we find that the spirit of God drove him out to be severely tempted by the devil.

He was there 40 days without eating or drinking or enjoying any kind of good fellowship. As the last Adam, Jesus would prevail unlike the first Adam who failed. In the garden of Eden, you remember, Adam was given every advantage is our covenant head. Every advantage. Eden was full of lush foliage it had pleasant trees and good food, and Adam was placed in perfect conditions.

The ground was not cursed. The world was not fallen and Adam himself was endless. And as a priest of the garden, he was to defend that garden from intruders and keep it free from evil. Through the temptation of Satan, he ate the forbidden fruit, and all mankind fell. By contrast, in the wilderness, Jesus as the second adam labor under every disadvantage as our covenant head.

The ground was cursed. The world was fallen, Man was d depressed and Jesus himself was weakened by hunger and thirst. In the desert as the messiah, he resisted temptation and he honored God and he defeated the devil. It was a fierce duel between the Christ and the deceive. The en between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent had been brought to a head in the wilderness.

And of course, the captain of our salvation thank God defeated the devil and came away as a conqueror. And it was a decisive victory It wasn't the ultimate 1, but it was decisive from which Satan was never able to recover. The Angels minister to Jesus who succeeded where the first adam had failed. And it was during those 40 days while Jesus was in the wilderness that John continued to bear witness. He was faithful to his commission in preparing the Jews for the ministry of Christ.

And it was an important time in which the Israelites sincere israelites made room in their hearts for Jesus. John's baptism of repentance was an outward means to express an inward grace, how we describe those things in theological language. And God was working among those first century people in preparation for the Sai. So when John saw Jesus approaching, he again bore testimony to his identity, look what it says in verse 36, He looked at Jesus as he walked by and said behold the lamb of god. And, of course there, he repeated the same testimony they had given to Jesus not long before, the lamb of God.

And as we noted previously, this title has reference to his once for all sacrifice. Every old testament lamb that had ever been offered pointed forward to him. I'm not a mathematician, I'm not a statistician, but I guess over 1500 years offered twice daily that comes to over a million lands. And every 1 of them pointed to Jesus. God was teaching his people that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

If mercy is to be extended, the demands of justice have to be satisfied. And Jesus did just that as the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world. And so John the Baptist had called Jews to repent for the remission of sins and now he was announcing by whom it would be. Jesus. And through the mediation of Jesus Christ, thankfully, our sins are taken away.

He upheld the justice of God, He honored the h of God so that Mercy could be extended. And as the holy spirit applies this merit to the soul we are forgiven and accepted. That's why Paul says, there is, therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And John's testimony here was intended primarily for the 2 disciples that were standing with him. These were disciples of John.

1 of whom was Andrew, Peter's brother. And the other disciple presumably was John, the evangelist who was able to write from personal experience. How else would he know the details of this episode? And these 2 disciples, they hear John's testimony and they begin following Jesus. And this was a good thing.

This is exactly what John wanted to happen. He wasn't jealous of Jesus, but he rejoice that his disciples followed him. Isn't this what he indicates in John 3 when he says this. The friend of the bride groom who stands and hears him rejoice greatly at the Bride groom voice. Therefore, this joy of mind is now complete.

He must increase, but I must decrease. And the whole point of John's ministry and his existence for that matter was to promote Christ So far from be this, he rejoice in the advancement of Jesus. He knew the infinite distance. That lie between himself and Christ. I hope we know that.

Here was the eternal Inca son of God as we confessed earlier. The creator, the log give, the judge And John knew that he was un to un the very strap of his sandal. He was the friend of the bride room who attended upon Jesus and he honored him. So John's disciples should transition from him to the Lord of all things and their transfer of allegiance from John to Jesus was natural and inevitable. It's a good thing.

Therefore, Christ's reputation should increase, and John's reputation should diminish. Our standards echoed the bible in saying that our chief end is to glorify god. Our great purpose in life is and should be to mag and to reflect his glory. Sadly, tragically even, fallen man refuses to do so. But gl himself And in so insofar as man fails to fulfill his chief and he'll miss out on the blessed ness of heaven.

Jewish custom was for teachers to be surrounded by learners or what we call disciples. That's what a disciple is. It's a learner. Immediately, in the post wilderness period, Jesus began to assemble his group of disciples, learners. And usually, in judaism, students were left to find their own teachers for themselves.

You'd go out and search for 1. What's fascinating to me here is that Jesus himself takes the initiative in finding them. This is what he says in verse... In chapter 15, isn't it? You did not choose me.

I chose you I pointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide. You see Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he walked by those 2 men. He had chosen them before the foundation of the world and selected those 2 men He would ordained them as apostles to establish the new testament church. And these 2 disciples were single out by the authority of Christ is our king. Are king.

And doesn't it highlight the importance to you of their election to the apostles ship? The only reason they became followers of Jesus is because he chose them. We talked about this in Sunday school. They didn't earn the position. They didn't interview for it.

They didn't inherit it. He chose them not because they were better or wiser or more holy than others. His choice of them was owing to his own free, grace and divine goodness. And through Providence Jesus, had prepared them and in time, he called them. So I want us to sip aside for a minute and think.

By implication does this not underscore the significance of our election to salvation? Same principle. We are Christians if we are, for the same reason that they were his disciples. In other words, they had nothing to do with your goodness or your wisdom, or your beauty or your strength, He chose you and I to be redeemed simply because it pleased him to do so. Out of love and mercy Christ chose us from before the foundation of the world as hard as that is to conceive.

So Paul comes along and he says, so then it depends not on human will or exert, but on God who has mercy. His reason for electing some and not others is taken from in himself. All humans, you and I included are guilty and d depressed. No 1 seeks God. Not even 1.

And yet God is pleased to choose some and passover over others because he is sovereign. Paul goes on and his description of this in Romans 9, and he says you will say to me then. Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? And do you know how Paul responded to that?

Who are you? Oh, man? To answer back to God. In other words, who am I so feeble and foolish and incompetent to judge god's wisdom? Can I search out the depths of his counsel?

Can I understand the extent of his infinite knowledge? I shouldn't judge God? I should submit to god? Paul goes on. What will the mode...

What well, what is molded say to its mold, why have you made me like this? Has the potter, no right over the clay? To make out of the same lump, 1 vessel for honorable use and another for dish honorable use. I think what it implies is that you and I need a better and more accurate understanding of divine sovereignty. God has absolute unrivaled irr authority over his creation.

Which includes you and me. He can do what he wants. He's accountable to no 1. He's free to do as he pleases psalm 35. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture, and we are finite, sinful, short sighted creatures, and someone says, well, just a minute.

I put my faith in Jesus. It's me who did it. Well, that's true. But it is his ind ent spirit who enabled you to do it. Christ's choice of us is prior to our choice of him.

He determines our choice. And without exception it may be said of every believer who chooses Jesus Christ. You have not chosen Christ. He has chosen you. Elsewhere John points out the same truth by using different language.

She says in first John 4. We love because he first loved us. From eternity, he loved us. Even when we were enemies surprisingly, he loved us. His love is first.

He took the initiative. I don't understand it from the depths of deity his love flowed. And he loved us when you and I were un loving and un unbelievable. Though we were sinner, it says, he loved us. Matthew Henry points out his love is the incentive, the motive and the moral cause of ours.

Let's face it. Let's be honest. There is no true love in the heart of a natural man. None. Any affection he has for anyone is self centered His heart is wicked.

A common grace. He cares for his children. Yes, but it's self centered. This is especially true with respect to loving God, the natural man hates the lord. And therefore, unless God changes our hearts we're never gonna love him.

And so the only reason that you and I are in this place on this day is the deep deep love of Jesus. At the expense of his own blood, he purchased each 1 of us for himself. And thus both angels and men should stand amazed at the love of Christ. Have you ever thought about the fact that he knew each 1 of our names, from the farthest reaches of eternity past? That bog the mine.

And he'll know and cherish those very names into the farthest reaches of eternity future. So let's not travel at the truth. Let's embrace it and feel the comfort of it. Jesus Christ Sovereign Lord chose you for himself, and I have no reason why. Thus we sing, why was I made to hear the thy voice and enter while there's room.

When thousands make a w choice and rather starve than come. Towards the same love that spread the feast. That sweet drew us in. Else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin. That's what we say.

And it means that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing. Not even death itself. So as the 2 disciples approached Jesus, look at what he asked them, He says, what are you seeking? And at first glance, this might seem like a rather bland and inn question.

You know, perhaps he just had some passing interest in fact that they were following him. But Jesus never spoke careless, and the holy spirit didn't court in significant things. This is significant. It's more than a trivial request about their reason for following him. I think Our Lord's question was far more profound than some may think.

It touches I believe on man's fundamental need for his deepest longing to be satisfied. Did you see that in the question? What are you seeking? Because Solomon tells us that god has put eternity into man's heart. And Jesus here is getting at the deeper implications that have to do with our underlying motivation.

What are you seeking? Why are you following me? Who do you think I am? What is it that you want? Are you seeking a rabbi, a teacher?

A ruler, a simply a good friend. He would have their internal motives laid bare to the disciples themselves He wanted them to ask themselves the question. At the time, they had no idea what following Jesus Christ implied, Most likely, they were following him because they expected some sort of political kingdom. You know, they wanted to return to the glory days of solomon. Every man said under his own fig tree.

So Jesus poses this rather chilling question to his eager disciples. And in 1 sense, Jesus asks the very same question of every disciple that he calls. It's a searching question. It has deep implications What are you seeking? What are you really searching for?

Why are you here? What's the reason for you being in a place of worship? Have you ever asked yourself those questions? Better yet. Can you answer them?

Are you seeking forgiveness, healing, purity, truth, fellowship approval? Perhaps it is better phrase like this. What is the greatest desire of your heart. Now, none of us have an un tainted heart. Let's be honest.

Nobody here has pure motives. We know that. But all of us have desires that we can feel and identify and express. Don't we? So I ask is the prevailing desire of your life to know and serve Jesus Christ.

Is that why we're here? Do you and I frame our daily existence with his glory and mind? Or are our thoughts taken up with material comforts and worldly pleasures. Can we say that we resist temptation because it's wrong? Or do we resist it because we'll risk the opportunity to get caught?

Perhaps you attend church simply because you think it's right, or your reputation will benefit Whatever it is you're seeking. If Jesus is not the focus, let me just say it's a vain endeavor. And whether when either death comes, or he returns, we will regret a misplaced desire. So what are you seeking? Young people, I wanna talk to you just for a minute.

Young people You have fresh energy, you have loads of potential, young people. And generally speaking, we can expect you to enjoy many years of life. Not always the case, but generally speaking, many years of life. And the Bible advice to you is to focus now why you can. Don't waste your life.

Solomon says remember also your creator in the days of your youth. Before the evil days come and the years draw near, but you will say I have no pleasure in them. Now, as old folks can say there's some pleasure. But it's not the same. And perhaps you young people are not convinced of your need yet or of Christ's sufficiency yet.

You know something the best way to be persuaded of your need and the power of the gospel is to give it a try. Taste and see says the Psalm that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. There is in our lord, both truth and goodness and beauty and a delightful savor. Only truth can be defined.

The other 3 have to be experienced. Goodness and beauty and taste must be sensed and felt and known experiential. So give it a try. If you have not done so already, asked the lord and he'll give you a taste You know, something there's only 1 way to heaven, but there are many ways to Christ. Some are led to Christ early in life, while others brought to him later on, 35 years old, Some are led gradually while many others are brought all of a sudden.

Apostle Paul. Some are driven by the fear of hell, me. Others are drawn by the splendor of heaven, many of you. Each 1 comes as the Lord or ordained according to his infinite wisdom and the important thing is not how we're brought but that we taste and see that the lord is good. If you have Given him a try, you'll find that he is even better than I can never describe.

So these 2 men, they hear the searching question, and they didn't answer but they responded with another question surprisingly. They say rabbi where are you staying? They dodged the question. They diverted the conversation. They evade the query, and it wasn't out of a malicious or un godly motive.

They just didn't have an answer. They wanted time and space to talk with Jesus and try to figure it all out because their interest had been aroused. It went beyond curiosity This is the lamb of God. And perhaps they've been searching for peace and joy or maybe they struggled with guilt. I don't know.

We're not told because they didn't answer, but they're willing to follow, and they trusted the witness of John the Baptist knowing that Jesus was something and someone special. And our lord's answer was most likely far better than they could have imagined. Come and you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day for it was about the tenth hour. So he invites them to accompany him right away.

And I ventured a guess that that day was the most important day of their lives. The 2 disciples would never be the same. They became disciples of the messiah. Can you imagine? Just imagine for a minute, living with God?

This is a man who could see into your soul every day. He knows what you're thinking. And the experience changed their lives, the impact of that 1 meeting was life changing. And I'm sure another Andrew or John ever forgot that first encounter. You know, sometimes we recall specific details of an event that changed the course of history, Many of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing at 09:11.

Right? You know. You remember. It left such an ind mark on our consciousness that we've never forgotten it. Well, John remembers it was the tenth hour.

He knew where he was and what time it was when this happened. Tenth hour. That meeting left an ind mark. He'd never be the same. So in closing, I have a couple of observations.

First, Let's give thanks for Christ's first disciples whom we appointed as foundation stones for the church. Here we see the beginning of the new testament church built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And our Lord, he took the initiative and he began the process of assembling the apostle. It's all him. And here we meet with the beginning of that great visible kingdom on Earth.

Christ, church. With all of its problems, we have them, they have them, everybody has them. With all of its problems, Christ church has made a great impact on the world. It's affected the stability of empires. It's overthrown idol tree.

It's shaped philosophies. It's done all of this in spite of the fierce opposition of the world and the flesh and the devil. And Jesus told us that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. It's a visible expression of his kingdom and endowed with great privileges like the comm of saints. That believer sitting next to you is a blessing.

The ordinary means of salvation that we talk about all the time. Offers of grace by Christ to all the members of it. It all began here with these 2 men who became the first disciples. And thus, the beginnings of the gospel church were both humble and small. That's why Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sow in his field.

It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, its larger than all the garden plants have becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. That's god's way. Its beginnings are humble and small and seemingly weak Who would have thought that this little grain would lead to a worldwide church? Compared to the great empires of the world, his kingdom appears test. But it would grow, and it would strangely overtake the world so that every nation is touched every nation on earth.

The churches has become a tree in which many have found food and rest and shade and shelter and multitudes found and enjoy the spiritual shelter protection that it offers. So finally, let me just say this. Secondly, Let's rejoice that in similar fashion, God's kingdom is like a seed in the human heart. It's planted within the soul of 1 on whom the Lord has set his love. John says no 1 born of God makes a practice of sending for God's seed abide in him for her.

And Andrew and John were the first new testament disciples to have this seed planted. It starts out very small. Needs a great deal of tender care, nurture, these little ones. That's what we have been here. We love them.

God's planting his seed in them. To others that may appear utterly insignificant as if, it's really a face. I've heard that many times in my life. That's a face. You'll get over it.

The devil tries to root it out to pull it up to overwhelm it with temptation, but once planted in the heart, it grows, and it increases to produce mighty oaks. Paul says I'm sure of this that he who began a good work in you. Will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. The word of god, the gospel of our salvation takes root. It grows up it bears fruit.

I was I better not say the place. I was at a place where, a local parking a lot. Put it that way. I don't wanna embarrass them. But I was in a local parking lot that had many plants spring up through the cracks in the asphalt.

And I thought the black top would be far too difficult for plants to grow, but it's untrue. And so it is with grace in the heart, you know, 1 might think our sins are too many and they're too strong. These be setting sins that I have. But the seed grows. It increases.

It breaks through and it overcomes our d, by the grace of God From the small on truce beginning of grace, we go on to glory. So let's not despise the day of small beginnings because God uses them to produce great things. Amen. Let's pray together. Heavenly father, we thank you for the lamb of God.

We thank you for John's testimony. For your distinguishing love, for the promise of fulfillment of all the things that you've guaranteed in the abrahamic covenant david covenant, the new covenant, because you are a faithful covenant keeping God. Please receive our praise because we offer it with joy and thanks giving in our hearts. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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