ShortJohn1B

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Meditations Contents

Series Theme: Short meditations in John's Gospel

This Page: CHAPTER 1 v.26-50

Chapter Contents

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Short Meditations in John 1: 25. The Hidden Messiah

Jn 1:26 "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know.

One of the most amazing things about the revelation of God and the coming of Jesus Christ, was that it was so quiet and unassuming. People sometimes say, if there is a God why can't He reveal Himself in all His power and greatness, if He is so great? I suspect the answer to that is that love doesn't dominate and God's intent is not to so dominate us that we are just heaps of quivering jelly. No, the whole of the gospel story reveals a God who comes to win our hearts, who comes to bless us and show us there is a better way than the self-centred, godless, sin-laden way we go without Him.

So the Pharisees have joined in questioning John who seems so slow to bring the truth out. If you aren't any of these people who we expect, who are you and why are you baptising people? Again John doesn't give the simplistic answer – God told me to – but gives a much more tantalising answer. Yes, he says, I certainly baptise people in water but (implied) that's no great thing. And then he drops his bombshell which doesn't appear as such at first sight – “among you stands one you do not know.”

Er, right. There are a lot of people here we don't know. So John is going to add something to that but we'll wait until the next meditation in the next verse to see that, but for now let's just note what he is hinting at, which we hinted at in the first paragraph: God is coming quietly, so quietly in fact, that you religious people haven't heard of him obviously.

Now this may just mean that people have short memories – but actually thirty years ago isn't a short period of time, but it was thirty years ago that a young couple brought their baby into the Temple and the baby was heralded by an elderly man, Simeon, who has probably long passed on by now, who declared the child to be God's “ salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (Lk 2:30-32) – but it's very easy to forget one little incident with the passing of the years.

So Jesus had grown up as the son of a carpenter, quietly and with no great impact, until at the age of about thirty he appeared where John was baptizing people, and John has an inkling he must be appearing soon. The One is among you! You may not know him but he's here!

Short Meditations in John 1: 26. The Superior Messiah

Jn 1:27 "He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.

Sometimes there are things in Scripture that are so obvious that we just don't see them. John is being questioned again and again by these men from Jerusalem about whether he is the Messiah. No! Elijah? No! The prophet? No! So why are you here then? Because I'm not alone! Out there is someone else, someone you don't know – I'm not alone! Inference? He's the one you should be worrying about!

Look, says John, I'm just an ordinary, humble man calling people to repentance. Beyond that there is nothing special about me – but the one who is coming, that is something else! I'm not even worthy enough to be the slave who undoes his shoes for him. I'm ordinary but he's not! He's super-special, he's the one you should be concerned about, not me!

That essentially is what John is saying – you're looking at the wrong person, I'm just the forerunner, I just baptise in water, but him…. Now what is frustrating here is John's reticence to say more. Later he is going to speak about how Jesus baptizes people but for the moment he says no more.

There is a sense perhaps that these men from Jerusalem obviously come with a hostile, challenging and belligerent attitude. They are not seekers of God, they are seekers of the apparent truth so that they can control it. Perhaps for this reason John holds back. He doesn't quite say it but it's almost hanging in the air: if you want to meet this one, then stay around for he will be coming soon, but he doesn't quite say it.

We in the modern church try and make the way so obvious for people in nice, easy little sermons with headings all beginning with the same letter (well some do!) to make them memorable, but actually that was not the way of either John or Jesus, and as God's representatives we should perhaps follow their approach more.

God is looking for seekers not critics. These men from Jerusalem are critics. The religious authority is in Jerusalem and whatever is going on here needs to come under that authority, so who are you? Just a forerunner, just a messenger, just an office boy – but be warned, the boss is coming shortly and that's all I'm going to tell you, so let me get on with my job with these people!

Short Meditations in John 1: 27. Geographical Context

Jn 1:28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan , where John was baptizing.

This verse almost seems a ‘throw-away' comment by the writer John and yet it serves a vital purpose. In meditation no.2 we commented that John anchors all he is saying in time-space history, but now we also see that he puts that time-space history in geographical context. If this was merely a set of made up stories, as some unwise people suggest, then the writers would not bother to anchor the story so clearly in time space history in a geographical setting.

This is nowhere shown as clearly as in Luke's Gospel: “ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea , Herod tetrarch of Galilee , his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene --during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan .” (Lk 3:1-3) Not only does Luke identify historical figures but he firmly anchors them each in their geographical location. This is factual history. Luke 1:1-4 shows the ‘reporter's attitude' with which Luke approached his task of writing his Gospel. No question about it – this is factual history.

The second thing to note is the actual location that John points out to us – “ Bethany on the other side of the Jordan .” The Bethany that we usually hear about was only two miles from Jerusalem but it is thought that the words ‘other side' indicate the east side of the Jordan , a location that is no longer identifiable. (Do not make the silly suggestion that John got mixed up because the reality is that he knew this land intimately.) Some suggest a ‘ Bethany beyond Jordan ' east of Galilee but that doesn't match what we read elsewhere.

So it is somewhere up the east side of the Jordan that John the Baptist is operating. Matthew spoke of him “preaching in the Desert of Judea ” (Mt 3:1) and “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan .” (Mt 3:5). It is clearly the southern half of the country (Judea, not Galilee), yet wilderness country and not so far from Jerusalem that the word gets back easily to the religious leaders there. John's natural home would not have been far from Jerusalem as his father was a priest and he would have gravitated to the nearest desert area (Lk 1:80). Here, in this clear geographical location, these things take place.

Short Meditations in John 1: 28. The Lamb Revealed

Jn 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

We come to what I believe is the pinnacle of this chapter. The questioners from Jerusalem have had their day. Whether they have hung around to see what happens is not clear, but John continues his ministry and the day after Jesus appears. Is it coincidence that it is after they have been that Jesus comes? Perhaps, or perhaps he knew they were coming and waited so as not to be interrogated by them. It's not his time for that yet.

So Jesus comes, as the other Gospels tell us, to be baptised by John and, as John sees him approaching, he says to those around him “Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” Now that is incredible in what it says. It answers so many of the questions that the academics had argued over in the ensuing years of prophecies about the Coming One. First John declares who he is and then what he will do, and both in such a clear way that they can be no doubt.

A lamb featured very largely in Israel 's history but never the phrase before, “the lamb of God.” A lamb first featured in the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac: “ God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Gen 22:8) A substitute sacrifice for Isaac. Then of course there was the Passover Lamb (and this is probably the main reference): “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.” (Ex 12:3) It was the blood of the lamb that was a sign to the destroying angel of judgment that stopped him killing anyone in the house. In the famous Isaiah prophecy about the Messiah we read, “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter .” (Isa 53:7) The thought of one giving their life for the sake of others was strong in the Old Covenant, pointing forward to the Coming One.

But it continues in the New Testament. Philip the evangelist clearly saw that Isaiah prophecy as apply to Jesus (see Acts 8:32-35) Paul also applied the imagery to Jesus (1 Cor 5:7), as did the apostle Peter (1 Pet 1:19) and of course John himself in his amazing vision on Patmos saw “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne.” (Rev 5:6) Thirty times in the book of Revelation there are references to “The Lamb” who is clearly Jesus who came to take away the sin of the world - but we will see more on that in the next meditation.

Short Meditations in John 1: 29. The Lamb in Context

Jn 1:30 This is the one I meant when I said, `A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'

It is difficult to believe that John understands what he is now saying because it is such an amazing revelation – but he is a prophet! He has just declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and now he explains how that is possible – because of who Jesus actually is.

When Joseph had seen an angel in a dream he was told about Mary and Jesus, “ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins .” (Mt 1:21) At the Last Supper Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins .” (Mt 26:28) On the road to Emmaus, Jesus taught the two disciples, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.” (Lk 24:46,47) Forgiveness of sins is the primary cause that Jesus came and died.

Now back in verse 15, John the writer had testified about John the Baptist, “John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'” And we said then John the Baptist, the prophet seeing in the new kingdom, had the revelation beforehand, that this cousin of his was in fact one who had existed in heaven before coming to earth.

Many of us don't see how crucial it is that these two things go together – Jesus coming to forgive sins and Jesus being the Son of God who had existed from the beginning in heaven. As we have commented before, only God Himself is ‘big enough' to be able to pay the penalty for the sins of every single person. An ordinary human being can step in the place of another, to take their punishment (as Dickens shows in the Tale of Two Cities) but that could every only be on a one-for-one basis. To cover ever single sin in every single person, it has to be an eternal being, God Himself. No one less could do it – and He has done it in the form of His Son, Jesus.

Thus again John is hinting that Jesus is not on the same level as John because he is the Son of God and so, so much greater and this, we see, is why he could die for our sins.

Short Meditations in John 1: 30. Unknown to John

Jn 1:31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel ."

This brings us to a very intriguing verse. Having just spoken about the Lamb of God that is obviously Jesus, he says, “I did not know him.” Now the likelihood is that being Jesus' cousin (Lk 1:36 implies this) John would almost certainly have known of the existence of Jesus in the family and so the probability is that here he means, “I myself did not know he was the Messiah”.

What this would suggest is that John received his calling from God to go and prepare the people for a Coming One, but had not had the identity of the Coming One, yet had received general information by way of revelation which we will see in two verses' time.

John's role was very specific: “I came baptising with water … that he might be revealed to Israel ,” i.e. I came to prepare the hearts of the people so when he came they would be ready to receive him. The people would have already had dealings with God and had their lives put right with Him, so when Jesus came they could more easily simply receive him, listen to him and respond to him.

But there is an interesting application or follow-on from this verse that we should heed for our own lives. This verses demonstrates the principle that often God does not reveal the whole picture to His people, or even His specific servants. The truth is that when you came to Christ, your whole thinking was taken up with the encounter with God and being forgiven and being born again. When you said something like, “Please come into my life and lead me and be Lord of my life,” all you knew was that it would be good that He would do in you.

When we come across such verses as Paul's, “ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (Eph 2:10) the truth is that in the early part of our lives with Him, we saw that as very general and it is only as we mature with Him do we realise that He has imparted gifts and ministries that are specifically for us – but that came gradually. We may have had a prophetic word about it, but the truth still remained that we “live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7). Even John had to work it out day by day with very limited guidance, working on the limited amount he had been told. If him, so us.

Short Meditations in John 1: 31. The Spirit comes down

Jn 1:32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.

The differences between the Gospels is interesting. The three Synoptic Gospels state what happened as factual information, for example, “ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased,” (Mt 3:16,17) but here in John's Gospel, John the writer has John the Baptist testifying to what he saw. The emphasis is still on John's testimony, what John did and saw and said.

It is almost as if John the writer is saying to those heretics who had been exalting John to the exclusion of Jesus, don't you realise that John was purely there to bear testimony to Jesus. All that we are reading here is part of John's testimony. It really needs reading all together as well as taking verse by verse. The fact that John saw the dove like Spirit come down on Jesus is being referred to purely to make a bigger point – Jesus is the One!

Matthew had given much more detail about what had happened at this point of time: “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness." Then John consented.” (Mt 3:13-15) The record of it was all there in the other three Gospel, which had been in existence for decades before John wrote, so he didn't need to repeat it.

When John wrote he not only wrote with insights on the things Jesus had said and done that the others had not picked up on, but he also wrote into a different period of history, a time when heresies had arisen and the role of this aged senior Christian leader was not merely to act as a witness to what he had seen, but also to explain it all in the context of refuting the distortions that had grown up in the intervening years. The battle for the truth was well and truly on. How do you bring out the truth? You bring in witnesses who testify to what they had seen! Yes, this was a very significant event that was being written about here but John emphasises the truth of it by making John the Baptist the witness, and by so doing he also makes him lower than Jesus in the account. Job done!

Short Meditations in John 1: 32. God's sign to John

Jn 1:33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'

Within this verse we find encapsulated a variety of things, some of which we have seen already and others which are opening out the picture of the Coming One. First of all there is John reiterating that he would not have known Jesus if he hadn't been told about him. We noted previously that he was probably Jesus' cousin and so would have known of him at the very least, but had not realised he was the Messiah, the Coming One whose way he was to prepare.

So what had made John realise who Jesus was? The fact that God had given him things to watch out for. Now there must have been more than this because when Jesus came to John to be baptised – before the Spirit came down – John was hesitant about baptising him, he obviously realised there was something about Jesus and so the matter of the Spirit coming on Jesus was merely confirmation: “ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:14,15) John knew the nature of the one who was to come but had not yet identified him with Jesus: “I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” (Jn 1:26,27)

But perhaps the emphasis should be put on what Jesus would go on to do – baptize with the Holy Spirit. Putting all these things together it appears John knew that there was coming one greater than him, one who would baptize in the Spirit. When Jesus first appeared something in John knew that this was he and then when the Spirit came down this was the confirmation that God had spoken about to him previously.

So what is this baptizing in the Spirit? John baptized people in water, immersing them in the Jordan as a picture of dying to their old self and being washed clean of their sins. If the picture is to remain true, Jesus will immerse people in the Holy Spirit and they will be made anew – it is as simple as that. When you immerse a cup in water it is filled and thus we find ‘baptized' and ‘being filled' as one and the same thing spoken of by Jesus and then happening on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 1:5 – baptized, Acts 2:4 – filled).

Short Meditations in John 1: 33. The Ultimate Testimony

Jn 1:34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."

So much of this, we have said, is testimony. It is what John, at this time of his life, mindful that he is old and maybe cannot go on for much longer, is strong on. I was there I saw it – and so did others. And his testimony, now through the mouth of John the Baptist reaches its peak.

“I have seen and I testify.” This is what witnesses do. This is not the language of someone making it up, or of someone who heard it second hand. Luke had done that; he had carefully collected together all the information he could on Jesus from those who had been there (Lk 1:1-4) but John had been there seen it and heard it all (1 Jn 1:1-3) but now he adds to his own testimony that of John the Baptist. God had told him, watch for the one on whom my Spirit comes. He is the one. And he had seen it come on Jesus. Then he declared, “This is the Son of God.”

Now whether that was John the writer or John the Baptist's testimony, it is a remarkable testimony. It says, make no mistake this is the unique Son of God. Already we have seen John aligning Jesus completely with God (1:1-3,14,18) and we will see it in chapter 3: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him,” (Jn 3:16,17) and we see it near the end of the Gospel: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30,31)

It is almost as if his testimonies get stronger and stronger as he goes through the book. There can be no doubt whatsoever, that John is utterly convinced that Jesus is God's unique Son, God Himself. John more than any other of the Gospel writers is sure of this. The others were focusing on getting down in writing the basics of what had happened in respect of Jesus – his life, his ministry, his death and his resurrection – but John goes a step further; he says this is why all these things happened, because of who Jesus was and is. His Gospel, if we come to it with open hearts, leaves us no room to doubt. He is blatant in his intent – he wants us to believe just as he believes and he believes because he was there and saw and heard it all.

Short Meditations in John 1: 34. Whose Disciples

Jn 1:35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.

The fascinating thing about this first chapter of John is the way it gradually changes like one of those light shows where green gradually turns to blue to red and so on, in slow gradual changes. John started off with philosophical sounding language about Jesus, with a hint of John the Baptist, then more of Jesus, even more of John the Baptist, including more of Jesus and now suddenly there are references to others – disciples. We've had ‘others' in respect of the questioners from Jerusalem , but this is the first reference of anyone else.

Now it appears that there were not only those who came to John to be baptised and then went off home afterwards, but there were also those who stayed with him. Whether or not he taught them, we aren't told here; we are simply told that on this day “John was there again with two of his disciples.” Whether he used them to control the crowd into an orderly line to be baptised we can only speculate.

There were obviously sufficient number of them for a sense of partisanship to creep in (which is almost inevitable when people gather into groups) because we find later some came to Jesus with a question: “Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" (Mt 9:14) and then later still, “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Mt 11:2,3) and then after John's death at Herod's hands, “John's disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.” (Mt 14:12)

It is clear, therefore, that there were a number who attached themselves to John, and perhaps that was helpful for John to fulfil his ministry, but ultimately it was counterproductive because John's intent was to send people to follow Jesus. While John was alive there were those who stayed with him and thus perhaps it almost became necessary for John to die prematurely to stop this competitive spirit from existing. There was not room for two Messiahs, because there was only one genuine one. The other was simply the announcer. Imagine a compere at a theatre or TV show and as he introduces artists the crowd pay more attention to him than the acts following. Silly? Well that was almost what was happening in John's day and a cult eventually sprung up making John the ‘main' feature. The only valid disciples are Jesus' disciples – and so also today.

Short Meditations in John 1: 35. The Lamb of God (2)

Jn 1:36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

There are sometimes little things in Scripture that we miss in passing, perhaps because something bigger overshadows them – but we miss it. The big thing in this verse is what we have seen before – “Look, the Lamb of God.” Back in verse 29 we read, “ John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” That had been the first mention of who Jesus was and his role on earth – “to take away the sin of the world!” and it is almost as if John the writer wants to make this double emphasis so that we won't miss it. We'll come to this more in a moment.

But the ‘little thing' that I suspect we so often miss are the opening words of the verse, “When he saw Jesus passing by.” Simple words but words that raise questions that we won't get answers for this side of heaven. The day before Jesus had been baptised. Where had he gone afterwards and why was he now back here and ‘passing by'?

From fuller reading of the Gospels we come to see that Jesus knew people and was fully aware of his plans with the Father and one can only wonder if he knew that it was time to start picking up disciples and a good starting place would be with John's disciples who were already prepared. Verse 39 shows us that he was obviously staying for a few days somewhere near. Whether or not it was distant relative we don't know. Whether it was someone he or the family had met when they went to Jerusalem for the annual feasts (as they would have surely done) we again don't know, but the fact was that Jesus was staying in the vicinity and he now ‘passed by' where John was so that John had another opportunity to point him out.

Are there times in life, I wonder, when Jesus draws near or ‘passes by' so that things happen that give us an opportunity to testify to him to others? Are we aware of his presence moving in our circumstances?

Here John uses spiritual shorthand that those with him will understand – and perhaps they had questioned him and discussed what he had meant when he said it the day before. The Lamb of God, God's sacrificial provision, just like the Passover Lamb, that was used as a substitute to save Israel in Egypt and deliver them when the destroying angel ‘passed over'. John the Baptist emphasises it for the sake of his disciples and it is the hook for all disciples.

Short Meditations in John 1: 36. Followers

Jn 1:37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

Sometimes the most simple sentences contain the most profound details. We noted in a previous meditation that John had disciples, those who remained with him, who were perhaps taught by him and perhaps helped him. We also saw that Jesus passes by and John hails him for the second time as the Lamb of God. Now there must have been something about the way John said this that released his two disciples to leave him and go after Jesus.

So here we have the most simple of actions by these two men. They leave one man and go and follow another, and therein is the heart of the Gospel. Yes, it is all about Jesus and what he has done for us, but at the end of that it is all meaningless unless this simple act follows – you need to leave your old life and go and follow him.

Now in the four Gospels we see this happening again and again until there are twelve men following Jesus. Every time they had to leave what they were doing to follow him. Now why did they do that? There was something about Jesus that drew them; that was the first reason. But the second reason had to be so that they could join him in his life in what he was doing. They would learn from him and be changed, changed in who they were and changed in what they did in life.

Now of course they did that physically because Jesus was there in physical human form and so they physically left where they were living and working and went after Jesus. But of course Jesus doesn't have just one physical body today, he has millions, all his followers, the church, so for us today we cannot ‘follow' him physically in as much as we cannot follow a single human being physically. What we do is follow him in heart, soul and mind and we allow his Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us and lead us through life, but the same things happen – we mentally and spiritually leave the old life to embark on a new life.

The apostle Paul described ‘the old life' that we leave behind: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.” (Eph 2:1-3) We have left all that to now follow Jesus and his way.

Short Meditations in John 1: 37. Seekers

Jn 1:38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

There are two categories of people in the world: the complacent and seekers. The complacent are happy with their lot and rarely give a thought to eternity. Seekers are those who catch that sense that ‘there is something more' as they respond to God: “ He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Eccles 3:11)

These two men had been disciples of John and yet when John pointed Jesus out, something more in them drew them to go and follow him, something in them said, this is the man we need to meet, he is the one who has what we are looking for in life. Why else would they have left John and followed this unknown Jesus?

These man are seekers and yet it is clear that they are not sure what it is they are seeking. Note how this philosophical sounding Gospel moves into the apparently mundane affairs of men. Jesus becomes aware of them following him and so he turns and graciously asks them what they want.

Is that not the question that every one of us has to face – what is it that you want, what do you want of life, what do you want of God? Some of us think passivity is all that is needed, but God isn't looking for passive people, He is looking for those who will seek Him with everything they are: “if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul .” (Deut 4:29)

Those who are self-satisfied, happy with who and what they are, go nowhere. Jesus later taught, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Mt 5:6). Hunger and thirst are extreme terms. These people are not content with what they have, they yearn for a right walk with God.

These two men seem a little caught out for all they can reply is, “Where are you staying?” it seems they are responding, “We're not sure yet quite what we want but we feel we will find it with you, if only we may come and spend some time with you.” That is a good starting place for each one of us.

Short Meditations in John 1: 38. With Jesus

Jn 1:39 Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Again and again in these very simple verses there are tremendous truth, truths that so often we miss or forget. I come across people who are doubters, critics or sceptics and in the midst of our talking I might say, “But have you read the Bible?” and the best I get is, “Well, a little bit.” ‘A little bit' is not the sign of a seeker.

Now in this verse Jesus doesn't give a direct answer – “ No. 36 Straight Street at Bethany ” or wherever else he was staying. He doesn't just impart information, he always seeks to lead us on. “Come and you will see.” On its own that is a very obvious statement. Of course you will see and find out if you come, but of course it is an invitation to respond. And Jesus says to each of us, “Come and find out about me, come and encounter me, come……”

So what does ‘come' mean for me today in my daily life? It is seek him. Where? In the Bible, and in prayer, perhaps in church, anywhere I may find out about him, anywhere I may encounter him. This is the crucial thing – encounter him. I once witnessed to a girl for some length of time and she seemed unable to grasp the wonder of it all. Eventually, I said, “Let's conduct an experiment. I know you don't believe but humour me. I suggest we pray. I'll pray first and then I want you to pretend he's here and I want you to say something to him in prayer.” I prayed something briefly and then there was a silence. She started, “God if you are here….” and then there was silence again. I heard a snuffling sound and opened my eyes to see tears running down her face, and she said, “He's here!” As she prayed, even pretended to pray, he met her. She suddenly knew he was there, she suddenly knew he was real.

So these men are genuine seekers and they know that if they want to find out they have to go with Jesus and so they go – for the rest of the day. There is no hesitation and they are whole-hearted in their seeking – they give over the rest of the day to staying with him. Seeking, as we noted before, needs to be whole-hearted.

How genuine are we in our seeking after and knowing God? It's not supposed to be a guilt inducing question but one that challenges us to be real about who we say we are.

Short Meditations in John 1: 39. Introducing Andrew

Jn 1:40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

Andrew has the privilege of being the first of Jesus' future disciples mentioned in this Gospel. Bear in mind that later on we are told he is a fisherman from Galilee and yet this fisherman has left his work and gone south with hundreds of others to repent and be baptised by John but, even more, has stayed on and has been described by John the writer as one of John's disciples, one who had stayed with John the Baptist to be taught and perhaps to help him in his ministry – and now he goes off after Jesus and spends the day with him.

But note he is also described as “Simon Peter's brother.” It seemed he was always in the shadow of Simon Peter and so perhaps Simon was the elder brother. How many of us live in the shadow of an ‘older brother', someone in the family who always seems to have ranked higher than us? Such a thing can make you feel second class, but that is not the truth about you; it is simply the way things grew up but you are not second class. Andrew is about to become the one who introduced Peter to Jesus. Without him it might not have happened.

The other Gospels hardly mention Andrew but John, with the reflection of the years, thinks back and realises there was more to Andrew than meets the eye. At the feeding of the five thousand it was Andrew who brought forward the boy with the loaves and fishes (Jn 6:8,9). This suggests he was someone who talked to people, even lowly people like this child and found out that he had some provisions.

Later on some Greeks came and wanted to see Jesus and approaches Philip. Now instead of going directly to Jesus, he went first to Andrew who then took them to Jesus (Jn 12:20-22). This suggests that he was a go-between man, approachable by those who felt unworthy of approaching Jesus, but at the same time being sufficiently close to Jesus that he felt easy in asking for access. Yet he wasn't part of that innermost group that actually comprised Peter, James and John who, for instance, Jesus took up the mount of transfiguration with him (Mt 17:1).

Presumably after this time there was a time when they each returned to Galilee to resume their work for it was from there that they each had their specific calling by Jesus to follow him and leave their fishing to become fishers of men (Mt 4:18-20). A complex story.

Short Meditations in John 1: 40. The simplest of messages

Jn 1:41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ)

It's a funny thing about fishermen, I never thought of them as being spiritual, and yet John challenges that idea. Andrew and his brother Simon Peter, the Gospels clearly tell us, are fishermen from the north in Galilee, but we find them further south somewhere on the Jordon where John the Baptist is drawing the crowds with no greater message than ‘repent and be baptised'. Even more than that one of these two brothers has been hanging around with John and is labelled one of his disciples. But it gets worse: Andrew encounters Jesus, spends the day with him and then tells his brother, “We have found the Messiah.”

Now for that to be a meaningful communication it means that both Andrew and Peter understand and know who or what they mean by the term ‘The Messiah'. We know today that the Messiah was the expected one, the anointed one of God who was spoken about in the Old Testament scriptures. This suggests that these fishermen, as rough as they might have been (or so I have always thought), were nevertheless good Jewish boys who have had some measure of teaching. Either that, or with the coming of John there has been talk around ‘the dining room table' about who he is or who people say he is and speculation has included talk about the anointed one. The fact is that these two fishermen are better prepared that we might have previously thought; they know who they are talking about.

Having established that, we now find that Andrew, having met Jesus, has drawn the conclusion (already!) that Jesus is the Messiah. Now he may not have had a great deal of idea of what that meant, because even the religious teachers couldn't agree over scriptures and the sort of person the Messiah was going to be. Nevertheless, meeting him for one day has left Andrew with this conclusion: this is the one!

Now having drawn that conclusion we find that the next thing in Andrew's mind is, “I must find Peter and tell him.” Now that must strengthen our conclusion above: Andrew believes Peter would be interested in this knowledge. What the writer John is telling us is that these were prepared men, men whose hearts were inclined towards God, men who had come looking when John turned up, men who went looking when Jesus turned up. When, later, Jesus went to Galilee and called them to leave their fishing, these were men he had already encountered and whose hearts were prepared. Wow!

Short Meditations in John 1: 41. Changed

Jn 1:42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter).

The thing about Jesus is that he knows what we can become. We look into the future and wonder but he looks and he knows our potential. God always knows the future – He knows everything. It's the thing I like about prophecy. You look at an ordinary person, even a person in trouble, and then the Lord speaks about them and you hear of a transformed future because the Lord knows what He can do with them.

The lovely example of this is the angel coming to Gideon and says, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." (Jud 6:12) The humour is beautiful. Here is a man hiding away from the Midianite invaders who thinks he is the least in his family and the Lord calls him a mighty warrior. Why? Because He knows that that is what he is going to become!

So Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus. Again, building on what we said previously, this suggests a man who is open and seeking. He may be a fisherman but he is open to God. And so he comes with Andrew and meets Jesus. Again as we have said before, the thing we do is introduce people to Jesus. Get them talking to Jesus and he'll do the changing.

Now whether Jesus' words are prophecy of what will come about or are words of transformation now, is not clear. But they are words of change and it is about name change and names in the Hebrew culture were important. Simon, we are told by scholars means small stone. Peter means a rock. At the very least Jesus is saying to Peter you may be a small stone at the moment but I am going to make you a rock, one who stands out, one on whom others depend.

Who could ever have thought that this fisherman with a big mouth, as the Synoptic Gospels show him, always leaping in and often saying the wrong thing, who could have imagined that this man would eventually become the first bishop of Rome? What a transformation!

But this is what the gospel is all about – Jesus coming and transforming our lives. We don't know what the end product of our lives will yet be, but in Jesus' hands we will be very different from when we first met him.

Short Meditations in John 1: 42. Meeting Philip

Jn 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee . Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

Jesus' criteria for who he chooses to follow him is never spelled out in the Bible. I usually assume he calls those who he knows will respond and follow him – and it is this way round. We sometimes hear people say, “I found Jesus” but actually the truth is that he found us and called us by his Spirit and we then, and only then, responded.

As unsure as we are about the location of where John was baptising people and where Jesus had been staying in the nearby vicinity, one thing we are told by inference is that it was NOT Galilee and therefore must have been somewhere in Judea (Mt 3:1) because we read, “Jesus decided to leave for Galilee”.

The other question mark over this verse is the start, “The next day.” This is the third time in a few verses that John uses this phrase. John had been baptising and questioners came. “The next day” (v.29) Jesus came and was baptised. “The next day” (35) Jesus was passing by, and now a third time, “the next day” Jesus decided to leave for Galilee . We are left with a sense that this all happened fairly quickly and yet all in one day, but spread over several days for Jesus clearly stayed where he was at least for a couple of days.

But now deciding to leave for Galilee, he finds Philip. Philip, we will see shortly, also comes from Galilee and being here in the south we must assume he's yet another of this group that seems to have come down to see John the Baptist. Philip is named among the twelve (Mt 10:3), is the one challenged by Jesus about food to feed the large crowd (Jn 6:5), and was the one approached by the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus (Jn 12:21). He was also the one who asked Jesus to show them the Father (Jn 14:8).

His somewhat negative response about lack of food to feed the crowd (Jn 6:7), the fact that he handed the Greeks on to Andrew (Jn 12:22), and his questioning of Jesus, rather suggests a man who is not strong in his faith and slow to understand, a man not in the inner circle and who needs the encouragement of those closer to Jesus. Now Jesus would have known all this about Philip and so despite all this Jesus calls him to follow and become one of the twelve. Take encouragement in that Jesus doesn't call perfect people. He knows our shortcomings but those will not put him off blessing and using you.

Short Meditations in John 1: 43. Common Background

Jn 1:44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida .

It is interesting but we don't know what Philip did in life. Andrew and Peter, the Synoptic gospels tell us, were fishermen. Bethsaida is thought to have been a fishing village on the west coast of the sea of Galilee. It is probable that most people knew everyone else in such a community and they probably knew of each other even if they might not have been friends. Was it that they all came together from Bethsaida to visit John the Baptist? Did they come down to Jerusalem , at a feast time that was acceptable to the rest of the home community, and then stop off to see John the Baptist?

As so often in Scripture we are only given the bare bones of the story and so there are lots of questions to which we are not given answers, but those don't detract from the main story. But these men are Galileans and it will be in Galilee that Jesus will start and continue his main ministry, far away from the critical eyes in Jerusalem . And if he is going to work in Galilee and he is going to draw a group around him to help him and be taught by him, and who will continue the work when he is gone, then he had better draw locals to him, locals whose hearts are already inclined to God. Such men Jesus finds here, further south, men who have come seeking John the Baptist, men whose hearts have been prepared to receive him.

Whereas the Synoptic Gospels show us Jesus calling these fishermen from their boats on the Sea of Galilee , John shows us that there is history before those incidents, history that shows their hearts were prepared and ready for Jesus.

What do these things say to our lives today. Well, as a direct follow on, we realise that when we came to Christ, and responded to his calling, the Holy Spirit had already been preparing us. Some suggest that when we responded to a talk or a conversation, there had been anything between six and ten previous ‘contacts' or links previously, things that gradually prepared us to face the truth about us and our need of him.

But there is also this thing about the lack of knowledge about Philip. This says we don't have to be well-known stars or celebrities of the Christian world for God to use us. Philip was part of Jesus' strategy to develop the kingdom – and so are you! It doesn't have to be a ‘big part' to be a significant part. Rejoice in your part in his plans.

Short Meditations in John 1: 44. Pass it on

Jn 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth , the son of Joseph."

John shows us again, the tendency there was to pass on the news about Jesus. Andrew had found Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah". Now Philip finds Nathaniel and tells him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about.” On the road to Emmaus Jesus explained to the two disciples his background and we find , “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Lk 24:27) Jesus said to the unbelieving critics, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.” (Jn5:46)

Moses had declared, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.” (Deut 18:15) When Peter was preaching to the crowd after the cripple had been healed at the Gate Beautiful, he cited this same scripture: “For Moses said, `The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.” (Acts 3:22).

But of course it hadn't only been Moses who had spoken about The Coming One for there were words throughout the prophets of the Old Testament that pointed towards him, and now Philip declares, “This is the one!” Philip's short encounter with Jesus had somehow convinced him. We aren't told what it was but obviously something about Jesus and what he said had already convinced Philip and he wants to pass it on to his friend Nathaniel.

What is interesting about these two incidents involving Andrew and now Philip, is that both of them have been convinced intellectually and emotionally in respect of Jesus, simply by being with him and talking and listening. Jesus has performed no miracles and done no signs – yet – and so they have been convinced simply by encounter. Later on the woman at the well in Samaria testified and we find, “leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" (Jn 4:28,29). Now that seems a little bit of exaggeration in the light of what we are told in the account, but did, I wonder, the same sort of thing occur in the conversations that Andrew and Philip have with Jesus? There was something that captured both of these men in such a manner that they felt impelled to pass it on. Is that our faith?

Short Meditations in John 1: 45. A Question and an Answer

Jn 1:46 "Nazareth ! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.

So often I find when talking with people they have questions which appear to hold them back, they have prejudices which are actually unfounded and which would be shown to be so if only they searched a little bit.

Philip has found his friend Nathaniel and told him that they have found the prophet that Moses spoke about and he is Jesus of Nazareth. It is at the mention of Nazareth that Nathaniel balks. Nazareth is up in Galilee and there is no mention of Nazareth in the Old Testament, it is a town with no prophetic heritage, one might say. Surely if the Messiah is going to come, he's going to come from Jerusalem ?

The wise men seeking Jesus obviously thought this: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Mt 2:1,2) No, the reality was that there was no expectation of the Messiah coming from the north. Indeed when the Pharisees were arguing among themselves and with Nicodemus, they declared, “Are you from Galilee , too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee .” (Jn 7:52)

The trouble with prejudice is that it comes with a closed mind having set up its own limited beliefs for Isaiah had prophesied, “In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light,” (Isa 9:1,2) so that had been prophecy about Galilee and the Messiah; it's just that the teachers hadn't seen it and taken it in!

When the little family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus returned to the land from Egypt , we find, “he went and lived in a town called Nazareth . So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene.” (Mt 2:23) Now there are not those exact words in the Old Testament but somewhere Matthew found that reference and for him it was quite legitimate for Jesus to come from Nazareth . This conversation would suggest that Nathaniel didn't in fact come from the north, but that is unclear as we are not told. To his question comes the obvious reply: “Come and see.” Search and you will find!

Short Meditations in John 1: 46. Insight that hooks

Jn 1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

Over the years, particularly through the prophetic, I have seen Jesus speak specific words to people – and they know the word is for them. He manages to say things that hook them. It may be a word of knowledge about them and they recognise its truth, it may be a word of hope that stirs something within them, it may be a challenge that similarly lifts something within them. In each case he says something that evokes a response within them, a response that acknowledges that they have heard something more than mere pleasantries.

When Jesus ‘sees' us, he knows us, because he is God and he has that insight, he has that sort of knowledge and so, as Philip brings Nathaniel, Jesus looks at him as he approaches and he does that same thing that I have seen so many times over the years – he hooks him with words. For Nathaniel these are words of affirmation. They say, here is a real member of God's family, a man of God in whom there is nothing false. The problem that God had had with so many from the nation of Israel was that they had acknowledged God with their lips but their hearts had been far from Him (Isa 29:13). They appeared one thing but were in reality something else. They appeared to be the people of God but their lives were far from that description. They were, in fact, false and they were not real members of God's holy family.

That had been the situation with Israel and we've commented before that when Jesus came to Israel they were at a low spiritual ebb, but when he comes to Nathaniel, he finds something different, a man whose heart is turned to God and a man who is true and honest in every way.

Nathaniel and Jesus' words about him thus come as a challenge to us. Are we really Christians or are we simply Christians by self-proclamation? Are we those who put on a show, or a performance, who appear nice and convey all the social niceties required of a church goer, and do we apply the Bible to bits of our lives while retaining sovereign control over the rest of them, or are we truly a child of God, born of His Spirit, seeking His heart and His will in every aspect of our lives? Is Jesus truly both our Saviour and our Lord? If not, we are pretending, we are playing at faith and we are in Jesus' words, ‘false'! That is the challenge of this verse.

Short Meditations in John 1: 47. Rising to the Bait

Jn 1:48 " How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

In the previous meditation we used the analogy of a fishermen in respect of Jesus when we spoke of him ‘hooking' people. He says or does things to catch their attention. This is the same principle as the Lord used to catch Moses with the burning bush (Ex 3). It happens with every person when the Lord starts to draw them to himself. He knows the ones who will respond and so he starts what is often such a gentle process we don't even realise it is happening. We starting having thoughts we hadn't had before, we find questions arising we hadn't thought before, we find a growing interest in spiritual things, or perhaps we simply start becoming aware of our spiritual need. One way or another the Lord is drawing us to himself. It may be through a crisis, it may just be through circumstances or it may, like here, be through a relationship.

Nathaniel is hooked: “How do you know me?” The question flows of his lips almost without thought. Jesus has just said something very positive about him. That was enough for him to drop his guard and open up. So often the Lord says something encouraging to an unbeliever but it is just the hook to draw them on. So without realising it Nathaniel is being drawn into a conversation.

But he doesn't realise who he is talking to. This man before him is God and he knows everything there is to know about Nathaniel, but he's not going to throw that knowledge around carelessly, he's just going to drop one further bit of bait to draw him yet further in. Nathaniel had obviously been in some walled garden out of public view before Philip had called him to come and meet Jesus, and so Jesus simply puts a little piece of knowledge in front of Nathaniel that Nathaniel knows no one else would have known: "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

That's all it needed for this man and we'll see his response in the next study. But the truth is that God does know us. The psalmist knew this when he wrote, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” (Psa 139:1-3) I wonder if Nathaniel had been reading or meditating on that Scripture when he was called?

Short Meditations in John 1: 48. Unrestrained Confession

Jn 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel ."

Nathaniel and Peter hold the awards for top proclamations in the New Testament, I think. Peter's, like Nathaniel's had been directly to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt 16:16). In the case of Nathaniel it is all the more remarkable because of where he had come from only a few minutes before: “Nazareth ! Can anything good come from there?” (v.46) Peter's declaration was all the more remarkable in the light of what followed; “Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mt 16:23)

So what was it that turned Nathaniel from a sceptic to an outright believer? Well, all we have in the intervening verses were Jesus seeing him, declaring him to be a true Israelite in whom is no guile, and then declaring he saw him under the palm tree. This insight and this knowledge was all it needed to convince Nathaniel. Somehow this interaction between Jesus and Nathaniel, convinced Nathaniel that what Philip has said earlier was true, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote.” (v.45)

Nathaniel starts by calling Jesus, ‘Rabbi' or teacher for that is how he appears, that is his appearance in the culture of Israel . With the knowledge that he has and the way he imparts it to them, he is clearly a teacher in their society.

But then he declares him “the Son of God” . Now whether he fully understood what he meant by that is unclear but it is a straight forward, simple but powerful declaration of faith and as such is the first one according to John who recognized this so clearly in response to meeting him. John the Baptist may have had similar revelation but it was more instigated through a direct word previously from God. Nathaniel meets Jesus and declares it.

He also declares him “the King of Israel ” because that in their understanding was what the Messiah was to be. Psalm 2 has the messiah as both Son (v.7) and King (v.6) one who will rule Israel and then through Israel , the nations, i.e. the whole world. The Wise Men expected him to be a king (Mt 2:2). When Jesus entered Jerusalem , they expected him to be a king (Mt 21:5) for so he was.

Short Meditations in John 1: 49. Promise of Revelation

Jn 1:50 Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. ”

If John was a modern thriller-writer he would probably win prizes for this roller-coaster of a chapter that ends with a tantalizing promise. Nathaniel has had this encounter with Jesus, that ends with him proclaiming that, “you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel," so John leaves us at the end of the chapter with Jesus' response, and what a response it is!

You come to that conclusion simply because I said I saw you under the fig tree? That's how Jesus starts out. i.e. that word of knowledge impressed you? If you want to be impressed, I tell you, “You shall see greater things than that.” That is the first part of his promise.

In Jesus' ministry words of knowledge will be common but they will almost be overshadowed by much greater things happening, people getting healed, and miracles taking place on a daily basis. Yes, that was what Jesus was like and amazingly it is what he offers to us later in this Gospel: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.” (Jn 14:12)

But Jesus doesn't leave it there, he adds to the strength of what he has just said: “He then added, "I tell you the truth…..” (v.51) The original here is very strong and might also be rendered, “In all solemnity I tell you….” He is saying, “I am not exaggerating, I really do mean this, this is how it will be.” It's his way of saying to Nathaniel, “I really do mean what I am saying to you.”

Then comes the second part of his promise to Nathaniel: “you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. ” Immediately we think, “Did that happen?” Well first realise that this is exactly the picture that Jacob had (Gen 28:12) and it's meaning was that he was at the place of great accessibility to heaven. Jesus had come to bring heaven to earth and those who traveled with him, may not have had the eyes to see the angelic comings and goings but they would certainly see the ‘Son of Man' (the prophetic term for the Messiah) bringing the blessings of heaven to the earth. That was the privilege of the disciples of that day.