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I’ve recently been encouraged by some verses from John 1…
35 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.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
Both John and Jesus give us wonderful examples of selflessness here. John continually focuses his life on pointing others to the Messiah, and when he does so in verse 36, two of his disciples leave him and follow Jesus. If I were John, that would sting a little. After all, these were two of the disciples that had been walking with him, following him, hanging on to his every word. But now they were leaving to follow someone else, Someone greater. John had achieved his purpose of pointing others to Christ, but at the loss of two of his own followers. However, we see no disappointment from John. He recognized that he had fulfilled his God-given responsibility, and he wanted the best for those disciples.
Jesus also exemplified selflessness in His caring for the two disciples that followed Him. He made conversation with them, then invited them to come and spend time with Him. I imagine that Jesus had plenty to do, but He was perfectly willing to let complete strangers “hang out” with Him. Sounds like an inconvenience to me. Wow – what an example Jesus set! Am I willing to invite people into my life to spend time with me and see how I live? Not only does this take selflessness, but it also implies that I have a life worth seeing. Of my own works, I have nothing, but by the Spirit of God in me, I really should have something worth sharing with people. Is my life different enough (in a good way) to prompt people to want to know more about it?
In the verse following the verses I shared above, we find that one of the disciples who left John to follow Jesus was in fact Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. After talking with Jesus, Andrew immediately went and found his brother to tell him about the Messiah. A few verses later we find that Jesus found Philip and called him as a disciple. Philip immediately went and found a friend of his, Nathanael, and told him that the Messiah had come. The Messiah was definitely on these men’s minds. They had been seeking Him before they met Him. He was what they had been talking about and waiting for, and when they found Him, they told their friends immediately. This was also a challenge to me – do others know that I am passionate about the things of God? Would my friends have a reason to come tell me immediately if Jesus came to earth today? Would they know I’m really, really, really interested in seeing Him? And how quick am I to share Him with my friends?
I hope this passage from John 1 is a challenge to you as it was to me. I encourage you to go read the rest of the story here. As Christmas approaches, remember to invite those around you to “come and see”. Don’t just show them the Babe in the manger, but introduce them to the Savior and Redeemer that is alive and reigning in your heart.
Sharon Davenport says
Thank you for the inspiration, we are studying John in our discipleship classes.