John 1:35-51

Well, good morning.

It was about a decade ago that we recognized that as a church,

But as a church, in our regular song repertoire, we didn't have very many songs for the suffering, for the brokenhearted on Sunday mornings.

And so we set out to find those songs and sing those songs more regularly together.

I'm grateful for the guys that lead our music and them leading us in songs like I ask the Lord that I might grow.

So our text for today is John chapter one, verses thirty five through fifty one.

So if you'll please join me there. John chapter one, verses thirty five through fifty one, which is the end of the chapter.

Last week, our attention was on verses nineteen through thirty seven, as we considered the faithful witness of John the Baptist.

We divide our thoughts into three points that followed John the Apostle's narrative arc through three consecutive days.

On the first day, John the Baptist is questioned and clarifies who he is.

I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.

Verse twenty three is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah.

The record of the second day begins in verse twenty nine.

There we read the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And then in verses thirty five and thirty six, the third day we see the same proclamation.

The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,

behold, behold, the Lamb of God.

The remainder of this chapter and our text for today concludes this third day, speaks of a fourth day and perhaps the events of a fifth with a focus on the calling of Jesus' first disciples.

Jesus had twelve apostles during his earthly ministry.

I state the number in that way because it depends on whether or not you care to count Judas as an apostle and then add Matthias who replaced Judas and then Paul later on.

So the resurrected Christ in his heavenly ministry could be said to have twelve or thirteen apostles.

But I digress. Twelve apostles.

We'll stick with that number for today's purpose.

The five men we will see in our text today are the first of those twelve.

And before we read the text and begin to work through it, I want to make two observations worth noting.

So some some filters, just some things to notice before we read the text together.

Firstly, John never calls them apostles all throughout this gospel account.

He always uses the term disciple.

Now, I admit that I want to spend more time considering why this may be.

But I think just in a precursory fashion, I think that John is hoping that his readers will journey with Jesus and adhere to his teaching,

which is what a disciple is, is one who follows.

So that, chapter 20, verse 31,

you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I think that John means for us to see the disciples following Jesus,

so that we will be disciples of Jesus.

I think he's trying not to put them in a different category,

but merely saying these were men that followed Christ.

Secondly, John doesn't mention the calling of any other disciples.

It's just today's text.

I don't think that means that he thinks these men to be of particular value.

I will highlight what I believe is his particular humility,

but I think he means for us to note a pattern in the ministry of Jesus' calling of disciples.

So let's work together to see if we can understand that pattern.

John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 35.

John 1 · chapter mention

Beloved, this is God's word to us, written for his glory and for our good,

that we might believe its promises, obey its commands, and have affection for its author.

May we hear it and respond accordingly to it.

The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples,

and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,

Behold, the Lamb of God.

The two 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?

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.

One of the two who heard John speak and follow Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him,

We have found the Messiah, which means Christ.

He brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said,

You are Simon, the son of John.

You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter.

The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.

He found Philip and said to him, Follow me.

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him,

We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote,

Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Nathanael said to him,

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Philip said to him,

Come and see.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,

Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.

Nathanael said to him,

How do you know me?

Jesus answered him,

Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.

Nathanael answered him,

Rabbi, you are the son of God.

You are the king of Israel.

Jesus answered him,

Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?

You will see greater things than these.

And he said to him,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man.

Now last week we had a pretty simple outline.

It was day one, day two, day three.

This week, similarly simple,

Number one, we'll follow the disciples calling Andrew,

And I'm going to add plus John.

Number two, Simon Peter.

Number three, Philip.

And number four, Nathanael.

So firstly, Andrew plus John.

So we're picking up,

We looked at this text in brief last week,

But we're picking up there again.

It's on this day in succession,

The third day that we see John the Baptist standing with two of his disciples.

And let's deal first with the names of these two disciples.

At this point in the narrative, we don't know who they are,

But we find out in verse 40 that one of them is Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

I believe that the second unnamed disciple is John himself, our author.

John the Apostle, our author.

When I introduced this book to you, I spent considerable time on its authorship.

This gospel nowhere mentions its author,

Neither does it mention the Apostle John.

But the case has been well made that this was an expression of humility on his part.

He doesn't entirely exclude himself from the narrative,

But just never mentions himself by name.

I'll godly speak more to this if you'd like to talk to me

At a later time about it.

Some have suggested that the unnamed disciple is Philip,

Which may be true,

But I find the evidence what little there is,

That this is John omitting his own name,

Just a more convincing argument.

These two disciples of John the Baptist,

Who would have been convicted of their sin,

Remember that John the Baptist was teaching of the need for repentance,

For both Gentiles and Jews to repent.

His baptism was a baptism of repentance.

This is the way he's preparing the way for the Messiah.

Teaching people that they need the Messiah to come and deliver them,

Not from Roman captivity,

But from captivity to their sin.

So these two disciples of John the Baptist,

Knew they needed a Savior.

So they respond in the most reasonable of ways,

To John's declaration,

Behold the Lamb of God.

They would have understood all the Lamb symbolism.

They would have known that they needed a sacrifice to be made for their sin.

And as John applies this title to Jesus,

They get who Jesus is,

The one who could take away their sin.

So what do they do?

They follow him.

Now we have to be careful at this point,

We don't want to suggest at this point,

That they are in fact disciples,

Just by the mere following.

They're walking down the road after him.

And we know that because Jesus in verse 38,

Turns and sees them,

And asks them a question.

The very first recorded word of Jesus in John's gospel,

Is an extraordinarily important question.

First time Jesus has spoken in the narrative so far.

And he asks this very important question,

What are you seeking?

Jesus knew that they were after something.

In fact, the embodied Jesus was omniscient.

So he already knew the answer to the question.

But the question is an extraordinarily important question

To be asked for their sake.

In their pursuit of Jesus, he asks them,

What do you want from me?

I know many of you,

And I know why you are here this morning.

But I don't know all of you half as much as I would like to.

You have gathered today with disciples of Jesus Christ.

I assume, for those of you that I don't know well,

That you are seeking something.

Why else would you spend this?

Why would you be doing this on a Sunday morning?

Of all the things that you could be doing,

What are you seeking?

What do you want from Jesus?

Not all the possible answers to this question

Are good, right answers.

Perhaps you are seeking Jesus

Because you want comfort or ease.

You think he will relieve your trouble in this world.

Coming to Jesus, obeying God,

Will somehow make life go smoother for you.

Maybe you are following,

You are seeking after Jesus

Because you are looking for some sense of community.

You are lonely,

And you have noticed

That communities of faith

Tend to be fairly devoted to one another.

They tend to love each other

As they are commanded to.

You think a church is the answer

To alleviate your relationship challenges.

As a side note,

I can tell you if that is why you are here,

You are going to be disappointed at times

Because we are not perfect people.

Perhaps you are seeking after Jesus

For the alleviation of your guilt.

You recognize that you are sinful

And you know that you need something

To come in and take care of your guilt

Before God.

And that is a good motivation.

But often we do that

And we don't expect it to cost us anything at all.

We don't want to take up our cross

And follow Jesus.

We want the guilt taken away.

But we want to live however we want to live after that.

And so we show up on Sundays

Thinking that we are somehow putting weight

On the scale of our iniquity.

If we just do the good things

God has asked us to do enough of

It will outweigh those bad things that we do.

We are not seeking the kind of forgiveness

Offered in the gospel.

We are seeking a forgiveness

That liberates us to live how we want to.

What are you seeking?

Now the two disciples' response

Seems to sidestep the question.

But I suggest to you that it doesn't.

They said to him

Rabbi

And you'll notice these

Parenthetical insertions

On the part of John

He's translating

For his Greek readers.

Here he's recording a Hebrew word

He's translating it into Greek.

Rabbi

Which means

Teacher

Where are you staying?

To call Jesus Rabbi

Was a term of great respect.

They were expressing

That they had much to learn from him

And I think so much to learn from him

That the question expresses a desire

To tarry with him.

They so respect him as teacher

They know they need to spend time

With Jesus.

It is getting late in the day

The next verse tells us.

And they want to stay with Jesus

And learn.

I think their answer to his question

What are you seeking?

Is

You.

I think that's what they say

In response.

Jesus says

What are you seeking?

And they say

You.

Teacher

Where are you staying?

We want to be where you are.

They knew that they needed

The forgiveness of their sins

To be sure.

They had been told by John the Baptist

That this man was the Lamb of God

Which they knew meant

He could take away their sins

Which is wonderful

And it is necessary.

But what they really desired

What they were really seeking

Was Christ himself.

In chapter 6

Just a few chapters

Into this narrative

After some teaching

That was difficult to understand

John records in verse 66

And following

After this

Many of Jesus' disciples

Turned back

And no longer

Walked with him

So Jesus said to the twelve

Do you want to go away

As well?

Simon Peter answered him

Lord

To whom shall we go?

You have the words

Of eternal life

And we have believed

And have come

To know

That you

Are the Holy One

Of God

Jesus

Himself

Where else would we

Go

If we can be

With you?

From time to time

We sing a song together

I think we sang it last week

Which is probably why

It was in my head

As I prepared these notes

Called

Come unto Jesus

And one of the verses

I think it's the third one

We read

Come

Taste the bread of life

Broken for sinners

Drink from the cup

Of his promise

Made sure

Feast at his table

As sons

And as daughters

Grace

Overwhelming

Is yours

Evermore

And then the chorus

Come unto Jesus

Come unto Jesus

Lay down your burdens

He is enough

Come unto Jesus

Rest

In his love

And I think

That's their answer

I think that's what

They're

Looking for

And so in verse 39

Jesus says to them

Come

And you will see

He invites them

To come along with him

He doesn't even answer

The question

Where he's staying

He says come with me

And you will see

Where I am

Staying

And the rest of that verse

Says so they came

And saw where he was staying

And they stayed with him

That day

For it was about

The tenth

Hour

Now this is

Late in the day

It was a time

When preparations

Would be made

For a meal

For spending

The night

And so there's

Some conjecture

Perhaps

They stayed with him

Overnight

Or perhaps

They returned

And headed out

Late

After that

But we can see

Verse 40

One of the two

Who heard

John the Baptist

Speak

And follow Jesus

Was

Andrew

Simon Peter's

Brother

Right

We see him introduced

As Simon Peter's

Brother

Andrew doesn't seem

To be very significant

In the narrative

Certainly

Simon Peter

Plays a more

Significant

Role

Before we move on

To consider

Peter

I want to note

In the next verse

Verse 41

That Andrew

Through whatever

Conversation

Was had

With Jesus

Believed

That he

Is

Anointed

One

Which means

Christ

John

Inserts

For us

So the two

Disciples

Either left

Jesus at the end

Of the day

Or stayed

With him

And left

The following

Morning

Which is

Why you

May have

Noticed

My uncertainty

In my introduction

About the number

Of days

I said a fourth

Perhaps a fifth

I'm not sure

But either way

John doesn't leave us

Guessing what

Andrew does

Immediately

Upon leaving

The presence

Of Jesus Christ

Right

He has

Believed

He says in

Verse 41

This is our

Second point

Which is

Simon Peter

He first

Found

His own

Brother

Simon

It's the very

Next thing

That he does

He goes

And finds

His brother

Simon

And said to him

We have

Found

The Messiah

Which means

Christ

He brought

Him to Jesus

And there's no

Sense here

That it was a

Forceful bringing

But rather he

Led him

He showed him

Where Jesus

Was

Jesus

Looks at him

And says

You are

Simon

The son

Of John

You shall

Be called

Cephas

Which means

Peter

James having

Been brought

To Jesus

By the faithful

Witness of

John the Baptist

Now becomes

A faithful

Witness

To his

Brother

And what

Happens in

This text

Is

Important

Jesus

Gives

Simon

A nickname

Again he says

You are

Simon

The son

Of John

Or you might

Read in some

Places

Maybe your

Translation

Says

Or Simon

Barjona

Son of

Jonah

Or son

Of John

You are

Simon

The son

Of

John

You shall

Be called

Cephas

Which is

Aramaic

And then he

Inserts

Which means

Peter

Which is the

Greek

And this word

In either of

Those languages

Means

A rock

Or a

Stone

You might

Be familiar

Already with

This concept

You might

Have some

Idea of

This

Already

But do

You know

That it was

A nickname

Given to

Him

By

Christ

At their

Meeting

This is

What he

Says

To him

So I

Want to

Read to

You

Briefly

From

John

MacArthur's

Commentary

In which

He's

Quoting

A book

He wrote

Called

Twelve

Ordinary

Men

So

If you

Want to

Original

Source

This

It's

From

Twelve

Ordinary

!

Men

It's

Also

Quoted

In his

Commentary

On

This

Section

He

Says

Those

Were

Apparently

The

First

Words

Jesus

Ever

Said

To

Peter

And

From

Then

On

Rock

Was

His

Nickname

Sometimes

However

The

Lord

Continued

To

Refer

To

Him

As

Simon

Anyway

When

You

See

That

In

Scripture

It

Is

Often

A

Signal

That

Peter

Has

Done

Something

That

Needs

Rebuke

Or

Correction

The

Nickname

Was

Significant

And

The

Lord

Had

A

Specific

Reason

For

Choosing

It

By

Nature

Simon

Was

Brash

Vacillating

And

Undependable

He

Tended

To

Make

Great

Promises

He

Couldn't

Follow

Through

With

He

Was

One

Of

Those

People

Who

Appears

To

Lunge

Wholeheartedly

Into

Something

But

Then

Bails

Out

Before

Finishing

He

Was

Usually

The

First

One

In

And

Too

Often

He

Was

The

First

One

Out

When

Jesus

Met

Him

He

Fit

James

Description

Of

A

Double

Minded

Man

Unstable

In

All

His

Ways

Jesus

Changed

Simon's

Name

It

Appears

Because

He

Wanted

The

Nickname

To

Be

A

Perpetual

Reminder

To

Him

About

Who

He

Should

Be

And

From

That

Point

On

Whatever

Jesus

Called

Him

Sent

A

Subtle

Message

If

He

Called

Him

Simon

He

Was

Signaling

Him

That

He

Was

Acting

!

Like

His

Old

Self

If

This

Young

Man

Named

Simon

Who

Would

Become

Peter

Was

Impetuous

Impulsive

And

Overeaker

He

Needed

To

Become

Like

A

Rock

So

That

Is

What

Jesus

Named

Him

From

Then

On

The

Lord

Would

Gently

Chide

Or

Commend

Him

Just

By

Using

One

Name

Or

The

Other

Pretty

Phenomenal

The

Way

That

Happens

In

John's

Gospel

John

The

Apostle

Always

Refers

To

His

Dear

Friend

And

Fellow

Apostle

As

Simon

Peter

Notice

Denies

Christ

And

He

Speaks

Those

Restorative

Words

To

Him

And

He

Uses

Simon

In

All

Of

Those

Cases

But

Otherwise

John

When

Referring

To

Him

Calls

Him

Simon

Peter

I

Like

To

Imagine

That

Peter

Was

Very

Pleased

With

John

Consistently

Reminding

Readers

Of

His

Frailty

By

Referring

To

Him

As

Simon

Joined

With

His

Grace

Imbued

Contention

For

The

Truth

By

Referring

To

Him

As

Peter

So as

We

Read

Through

This

Narrative

And

See

That

Simon

Peter

We

See

Both

Some

Some

Element

Of

His

Old

And

His

Grace

Imbued

New

Self

On

Display

Thirdly

We

See

Philip

Verse

43

We

Know

Now

At

Very

Least

This

Is

A

Next

Day

Verse

43

Says

The

Next

J

So

It's

Either

The

Fourth

Or

Perhaps

The

Fifth

Jesus

Decides

To

Go

To

Galilee

Where

He

Finds

Philip

And

Says

To

Him

Follow

Me

Of

All

Five

Disciples

Mentioned

In

Our

Text

I

Think

That

Philip

Is

My

Favorite

Very

Short

Little

Ink

Is

Used

To

Introduce

Philip

To

Us

Our

Disciples

To

This

Point

Have

Learned

Of

Jesus

Through

Someone

Else

This

Is

Often

Perhaps

Most

Often

The

Way

Our

Lord

Works

If

You

Have

Believed

In

Christ

It

Is

Probable

That

Someone

Shared

Him

With

You

A

Parent

A

Friend

A

Coworker

Maybe

You

Were

Invited

To

Church

Or

An

Event

Where

Someone

Preached

The

Good

News

And

You

Believed

Most

Of

Us

Owe

Much

Gratitude

To

Those

Who

Invested

The

Truth

Into

Our

Lives

John

Gives

Us

No

Record

Of

Anyone

But

Jesus

Himself

Seeking

Out

Philip

All

Of

Us

Ultimately

!

No

Matter

How

The

Truth

Was

First

Shared

With

Us

Ultimately

Our

Gratitude

Belongs

To

Christ

Fully

Belongs

To

Christ

Philip

Especially

Reminds

Me

Of

This

I

Am

Grateful

For

Believing

Parents

Who

Regularly

Shared

The

Gospel

With

Me

I

Am

Grateful

For

Believing

Parents

Who

Took

Me

To

A

Church

That

Gathered

Regularly

To

Hear

The

Gospel

Preached

These

Are

The

Means

By

Which

I

Came

To

Faith

In

Christ

But

Ultimately

I

Am

Grateful

For

And

To

A

God

Who

Used

Those

Means

To

Bring

Me

To

Himself

I

Would

Not

Have

Done

It

On

My

Own

Jesus

Will

Say

In

John

John 6:44

Chapter

6

Verse

44

No

One

Can

Come

To

Me

Unless

The

Father

Who

Sent

Me

Draws

Him

It

Was

After

This

Teaching

That

A

Of

His

Disciples

Abandoned

Him

By

The

Way

That

I

Read

To

You

Earlier

And

The

Jesus

Adds

Later

In

The

Narrative

John

John 15:16

15

Verse

16

You

Did

Not

Choose

Me

But

I

Chose

You

And

Appointed

You

That

You

Should

Go

And

Bear

Fruit

However

You

Construct

Your

Understanding

Of

God's

Saving

Work

It

Cannot

Be

Claimed

That

You

Have

Any

Power

To

Save

!

There's

Gosh

A

Decade

Ago

And

A

Dear

Friend

Named

Ash

Harris

Was

With

Us

On

This

Particular

Trip

And

Just

As a

Matter

Of

Curiosity

The

Man

Who

Was

Leading

The

Opening

Had

Us

Stand

Up

And

Just

Asked

Us

About

Means

How

Do

We

Come

To

Faith

In

Christ

And

So

The

First

Question

He

Asked

About

A

Room

10,000

People

Largely

Full

Of

Pastors

How

Many

Of

You

Came

To

Faith

Through

The

Means

Of

Your

Parents

Sharing

The

Gospel

With

You

And

I

Had

To

Have

Been

80%

Of

The

Room

Sat

Down

Praise

God

And

I

Hope

That's

An

Encouragement

To

You

Parents

Who

Are

Working

Day

In

And

Day

Out

To

Share

The

Gospel

With

Your

Kids

When

He

Went

Through

A

Litany

Of

Other

Of

Other

Possible

Means

Ways

That

People

Could

Have

Come

To

Faith

And

Our

Dear

Friend

Ash

Was

Still

Standing

He

Was

Getting

Rather

Lonely

In

This

Now

Seated

People

Standing

!

By

Himself

And

Finally

The

Person

Leading

The

Opening

And

He

Was

In

The

Military

And

He

Was

In

Iraq

And

A

Chaplain

Had

Handed

Him

A

Bible

And

He

Got

Back

From

A

Deployment

Saw

Some

Things

That

Were

Disturbing

To

Him

And

And

He

Was

Moved

To

Take

Up

That

Bible

And

Read

He

Sat

I

Sat

In

The

Shade

Leaning

Up

Against

A

Tire

The

Shade

Of

A

Humvee

And

I

Started

Reading

The

Gospel

Of

John

And

By

The

Time

I

Got

Done

I

Placed

My

Faith

In

Christ

Means

Praise

God

But

God

Saves

Asher

Did

Not

Go

To

Iraq

To

Find

Jesus

Jesus

Came

And

He

Found

Him

This

Reality

Should

Cause

Great

Humility

And

Gratitude

To

Spring

Forth

In

Our

Hearts

And

It

Should

Bring

!

Out

A

Desire

To

Make

This

King

Verse

16

You

Do

not

Choose

Me

But

I

Chose

You

And

Appointed

You

That

You

Should

Go

And

Bear

Fruit

And

That's

Exactly

What

We

See

Happen

With

Philip

Just

This

Little

Tiny

Little

Bit

Of

The

Story

Jesus

Finds

Philip

And

He

Says

!

Follow

Me

And

We

Know

That

He

Does

Because

In

Verse

45

We

See

The

Calling

Of

Nathanael

Philip

Found

Nathanael

And

Said

To

Him

We

Have

Found

Him

Of

Whom

Moses

And

The

Law

And

Also

The

Prophets

Wrote

Jesus

Of

Nazareth

The

Son

Of

Joseph

And

Nathanael

Clearly

Had

Some

Understanding

Of

The

Scripture

Notice

How

Philip

Addresses

Him

Right

He

Says

To

Him

We

Found

The

One

That

The

Scripture

Speaks

About

So

You

May

Wonder

Why

Does

Nathanael

Respond

With

The

Question

Can

Anything

Good

Come

Out

Of

Nazareth

Now

Matthew

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Chapter

2

In

Verse

23

After

Jesus'

Family

Returns

From

Egypt

We

Can

Read

And

He

Went

And

Lived

In

A

City

Called

Nazareth

So

They

Returned

So

They

Returned

From

Egypt

So

That

What

Was

Spoken

By

The

Prophets

Might

Be

Fulfilled

That

He

Would

Be

Called

A

Nazarene

It

Is

Debated

What

Matthew

Is

Referring

To

Here

There

Is

Much

That

Can

Be

Said

But

I

Spare

You

The

Details

At

This

Point

!

It's

A

Lot

Of

How

How

Is

It

That

Matthew

Is

Deriving

!

But

Matthew

Without

A

Doubt

Understood

The

Bible

To

Teach

That

Jesus

Would

Come

From

Nazareth

That

He

Would

Be

A

Nazarene

Nathanael

At

This

Point

Is

Unaware

Of

This

Which

Is

Why

He

Asks

The

Question

That

He

Asks

Nazareth

Was

A

Nothing

Town

How

Could

Anything

Significant

Come

From

Such

An

Insignificant

Place

But

Philip

Is

Unmoved

By

His

Question

He

Just

Simply

Replies

Come

And

See

Come

And

See

The

Good

Thing

That

Came

Out

Of

Nazareth

And

We

Read

That

As

Nathanael

Is

Coming

Toward

Him

He

Already

Knows

Him

Behold

An

Israelite

Indeed

In

Whom

There

Is

No

Deceit