God’s Mission
John 1:29-42
John Testifies
About Jesus
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! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 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).
Pondering Point
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
~ John 1:29
Have you ever asked yourself why John (the Baptist) is pointing Jesus out to His followers? It might seem obvious to you but stop and ask anyway. It wasn’t just supposed to be a bit of knowledge for them to absorb. It was WAY more than that. He was looking to redirect them, to point them, to challenge his followers: Act on this information.
Andrew, one of John’s followers at the time, does act. He pursues this Lamb of God and gets invited to follow Jesus. Then, as the reading shares, we see that he invites his brother Peter to check out this Lamb-of-God-Jesus out as well. That Peter is the one who much later, as a disciple of Jesus, writes the scripture passage we went through yesterday, encouraging us to grow in our grace and knowledge of Jesus.
We see John pointing his followers to Jesus and Andrew pointing his brother to Jesus. Who might you be able to point toward Jesus in the hopes that a relationship can develop? Maybe you could use a Small Group or worship or shared personal interests to facilitate such an invitation.
Prayer
Father God, thank You for the John-the-Baptist-types and Andrew-types who pointed me toward You, who invited me to engage in life with You. Thank You for those still encouraging me in a continued journey with You. May we all carry out our part in Your mission to restore fallen humanity to Yourself through Jesus. As I pray for workers in Your harvest, I re-up again today for my part. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.