John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God.”
John continued to fulfill his mission, pointing out the Lamb of God to his disciples. He was not content to merely acknowledge Jesus from a distance while keeping his own disciples gathered around him. He desired to decrease that Jesus might increase. He wanted to empty himself, even of those who followed him, so that Jesus would become the new center of attention.
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
“What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher),
“where are you staying?”
Even John's disciples didn't seem to know what to expect from Jesus, or what to answer him when he asked what they were looking for. They were, they knew, looking for the Lamb of God. But what, finally, did that mean? There were plenty of biblical allusions to be sure. Perhaps John had even mentioned some. But how would they take shape concretely in a human life? There was no telling. Instead, they seemed to put those questions to the side. They recognized Jesus as "Rabbi", suggesting they saw him as an enhanced version of what they already found in John. But what they asked him was a good question for those who were not sure precisely what they sought. If they knew where to find Jesus they could eventually learn what he was about. Thus they received the initial invitation offered to every disciple in every age.
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
We do not necessarily come to Jesus with a clear and coherent statement of how what we need from him is salvation, and what we desire from him is a new birth. These are the things he longs to give us but it isn't always evident at first precisely by what power he is able to do this, or by what means he will do it if he is able. It is by accepting the initial invitation to come and see that we allow Jesus the space he desires to reveal himself further. Spending time with him allows him to open us to what we truly need from him, and allows us to become increasing convinced of his power to provide it. He wants to be the Lamb of God for each of us as individuals, which is more than many of us can take at first. We'd rather just a sage or a wise teacher, not someone who would so completely reorder our lives. But as we spend time with him his goodness and love will eventually win us over, if we don't allow discomfort to drive us away.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
“We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
We don't necessarily need elaborate training to become missionary disciples. To be sure, there are things we can learn that help. But the main thing we need is to first come and see Jesus ourselves, and to stay with him. Then we simply invite others to do the same. We may be able to tell them things we have discovered. But whatever we can't tell them we can be sure Jesus himself has the power to reveal. It is probably true that the reason most of us don't evangelize more is because we don't really believe Jesus will do his part. We secretly imagine we are leading others to a statue or a painting and that even once they are in that space we must still explain all of the details of composition to them. We do not really imagine that Jesus is alive, dynamic, and ready to act. And yet so he is. In his presence, lives are transformed. Everyone, not just Simon, receives a new identity.
“You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter.
The new identity of Simon as Peter the Rock is only an extreme example of the transformation that awaits us all in the presence of Jesus. As the Spirit tells the churches in the book of Revelation, "To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it" (see Revelation 2:17). Such an identity can't be known in advance. We can't plan on it. We must go to Jesus so he can give and we can open ourselves to receive. Accepting his invitation is, as a consequence, a loosening of our own control over our lives in favor of his intervention. This posture is good and appropriate at the beginning of our walk with Jesus, but not only at the beginning. We must pursue it throughout our walk as disciples. The more we do so the more what John describes in his first letter will be true of us:
No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because God’s seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again—who is reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him (see First John 3:9, Amplified).
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