What do you seek? John 1:35 to 42
By Kurt Jones
December 11, 2005
Valley Church
Focus
Do you know what you want? Have you made your list and sent it to Santa?
Are you prepared for the fighting, the bickering, the grabbing, the backstabbing... I’m not talking about going to the mall, I’m talking about the White Elephant party you’ll go to with church people...
Do you know what you want out of life? Have you bought the slick Madison avenue advertising job of what the “good life” is? People are seeking a lot of things today... Are you seeking what will last for all eternity?
Introduction
The aim of these passages is to show how the disciples were led to Christ. Today we are going to look at three people, and three lessons from their lives John doesn’t mention
This section is tied together chronologically
It is also tied together by three people; John the Baptizer, Andrew the disciple, and Peter his brother.
V.35-37 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
“Lamb of God” – Review from last week
He was just a voice...
Hat is off to John – “Go ahead... take my disciples!”
What did he seek? What did he want?
Matt 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Examples: Glen preaching at Westgate church this weekend – ONE Church
Avery leaving VC to launch ASM - a ministry of music.
Barb Liu in children’s ministry giving her volunteer team all the glory!
V.38-41 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, " Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?" 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ).
Who were these “disciples of John” who followed Jesus?
The two disciples follow Jesus on their own.
So they came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the 10th hour.”
10th hour = 4 PM in the afternoon. (Who else but someone who was there would have remembered that?)
Wouldn’t you have loved to been a fly on the wall for that conversation? To hear Jesus talking to these two young eager disciples, so ready to hear, so primed by their teacher to see the Lamb of God.
You get a clue as to what Andrew was seeking by seeing what he found -
Whatever else was talked about, Andrew became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.
“Messiah”, translated into Greek = Christ. - The Jewish mystery, now for the whole world.
There was great expectation of a Redeemer. John had to say “I am NOT the Christ” v.20
The Samaritan woman - “We know that the Messiah is coming...” John 4
Did Andrew fully comprehend what “Messiah” really meant? No. Throughout their whole time with the Lord, these disciples would repeatedly show they did not fully understand. <<what was the effect of this on Andrew??>>
Would Andrew say “Come and see...” to Peter? We get freaked out by words like evangelism, missions, witnessing, sharing your faith... How about “come and see...”?
Dawson Trotman in his book “Born to Reproduce” lays it out like this.
Do you remember the first time you heard about Jesus? Do you remember the name of the person who told you about Him? Is anyone going to remember YOUR name like that?
Oh that we would be a church full of Andrews!!!
EX: Edward Kimble Story (attachment)
V.42 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
“You are Simon, son of John”
Matt. 16:17 he is called “Simon Barjona” (son of jonas)
Simon = Simeon, brother of Levi, Jacobs oldest son. Ruthlessly avenged the violation of their sister in Gen. 34:25-31. He was rash, impulsive, reckless in word and deed, with a tendency to violence.
What did Simon seek? At this point... fish! A fisherman by occupation, he was an inhabitant of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Acts 4:13 says he was “unlearned”.
In fact, the next time Jesus will see Simon, he’s fishing again with his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
Luke 5:1-11 Tell the STORY “let down your nets”
“You shall be called Cephas”
Cephas = transliteration of the Aramaic Kephas, means massive stone
John translates for us to “Petros” = is the closest Greek tranlation, meaning “a stone”
Arguments about these passages along with Matthew 16 have raged since the third century. Is Peter a “pebble”, and Jesus is the rock? Is Peter’s statement of faith the “rock”? Roman Catholics see these verses as a sign of Peter’s on going prominence and authority in the church. Evangelicals see the statement...
Did Jesus give Peter this name by virtue of his stable character? His trust-worthy friendship? His personal integrity? NO! Peter was anything but a ROCK. I can just imagine Andrew laughing out loud when he heard what Jesus called his brother – “Yeah, rocks in the head maybe!” In fact, his INSTABLITY gives his name irony!
Name was connected with identity. Renaming someone indicates the authority of one person over another. The name Jesus gives Simon, signals his vision for what Peter would become. He is the only Gospel writer to tell us about this Aramaic play on words. Neither Kephas or Petros are usual names. They are actually nicknames, like “Rocky”. Nicknames usually point to some feature of a person’s character. John the disciple records a prediction by Jesus of a character transformation of Peter.
EXAMPLE:
Do you know “Dwayne Johnson”?
Rocky Maivia?
Flex Kavanah?
How about “The Rock”? – What does his MOTHER call him?
PETER’S NEGATIVES - He is sometimes called "the Apostle with the foot shaped mouth". Jesus rebuked Peter more than any other disciple; after taking his eyes off the Lord when walking on the water Jesus called him “a man of little faith”; he gets rebuked with the tax collectors; at the washing of feet; God himself tells Peter to be quiet and listen to His Son after he makes a comment at the Transfiguration that Luke comments Peter didn't know what he was talking about. Peter had a problem of falling asleep when he shouldn't have in the Garden. Soon after his great confession, he protested the death of Christ, and Jesus told him "Get behind me Satan" since he was thinking like men think and not like God thinks.
By far the biggest failure of Peter’s life was his denial of Christ. It was also the biggest turning point in his life transformation. How did Peter go from being this defeated, denying disciple of a condemned criminal to become the courageous leader of the early Church, the Apostle to the Jews... a ROCK?
I Peter 1:6,7 - In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
I Peter 3:15 - but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
Peter’s POSITIVES – Early on in his travels with Jesus, Peter distinguished himself as a leader - part of Jesus' "inner circle" along with James and John, was with Jesus at the Transfiguration and in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the tax collectors came, he acted as spokesman for the group. When Jesus asked who the disciples thought he was, Peter answered for the group in an inspired moment of brilliance - "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"
Peter was a man of great passions -His bold enthusiasm prompted him to walk out on a stormy sea to meet Jesus, to offer to build shelters for Moses and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration, use a sword to defend Jesus in the Garden. In his fiery commitment to the Lord he violently objected to the idea of the crucifixion, and pledged to fight to the death for Christ. Out of his love and devotion to Christ, he protested having his feet washed by Jesus, and once he thought he understood it, asked the Lord to wash his whole body.
He was the first to enter the empty tomb after the resurrection, and when John told him that the resurrected Christ was on the shore of Galilee when they were fishing, he "threw himself into the sea." He was a man of enthusiasm, passion, and devotion.
CONCLUSION
John the Baptizer – beheaded by Herod (Luke 3:19,20)
Andrew – It's uncertain where and how he died but an ancient tradition says he was crucified in Greece on an X- shaped cross.
Peter - He figured prominently in the early days of the church, but once it was established, his foundational role was essentially over. After his imprisonment in Acts 12 he occupies a less prominent role - A Jewish mission trip (Gal. 2:8). The First council of the church in Jerusalem it was James who presided and delivered the decisive judgment. Crucified under Nero at Rome about 67 AD, when about 75 years old.
What are you seeking?
Who are you finding?
John pointed Andrew to Jesus
Andrew pointed Peter to Jesus
Peter pointed 3,000 to Jesus on the day of Pentecost.
Are you looking for a feeling?
Are you looking for an experience? – Fine. But it must be grounded in fact. “We have found the Messiah”.
Are you looking for a person? The only person worth following is Jesus.... No man, no organization,
Have you tasted my Jesus?
Additional notes: Matt. 16:17 “You ARE Peter...” The interpretation of this passage in Peter’s own words? 1 Peter 2:4-7 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,"
Peter was sent by the other apostles – Acts. 8:14
Held accountable for his actions by the Jerusalem church – Acts 11:1-18
Rebuked by Paul – Gal. 2:11-14
It was July 1, 1885 when Edward Kimble felt the tugging of the Spirit to share his faith with a young shoe salesman he knew. At first Kimble vacillated, unsure if he should talk to the man. But he finally mustered his courage and went into the shoe store. There Kimble found the salesman in the back room stocking shoes, and he began to share his faith with him. As a result, the young shoe salesman prayed and received Jesus Christ that day. That shoe salesman's name was Dwight L. Moody, and he became the greatest evangelist of his generation.
But the story doesn't end there. Several years later a pastor and well-known author by the name of Frederick B. Meyer heard Moody preach. Meyer was so deeply stirred by Moody's preaching that he himself embarked on a far-reaching evangelistic ministry. Once when Meyer was preaching, a college student named Wilbur Chapman accepted Christ as a result of his presentation of the gospel. Chapman later employed a baseball player to help him prepare to conduct an evangelistic crusade. That ballplayer, who later became a powerful evangelist himself, was Billy Sunday.
In 1924 a group of businessmen invited Billy Sunday to hold an evangelistic campaign in Charlotte, North Carolina, which resulted in many people coming to Christ. Out of that revival meeting a group of men formed a men's prayer group to pray for the world. They prayed for Charlotte to have another great revival. God sent another evangelist named Mordecai Hamm. Hamm went to Charlotte in 1934 to hold a crusade. Ham's crusade went well, even though it did not have many converts. On one of the last nights under the big tent one tall, lanky young man walked up the aisle to receive Christ. That man's name was Billy Graham.