“Again the next day John was standing with two of his
disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of
God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 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?” 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 followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found
the Messiah” (which translated 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 is translated Peter).” (John 1:35–42, NASB95)
After His temptation Jesus returned to Galilee where John
the Baptist was with two of his disciples, one of whom is named (Andrew) and
the other is not named. The one not mentioned by name is presumed to be John,
the future apostle and author of this gospel record. It was not inconsistent of
John to point to himself anonymously, in the third person, or as “the disciple
whom Jesus loved” (See John 13:23-25; 18:15-16; 19:25-27; 20:2-10; 21:4-8,
20-24). In fact, he never does mention himself by name in his gospel, other
than to identify the writer of the gospel as that disciple in its closing
words. “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these
things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other
things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that
even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” (John
21:24–25, NASB95)
Recognizing that this second disciple of John the Baptist
was John the author of the gospel it would easily explain why John includes
these details which the others don’t. So, John (we’ll go with him as the second
person) and Andrew were standing with John the Baptist when he (John the
Baptist) saw Jesus and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Hearing John say
this, his two disciples began to follow Jesus. This does not mean that they
then became Jesus’ disciples, but that they merely followed Him surely to find
out more about Him.
As they proceeded after Jesus, Jesus turned and spotted them
and asked them what they were looking for or, “What do you seek?” They
responded by calling Him teacher (Rabbi) and asked Him where He was staying.
They obviously wanted to know more. John the Baptist had been speaking of the
Lamb who was to come, and now these disciples were being told that this man was
that Lamb, and they wanted to find out more. Jesus invited them to come along,
and John tells us that they stayed with Him the rest of that day.
As it approached about 4 p.m. (the tenth hour where the
Jewish day began with dawn), Andrew left to find his brother, Simon, and bring
him to meet Jesus. His greeting to his brother clearly declared the conviction
that Andrew had realized that day, saying, “We have found the Messiah” (which
translated means Christ). Simon went with his brother, and when Jesus spotted
Simon, we read, Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John;
you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).”
At this point we have two disciples of John the Baptist and
a brother who have met Jesus, and their lives were changed forever. As we
proceed through the gospel records we find that after Jesus heard of John the
Baptist’s arrest He found Andrew and Simon and called them as His own
disciples. Mark records for us, “As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee,
He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for
they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you
become fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”
(Mark 1:16–18, NASB95) And then we read in the next verses that he added two
more brothers. “Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a
little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were
also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left
their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to
follow Him.” (Mark 1:18–20, NASB95)
John the Baptist would not be released from his physical imprisonment,
but his legacy continued as two of his disciples were the first ones mentioned
in Scripture as being called by Jesus along with their brothers, taking four
fishermen and turning them into “fishers of men.” And as we progress through
the next verses we find that Jesus continues to gather those around Him who
would comprise those later selected as the twelve.
“for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to
the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow
citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner
stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a
holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a
dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:18–22, NASB95)
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