The First Disciples (Part One)

June 23, 2016

The First Disciples (Part One)

“Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

John 1:38

John the Baptist established the mission of Jesus when he said, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36). In the Gospel of John, we learn that as the Old Testament Passover lamb was sacrificed for the sins of an individual, Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the sins of the world.

John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus, and his followers began to follow Jesus. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother is one of the first to follow Jesus. Most likely the other disciple with Andrew, the one who is not named, is the author of this Gospel, John the brother of James. I find Andrew’s meeting with Jesus to be quite compelling in two ways. First is their initial encounter: “Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” (John 1:38). Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist because he was looking for the Messiah. When John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, Andrew knew he had found the Messiah. I love the way Andrew responded to Jesus’ question: “Rabbi where are you staying?” Andrew didn’t want to just know about Jesus, he wanted to know him.

Secondly, after being with Jesus, Andrew went and found his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Andrew is an outstanding role model for us. When we seek to fully embrace Christ, to have Jesus fully formed within us, the first fruits of our encounter with Jesus will be a desire to share him with others.

As these new disciples sought after Jesus, they find Jesus was seeking after them. I am reminded of the promise of God in James 4:8, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” As we keep on with our journey to make the life in Christ our way of life, let us remember the promise of Jesus: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.