The Men Jesus Called

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: John 1:35-51.

Introduction

We are jumping back into our series of the Gospels and today, we are going to get a look at the first disciples who decided to follow Jesus. As we break down these verses, our aim is to learn from these men. These men were closer to Jesus in the flesh than anyone else on the face of this planet, except for maybe His mother Mary. So who were they? What were they? What caused them to say “Yes”!!!

We are speaking today on this thought: “The Men Jesus Called”

John 1:35–51 NKJV

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now 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 first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). 43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

Context

Jesus has been baptized. Jesus has fasted for 40 days in the desert and then tempted of Satan. After these events, Jesus now begins His ministry. The first thing on His list to do: find those in whom He will pour all of Himself into for the next 3 1/2 years. Jesus is on the hunt for His disciples.

The text does not explain what Jesus was doing on this day. John simply says that as Jesus walked by, John the Baptist was looking at Jesus as He walked.

This word for “looking upon” is “Emblepo”, which means “to fix one’s gaze upon” or “to give a penetrating look.” The only other time this word appears in the Gospel of John is in v. 42 when it says Jesus “looked at” Simon Peter.

As John the Baptist set and gazed upon Jesus, penetrating through the outward appearance into the soul of who He was, the only words he could stand to utter was, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

We can learn something from that. If we too would take the time to set and gaze upon Jesus, for all He is, maybe we would also say what he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

As he spoke those words, there were two of his own disciples standing with him. As Jesus passed by, they immediately followed. From this time forth, they were no longer disciples of John, but rather of the one of whom John came to preach: the prophesied Messiah of God’s Holy Word, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The text tells us who one of the disciples were. One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. It never says who the other disciple was, but many believe it was John himself. John has a knack throughout his entire Gospel of leaving himself out. He rarely names himself in the midst of what’s going on, but gives credit to the others.

Regardless, these two men follow Jesus from that day forward. Our job today is to glean from their encounter with Christ and learn from them so that we too might respond as they did, with a complete surrender of themselves to God from that day forward.

Content

They Longed for Jesus

The first thing we see about these men is that they had a longing in their heart for the Messiah to come.

During this time, there were roughly 4 to 5 million Jews alive and only handful of them were still longing for the coming of the Messiah.

Much like today, most people had moved on from that thought. They recognized the truth of the event because it was listed in God’s Word, but it had been almost 5 centuries since the last prophet and nothing seemed to point that their day would be any different.

They had lost all hope and their focus had shifted to simply surviving. The Romans were in control now, but before them many others had come and conquered. They had lived in a land of destruction and slavery for far too long. Even the religious leaders had lost sight of God. They seemed to serve only for selfish gain and had a knack for persuading the people to get what they wanted. They were feared but hated by most.

The thought that the Messiah could come during their day was as foreign of a thought as it is for most people today. Many people today have never been in church and are not even aware of a second coming of the Messiah. Many others were raised in church but have lost hope that Jesus would actually return since it has been over 2,000 years that we have awaited the fulfillment of this prophecy. Only a few people out of billions are actually looking for the Eastern sky to burst open with the presence of Christ.

These men were of the minority. They knew the Scriptures concerning Christ, as all Jews did back then, but they actually believed it could come to pass. As soon as this reality became a possibility, they had to see Him.

John 1:36–37 NKJV

36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

That’s all it took. They trusted John the Baptist. As soon as he claimed Jesus to be the Son of God, they immediately began to follow Jesus from that day forward. They were not completely convinced just yet, but they were willing to see for themselves.

Notice the terminology: “Behold the Lamb of God!”

The Lamb of God spoke of the propitiation of Christ.

1 John 2:1–2 NKJV

1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

That word propitiation means “substitutionary sacrifice”. They understood the sacrificial element of the Messiah. Lambs were used as sacrifices for sin offerings. Though they did not fully understand exactly how the Christ would obtain this sanctification for mankind, they knew that the Messiah would obtain it nonetheless. They longed for this spiritual purity. They longed for this liberty that was promised by God.

It was the same message that persuaded Simon to come to Jesus.

John 1:41–42 (NKJV)

41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).

42 And he brought him to Jesus....

Once Peter heard that the prophesied Messiah had been found, he wasted no time in getting to Him. He too wanted to see Him. He too longed for deliverance.

He was a fisherman and that business was hit or miss. He was probably scraping by. After the Roman officials took their part in taxes, there was not much left. He longed for freedom from the oppression and longed for a life that offered more. He longed for the one who would set things right and bring the righteousness of God back into play.

Philip also found solace in Jesus. Once he was sure it was Him, he finds a friend named Nathanael and brings to him the same message:

John 1:45 NKJV

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

It was this claim of fulfilling the prophecies that drew both of them to Jesus.

These men were longing for Jesus to come.

Let me ask you today. Are you truly longing for Jesus to come? Are you still waiting with eager expectation for the Son of God and Savior of the world to come again? Are you living your life as if any day could be the day you meet Jesus face to face? Are you beaten down and broken from the weight and consequence of sin? Are you longing for something better....something more? Are you looking for deliverance?

Jesus is coming back again and the Bible says we are to be eagerly waiting for that moment. We are to be living our lives in a way that would be pleasing unto Him. When He does come, there will be no time to set your affairs straight. There will be no time to offer warning to anyone. There will be no time to pray for forgiveness or urge others to do the same. He is coming without warning and He is coming for the faithful.

Hebrews 9:28 NKJV

28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:4–6 NKJV

4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Matthew 24:44 NKJV

44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

These men that Jesus called were men who longed for Him to come.

They Looked At Jesus

Not only did they long for Jesus, they also looked at Jesus.

Have you figured out yet that you cannot live your life by the convictions of others. It simply doesn’t work…not well anyway. You need to have your own convictions. You need to know what you believe and why YOU believe it. Don’t live your life riding the coat tails of someone else’s beliefs. Living that kind of life leaves you empty and uninformed.

John 1:36–39 NKJV

36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

After hearing what John the Baptist said concerning Christ, theses two men decided to follow Jesus themselves so that they might come to know Him a little better. Matter of fact, they stayed with Jesus the entire day. It does not tell us what they did or what they talked about, but we do know one thing that resulted from their stay with Jesus. They no longer had to believe in Jesus through the words of John the Baptist, they knew for themselves.

It says they immediately began telling others that He was the Messiah.

Simon did not believe in Christ simply because Andrew told him to, he came to see Him for himself.

Once Philip come to know Christ, he went to his own friend Nathanael. At first, Nathanael could not fathom how anything good could come from Nazareth, but Philip said, “Come and see.”

Come and see Him for yourself and then decide, but do not decide until you have seen Him for yourself. Once Nathanael met Christ, he also was convicted of who He was.

John 1:49 NKJV

49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

Every person here today who is truly saved, you became saved because you had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. You met Him at some point in your life and after meeting Him, you were convinced that He was truly the Son of God.

This is important to understand for a couple of reasons:

Salvation is a personal event. We as people can tell others about Christ, but until the Holy Spirit speaks to them directly, they cannot come to know Christ as we do. They must encounter Him personally and that is not something we can rush.

It serves as a reminder unto us that we had to meet God personally before we could be saved. This means that when we go tell others about Jesus, we should not be surprised if they do not immediately give their hearts to God. It is something that they must come to grips with as they see the face of God, not our face.

But how can they know Him, unless we introduce them to Him?

The Led Others to Jesus

They longed for Jesus to come. After He did come, they looked intently at Him to make sure He was the One. After they were convinced of who He was, they immediately went to tell others about Him.

John 1:40–42 (NKJV)

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.

41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).

42 And he brought him to Jesus....

The first thing on Andrew’s agenda was to find Simon and tell him the good news. He was driven by excitement and eagerness. He just couldn’t help it. The One that they had been waiting for, longing for, had finally arrived. His brother had to know too.

Notice it said “He first found his own brother Simon...”

We have no way of knowing this for sure, but one of the commentators made an interesting awareness to that phrase. He felt that the other unnamed disciple who was following John the Baptist and came to Jesus with Andrew was John the Apostle Himself. He point out that John rarely includes himself in his own gospel. His person is left vaguely represented several times throughout the Gospel of John. He further states that John and Andrew both left at the same time to go and get their brothers. This means Andrew “first found his own brother”, before John could find James.

Regardless, these men wanted others to know about the coming of the Lord. Philip also runs to find a friend, as soon as he himself is convinced of who Jesus is.

John 1:45–46 NKJV

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Not only did Philip go and find his friend Nathanael, but he wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. Nathanael quips an interesting statement about how nothing good comes from Nazareth, but Philip wouldn’t accept that. Nathanael wasn’t wrong by the way. Nazareth was known for being a rough place, and it lived up to its name in the Scriptures. Jesus was not accepted in His own home town, and when He went there to preach to them, they attempted to kill Him. It truly was a rough place.

Nonetheless, Philip tells Nathanael, “Come and see”. That just so happened to be the same words Christ told Andrew and the other disciple earlier. It is the ultimate challenge. If you don’t believe me, come and see for yourself. Nathanael could not turn down such an offer, so he went.

Look with me at a few more verses concerning these fellas:

John 6:8–9 NKJV

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

On this occasion, a multitude was following Jesus after seeing the miracles that He had performed. Jesus could see how they were all tired and weary and wanted to feed them. The problem was, they did not have enough to feed thousands of people. Andrew sprung into action and brings this little boy who had packed a snack lunch for the trip.

This may not seem like much, but it shows the faith that Andrew had in the moment. He knew that if he could get this young man to Jesus, though what he had to offer was minimal in the scope of things, that Jesus could do wonders with just a little.

It is not our job to decide who has something to offer the Kingdom of God and who does not. As disciples of Christ, it is our job to bring them to Jesus and let God work out the details. Andrew knew this amazing truth and so he sprang into action. His act of faith allowed all present that day to get filled.

John 12:20–22 NKJV

20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

Apparently some Greeks had heard of Jesus and wanted to meet Him. They come to Philip asking to see Jesus. Philip goes to Andrew and they both take them to Jesus.

Once again we see these men bringing others to Christ.

Just like these Greek men, there are many out there who want to speak to Jesus, but they do not know how to get to Him. Like these men, it is our job to show them the way. It is our job to show them how to get in touch with the Savior of the world, the One who gave everything for them.

Disciples of Christ lead others to Him.

Commitment