Gospel of John B Lesson 2

I. John 1:19-51 B John=s purpose in writing these verses is to show the very nature of discipleship and what it means to meet, know and follow Jesus. In each case, disciples are invited to have a personal contact with Jesus and to recognize who He truly is.

II. John the Baptist=s job is to testify to the light so that through him all men might believe. Verse 1:19 B ANow this was John=s testimony. . .@

AJohn (the author) is therefore writing on two levels. Historically, he is trying to describe the pivotal events of the life of Jesus Christ so that through this record, we will have an accurate reconstruction of what transpired. But in addition, he is writing fully conscious that he has a readership. John is aware that we are reading his testimony and he crafts his story so that we as the readers will find a progression of ideas unfolding before our eyes. John occasionally lets us know that we understand more than his characters do, giving us ironic humor or a sense of impending doom.@

(Gary Burge B The NIV Application Commentary B John)

A. Reading from The Message B Matthew 3:1-13 entitled AThunder in the Desert!@

B. John the Baptist stood out in a crowd! What was the attraction?

AWhat made John the Baptizer great? As a minster, he had none of the symbols we associate with success B no books, no evangelistic crusades, no congenial sermons. Instead, his message was simple and often redundant. Moreover, he was unattractive, unkempt, and . . . well, unusual.

But as we spade into his life, we still uncover golden characteristics of greatness, humility, integrity, purity, diligence, simplicity, vulnerability, and vision. He was a true prophet from God; and his message, though brief, lingers still.@

(Charles Swindoll, John the Baptizer)

C. John the Baptist met the three qualifications for a true prophet. First, he received his call directly from God (John 1:6), second, he spoke for God (vs. 7-8) and third, he stood as a lone voice delivering the message God had given him (v. 15).

John had three responsibilities to clear the way for the Lord, to prepare the way for the Lord, and to get out of the way of the Lord!

(George Goodman, as cited by J. Oswald Sanders in Robust in Faith.)

D. Why did the religious establishment interrogate John?

1. John=s father was a priest and descended from Aaron & John was by right a priest and basically chose not to follow in his father=s footsteps.

2. The establishment wanted to know why he was behaving in such a weird way and why the people were flocking to hear this guy out in the wilderness so they asked him questions about who he was?

E. John=s confessed to his interrogators that he was not the Christ, not Elijah and not the Prophet.

AJohn knows who he is not and knows who he is in the context of what God wants him to do. He knew that Jesus was the Lamb of God only after John had the privilege of baptizing him. Do you think that John the Baptist thought about his self-image? . . .God=s esteem will produce self-esteem@

. (Sallie Clingman B Creative Living Bible Study Tape on Lesson 2)

F. Swindoll says that one of John=s characteristic is humility.

1. First secret of humility is Atruly humble people have a clear understanding of their mission and an acceptance of their limitations.@ John is a perfect illustration of this:

$ He was a man, not the Messiah

$ He was John, not Jesus

$ He was a voice, Not the Word

$ He was a lamp, not the Light

2. The second secret of humility according to Swindoll is Ahumble people have the ability to handle subtle temptations.@ This was probably the most difficult thing that John had to face. By pointing Jesus out to his disciples, he was essentially losing his followers and the crowds. He was willing to divert praise to Christ. This was someone who knew who he was and what God had called him to do

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G. Not only did his interrogators question who he was but they also questioned why did he baptize? In the Jewish culture, baptism was only for non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism. So why did John baptize?

1. William Barclay says that John=s baptism meant a cleansing B washing away of all impurities and it meant dedication B going out to a new and different life. ARepent!@

2. Jesus= baptism would be a baptism of the Spirit. The Jewish word for Spirit is ruach, which means wind. In Jewish thought there were always three basic ideas of the Spirit. The Spirit was power, power like a mighty rushing wind; the Spirit was life, the very dynamic of human existence; the Spirit was God;

Athe power and life of the Spirit were beyond mere human achievement and attainment; the coming of the Spirit into a person=s life was the coming of God. Remembering this we can say that when the Spirit takes possession of us certain things happen. 1) Our lives are enlightened. There comes to us the knowledge of God and God=s will. We know what God=s purpose is, what life means, where duty lies. 2) Our lives are strengthened. Knowledge without power is haunting and frustrating thing. But the Spirit gives us not only knowledge to know the right, but also strength and power to do it. 3) Our lives are purified. Christ=s baptism with the Spirit was to be a baptism of fire. The dross of evil things, the alloy of the lower things, the base admixture is burned away until we become clean and pure.@ (William Barclay)

H. John the Baptist, as strange as he is, should be our example for discipleship B a life of self-denial and Christ-affirmation.

III. John 1:35-51

A. In verse 35 John points out Jesus to two of his disciples. They begin to follow Jesus and what happens here is so characteristic of Jesus. He turns and speaks to them, opening the door & making it easier for them to come to know him.

1. Barclay says that what this illustrates is a symbol of the divine initiative. AIt is always God who takes the first step. When the human mind begins to see and the human heart begins to long. God comes to meet us far more than half-way.@

B. Jesus asks these two disciples of John an important fundamental question: AWhat do you want?@ We need to ask ourselves that question: What is it that we really want?

1. The disciples= answer was that they wished to know where He was staying and the implication here is that they want to come and talk to Him and get to know Him.

2. His answer is ACome and see!@

C. Characteristics of Andrew

1. Andrew was characteristically the man who was prepared to take second place, always identified as Simon Peter=s brother. He Ais the patron saint of all who humbly and loyally and ungrudgingly take second place.@ (Barclay)

2. Andrew was always introducing others to Jesus.

D. How Jesus looked at people! When Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, Jesus looked at Peter.

1. The word used of that look is emblepein -- a concentrated, intent gaze which looks beneath the superficial things and sees a person=s heart.

2. What a neat thing for us! Jesus does not just see what we are; he also sees what we can become.

E. Jesus finds Philip and issues him an invitation to follow him which Philip accepts.

1. Philip goes to find his friend Nathanael who is a skeptic and doubts that anything good could come out of Nazareth. Notice that Philip does not argue with him, he simply says, ACome and see.@

2. So Nathanael came and Jesus saw that AHere is a genuine Israelite, a man in whose heart there is no guile.@ Nathanael demanded to know how Jesus possibly could know him and Jesus tells him that he had already seen him under the fig tree.

AWhatever else, it is true that Nathanel stands for the Israelites whose heart was cleansed of pride and prejudice and who saw in Jesus the one who satisfied the longing of his waiting, seeking heart.@ (Barclay)

F. Peter and Nathanael will not know the truth about Jesus until they have had their own personal experience with Him and neither will we.

AThroughout this Gospel many people will be challenged to >come and see.= Conversion is not about knowledge alone; it is about coming yourself and appropriating a relationship with Jesus personally.

In each case the experience of discipleship carries one more dimension. John the Baptist, Andrew and Philip each bring others to Jesus quite intentionally. They speak what they know about Jesus and they bring other people along so that they too will Acome and see.@

Finally, John is aware that the process of discipleship and conversion are not matters left in human hands. Nathanael must Acome and see,@ but Jesus has Aseen him already. AI saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you@ (1:48). God sees us before we see him. God will Acome and see@ before we ever think about discipleship. God makes his overture before we consider making our own. (Gary Burge)