WEBVTT 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:11.759 Let me invite you to open your Bibles to the Gospel of John. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.279 The Gospel of John in chapter one is where we'll be at this morning. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:16.879 Gospel of John in chapter one. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:23.199 And as you're turning to the Gospel of John, let me invite you back this evening for our 515 evening worship service. 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:33.280 Pastor Dan will be preaching again from some of some of the things that he covered in his book on the way that Jesus unites his ethnically divided church. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.359 He'll be preaching from Luke and chapter 4. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:37.439 I trust it'll be an encouragement to us. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:38.479 So I invite you back. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.320 515 for our evening service. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.799 For this morning, John chapter 1 is our text. 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:44.000 It's really remarkable. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.200 It's a very simple text. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:50.079 It's about Jesus calling some of his first disciples, Andrew and John, meeting Jesus. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:55.600 A simple story, but a very profound account of what it means to meet Jesus. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:58.159 So I want to begin our time by just reading from God's Word. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:04.959 So would you look down at John chapter 1 and follow with me as I read, beginning in verse 35 down to verse 42? 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.560 Let's read from God's Word, John chapter 1 and verse 35. 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:19.840 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, Behold the Lamb of God. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:24.560 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:30.079 Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, What are you seeking? 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:34.719 And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.519 And he said to them, Come and you will see. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:44.079 So they came and saw where he was staying, and stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:49.120 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:55.680 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which means Christ. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:57.519 He brought him to Jesus. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:05.439 Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon, son of John, you shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.439 This is the word of God. 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:16.319 What do you suppose these things have in common? 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:24.560 The island of Crete, the island in the Mediterranean, Colorado Springs, and Oklahoma. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:27.280 Not a lot. 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:31.439 But they share the exact same marketing slogan. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:36.639 Come and see for yourself, along with about 12 other potential travel destinations for you. 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.639 Because this is there's just this basic axiomatic understanding we have. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:48.479 That there's a big difference between knowing about something, knowing about the plains of Oklahoma or the island of Crete, and having personal acquaintance with it. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:50.639 And this is true for so many areas of life. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:52.719 We're celebrating Mother's Day this morning. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:12.240 And I grew up in the generation of American high school students who, before recent changes in our culture, went through a health curriculum where we learned about conception, development of human life in the womb, all the way to birth, and it culminated that section of our teaching with a viewing of the VHS tape called The Miracle of Life. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:22.800 Where I and my classmates learned about conception and the way the embryo develops, the fetus develops, and culminates in seeing a live birth. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.039 And we went from amazement to horror. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:40.080 So we knew something about the way that human life develops, but that kind of intellectual knowledge, we understand there's a chasm between that and the personal knowledge of having a child. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:48.800 It's a qualitatively, categorically different experience when it's human life when it's your child. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:50.479 It's categorically different. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:57.840 The Gospel of John is written to us so that we can have that kind of a jump in our spiritual life. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:08.479 To go from some intellectual knowledge of Jesus, who is the most famous person who has ever lived, more books have been written about him, more songs sung to him, more paintings painted of him, and it's not even close. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:19.120 More than any other person in the history of the world, and have some intellectual knowledge of him, but go from that to actual personal experiential acquaintance with him for yourself. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:21.600 That's what the Gospel of John was written for. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:32.720 John tells us that's his purpose in John chapter 20 and verse 31, where he says, These things have been written that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing have life in his name. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:40.639 Not just intellectual knowledge, but by believing, have the eyes of faith to see that Jesus is who he is and to know him for yourself. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.560 That's the point of the Gospel of John. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:05:00.480 And this Gospel begins by telling us of the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist, whose life we've been studying for the last couple of weeks, and we saw that in the first stage of John the Baptist's ministry, as he's gathering these crowds of tens of thousands of people who are going out to the desert to hear his message and to be baptized by him, he was asked, Who are you? 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:03.839 And he answered that question by saying, That's the wrong question. 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.000 In fact, you should be asking, who is this one who is coming? 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.600 And John redirects and says, You need to be asking about the one that's coming. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:18.720 In the next stage of his ministry, Jesus appears in the scene and John tells everybody, there's the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:21.360 And John launches into the question, who is he? 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.639 And he gives detailed explanation of who that person is. 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:37.120 He's the Lamb of God who's going to be the sacrifice, the substitutionary sacrifice, who's going to bear the penalty for sin that a holy God must judge for sin. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:43.839 This Jesus is going to bear that penalty in the place of sinners so he can take away their sins. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:50.160 And this Jesus Himself is a pre-existent one who forever has existed in the presence of God the Father. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:54.399 And he's the giver of God's very Spirit because He Himself is God. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:06:00.720 In fact, He's the Son of God, the fullness of His glory, the radiance of His glory, the exact imprint of His nature. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:03.279 He's a pretty spectacular person. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:10.720 And in this stage of John's ministry, this little section that we just read, we're kind of crossing the threshold. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:17.519 Where John has turned from saying, You need to get ready for him, and here he is, and this is what he's like, and now we're in a very different scene. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:23.439 You'll notice in verse 35, he's not among the crowds, telling the crowds who Jesus is. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.680 Verse 35, he's standing with two of his disciples. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:27.040 It's a much more intimate scene. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:35.519 He's there with two of his friends, and now he turns to them and he says, Okay, I've told you about who he is, and now it's time for you to go meet him for yourself. 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:42.000 You need to leave me and you need to go meet Jesus for yourself. 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:47.199 What this passage really shows is it shows us what it means to know Jesus for yourself. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.360 It's a passage that walks through, we could say, the cycle of Christian discipleship. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.199 I think that's a good heading, a good paradigm for us to understand this passage. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.319 This is a passage about the cycle of Christian discipleship. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.879 The cycle of Christian discipleship, there's three stages to it. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:11.600 There's an introduction to Jesus, there's a personal encounter with Jesus for yourself that produces a life change in which you begin to invite other people to know Jesus for themselves. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:16.639 And that cycle keeps going and going and going and comes all the way down to the modern day. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:21.279 That's the cycle that every disciple of Jesus right now is engaged in. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:33.120 And I think this passage presents us with an opportunity to evaluate our own spiritual condition and ask ourselves, where am I in this cycle and where do I need to grow to be a more faithful disciple of Jesus? 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.199 So let's walk through this passage together. 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:38.319 This cycle of Christian discipleship begins with the first phase. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.079 It's a personal introduction. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.160 A personal introduction to Jesus. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:43.600 You see that in verse 35. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:45.199 As I said, there's this intimate scene. 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:52.480 John's with his two disciples, and he looks at Jesus, and notice he looked at Jesus. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:54.319 He didn't just see him. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:57.519 This is a slightly more rare word for looking at. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:04.319 It's a compound verb in the original language that has the connotation of looking at something a little bit more intently and evaluating it. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.800 And this particular verb usually occurs in the context where you're sizing something up. 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:10.639 So Mark chapter 10, for example. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:15.920 When the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and says, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.160 The text says that Jesus looked at him. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:25.040 He sized him up and loved him, and so told him truth about how he could inherit eternal life. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:38.639 Mark in chapter 14, as Peter is following Jesus on the way to Jesus' trial, it says that the servant girl looked at Peter, sized him up, and discerned that he was a Galilean and a disciple of Jesus. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:40.159 And so that's the verb that's used here. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:49.519 It's a fairly rare verb, and it says that John the Baptist, as Jesus is walking by, looked at him, sized up Jesus, and says, That's the Lamb of God. 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.279 That's the only Savior of the world. 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:53.120 That's the one who can take away your sins. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.879 And he says to his two friends, the implication is you need to go follow him. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:58.960 You need to go meet him for yourself. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:02.080 This is the first phase of Christian discipleship. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.399 There has to be a personal introduction to Jesus. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:06.480 It happens in a million different ways. 00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:15.120 You'd be a teacher, a parent, a friend, or you're just alone in a hotel room and really bored, and you open the drawer and there's a Bible. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.919 But somehow, someway, you are introduced to Jesus. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:25.440 And I think before moving on, it's worth mentioning that this is the last thing that John does. 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:28.720 This is the culmination of John the Baptist's life. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:33.519 At this stage in his life, he is the most famous person in the nation. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.519 And the last thing he does is he tells his friends, leave me and follow him. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:43.200 And then he disappears off the pages of the Gospel of John. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:49.440 If you look at the grand scope of Scripture, John the Baptist played a crucial role in God's redemptive plans for the world. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:59.279 He brought God's redemptive plans right up to the threshold of the next phase of God's movement where he's bringing the Messiah into the world who would actually achieve the salvation that he had promised for thousands of years. 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.320 But John the Baptist himself doesn't actually cross over the threshold. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:07.039 He doesn't actually see the death and resurrection of Jesus for himself, and he's perfectly content with that. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.679 All he wants to do is tell other people to get to know Jesus for themselves. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:17.440 The culmination of his life is that John decreases so that Jesus can increase. 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:20.320 And he's really content with that. 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:23.039 Well, look at what the disciples do. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:28.480 They're told by their friend, their mentor, their leader, John the Baptist, there's the Lamb of God, follow him. 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.360 So verse 37, the disciples heard this and they simply followed Jesus. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:51.279 And we're going to look at the rest of this account of what it looks like to follow Jesus, but I think it's worth asking one more question before moving on to the second phase, and that is, if you have read the other gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you have learned of the encounter, or the, we could say, the call of Andrew and Peter and James and John. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:53.840 And in fact, it is Andrew and John in this passage. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.600 These are the two disciples with John. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:11:02.799 Notice in verse 40, it explicitly says in verse 40, one of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:09.519 The second disciple isn't mentioned explicitly, but it's likely that he is the author of this book, the Apostle John. 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:18.399 And we say that be-that's the traditional way that this text has been interpreted in the Christian church, and that's because of things like at the end of verse 39, there's this funny little detail mentioned. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:24.720 The end of verse 39 says that when they went to follow Jesus, it was about the tenth hour, which seems like a random detail. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:32.480 But in ancient historical biographical literature, those are the kind of details that gave evidence that this is coming from an eyewitness. 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:37.279 He would give corroborating details to affirm this is eyewitness testimony that could be tested. 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:44.799 And so it's likely that this is the author of Scripture giving his first person account of his first time encountering Jesus. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:51.759 So I'm going to refer to these two disciples as Andrew, who we know, and John, who I think it's most likely is the second disciple. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:12:01.840 And you might ask the question if I have read Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it seems like all these disciples, their first encounter with Jesus was a little bit different. 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:06.559 Let's just recall for a second, look at an example in Matthew in chapter 4. 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.279 Here's an account of the call of Peter and Andrew. 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:17.679 It says, while walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.720 And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.120 And immediately they left their nets and they followed him. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.919 And you might ask, that seems a little different than this account. 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:30.639 That account, they're in Galilee and they're fishing in the sea, and here they're in the Judean wilderness. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:32.879 They're nowhere near fishing nets. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:51.519 As you read the rest of the Gospel of Matthew, you find that this account in Matthew, Mark, and Luke occurs later in Jesus' life and ministry, after John the Baptist had been arrested and Jesus had gone back up into Galilee and begun his messianic ministry in earnest, then he called Andrew and Peter to follow him as apostles. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:13:05.519 John, the writer of the Gospel of John, assumes that you've already read the first three Gospels that were written and that you know that, and he wants to back up and he wants to tell you about the first time Andrew and Peter and John met Jesus. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:12.960 Before they were called into apostolic ministry, what did it look like for them to encounter Jesus, to discover him for the first time for themselves? 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.919 That's what this account is that we're reading this morning. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.840 They've been introduced to Jesus by their friend John the Baptist. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.240 They're following Jesus because they're curious. 00:13:22.399 --> 00:13:28.879 What an intriguing introduction that their mentor, who they trust, has said that's the one who can take away their sins, so they're gonna go investigate. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:33.679 But that introduction has to proceed, it has to advance for it to make any difference. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.480 It has to actually culminate in a personal encounter with Jesus for yourself. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:41.200 That's the second phase of Christian discipleship. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:44.080 And you see that, look down at verse 38 in the text. 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:52.399 In verse 38, what we're gonna see in these two verses, 38 and 39, is a two-way interaction between Jesus and Andrew and John. 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.840 That's the nature of a personal encounter, it's a two-way interaction. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:59.039 The first party to act in verse 38 is Jesus. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:06.559 In verse 38, Jesus turned and saw them following and said, What are you seeking? 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:08.960 What a question. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:15.039 This question, like many of Jesus' questions, it functions on two levels. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:19.279 On one level, he's just asking, he's in the desert, there's two guys following him. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.720 Hey guys, what do you want? 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:30.480 But more than that, Jesus is looking at them and he's asking them, What is it that you're seeking in life? 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:31.679 Why are you following me? 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:33.200 What do you want out of me? 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:34.399 What do you really want? 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.159 What are you really after? 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:41.279 If you're going to have an encounter with Jesus, he's going to ask you that question. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:44.240 He's going to ask you, what is it that you're really seeking? 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.279 Is there a problem in your life you think I can solve for you? 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:49.200 A dilemma that you need untangled? 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:53.679 Is there a question that you need answered? 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.600 Is there some wisdom that you need in order to navigate some challenge? 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:00.879 What is it that you're really seeking? 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:05.600 Because what you're really seeking is going to determine whether you actually find anything from Jesus or not. 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:12.320 Jesus confronts Andrew and John right away with, Be honest with yourself, what is it that you really want out of Jesus? 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.960 And look at the way that they respond at the end of verse 38. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:16.000 Look down in your Bibles. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:21.279 They respond to him in verse 38, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:29.840 You see what they're asking is they're saying, it's not just a question that we want to pose to you. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:31.600 We don't want to test you with something. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.919 It's not just some advice that we want. 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:36.879 It's not a book recommendation that we're seeking. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:38.240 Where are you staying? 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:43.200 Because we want to follow you and we want to spend some time with you because we really want to get to know you. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:53.759 We've heard from our friend that you're the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that you're the eternal Son of God, that you're the giver of God's Spirit, that you're God's chosen Messiah. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.480 And we want to know you for ourselves. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:03.759 If you are who our friend has said you are, then that is going to make every difference in my life. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:08.480 If you are who my friend said you are, then I can't just fit you into my life. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:10.320 You're not just an answer to help me solve something. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.559 You're not just another voice among many in my life. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:18.480 If you really are who my friend says you are, then I can't fit you in my life. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:21.279 I have to conform everything in my life to yours. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:25.200 I really want to spend time with you, Jesus, for yourself. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.279 I want to know who you are truly, really. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:28.480 I want to know you. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:34.480 That's the nature of a personal encounter, is that you want to know Jesus for Jesus. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:36.799 Not Jesus as a means to an end. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:38.559 You know the difference. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:41.519 Every parent knows the difference. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:47.039 When you walk in the door and your kid says, how was your day? 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:49.679 Alright, what do you want? 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.639 Or the moments when you can see that your kid is genuinely developing respect and affection for you. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:58.320 But there's a qualitative difference. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:07.839 There's a difference in approaching Jesus as a means to some end, and there's approaching Jesus because he is the end in himself, and you really want to know him for yourself. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:11.519 That's the way the disciples approach Jesus. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.160 And look at the way that Jesus responds. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.200 Verse 39. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:19.680 Verse 39, he said to them, Come and you will see. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:22.079 Come and you will see. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.559 In other words, he received them. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.480 He welcomed them. 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:27.920 He didn't turn them away. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:32.000 He said, I see that you want to know me, and he embraced them. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.519 That's what Jesus does. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.160 Jesus says this over and over himself. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:44.000 For example, John 6.37, Jesus says, All the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:45.759 Jesus receives all who comes to him. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:46.799 He's a savior. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:50.720 He wants those who come to him to know him, to love him, to embrace him. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.400 He receives them. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:56.319 But notice the very specific language that he uses. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.200 The order of his response to the disciples is important. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.759 He says, Come and you will see. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:10.160 Come is a command and you will see is a future guarantee. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.759 And it matters that it's in that order. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.880 He begins with a command. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.359 You want to see if I'm the way, the truth, and the life. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:20.799 You want to see if I am who I am. 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:24.480 You want to see the realities of God. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.200 You want to see spiritual truth. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:30.559 You want to understand God and his ways. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:32.960 First, you have to obey. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.839 You have to be willing to come to me on my terms. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:40.400 He begins with a command. 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.200 Come. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:49.440 You have to be willing to receive Jesus as he is, to accept Jesus' demands, to come humbly and open-handed and say, whatever you say, I will do. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:50.720 You say come, I'll come. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:51.680 You say go, I'll go. 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:52.799 You say bow, I'll bow. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:53.839 You say jump, I'll jump. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.200 You say believe, I'll believe. 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:58.400 I'm going to come to you humbly on your terms. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:01.440 If you would come to Jesus, you first have to heed him. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:08.400 Poor in spirit, mourning, submissive, ready to receive his word. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:14.319 And Jesus says, if you do that, if you come to me on my terms, you will see. 00:19:14.720 --> 00:19:16.400 You'll perceive spiritual reality. 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.079 You'll see the truth of who I am. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:21.279 You will know me and you'll know eternal life. 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:29.519 But if you want to know me and know eternal life, you have to actually entrust yourself to me for yourself. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:32.640 Now that's a big leap. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:39.839 But I would suggest that we are creatures who do much crazier things all the time. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:47.759 I began by saying that many travel destinations have the slogan, come and see for yourself. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:49.599 So you want to see the island of Crete. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:51.200 I've heard it's beautiful. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:54.799 If you want to come and see it for yourself, you're going to have to take a little bit of a leap. 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:58.240 Unless you are Aquaman, you're going to have to fly there. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.440 And that means you got to get on a plane. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.039 So you've got to ask the question, do you trust pilots? 00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:08.079 Probably. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:10.559 But I mean they're not perfect. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:19.920 There's a fairly famous survey that went around a couple years ago in which a pilots union surveyed over a hundred, or not a hundred, five hundred commercial pilots, the BBC reported. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:26.079 And of these 500 commercial pilots, 60% of them said that they had fallen asleep in the course of a flight. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.640 And you say, all right, that's fine. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:29.839 There's a copilot, right? 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:31.920 There's two of them for a reason, no big deal. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:38.400 But over a third of those who said that they had fallen asleep confess that they woke up and find their co-pilot asleep. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.680 But there's autopilot, right? 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.039 Those machines. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:47.519 There's a lot of time and energy goes into them. 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:48.960 They're pretty reliable. 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:52.880 And I would say, yeah, I jump in planes. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:21:00.240 I trust that somehow, well, sleeping pilots, faulty planes, somehow or other, I'm gonna get there. 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:04.960 That's the nature of human relationships. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:10.000 You want to get somewhere, you want to see Crete, you're gonna have to trust the plane and actually get on it. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:16.559 Jesus says, you want to see spiritual truth, you want to see God, you want to know eternal life, you want to be part of the new heavens and the new earth. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:22.240 You have to entrust yourself to something much more secure than a bunch of flying metal. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.319 Entrust yourself to Jesus. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.440 You have to be willing to actually get in the plane. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:31.920 You have to actually be willing to embrace Jesus for yourself. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:52.559 You have to actually be willing to give your life to Him to say, I believe who you are, I believe your words are true, I believe even when you say things that contradict what I naturally feel, that your thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and your ways are higher than my ways, and I will follow you. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:59.599 And when you do that, Jesus guarantees you will. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:03.359 Notice the response. 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:07.279 Or what the outcome of this little encounter, what happens to the disciples? 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.240 The end of verse 39. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:12.000 At the end of verse 39, Jesus told them, Come and you will see. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.680 The end of verse 39, they came and they saw. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:21.599 They saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:31.680 Now, the tenth hour indicates to us that this was 4 p.m. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.400 It was a common way of reckoning time in the ancient Jewish world that you start the day at about 6 a.m. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:37.200 about sunrise. 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:39.119 So the tenth hour makes us about 4 p.m. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:42.960 And so they came, they saw where Jesus was, they stayed with him the rest of the day. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:51.680 And while it was while they were there staying with him, they came to understand exactly what they were seeking for. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.759 They came to see Jesus as he was. 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.039 How do I know that? 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:58.720 Well, because of the way that John has crafted this account and the way that he's written it. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:00.960 There's a little refrain here in these two verses. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:04.160 It's the verb stay, stay, stay. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.599 They stayed with Jesus, they came and stayed, and they stayed with him. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:15.839 That's intentional in order to jog our memory to say, hey, I think I've just read something reading John chapter 1 about Jesus staying here on earth. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:25.599 And if you'll jog your eyes up to John chapter 1 and verse 14, you'll see that the first time this concept of Jesus staying somewhere is introduced to us is in the prologue in John chapter 1, verse 14. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:35.279 Verse 14 says, the word, this eternal word, who is God and is with God, became flesh, became a man, and dwelt, he stayed among us. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:37.200 And we have seen his glory. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:41.599 Glorious of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:49.200 This eternal God has come to dwell among men, and here he is in this account, staying with Andrew and John. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:57.440 He's welcoming this one who is so much greater than a man, is welcoming men into his very presence and revealing himself to them. 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:00.240 They're seeing his glory. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.319 Glory is of the only God. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.640 But notice it's not glory that's perceived with their physical eyes. 00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:08.640 The glory that the disciples saw. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:19.680 John chapter 1, verse 14 is John the Apostle's first-hand eyewitness testimony, he's saying, I saw the glory of God in Jesus, and this is his account in verses 35 and following. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:28.720 This is where he first laid eyes on the glory of Jesus, and I promise he's not talking about his flowing locks. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.920 Because look at what verse 14 says. 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:33.920 It's the glory of what? 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:44.400 It's the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.079 Spiritual reality. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:50.880 The glory of Jesus was not perceived in his physical appearance. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.359 It was perceived by the eyes of faith when you apprehended who Jesus really is. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:25:04.400 The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, the only begotten from the Father, the giver of his spirit, the radiance of his glory, the exact imprint of his nature. 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:12.400 And it's only by believing in his word that the eyes of your heart are open to perceive the greatness of who Jesus really is. 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:21.279 And in this first account, when Jesus tells the disciples, if you're willing to listen to my voice, to heed me, come and I'll reveal my glory to you. 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:26.720 And John wants us to know that that same glory is available to us today. 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:29.839 Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:38.960 And his glory, his glory of grace and truth is perceivable to everyone who comes to him and believes in his word. 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:54.799 Everyone who comes to Jesus and says, I'll come where you want me to come, Lord, who believes in his word, receives his spirit to open the eyes of your heart to perceive the greatness of Jesus Christ for yourself. 00:25:55.359 --> 00:26:08.240 The same kind of personal encounter that Andrew and John are having with Jesus in the Judean wilderness is available to every person in the modern world who puts their faith in Jesus as their Lord, their Messiah. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:11.839 And this is the heart of Christian discipleship. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:26.079 The very heart of Christian discipleship is a personal encounter in which you come to the place where you give your life to Jesus for yourself, where you get in the plane, and the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of your hearts to see his glory for yourself. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:31.440 That happens when you're willing to come under his word and embrace him by faith. 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:37.359 In that moment, everything changes. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:57.039 And the rest of what we see in this little text is the third step of Christian discipleship, the third phase, having been introduced to Jesus and having come and believed his word, and so experienced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, for myself, that's going to change your life, and it's going to produce a life that's filled with inviting more people to know Jesus. 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:59.519 That's what you see happening in the life of Andrew and John. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:01.039 Look down in verse 40. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.400 Look at what John does. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:08.000 The very first thing, verse 40, one of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:21.519 He first, the very first thing he did, he probably stayed the night with Jesus, he first got up in the morning and found his brother Simon and said, We have found him, we have found the Messiah. 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:24.319 The very first thing he does. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:32.480 Notice this word Messiah, it's a common word, obviously, that we are accustomed to calling Jesus the Messiah. 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:36.480 Did you realize, though, that the word Messiah only occurs in the New Testament twice? 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:38.319 Usually he's called Christ. 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:41.839 Meshiach is a Hebrew word, it means the anointed one. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:56.160 In the Old Testament, there are three major functions in the people of Israel, where you would anoint a person when they assume that office: a prophet who speaks for God, a priest who intercedes between God and man, and a king who would rule God's people for God. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:28:12.319 And in the development of the Old Testament, God increasingly gave clarity that there's going to be one ultimate Messiah who would be God's prophet to speak his very word, who would be his priest, who would bring a final mediation between God and man, and would be God's ultimate king, reigning as God over his people forever. 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:14.640 That's the Meshiach, that's the Messiah. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:20.799 But most of the New Testament passages that refer to Jesus refer to him not as Jesus the Messiah, but Jesus the Christ. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.079 Christos is just the Greek translation of that word. 00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.319 So Christ is not his last name. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:29.839 Christ is who he is. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:35.279 He is Jesus the Christ, the ultimate anointed Messiah, ready to redeem God's people. 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:40.799 And when you have an encounter with Jesus and you see this for yourself, you cannot help but want to tell other people. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:42.720 That's what happens to Andrew. 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:48.960 Andrew comes to see that Jesus is the Messiah, and the first thing he does is he darts out and says, I have to find my brother. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:56.000 And when he finds his brother, he says, Peter, we found him! You remember what John the Baptist had been telling us? 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:59.119 You notice that Andrew doesn't run back to Galilee. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.880 He's still there in the Judean wilderness. 00:29:00.960 --> 00:29:04.799 So Peter had probably been in the area listening to John the Baptist as well. 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:11.759 And so Andrew immediately goes and finds him and says, You know, everything that John the Baptist has been telling us about God's Messiah coming soon, we found him. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:12.799 And I met him. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:18.079 And it's not just what John the Baptist told me is true, but I've seen him for myself. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.480 And you've got to come see him too. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:21.759 You see the cycle? 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.720 John the Baptist is pointing Andrew to say, There he is. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:26.160 Go meet him for yourself. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:32.799 Andrew meets him for himself and immediately he goes to get other people and says, You have to meet him for yourself too. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:40.640 You've heard about him, you know some things concerning him, but you've got to come face to face with Jesus for yourself. 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:49.279 So he goes to Peter and says, We have found the Messiah, and look what he does, verse 42. 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:53.440 Very simply, he brought him to Jesus. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.720 Now I'm sure that Andrew didn't fully understand all that John the Baptist had told him. 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:12.880 I'm sure that Andrew was aware of a lot of things about Jesus because he'd been with John for a while, and John wasn't just repeatedly over and over for years on end saying, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God, the Lamb of God. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:17.920 He would have been giving explanations and thorough, thorough explications of who this Messiah was. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.400 So Andrew would have had a lot of information. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:30.400 But when you read the rest of the gospel, you find Andrew and Peter and John and James and all the disciples fumbling all over themselves, time and time again. 00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:36.319 I think the best way of understanding what's happening in Andrew's life is that he has met Jesus for real. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:40.079 He's had a light bulb moment, but that light bulb's still kind of dim. 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:42.400 He understands Jesus is the Messiah. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:44.160 He loves him and trusts him. 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:49.519 But there's still so much more room for him to grow in his knowledge of this Savior. 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:59.839 But he doesn't have to wait for the full maturity of his faith to take place before he goes and invites other people to come know Jesus too. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:03.359 You know, you can know somebody truly even if you don't know them fully. 00:31:05.279 --> 00:31:07.680 Notice the nature of this interaction. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.160 This is one of the most pivotal human interactions in the history of the world. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:16.160 Peter is going to be the leader of the apostles. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:18.960 He's going to turn the world upside down. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:22.720 He's going to be a man like nobody else. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:26.720 This is one of the most pivotal interactions in the history of the world. 00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:28.559 And look where it takes place. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:36.559 In the middle of nowhere, between two fishermen brothers, one telling the other, I found the Messiah. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:38.240 Come see for yourself. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:42.079 That's the way God's kingdom works. 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:46.960 One soul at a time coming to know Jesus for himself. 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:57.039 God uses some of the most quiet, private, unknown moments in your life to make some of the most profound differences in your life and the world. 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:59.599 You know, you have to believe that. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:12.240 If you are going to raise kids or you're going to do anything else in life, so much of raising kids is you're interacting with kids in a simple private way in your home or out, and no one is ever going to see it. 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:14.400 And no one will ever know. 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:23.440 But every time you say to your children, I found the Messiah, and you take them to Jesus, God will know. 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:31.279 And you don't have to know everything there is to know in order to point somebody to Jesus, but you take them to Jesus. 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:34.400 You say, There is a God in heaven. 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:41.519 And my child, you do not have to search high and low and search the world to find a savior or a reason and a purpose and value for your life. 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:44.720 You don't have to search high and low to find all of the answers for life. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:46.960 It is revealed to us in this one person. 00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:49.839 We've already found the Messiah and He's in this book. 00:32:49.920 --> 00:33:02.960