Daily Dose of the Word of God - John 1: 35-51

Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor

Transcript

Gregg DeMey  0:07  

Happy New Year and welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. It is January 1, 2026 and we are going to start this new year with a spotlight on Jesus, with the apostle John as our guide. Today's reading is from the Gospel of John 1: 35 through 51.

Gregg DeMey  0:27  

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”  So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”  Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.  “Come and see,” said Philip.  When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”  “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

Gregg DeMey  2:40  

There is a lot of seeing here in John chapter 1. Jesus invites them to come and see his first disciples. Philip, to his brother, says, "Come and see." And at the end, Nathaniel is blown away because Jesus tells him he saw him under the fig tree. And then, he expands his spiritual imagination by telling him that someday he will see the Son of Man coming in his glory. Lord willing, in 2026 we will see a lot of Jesus. More of Jesus. A deeper, sharper, more beautiful picture of Jesus.

Gregg DeMey 3:17  

Let's pray. Lord, we hear your invitation to your disciples to come and see. We do want to see more of you in the year ahead - more of your signs, wonderful work and more of Jesus. We are confident no matter what 2026 holds that you are the Lord, our teacher, our Master, our friend and rabbi. The day is coming when we will see you in your glory. Heaven wide open - angels ascending and descending when you return to truly make all things new. Lord haste the day. In your name we pray, amen.