The Calling of the Disciples

Transcript

GR 337
11/11/1979
The Calling of the Disciples
JOHN 1:35-51
Gil Rugh

We’re in the gospel of John and the first chapter, and we’ve begun the public ministry of Jesus Christ. That began with chapter 1 and verse 19, and it will carry us through the first 12 chapters of the gospel. John will be unfolding for us something of the glorious character of Jesus Christ, focusing primarily upon the miracles of Jesus Christ to establish beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus is indeed the Messiah of Israel. He's the Son of God and the purpose for bringing us to that realization is so that we might believe in Him, and as a result of believing in Him we will have life. This is the purpose he expressed at the end of chapter 20 of this gospel.

Now it's fitting that the public ministry of Christ begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. So in verses 19-34, John focused on the ministry of John the Baptist. Now again, it's John the Apostle writing this gospel and he's telling us about the ministry of John the Baptist. And John identified himself for us very clearly. He said first of all that he's not the Messiah, he's not Elijah come back to life, and he's not one of the other Prophets of the Old Testament resurrected by God; but he is that special Prophet prophesied by Isaiah as well as other prophets in the Old Testament, to be the one to go before the Messiah and prepare the way for Him. The one to get the nation ready spiritually for the coming of their King. "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord."'

And then with verse 29, he formally introduces Jesus to the nation Israel as their Messiah. Verse 29, "The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" That's a formal presentation to the nation and particularly to the leaders of the nation that this is your Messiah. He is the Lamb of God. He is the One that God has provided to satisfy His own righteous demands and make provision for the forgiveness of your sins.

Now as we mentioned, John the Baptist did not understand all that that entailed. He did not grasp that it would mean that the divine, eternal Son of God would have to be sacrificed as a Lamb, die on a cross to pay the penalty for sin. But he did recognize and understand that Christ was the Lamb, that He would be the one to provide redemption and forgiveness even though he did not perceive all that that involved.

At the end of that section, he tells us how for sure he knew that Jesus was the Messiah. He had seen the Spirit descend on Him as a dove. That was the sign that God gave him that he could know for sure that that one was the Messiah So verse 34 concluded that section, "I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

Now with that, we move into verse 35 and through the rest of chapter 1 to a presentation of the calling of the initial disciples of Jesus Christ. Particularly 5 men as they are called to join themselves to Jesus Christ—to be His followers and His disciples. I take it all 5 of these come out of the ministry of John the Baptist. Two are noted that way particularly. But it seems that all of them have been associated with the ministry of John. That's part of John’s preparatory ministry. It would seem that all of those who believed the message that John preached, who identified with John and his message by baptism would believe in the Messiah when they are confronted with Him. And that is true of these that we confront. There will be several interesting things brought out here. We'll note some different titles or characteristics of the Messiah. He'll be called a Teacher in verses 35-39. He'll be called the Messiah in verses 40-42. The Prophesied One in verses 43-46 And the Son of God, The King of Israel in verses 47-51. So some key ways, four key ways of identifying Jesus Christ—the Teacher, Messiah, the Prophesied One, The Son of God, The King of Israel.

Also note that these men that are called to associate themselves with
Christ in a special way, to be part of His ministry, are going to be rather common people. Some will be more common than others, but they are not necessarily the great, gifted men that you and I would have picked if we were going to do the choosing. We would have picked those who would have stood out, who had exceptional ability, but they are called and picked on the basis of what they will become in Jesus Christ, not on the basis of what they have been.

Alright. You’ll note how verse 35 begins. "Again the next day John was standing, and two of his disciples..." The two disciples, I take it, one is named—Andrew—and the other is John, the writer of our gospel. Most seem agreed on this. John never refers to himself by name through the gospel, and the two, one is named as Andrew in verse 40. One of the two who heard John speak was Andrew. We assume the other was John, the writer of this epistle.

John is standing there with two of his disciples. Two men who had been closely following John the Baptist. And he looked upon Jesus and said "Behold, the Lamb of God!" So he has the previous day introduced Him formally to the nation and the leadership of the nation as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now as he stands here with two of his disciples, he points to Jesus again and says "Behold (give attention), this is the Lamb of God!" And that is the signal for them to turn from following John the Baptist and follow Jesus Christ.

Again, you appreciate something of the greatness of John the Baptist and his ministry because it's always fun to gather disciples. It's always fun to gather them around you, but now to turn them over to Christ. And we say that would be a great blessing. Yes, but it left John standing. And to all intents and purposes, John the Baptist's ministry is already to a large extent fulfilled He has prepared the way for the Messiah. He has formally introduced the Messiah From here on, it's down hill. John himself said "I must decrease and He will increase." And here we'll see his disciples turning off from John to attach themselves to the One who is the Messiah—the Lamb of God! God's specially provided One. The One in whom and through whom all forgiveness will be provided. All cleansing will take place. The One to whom all the sacrifices of the Old Testament looked toward. He is the One.

The two disciples heard him speak, in verse 37, and they followed Jesus. "And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, 'What do you seek?'" John has pointed Him out, perhaps as he walked by on a road. The two disciples leave John and take off down the road after Jesus. Jesus turns around and says 'What do you seek? What do you want? What are you looking for?’

They said, "Rabbi." And John translates for us and he'll do it several times. He does it down in verse 41 for us and verse 42 to be sure we understand, going from one language to another—particularly, from Aramaic he’ll translate it into Greek to be sure that everyone understands. "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher)..." So that is what is signified here by 'Rabbi'. They address Him as a teacher. "Where are you staying." Now that seems strange. Jesus says 'What are you looking for? What are you seeking?' They say 'Where are you staying?' Doesn't seem to really answer their question but it does. They're not asking for His address. They don't want to know 'Where do you live? I want to write you sometime.' Obviously, that's not the case. In effect when they say 'Where are you staying?' They are in effect saying 'We are seeking more prolonged intimacy with you. We would like to spend some time with you. We are seeking the opportunity to be in your presence awhile. We don't have just one or two questions we'd like you to answer and go on our way. We want to spend some time with you.' So that's the import of their question, 'What are you seeking?' We're seeking to spend some time with you. And Jesus understands that and in verse 31 He says 'Come, and you will see.' Come on and be with Me, see where I'm staying. Spend some time with me.

"They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour." John brings those little insights to our attention throughout his gospel that you would expect of someone who was an eye witness to these events. Little things like the time of day. You note it was about the tenth hour when this happened. John would remember that. Wouldn't you think as he confronts the Messiah and is now invited to spend the day with him that he would remember about the time of day it was? Well he does, it was about the tenth hour.

If you have a New American Standard Bible, you'll note the margin says 'about 6:00 pm' going from the Jewish manner of reckoning. The Jews went from 6:00 to 6:00, sundown to sunrise was their day. 6:00 Am to 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. So the tenth hour of the day, so if you start at 6:00 AM and take 10 hours, you come to 4:00 in the afternoon. That could have been the time. There is another way of reckoning time and that's the Roman time. The Romans went from 12:00 the way we do. From 12:00 to 12:00 to 12:00, so the tenth hour of the day would be 10:00 in the morning since the day began at 12:00 midnight. My understanding is that John uses Roman time. We'll talk more about this in detail when we get to chapter 19 where the time is of special significance in the events of the crucifixion. So my understanding is that it would be 10:00 in the morning here, going on Roman time. And it's my understanding that John uses Roman time throughout his gospel, so it would be the same time we are.

The other gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, would use Jewish time and we'll see how that synchronizes when we get to the end of the gospel.

So 10:00 in the morning, Come and spend the day with Me. And they do.
"One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother." Good old Andrew. Most significant thing about Andrew is he is the brother of Simon Peter! That's what makes him significant. And if you want to keep Andrew straight, you have to say Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Oh yes, I know Andrew. If you have brothers or sisters, you may well have been in that situation where you have been introduced and you're introduced as so-and-so's brother, or so-and-so's sister. That would be especially true if you have a brother or sister who is a famous or infamous person, depending. Well, Simon Peter obviously overshadows Andrew. So here at the beginning so you know who Andrew is, he is Simon Peter's brother.

And the significant thing about Andrew is, what does he do? Verse 41. "He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which translated means Christ)." Christ, Greek; Christos, the Anointed One. He is the Messiah. So when we talk about Jesus Christ, we're talking about 'Jesus Messiah; Jesus Anointed One; Jesus, King of Israel.' We use it as two names together, Jesus Christ, but one is the title 'Messiah, King, the Anointed One.' "We have found the Messiah." Andrew stands out here in his own significant way because what comes first to his mind? As he is convinced and realizes that Jesus is the Christ. 'I've got to tell Simon. I've just got to go and let Simon know!' You see this as characteristic of these who come to Christ—there is an enthusiasm and excitement about them!
Can you imagine Andrew coming and spending the day with Jesus, being convinced that the hundreds of Old Testament passages were speaking about Him. All the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in Him, and sitting down the next day with Simon at dinner and saying 'Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I met the Messiah yesterday.' That would hardly fit the pattern! You'd expect there would be some excitement and enthusiasm, "We have found Him! The One we've been waiting for centuries and centuries! I spent some time with Him today!" He goes and gets his brother, Simon. And we're familiar with Andrew from titles that have been given to certain outreach programs—Operation Andrew. Because we always seen Andrew in the context of someone always coming to Christ. He's always involved in the bringing process. So when we want to have an outreach program we call it 'Operation Andrew'—why? Because Andrew is significant in that he is involved in bringing others. You can jot down John chapter 6, verses 8 and 9 where he's involved with Phillip in bringing some Greeks to Jesus. Over in John chapter 12, you remember the little lad with the fishes and the loaves? You know who pointed him out? Good ole Andrew! Here we have a little boy...he's got some fish and some bread—involved in bringing that person to the forefront. Isn't it significant? We think of Andrew as a rather background person, and he is as far as the gospel is concerned, but think of what he has done? He came to Christ and recognized Him as the Messiah, and went and got his brother Simon. You know, if Andrew had never done another thing, he would have made a dramatic impact on the world! Because no one questions the impact that Simon Peter has had. And who brought Simon Peter? Andrew did. Oh Andrew's not important—you know, the ministry of the gospel wouldn't be affected if we left Andrew out. Wanna bet? Because Andrew is the instrument that God used for Peter, and I take it Andrew gets to share in all the rewards that Peter was accruing as well and the great ministry he had because he was instrumental in Peter's coming. So we ought not to play him down or think of him as insignificant. Exciting! Not everybody has to be out front. Not everyone has to be a Peter, in the spotlight all the time. And Peter is in the spotlight even when he doesn't belong there! And he has to be told to step back a little bit. But Andrew is a more background person but tremendously significant. Tremendous impact on the whole ministry because of how God used him to bring Peter.

"He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said 'You are Simon the Son of Jonas, Simon Bar-Jonas, Simon Son of John.' Now that's obviously not for Peter's information. Simon knew he was Simon Son of John, but He wants to draw a comparison here. This is what you are—"You shall be called Cephas (which translated means Peter)" which translated means stone or rock. Peter is the Greek for stone; Cephas is the Aramaic for stone. So you are Simon, you shall be a rock. I think it's interesting here because as Jesus confronts Peter, He doesn't confront him in light of what he has been or what he is but what he will be when Christ is done with him. Peter, you’re going to be a rock. And we think of that. We think of Peter, here is a man who stands. Now this took time. That didn’t mean that from this day on Peter is a mighty rock for Christ! It takes time to grow rocks! You didn't know that, did you! You don't grow a rock overnight, spiritually speaking. Three years later at the end of the public ministry of Christ, we're not impressed with the rock-like character of Peter. We find him denying Christ 3 times on the last night. A vacillating character still there. But Christ isn't done with Peter. He told him, 'You'll deny me, but I've prayed that after you'll be used to strengthen the brethren.' It ought to encourage us. Here Christ starts out telling Peter what he's going to be, what He's going to turn him into—a rock! And then it's going to take time. You know, often I don't see people in light of what they will be in Christ. We look at their potential in light of what they have been in the world. It has nothing to do with what God will do with them in Christ. He takes someone insignificant, not outstanding, and God turns them into a mighty instrument in His hands and that's exactly what He does with Peter. Another thing is that I get impatient. You know, you've been a believer 6 months and you haven't turned this city upside down! Well, cheer up! Jesus Christ Himself worked 3 years with Peter and there were still some miserable failures in Peter's life. It takes time to mature and develop, and Christ didn't come to the end of His life and say to Peter 'Look, I said you'd be a rock but you're still like soft clay. I guess it didn't turn out. I'm going to be looking for someone else to be strengthening the brethren.' Not at all. He hasn't given up on Peter. This is what you WILL be as a result of My work in your life, and Peter does become a tremendous instrument through the book of Acts, particularly in the opening half of the book of Acts. God uses him in the establishment of the Church.
Alright. Verse 43. We move on. We have Andrew, John and Peter now— John by implication as the other disciple. "The next day He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip, and Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me.1" Interesting here. Jesus goes and seeks out Philip. Philip may have been too insignificant for anyone else to go looking for him. Philip. I'm going to go looking for Philip. Philip may not have had the initiative to go himself looking for Christ, but for some reason not explained, Jesus decides to go into Galilee and He looks up Philip. And He says to him, 'Follow Me.' And Philip was from the same city as Andrew and Simon Peter. So Philip is called. Philip's an interesting person. Again, it strikes me that I probably wouldn't have called any of these men myself. I'd have been looking for men who would have made some kind of striking impact because you know they're the ones who can have a striking testimony. If you can save someone who's famous or well known or who has done some great thing, isn't it their testimony that really makes an impact on the world? That's not the way Jesus did things. He pulled out these men who would have been nobodies in their day. What made them somebody was the the work of Christ in their life! That's what gave power and impact to their message. Not that they had a glorious history previous. But the fact that now they had a personal relationship with the Messiah and were empowered by Him. I was interested in the way one commentary put it regarding Philip. He said that every time you meet Philip he seems to be in out of his depth—in over his head. Just doesn't seem to quite get ahold and stand off. Not that he's bad, he just doesn't come across as strong and striking. Here, you have Christ calling him and he follows.

Look over in chapter 6. We mentioned chapter 6 in connection with Andrew. Note what Philip says in verse 7, but first verse 5—"Jesus therefore lifting up His eyes, and seeing that great multitude was coming to Him, said to Philip, 'Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?'" Course all Philip can say is 'Well, I figured it up and even if you had 200 denarii you couldn't feed them so we've really got a problem here, Lord.' You know, no great manifestation of a tremendous faith. All he can do is figure out the finances. We really don’t need a financial report on this occasion! But there's Philip. Over in chapter 12 you see him again with Andrew. In chapter 6 it was with the boy with the loaves and in chapter 12, it's with the Greeks who come to Christ. And there are some Greeks who want to see Him, so verse 21, "...these therefore came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and began to ask him, saying, 'Sir, we wish to see Jesus.'" So Philip takes hold of the situation and goes to see Jesus. No, what does he do? Philip goes and tells Andrew, and Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. Again, you don't get the idea of a dynamic strong person here. 'Some people want to see Jesus, what should I do? I'd better go tell Andrew.' So then with Andrew they go and see Jesus. So, not to be negative on Philip—he was a great man.
Obviously because Christ called him.

But come back to chapter 1. What I'm saying is not always those we are looking for—you know, there's not many great, not many mighty, not many noble that God calls Paul told the Corinthians. We get on this whole thing—let's really pray for this great person because if they got saved, wouldn't they be a tremendous testimony! Usually not. Because they're so famous they're running at the mouth before they've learned anything, and they're really not that much of an asset. That's not always the case, but it's interesting how Jesus went about doing it.

And Philip He called. That's encouraging to me. He called Philip. Most men wouldn't have picked Philip, but Christ picked Philip just like He picked us. Going to use common ordinary people to serve Him.

Now what's Philip do? Versed of chapter 1. Philip found Nathanael.
Note how this is going on? Interesting. Everyone in this section that comes to Christ comes on the initiative of someone else. Andrew and John come because of the initiative of John the Baptist. Peter comes because of the initiative of Andrew. Philip comes becomes of the initiative of Christ. Nathanael comes because of the initiative of Philip. No one here coming on their own—they all come because of someone outside themselves, taking hold of them and inviting them to come. Again, the pattern that is still followed as God uses us as instruments in the lives of others.

"Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, ’We have found Him...’" You note there is no hesitancy or wavering on any of these men who have been followers of John, been prepared for the Messiah. When they confront Christ, they know He's the One. They don't say 'I found one who I THINK could possibly maybe be the one.' No. 'We have found Him. This is the one Moses talked about. This is the one all the prophets talked about. It's HIM. THE MESSIAH! And it's Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' Now he's not denying here the virgin birth. We don't even know how much Philip understood about that issue at this point. Legally, Jesus is the son of Joseph. He's not physically because He is the Son of God divinely conceived, virgin birth. But legally speaking, the way of identifying Him would be as the son of Joseph. He is of Nazareth—that's His city. Jesus of Nazareth, identified with His home city. "And Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?'" So Nathanael was a little bit skeptical. You say it's Jesus of Nazareth, could any good thing come out of Nazareth? Could you expect a Messiah from Nazareth? Really, Phillip! I really have question. Could you have any good thing come out of Nazareth and particularly, could you expect the Messiah from Nazareth? Bethlehem, yes! Nazareth? Well, I don't know. Well, Philip doesn't go into a discussion and argument here, let me prove to you. What's he say? "Come and see." Look for yourself. "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!'" Nathanael was a great person, a godly man. Jesus said 'Here is an Israelite who has no guile in him'-guile meaning deceitfulness, deception.

Now we're going to see why Jesus picks up on this. It doesn't mean Nathanael was perfect or without sin. It does mean, though, in his character he is a godly man. I think he picks up on guile to draw Nathanael to a point— we’ll see.

"Now Nathanael said to Him, 'How do you know me?’ ’How can you say that about me? We haven’t spent any time together, I don’t believe. ’’Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’" You can see here something of the sovereign work of God. We say it was the initiative of someone bringing someone else to Christ. Philip went out and got Nathanael, but Christ had planned for Nathaniel before Philip ever got there. He'd already picked him up sitting under the fig tree. Now when Nathanael was sitting under the fig tree, evidently it wasn't where everybody passed by. Because if Jesus had said 'Oh, I saw you under the fig tree' Nathanael might have thought 'Yeh, a lot of people saw me under the fig tree. That's where I was sitting.' Evidently it was more of a private place. Because Nathanael answers, in verse 49, "Nathanael answered Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."' Now that's a remarkable change. Philip comes and says 'I've found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.' Nathanael says 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' He comes up and sees Jesus and Jesus says 'Oh, yes, Nathanael, I saw you under the fig tree.' Nathanael says 'You're the Son of God, you're the King of Israel!!!' That's quite a dramatic change just because someone saw you under a fig tree! Obviously there's more to it than having picked out a particular spot where he was.

Note how he goes on. I think the answer's here. "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?'" I mean, that little thing would cause you to believe? 'You're going to see far greater things than these! How do you like this one?' "He said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'" Now you think it was something when I said I saw you under the fig tree; look what lies in store for you! This is what is ahead of you.

Now. Verse 51, "Truly, truly" is a favorite expression of John. It's unique to him. He’s the one who likes to double it. ’Amen, amen’—a word that is used to give ascent or confirmation to what someone else has said or done. We use it at the end of prayers as a statement of agreement about what has been prayed. It’s used by Jesus, particularly in John's gospel doubled, not just ’verily’ once but ’verily, verily' to draw attention and emphasis to something of particular significance. Here is something for you to pay close attention to. "Verily, verily, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'" Now, what is entailed here? Let me put this together with verse 47 when He initially confronts Nathanael He says 'An Israelite in whom there is no guile' and then you talk about heavens opening and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, there is an Old Testament person who fits into this kind of setting very well. You think of guile or deception, you think of a man whose name carries that idea. He means a supplanter? Jacob, the deceiver, the supplanter.

Go back to Genesis 28. Genesis chapter 28, note verse 10. "Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." Now here you have Jacob whose name means 'deceiver, guile, supplanter’. Jesus in that context talks about angels ascending and descending from the open heavens upon the Son of Man. It may well have been that as Nathanael meditated under the fig tree that his mind was fixed on this passage of Scripture, on Jacob the deceiver, so that when he confronts Christ with his mind filled with this area, Jesus can say 'You're not like Jacob.' In fact, one person translates that John 1 area as 'Here's a man in whom is no Jacob' because Jacob means ’a deceiver.' He's no supplanter, no guile in this person, Nathanael.

Now he carries it on and just as Jacob had that tremendous opportunity of beholding the heavens opened and a ladder—note: a ladder set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven and angels going up and down on the ladder.
What that ladder conveyed was the link between earth and heaven. And the access back and forth from earth to heaven and heaven to earth. That's what a ladder is, isn't it? People use it to get from one place to another.
Here's the ladder that links earth and heaven, provides access from one to the other.

Now you come back to John 1 and you see the heavens opened and the angels of God descending and ascending upon the Son of Man, what has happened? Instead of ascending and descending upon a ladder, they are upon the Son of Man. What is the Son of Man? He is the ladder. He is the link between earth and heaven and heaven and earth. He is the means of access from one to the other. Another way of putting it is as Paul wrote—there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. He is the go-between, between heaven and earth. So what He tells Nathanael, in effect, in verse 51 is The Son of Man is the means of access. He is the link between earth and heaven By Him there is access. And in effect, you have Jesus Christ bringing heaven to man and bringing man to heaven. Both going on. And there is no connection apart from Jesus Christ. You have taken away the ladder when you take away the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

So we're not told what is the background for Nathanael, but it may well have been in that background. And that's why it made such an impact upon him when Jesus makes these identifications. Now Jesus here calls himself the Son of Man, an expression you ought to be familiar with. It's His favorite name for Himself. Over 80 times Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. The background for that comes out of the book of Daniel and the 7th chapter. Turn back to Daniel chapter 7, and this great vision that Daniel has regarding the coining Messiah and His eternal reign. Earthly kingdoms are destroyed, and in verse 13 of Daniel chapter 7—"I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming..." and there’s our expression. There’s the Old Testament foundation for the title. "One like the Son of Man" is coming. "He came to the Ancient of Days before His Father. And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." So here the Son of Man is a title for the divine Son of God, stressing the fact that He is not only deity but He is also humanity. Remember in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14, that Jesus took upon Himself the nature of humanity, flesh and blood. He became man in order that He might redeem mankind. So He is the Son of Man, bringing not only His divine character but His human character to the fore.

So Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man is a direct claim to be Messiah of Israel, coming out of the Old Testament and the Jews would recognize that again from a passage like Daniel chapter 7.

So you come back to John 1. In effect, I the Son of Man, the Messiah... we’ve already seen His deity. And not only His deity but His humanity. He is the link between God and man. He is the God-man. And by Him and through Him, men can have access to God. God and man are linked through the God-man, Jesus Christ. But only for those who believe in Him. So here we have the one access to God, the one vehicle through which man can come to God. But not everybody comes, but everybody who does come comes through Him. He is the one mediator between God and men, and men come when they come to believe they are sinners for whom Christ died. At that moment, when I believe that, that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died for me, I was forgiven all my sins! I was brought into a personal relationship with God Himself. The very reason for my existence was fulfilled. A personal relationship with a personal God who made me. So that's the import of verse 51. Him being the access, and that will be reiterated again and again.

So in these verses, John has brought to our attention the coming of the first 5 of these disciples of Jesus Christ. Common ordinary men. Men who are already being used, because Andrew comes and he runs and gets Peter. And how often that's the case. Here they are brothers. Just think of how many families- some of you in your own families. You can to believe in Jesus Christ, and what happened? You told someone else in your family and they believed. Perhaps you can to believe because someone else in your family talked to you about Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your house." That doesn't mean your whole house will be saved just because you believed. It means your whole house will be saved if they believe like you believe. But I always take it that when a member of a family is saved, comes to believe in Jesus Christ, there's an indication that God is working in that family. What a great privilege to have a member of a family who is a believer in Jesus Christ. Here is a vehicle, now, through which God can work in the lives of other members of the family. Why it's so crucial for our lives and our words to bear the proper type of testimony. The issue is overwhelmingly significant. What a privilege, what an exciting thing that Andrew could be used by God to bring Peter. What an exciting thing that I could be used in the lives of someone else, others in my family, others I have contact with. And the patter is the same. God chooses to use people. And every so often, He brings in someone who is head and shoulders above everyone else like Paul will be, like Peter comes to be. You know the encouraging thing to me? By and large, He uses us. Just common Andrews, Philips. People you don't hear a lot about. They're not making a splash by being out front, but they're bearing the message. We have found Him! I know who the Messiah is! I've got to tell you about it! It's too wonderful for me to keep it to myself. That's a message that any common, mundane, average, run-of-the mill, etc., etc., etc. people can tell! Isn’t that amazing! That takes you out of the realm of the mundane, average, every day run of the mill. You become a vessel, a spokesman for God! There are no mundane, average spokesman for God! When I’m one who represents Him as an ambassador of His, the world may view me as common and average and ordinary and mundane. But let me tell you! I'm Mr. Important! I’m significant! I can tell you about eternal life! I can tell you about redemption and forgiveness. Now that ought not to cause arrogance and pride, obviously! But it ought to excite us with the privilege that God has chosen to use us whom He has called to Himself to tell others and the message is the same. We have found Him! He is the Savior! He is the One who provides access into the very presence of God. In Him and Him alone is there salvation and forgiveness of sins, because He and He alone is the Lamb of God. Let’s pray together.

Father, we praise you for the greatness of the Savior that we have. For the fact that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the One prophesied and promised throughout the Old Testament. Lord, we praise you for the fact that He has come, that He has secured redemption through His death and resurrection. Lord, we thank you for the privilege we have to be those who bear that message, have the privilege of telling others in our family, our friends, those we have contact with that we have come to know Him who is life. Lord, to share with them that they can know Him, too. That they can have forgiveness and cleansing by believing in Him.

Give us boldness, Father, and enthusiasm, and excitement and zeal in sharing this message with those we come in contact with today and in coming days, that they too might have the opportunity to believe in Him. And as a result of believing, have life, for we pray in His name.