LIFE OF CHRIST
John 1:35-51
RECRUITED!
Life of Christ #8
Countless thousands, of
preachers, evangelists, Sunday School teachers, and
missionaries have been recruited to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. And every one of us who has trusted the Lord
Jesus as Savior has been recruited to be a disciple, a committed follower of
our Lord and Master.
As we continue our
study of the Life of Christ this morning, we see Jesus recruiting the first of
his disciples. The first recruits were
men whom we can learn from. Each one of
the four mentioned by name in this passage have something to teach us. We find:
BACKGROUND
Vs. 35 – This is the day after John has identified
Jesus as the
Messiah.
There were two disciples with him, Andrew, and most
likely, John, the human author of this Gospel.
Vs. 36-37 – John saw Jesus again. This time Jesus was just
walking by.
John reiterated to these two disciples that here was the Lamb of
God. He made it very clear that here was
the one, the Messiah that John had been preaching about.
Vss. 38-39 – Jesus asked what they were looking
for.
The disciples were basically asking private time with
the Lord Jesus.
“Where are you living?” they ask.
“Come and see,” was Jesus’ reply.
Jesus was ready to spend time with these men.
Jesus is ready to spend time with any person who wants
to learn from Him.
We should be ready to spend time with anyone who wants
to learn about the Lord Jesus.
A DISCIPLE WITH A CHAMPION – Vss. 40-41
Vs. 40 – One of the first two to follow Jesus was Andrew. Andrew was a fisherman and
partner with his brother, Simon Peter.
Many people in
John’s day knew about Peter. Evidently,
not so many knew about Andrew.
Andrew was one of
those guys who kind of flew below the radar.
Probably few knew Him. Everybody
knew his brother.
Andrew was not as
well known or probably as talented as Peter, but Andrew had a champion. And the first person Andrew wanted to tell
about His champion was his brother.
Vs. 41 –
Andrew had a
champion.
·
As Andrew’s champion, Andrew
believed on Jesus as Savior.
·
As Andrew’s champion, Andrew
believed on Him, as Lord and Master.
·
As Andrew’s champion, Andrew
wanted his brother, Peter to believe on the Lord Jesus too.
·
As Andrew’s champion, Andrew was
known for bringing people to the Lord Jesus.
Andrew is
mentioned three times in this Gospel, and each time he is bringing someone to
the Lord Jesus. He wanted for people to know his champion.
Is the Lord Jesus
your champion?
· Is Jesus your champion because you
have trusted Him as your Savior?
· Is Jesus your champion because you
have trusted Him as Lord and Master?
And like it or
not, whatever controls us, is our champion! Matthew 6:24
Jesus should be
our champion! 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
A DISCIPLE WITH COURAGE – Vs. 42
Andrew probably
had no idea that his brother would turn out to be one of the most famous and
effective of all the Apostles.
And we never know
how the Lord Jesus will use those whom we bring to Christ. They very well could outshine us!
Vs. 42 – Andrew brought Peter to Jesus.
Jesus gave Peter a
new name.
Jesus saw in Peter
a rock or a stone.
Jesus saw in Peter
a man of courage, of boldness, who would preach boldly and live boldly for Christ.
But if you know
anything about Peter, you know that he was very impetuous, up one moment and
down another. You also know that he
denied the Lord Jesus three times.
How could Jesus
nickname this type of man, “Rock”?
It is because
Jesus knew what He would do for Peter.
It is because
Jesus knew that when He sent Peter and the other Apostles the Holy Spirit that
they would be empowered men who would boldly show courage.
· It was Peter who boldly preached
on the Day of Pentecost and saw 3,000 converts.
· When Peter and John were not to speak in the name of the Lord Jesus,
their response was courageous in Acts 4:20, For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
· When Peter and the other Apostles were confronted because they were
preaching about the Lord Jesus, they said in Acts 5:29, We ought to obey God rather than man.
We live in a day
when people don’t want you sharing your Christian faith.
We live in a day
when you may be criticized if you tell people that Jesus is the only way to
Heaven.
We live in a day
when some want the Christian message silenced.
The Lord wants
people who, through the His empowering have courage.
Just like Peter,
we will not have courage until we allow God’s Holy Spirit to control us.
John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
A DISCIPLE WITH A CAUSE – Vs. 43
Vs. 43 - A third
disciple is mentioned by name.
His name was Phillip.
Jesus simply said,
“Follow Me”.
One verse tells us
about Phillip’s recruitment.
But those 2 words,
“follow me” speak volumes.
When we follow
someone or something, that someone or something becomes our “cause”.
It is what we
stand for.
It is what we live
for.
One cannot be a
disciple of Christ unless He is willing to make Jesus his cause.
Jesus is very
stringent on the requirements for following Him. John 12:24-26
To follow Jesus we
must die to ourselves.
To follow Jesus we
must despise our own lives in favor of Jesus.
To follow Jesus we
must accept His leadership and His plan for our lives.
To Follow Jesus we
must be faithful. Luke 9:62
Luke 9:62 - And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his
hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the
Phillip had a
cause. Do you?
Is it the right
cause?
Is your cause the
Lord Jesus Christ?
A DISCIPLE WITH CHARACTER – Vss. 44-51
Vs. 44-45 – Notice that Phillip shared His cause.
When a cause is truly important to you, you will share it.
Phillip gave
Nathaniel a summary of who they found.
Although we know
that Jesus is the Son of God, he would have been known by his guardian on
earth’s name, Joseph,
Hence, Phillip
calls him, Jesus the Son of Joseph.”
Vs. 46 – Nathaniel was a man without deceit or guile.
Nathaniel would tell you what he
thought.
He was no hypocrite.
So, “He asks, can
any good come from
Evidently, the
reputation of
Phillip’s answer
was very profound, “Come and See”.
Rather than argue
with Nathaniel, Nathaniel was invited to experience Jesus for himself.
Vs. 47 – Jesus knows his disciples even before they sign up.
Jesus gives his
assessment of Nathaniel before actually meeting him.
Jesus didn’t see a
sinless man, but he saw a man of character.
He saw a man, who was without deceit. He was straightforward, honest.
Vs. 48 – Nathaniel wondered how Jesus knew Him.
Evidently
Nathaniel had been sitting under a fig tree by himself with nobody around. And whatever Nathaniel was thinking under
that fig tree were thoughts that showed him to be without deceit.
Vs. 49 – This was it all it took for Nathaniel. As a man of faith he declared
Jesus to be Son of God and King of
Vss. 50-51 – Jesus basically told Nathaniel, “You ain’t
seen nothing yet!”
The allusion is to
“Jacob’s ladder” that Jacob had seen in a dream. A ladder or a stairway connects two places.
Jacob’s ladder
connected Heaven and Earth.
Jesus Christ is
the ladder that bridges God and
Jesus is the
ladder that makes access to Heaven possible.
God’s blessing is
brought to earth through the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are four
disciples mentioned by name.
Each one has
something to teach us.
ANDREW, A DISCIPLE WITH A CHAMPION
PETER, A DISCIPLE WITH COURAGE
PHILLIP, A DISCIPLE WITH A CAUSE
NATHANIEL, A DISCIPLE WITH CHARACTER
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