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 spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Big View: Person of Peace
Small View: Permanent Relationships – Preparation – Perception
Doug McCoy
First Christian Church – Pleasant Hill CA
Observation: I see both John and Jesus being perceptive to the people of peace around them. I see that John knew these disciples of his were open to becoming disciples of Jesus and so first proclaimed Jesus to them and then passed them on to Jesus. I see that Jesus was aware that people of peace had been sent to Him and were following Him. I see further that when Jesus became aware of the people of peace He opened Himself up to them, inviting them to where He was staying and allowing them to spend the day with Him.
Action: I often see the people of peace concept as something for myself. I look for those who will be people of peace to me, who will stick with me, who will stay in relationship with and focus on me. But John understood that he was gathering people not for himself but for something greater than himself (that is, for the Kingdom) and he was willing to relinquish them to that greater thing. Today I will remind myself that I am not the Kingdom but merely a proclaimer of the Kingdom and will allow myself to pass my people on peace on to Jesus.
Thanks Doug – your perspective hit home with me today!
Observation: Jesus opens the dialogue with these new followers with a challenge: ‘What do you want?’ (That is, why are you following me?) As if he didn’t already know what they needed. The challenge is, do I know what I need when I come to Him? Certainly he knows. Will I admit what I need when I come to Him? Why am I following Him in the first place? Is it some vague awareness that something is missing, or do I really know what is missing?
Action: I am taking time this season to get rid of things that are not good for me (mainly, I gave up the news media) and focusing on what I ‘need’ and why I need it. When Jesus asks me ‘What do you want?’ my answer is, ‘I want to know more about why I am here and what my purpose is. Can You help me with that?’ I pretty sure He can if I pay attention and don’t shy away from the answer.
Thanks for this reply. That is what my group challenged me with Sunday. Instead of trying to orchestrate things for God to work in me, i need to just straight up ask him to make my purpose clear. He doesn’t need me to arrange for Him but to seek His answer for me. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks, Doug! That is a great insight. All I saw was how strangely these people converse! No hello-how-are-you? Who-are-you? And then they don’t answer the question. How does “where are you staying?” answer the “What do you want?” question? But the one thing I know is they will “see” more than they were ever expecting.