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.
Hey Mike – thanks for sharing your good word. Great reminder for me today.
Observation: When somebody decided to follow Jesus, the first thing he did was assess where they were at (What do you want? Or, why are you following me?). He didn’t tell them what they had to do right off the bat.
Action: Resist the urge to tell people how to follow Jesus, to tell them what the rules are. Assess where they’re at and let Jesus meet them there.