COME AND FOLLOW ME!

John 1:35-51

Jesus is in the business of transforming people. He came to reveal the Truth of God: that God cannot be understood by mere intellect or emotion; that you need to experience God to understand Him; and the fullness of revelation of God is in the person of Jesus Christ, the express image of God. The mystery of Godhead is this that you cannot understand God, unless He reveals Himself to you.  

Zebedee and Mary were a godly couple, who raised godly children, whose goal in life was to find the Messiah, expected to appear in Israel any moment. There were many virgins who were constantly praying that the Messiah be born through them. There were many devoted men and women who were fasting and praying for the advent of the Messiah, the desire of ages.  

The time was ripe going by the Prophets’ calendar, and the expectation was high. Then there was a commotion as some spotted a man clothed in camel skin, with unkempt hair and long beard at trans-Jordan, asking people to repent. Soon there was a steady stream of visitors, accepting his baptism; and the crowd started growing by the hour that it troubled the religious leaders. They acted promptly, but the crowd simply won’t listen to their leaders. 

The next day after his baptism, Jesus was walking by trans-Jordan, and John the Baptist pointing to him said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’

Electrified, two disciples of John left him and followed Jesus, who sensed the desire of the two souls. He turned back and greeted them with a question that defines their lives and ours.

‘What do you want?’ (What do you seek, or What’s your goal in life?). And your goal defines your life.  

‘Come and see,’ Jesus invited them to explore his life, and find out the Truth of God. 

John, the son of Zebedee, and his spiritual companion, Andrew, stayed with him, and were deeply touched by his words, his life-style, and above all, his love, his transforming love. Excited, Andrew found his brother and shared the good news; and he took his brother to Jesus.

In Simon, Jesus saw the marble stone that could be chiseled and shaped into one of the pillars of the church. He saw the total commitment of this fisherman, his transparent sincerity, and his indefatigable energy that could make him a good shepherd.

The next day, Jesus went to Galilee from trans-Jordan. On the way, he met Philip and told him, ‘You follow me!’ He saw the desire and readiness in that man of action. Philip, incidentally, was from the fishing port of Bethsaida, like Andrew and Peter and John, and James.

Philip shared his excitement with his friend Nathaniel, telling him he has discovered the Messiah, of whom the scriptures speak.  Nathaniel was skeptical of Nazareth, the notorious town of petty crime. But he was in for a pleasant surprise, as anyone who comes to Jesus would be. 

Nathaniel saw Jesus was omnipresent to see him meditating under the fig tree, perhaps on the Messiah! The one who is omnipresent is omniscient, and the one who is omniscient is the omnipotent. And Nathaniel understood who he was standing with, the man who saw the inner-most of him and pronounced, ‘Behold, a true Israelite in whom there is no guile’.    

‘I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’ Jesus was speaking of the spiritual enlightenment his disciples would receive when following him.   

The heavenly Architect has tasks cut out for those who follow him closely. Intimate encounters with Jesus is always rewarding, enlightening, and goal-setting as He gives us direction. He took men of clay are re-modelled them as architects of the Kingdom, about whom it was said in Rome, ‘These are the men who turned our empire upside down!’