Outline
I. Reckon with Your Own Encounter: How Did You Meet Jesus?
Every believer carries a unique testimony of God’s grace—whether sudden or gradual—yet all share the same reality: undeserving sinners brought from death to everlasting life in Christ.
II. Expose the Deadly Ache: Trapped in Adam’s Rebellion and Doomed Without a Savior
Through one man sin entered the world and death through sin; we stand spiritually dead, powerless to save ourselves, guilty before God and facing His just judgment—unless the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.
III. Heed John the Baptist’s Selfless Cry: Behold the Lamb Who Crushes Sin’s Power!
John boldly points his own disciples to Jesus with the gospel in a single sentence—“Behold, the Lamb of God”—and they follow, spend the day with Him, and discover the very One who atones for their sin.
IV. Unleash Andrew’s Fierce Zeal: Hunt Down Your Brother with the Messiah’s News
Fresh from meeting Jesus, Andrew immediately finds his brother Simon, declares “We have found the Messiah,” and drags him to Jesus—who looks at him, renames him Cephas (Peter), and promises radical transformation.
V. Defy the Terror of Family Division: Love Your Enemies Enough to Speak the Gospel
Sharing Christ with those closest to you risks mockery, rejection, and even household division—yet Jesus commands us to love our enemies (who may live under our own roof), reject silent “lifestyle evangelism,” speak gospel words, and open the Scriptures to show them the living Christ.
VI. Trust God’s Hidden Master Plan: Your Faithful Witness May Forge the Next Kingdom Rock
Andrew slips into the background while Peter becomes the rock and pillar of the church; you never know what God will do with the person you simply point to Jesus.
Bottom line: Having met the Lamb who takes away your sin, boldly proclaim Him and drag others to meet Jesus—your obedience may birth the next Peter for the glory of God.
Scripture Reading
John chapter 1 and we’re going to be reading this morning verses 35 through 51. It was kind of my, yeah, my intent to kind of do a bird’s eye view and cover all these verses, but that didn’t quite happen. So we have part 1 and part 2 this morning. So this is just part 1. So this is John chapter 1 beginning at verse 35. Listen now to the reading of God’s holy word.
Again, the next day John stood with two of his disciples, and looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi, which is to say, when translated, Teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying and remained with him that day. Now it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. Now, when Jesus looked at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas, which is translated stone.
The following day, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him, Follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me?
And Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathaniel answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel. And Jesus answered and said to him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, Hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
OPENING PRAYER
Let’s seek the Lord’s blessing on this, his word. Gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks to you, Lord, for your word. We know it is our only infallible rule for faith and life. And as we come to this particular passage this morning, we pray that your spirit would be truly active in our midst, opening our ears and our minds and our hearts to hear, to receive this truth of your word. And that as your word goes forth into the power of the Spirit, we do pray that it would find within each and every one of our hearts that rich, fertile soil that will bring about a great and abundant fruit, all for your glory. We ask now for your blessing upon your word. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
I. RECKON WITH YOUR OWN ENCOUNTER: HOW DID YOU MEET JESUS?
So how did you meet Jesus? When did you first come to hear the gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation?
Now, I’m sure some of you may be able to recall the precise date and time, or at least just kind of a general sense timeframe of where you were and what you were doing. Others may struggle to kind of pinpoint a precise timing as your coming to faith was perhaps more gradual over a period of time, even years. And still others we know have been greatly privileged to grow up in a faithful Christian household and can’t recall a time in their lives when you never loved Jesus and believed in Him.
Whichever situation fits you, each and every one of you, Each and every one of you who trusts in Jesus for salvation has a wonderful story or testimony of God’s grace in your life. And each of these stories, though perhaps with some similarities, each of these stories are varied and unique. But one of the things is that they all have in common is that they’re all testimonies of God’s gracious work of salvation. in which those who were undeserving sinners are now brought to new and everlasting life in Christ, to the praise and glory of God.
Well, what we want to consider in our passage this morning and Lord willing next week is the different ways in which the first disciples met Jesus and how their lives were forever changed as they believed in him.
II. EXPOSE THE DEADLY ACHE: TRAPPED IN ADAM’S REBELLION AND DOOMED WITHOUT A SAVIOR
Now we want to remember though, right at the start, That salvation is of the Lord alone. That is, we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone. Not of our own works and not of the works of others save, of course, except for Jesus. We don’t save ourselves, nor can we save anyone else. It is Christ alone who saves. Yet at the same time, We understand that God is pleased to use various means to bring us to that point of salvation.
And of course, the chief means He uses is the faithful proclamation of the gospel and the shared witness or testimony of His people. And so as we consider these different ways in which these disciples first met Jesus, we want to be challenged in how we, each and every one of us, how we can be a witness. We can be a means that the Lord uses to point people to Jesus so that they might meet Him, so that they might believe in Him, so that they might follow Him all the days of their life.
And so we begin in verse 35 with John the Baptist and two of John’s disciples.
III. HEED JOHN THE BAPTIST’S SELFLESS CRY: BEHOLD THE LAMB WHO CRUSHES SIN’S POWER!
And we remember we’ve spent some time over the last several weeks talking about John and his ministry and his witness. And that John was called by God to prepare the way for the Lord’s anointed. And that once the Messiah, once Jesus arrived on the scene, John faithfully pointed him out to those who would listen. John testified that this one coming after him was greater than him, and that his ministry of baptism with the Holy Spirit would be greater than John’s ministry of baptism with water. And so we see here throughout this that John humbly exalted Jesus far above himself. Not only because Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but also because Jesus was the Son of God. as the voice from heaven declared when John baptized Jesus.
But here in our passage, we have the next day after John had publicly acknowledged Jesus.
And again, we noted before that these time markers that the apostle gives in beginning chapter 1 verse 19 all the way through chapter 2 verse 11, it covers just about a week of time. And so it’s kind of the first week of the initial week where Jesus is beginning his public ministry.
But I want us to remember that these time markers, and especially the reference here in verse 39 to the 10th hour, which is very specific, that these time markers tell us that this was no mere recording of events by the apostle, but that these time markers are in themselves very evidence of his own eyewitness testimony to these things because he knows the precise timing. He knows what happens one day from the next. He knows what even happened at a particular hour.
And so we may wonder, well, where is John the apostle? Well, John is very likely one of the two disciples of John the Baptist that are mentioned here. The other we later learn is Andrew. But in John’s classic style, and we considered this when we began our introduction to the gospel of John, John leaves himself unnamed throughout his gospel. And yet, he’s there. He’s there bearing witness to these things, and he’s there giving these small details that only an eyewitness would have known.
And so we have John and Andrew with their teacher, John the Baptist. And John the Baptist once again sees Jesus approaching and he again boldly declares, Behold the Lamb of God. And he specifically points Jesus out here to Andrew and John. Now the baptizer doesn’t tell them to leave and follow Jesus.
But we know given the nature of John’s ministry of decreasing while Jesus increases, it’s very likely that this was expected. That his own disciples would leave him and follow after Jesus. Now we know not all of his disciples did that, because later in the book of Acts, Paul runs into some of those disciples in Ephesus. And so not all of them followed after Jesus at this point, but some did. And this was John’s intent. Again, as he will later proclaim in chapter 3, that he must increase and I must decrease. And so Andrew and John, soon to be John the Apostle, they go and they follow Jesus. But they follow Jesus without saying anything. This seems a little strange. Here, Jesus is walking by, and suddenly there’s these two guys walking behind him.
And so Jesus notices them, and he turns to them, and he asks a very purposeful question. He says, what do you seek? Now, it’s interesting here, he doesn’t ask who they’re seeking. You see, because Jesus already knows who they’re seeking, they’re seeking him. But what is it that they were looking for?
Well, they respond, but not with a clear answer. They respond to Jesus’ question with a question of their own. And if we look at this question that they asked, though, we can see perhaps how they’re answering Jesus’ question. They say, Rabbi, where are you staying? Jesus asks, what do you seek? And they say, where are you staying?
Rabbi was a term of respect given to teachers of the law. And, and of course, if you’re a teacher, well, then you’re going to need students to teach. And so by addressing Jesus this way, Andrew and John, and this is likely before Jesus really hasn’t, as far as we know, he hasn’t said anything publicly. He hasn’t done any public teaching, but they call him rabbi. And so they’re expressing their desire. to follow after Him, to be His disciples, to be taught by Him.
And it wasn’t that they were so interested in checking out the actual place where Jesus was staying, but by this asking, where are you staying? They basically were expressing their desire. They wanted to spend time with Him. Hey, look, what we’re seeking, We don’t want to talk about it here. This is going to be a long conversation. We want to spend time with you. And so John and Andrew follow Jesus. Jesus invited them openly, warmly accepted them. And he says, come and see. Which basically the response being, come and spend time with me. And so they followed Jesus. And we see here that it seems they had spent the entire day with him and possibly even to the next day.
Note John references again that it was the 10th hour. Now, there’s a little debate and discussion about what time of day this was. If it was according to Roman timekeeping, as it seems that this is what John favors in his gospel account, then this would have been at 10 o’clock in the morning. as opposed to four o’clock in the afternoon if it was a Jewish timekeeping. And so it seems, either way, it doesn’t really necessarily matter, but whatever it was, they spent the rest of that day with Jesus. But again, John is pinpointing the precise hour that he met Jesus. Because at that very hour when he met Jesus, We know it ended up being a life-changing experience for him, and it was perhaps forever emblazoned on his heart and mind.
You see, John and Andrew had now found exactly what they were looking for. They had found the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world, even their sins. The one who would give new and everlasting life by faith in Jesus Christ. They had found what they were looking for.
THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED: BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
What can we glean here, though, about meeting Jesus and about evangelism and sharing the gospel? Well, we learn that which is really of most importance, that the gospel must be proclaimed. And people must be pointed to Jesus in the proclamation of that gospel. You see, John and Andrew would have stayed with John the Baptist if John the Baptist hadn’t said, Behold the Lamb of God, and pointed him out. And it was because John declared that truth that they then followed after him.
And Paul declares in Romans 10, Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But then he follows that up. Well, how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. The faithful proclamation of the gospel by those called and sent from God is the chief means the Lord uses to bring people to meet Jesus.
And John the Baptist was uniquely called and commissioned with this task. Again, remember, he sought to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah and the fulfillment of God’s glorious covenant promises. And what was the gospel, though, that John declared?
Well, in its most basic and simplest form, it is what he declares in summarized form here in verse 36, but what he declared more fully back in verse 29, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Friends, in these words we find the gospel basics that can be used to share the gospel with someone.
Beginning with the reality that there is sin in the world that needs to be taken away. … Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
John declared this gospel message to Andrew and John. And John and Andrew heard this gospel proclaimed from their former teacher. And when the baptizer pointed out this Lamb of God to them and said, look, there He is! He’s the One! That’s the Lamb! whom God sent and provided, they embraced that gospel truth. They believed it. And they followed after Him. And their lives were then transformed.
The proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the Lamb, is essential to salvation in Him. And it’s this same Jesus that was followed by Andrew and John, that gave to them and then gave to His church, even that He gives to this congregation of His people today. He has given the Great Commission. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It’s the calling of the church and her members, led by her officers to faithfully proclaim this gospel. pointing people to Jesus so that they might meet Him, believe in Him, and be saved.
IV. UNLEASH ANDREW’S FIERCE ZEAL: HUNT DOWN YOUR BROTHER WITH THE MESSIAH’S NEWS
And so yes, we must proclaim the gospel. But we see next another way that people come to meet Jesus. And that is through the testimony and the witness of those who’ve already met him and have had their lives transformed by him. And this is what we see in verses 41 and 42.
As Andrew now goes after hearing, learning from Jesus, having his life transformed, he goes to find his brother Simon to share with Simon the good news that he’s found. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated to Christ. Now this, he first found his own brother, implies that the very first thing Andrew did when he had the chance, whether it was later that day or maybe the next day, was to find his brother. Find his brother Simon to tell him about Jesus, to tell him about the Lamb of God. And so we see, even as Andrew displays great zeal and eagerness to share this good news that has been revealed to him. He can’t wait to share it with his brother. And what is it that he shares?
He testifies to Simon, we have found the Messiah. Messiah is the transliterated Hebrew word for anointed one. And of course, Christ, as we’re given the definition here, is the Greek equivalent. …
But Andrew, who it seems here, again, is truly overwhelmed with excitement, he doesn’t even wait for Simon to respond. You can almost picture that he just grabs him and then brings him to Jesus. … And then as Andrew and Simon approached Jesus, Jesus looks over Simon and boldly declares, you are Simon, the son of Jonah.
You shall be called Cephas, which is translated a stone. … And as we’ll see, this new name also points to a transformation that the Lord would undertake in the life of Peter, shaping and conforming him to the perfect image of Jesus.
V. DEFY THE TERROR OF FAMILY DIVISION: LOVE YOUR ENEMIES ENOUGH TO SPEAK THE GOSPEL
And so this then, friends, becomes a great challenge for us. And one way we can faithfully share the Gospel is by beginning with our own testimony of what we’ve found, and how we’ve found it, and how it’s transformed our lives. …
Now we know, though, sharing the gospel with anyone But oftentimes, especially sharing the gospel with those closest to us, even to those in our own family, can be most challenging. And the challenge comes about because of the great risk involved. …
Jesus himself warns us of this in Matthew 10. He says, now brother will deliver a brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.
All because the gospel comes to someone’s home. … Friends, instead of cowering back in fear, and then withholding the gospel from those closest to you, you ought to be challenged. You ought to be challenged to love them enough to share the gospel with them.
Even if it means that they end up despising you and turning against you. Jesus says this in Matthew 5, but I say to you, love your enemies. bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
… but sharing your own personal testimony of what you’ve found is only one piece of it. You can’t just leave it at telling people of your own experience and then nothing else. … You have to use words. …
But as we already considered, For salvation, for salvation to truly come to someone, the ordinary means that God accomplishes it is through words. You must use the words of the Gospel. Even the simplistic, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. …
So here, Andrew tells Peter, again he’s testifying to Peter what he’s found, the long-awaited Messiah, the fulfillment of the glorious hope of God’s people. But Andrew’s not content with just giving his personal testimony. … He brings Simon to the very Word of God become flesh. He brings him to Jesus. …
VI. TRUST GOD’S HIDDEN MASTER PLAN: YOUR FAITHFUL WITNESS MAY FORGE THE NEXT KINGDOM ROCK
Now, some final points to consider here in relation to bearing witness and testifying to others. Not only telling them, but bringing them to and showing them Jesus. … Well, friends, we may not have Jesus in the flesh to bring people to, but we have his word, the Bible.
As Paul reminds Timothy that the scriptures are sufficient to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. The scriptures are sufficient. …
Secondly, from what we see here in this passage, one thing should be certain. If you’ve been gripped by the gospel and the good news of God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ, if you’ve met Jesus by faith and trust in him for your salvation, well, then you should be challenged to be diligent to share that gospel with great joy to others, both far and near. …
I want you to note here that Andrew became one of the Twelve. … But Andrew is only referenced a handful of times. in the Gospels, and he’s only mentioned once in the first chapter of Acts. … But Peter, Peter is a rock. … Friends, the point is, you never know what God has in store. You never know what his ultimate plan and purpose is. You never know how God will change, transform and use mightily for the kingdom. the one who meets Jesus all because you are faithful like John the Baptist and like Andrew to share the gospel with them and to point them to Jesus all to the praise and glory of God alone.
CLOSING PRAYER
O gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks for your word. We thank you for these challenges, these reminders, and just the encouragement that we think about as we have had our lives changed and transformed by this glorious gospel. That the Lamb of God has taken away our sin for which we rejoice and give thanks.
And we pray, Lord, that you would give us a desire and a hunger and a thirst and just joy and a great love for our neighbors, that we would be bold with our witness in this community, in our families, in our workplaces, wherever you would have us go in this world, that you would give each of us boldness to declare with great joy what Christ has done. not just for us, but for your people. And that we would show them Jesus by pointing them to the word and that your word going forth would not return void, but would accomplish it what you have purposed. so we pray father that you would truly be with us and to give us the boldness and we know there’s a lot of fear and anxiety about sharing the gospel but it is really a very simple message as we’ve considered this morning and yet when we’re presented with those opportunities we pray that even that quick prayer lord give me the words to speak knowing that you will be faithful to give us those words, that we can point people to Jesus, that they can meet him and believe in him and have their lives transformed because of him. Father, we just pray that you would give us this boldness as a congregation of your people and as we seek to continue to be a beacon of light and hope in this community. We pray father that you would have your blessing in these things. And especially we pray that your spirit would impress these truths upon each of our hearts, that we would believe that we would truly have met Jesus and that you would continue to work that transformation work in us by your grace and by the work of your spirit, all to the praise and glory of your name and the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.