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Study through John 1:35-42, This week we are going to study John 1:35-42, this passage is about Jesus calling the first disciples. So, let’s read the passage, “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).” John 1:35-42
In this passage we are introduced to Jesus’ first disciples. We learn that the first disciples came from John the Baptist calling Jesus the Lamb of God. When they heard him say that this was the Messiah, Andrew and another one of John’s disciples followed Jesus. They had been hearing about the Messiah for their entire lives and they wanted to follow Him. When Jesus saw them following Him, He asked “What are you seeking?” They replied, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” I think when they said Rabbi, they were saying that they were no longer going to follow John the Baptist, but only Jesus. They spent the night at the house where Jesus was staying. Andrew then went and found his brother Simon, told Him he had found the Messiah and brought Simon to Jesus. I think this is the perfect picture of what it should look like to come to Jesus, we should be telling our family and friends about Jesus and leading them to Him. Because when we find Jesus our goal from that point on should be to reach as many people as possible for Him.
Maybe you are here and thinking that you have never met Jesus, well you can meet Him today, see He died on the Cross for your sins and mine (John 3:16), so that we could live with Him forever. Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We all need Jesus, He lived a perfect life that we could not live and died being perfect for us, taking all of our imperfections. He did this so, we could be forgiven for our sins and be able to live forever with Him. If you would like to accept the free gift of salvation, all you have to do is to admit that you are a sinner, believe that He died on the cross for your sins, and confess Him as Lord of your life.
In this passage, Jesus tells Simon that he would be called Peter. This is one thing you consistently see God do throughout the Old Testament and New Testament is renaming people when they meet with Him. This is what is happening in this passage with Simon. Many of the prominent figures in the Bible also received new names when having encounters with God. Some examples of these include Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28), and John and James to (Boanerges) Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17). I think that this represents us when we have met God at Salvation. We are a new creation. When these people met with God they received new names to represent their purpose and the fact that the old self no longer lives, but they were a new creation in Christ. God gave them a change of direction in their lives. We all need to realize when we are saved we become a new creation in Christ, this does not mean we will not ever sin again, it means that we have the Holy Spirit and that our lives are hidden with Christ (Colossians 3:1-4). We will sin less and less the more we grow in our relationship with Christ, but the idea that Christians never sin is a fallacy (Colossians 3:5-17). We strive not to sin, but as Paul says, the things I want to do, I do not do and the things I do not want to do, I do (Romans 7:15-20).
We also need to realize as Christians, that when we do sin we do not lose our salvation, there’s nothing you can do to lose your salvation John 10:28-30 says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Once you accept the free gift of salvation there is nothing or no one who can separate you from the Holy Spirit and you do not have to fear losing your salvation by making a mistake, because we are no longer under law, we are under grace (Romans 6:14). If we are under grace does that mean we can sin as much as we want and have no consequences? If you think like this I strongly encourage you to read Romans 6:1-14 this perfectly explains why we should not consider grace a conduit to sin more, Romans 6:1-14 is the first link below.
So this week, remember that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are a new creation. This does not make us perfect, but it is definitely the only way to live. I can not imagine going through this pandemic without knowing Jesus, much less all the other things that I have been through in my life. We need to remember what our purpose is and that is to help as many people to find Jesus as possible. Also remember, that we are no longer under law, but under grace and that does not mean we should continue to sin, but should mean that we sin less, because we understand what Jesus did for us.
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.6.1-14.ESV
Check out the other blog in this series A Study through the Gospel of John