"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation A stone."

The Deity of Christ.

This is the burden of John. Remember the key verse:

"These are written that ye might know that Jesus is the Christ..."

NOTE:

John is not interested in presenting anything that does not verify that Jesus is the Divine Son of God.

He uses incidents and places and people ... but always with the thought in mind of revealing that Jesus is the Son of God.

In the last lesson John revealed Christ as "The Lamb of God" As the Lamb of God he was to take away the sin of the world. He was the Passover lamb.

He was sent to save sinners.

John told them that Christ was among them.

That He came to His own and His own received Him not.

Now he continues:

VERSE 30

"This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me."

John's knowledge of Jesus was tremendous.

He says, "This is the man I told you about."

I told you that He was in your midst.

I told you that He was to baptize with the Spirit.

He is greater than I am...... preferred before me"

Not only so..."He was before me"

In fact, He has always been.

He is the Eternal Son of God.

There never has been a time when He was not.

Though John was 6 months older ... Jesus; was BEFORE HIM....

This refers back to His Eternality.

This refers to His deity.

VERSE 31

"And I knew him not: but that he should be manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water."

John states that "in time past" he did not know Him as the Son of God.

John was not aware of the Deity of Christ during their "growing up" days.

Jesus had not been revealed to John the Baptist as the Christ.

In that sense he had not known him.

YOU WOULD KNOW:

Being cousins they would have "known" each other.

They lived in the same area.

No doubt they played together and worked together.

So, as a person, John knew Him.

But God had not revealed to him that He was Deity.

"But that she should be made manifest to Israel."

This was the great end of John's ministry.

He was to point out ... to make known to Israel ... this Person.

He did not come to baptize in his own name.

He came to make known the Lamb of God.

When they saw Him ... they were to BEHOLD HIM.

REMEMBER:

God had sent John the Baptist with a commission TO BAPTIZE.

This was a special commission ... not something ordinary.

He was the first for human history.

Water, in the Brazen Laver, symbolically cleansed the priest before he went into the Tabernacle or Temple.

Water, symbolically, in baptism reveals that sins have been washed away.

It was the Lamb of God that "taketh away the sin of the world."

Baptism symbolized this event...did not wash the sin away.

VERSE 32

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him."

John is revealing how He knew that this was the Messiah.

John says, "With my own eyes, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and the Spirit remained on Him......

This convinced John beyond all doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.

REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS:

Matt. 3:15-17

Jesus came to John to be baptized.

John was baptizing where there was much water .... for immersion. And as He was baptized the Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove, came and lighted upon Him.

Then a voice from heaven, the voice of God, said..."This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

LEARN:

It has often been said, and bears repeating:

There is not much we can do like the Lord.

We can't talk like Him; we can't walk like Him; we can't love like Him .... etc...

But we can be baptized just like Jesus....

We can be immersed at the hands of a Baptist preacher.

Christ said. "Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."

For us, it is an act of obedience that we can do.

It is the answer of a clear conscience before God.

It is an identification with the Savior.

NOTE:

In Palestine the dove was a sacred bird.

It was not to be hunted nor eaten.

In Gen. 1:2. we read where the creative Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters...

The Rabbis said that the Spirit of God moved or fluttered, LIKE A DOVE, over the ancient chaos..... breathing order and beauty into it.

This dove or the Spirit was a testimony to John that this Jesus whom he baptized WAS IN TRUTH..... THE MESSIAH ... GOD'S SON.

This was the promised Savior whom God had anointed with the Holy Ghost and sent into the world.

This signified:

That the time of Christ's ministry had begun.

John "must decrease".

This was an attestation to His public ministry.

The Spirit did NOT descend on Christ's account....

He was never separate from the Spirit or the Father...

He was God from all eternity.

He did not cease to be God when He became man.

But the Spirit descended for John's benefit.

The Spirit descended for our instruction.

This indicated that Jesus Christ came to redeem the world.

This indicated that Christ was made manifest for the world.

VERSES 33, 34

"And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 "And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."

Imagine if you will:

God told this to John...... Upon whom you see....... John knew that day was coming.

How many he baptized before that became a reality I do not know.. But I am convinced that he never baptized anyone without looking for that event.

The dove, the Spirit of God, descended-..and remained....

John was conscious ... John was sure.

This was not some fantasy..... not some hallucination.

This was not a momentary lapse of consciousness.

This happened ... stayed long enough for John to have assurance.

Until that time, John admits that he did not know Who Jesus was.

I am sure he never even thought of that as he grew to maturity.

I am sure that he was as surprised as anyone...

Jesus ... his cousin ... a man of Nazareth....

After His baptism.-.John was clear as to His being the Messiah.

REASON:

The same One (God) that sent John to baptize.... Told him that when this event took place.... lie would KNOW that this was the Messiah. He would know that this was the Son of God.

John not only witnessed that event...

John proclaimed it unhesitatingly...

He boldly declared what he knew.

He knew that He was the Son of God.

VERSES 35-39

"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36" And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. 37 "And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 "Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 "He sayeth unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour."

What eventful days!

What an exciting time that must have been for John.

He was so thrilled ... so enraptured ... he couldn't get over it...

Every time he saw Jesus .... he wanted to shout out..."

Behold, the Lamb of God."

The 3rd successive day of the 4 mentioned in this chapter.

John is giving his testimony with reference to Jesus.

YESTERDAY ... John had addressed a multitude of undetermined size and character.

TODAY, he is standing with TWO of his disciples.... These are probably Andrew and John.

They seem to be alone with John.

They are his disciples ... they have already believed .... evidently they have been baptized.

YESTERDAY ... the testimony of the Baptist did not seem to bring any active response on the part of these disciples...

We do not know why.

Nothing said about that part.

TODAY these two men make decision which they will remember throughout their entire lifetime:

They commit themselves to His leadership.

They dedicate their lives into His service.

They forsook "all" and followed Him.

They became the "firstfruits" of John's testimony about Christ.

YESTERDAY, John directed their attention to what the LAMB WOULD DO.

TODAY, John is directing their attention to the LAMB ... to HIS PERSON...

We are to be occupied with Him.

We are to abide with Him.

We are to find our delight in Him.

Jesus said:

"Whom seek ye?" or "WHAT are you seeking?"

They were not merely curious to know WHERE He dwelt....

They wanted to go WITH HIM ... and be with Him.

"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?"

Rabbi for the Gentile readers was "Teacher" or ."Master".

They acknowledged they were students.

They acknowledged that they wanted to learn.

They acknowledged their know was partial ... very meager at the moment.

John had pointed Him out to them.

They were interested ... they wanted to know more about Him.

They wanted to turn aside from the crowd.

They wanted to be taught.

They wanted to know more that they might grow in grace.

He saith, "COME AND SEE".

Jesus was inviting them to come and talk.

He wanted them to come and find out for themselves WHAT HE WAS.

He wanted them to find our WHO HE WAS.

"They came and saw"

They found out the answers to their questions.

They spent the day ABIDING WITH HIM.

They SOUGHT and they FOUND.

Evidently the author (John the Beloved) was one of them....

He mentions the time of day..."about the tenth hour".

That day changed his whole life.

That day made an impression that he never forgot.

This was about 10 in the morning.

There was plenty of time left to find out answers.

What a challenge!

What a day that must have been ... spent in the presence of the Son of God.

John's LOVE for the Lord began here.

John's DESIRE to serve Him began here.

John's commitment to Christ began here.

NOTE:

From this time there was no doubt as to what John would do with his life.

From this time there was no doubt as to what John's future was.

He had been a disciple of John....

Now, he will be a disciple of Christ....

VERSE 40

"One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother."

What a designation!

One of the two is named ... the other unnamed ... how like John.

John wouldn't mention his own name.

He thought it was unnecessary.

Andrew was so little known, that even as John wrote, he had to identify him by connecting him with his brother....

Andrew was an ordinary believer.

But every time we see him, he is bringing someone to Jesus.

NOTE:

I am convinced that many an ordinary Christian will outshine some of the so-called "big names" when we get to heaven.

They are content to serve.

They are content to just bring folks to Christ.

Illus:

We have people like that in our churches.

They are never in the limelight.

They never get their name called publicly for their service.

They go week after week .... always inviting, seeking others for Christ.

They have been a blessing to untold hundreds of people.

They are Andrews.

VERSES 41, 42

"He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which UN being interpreted, the Christ.

"And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."

Now isn't that just like a soul winner.

He looks at those in his own home first.

He has a brother, that brother is lost, and he wants to see him saved.

Indicative that he had been saved.

Once we are saved, we want to get someone else saved.

LEARN:

There are two faults with Christian people:

1. We are so prone to become indifferent.

2. We lean too far over in one direction.

There are two ways to work for the Lord:

1. In the flesh, just duty, obligation.

2. In the Spirit, really led of the Lord.

The chief problem of OUR day .... and it has always been the problem:

To get the unsaved under the sound of the Gospel.

Andrew ... went OUT AFTER THAT WHICH WAS LOST.

He had a concern.

His heart was burdened .... he wanted to see him saved.

We need to realize:

That men without Jesus Christ are going to hell.

That all men stand on the brink of eternity.

That death is sure ... the time of death unsure.

That Jesus died to save the lost.

That, if we are saved, it is our personal responsibility to win others to Christ.

THE GREATEST THING THAT YOU CAN DO IS TO BRING

SOMEONE TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST.

Look at the great achievements that have been made:

Scientists have learned to split the atom.

We have learned how to put men on the moon.

We have learned how to build great implements of war.

But we have not learned how to win souls to Christ.

The supreme task of the church is to bring men to Christ.

Social programs are good, and well in their place.

Fellowship among Christians is good, and I like it.

Get-togethers are wonderful and I'm for them....

BUT ... above and beyond that WE NEED TO BRING MEN TO JESUS.

The SUPREME METHOD is "one by one".

An Andrew goes to bring his brother to Jesus.

Jesus said, "God ye therefore into all the world and make disciples..." The early church "daily in the temple and from house to house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."

IF A PERSON IS A CHRISTIAN ... they ought to win someone to Christ. You can talk to people about Jesus Christ.

Andrew was just an ordinary Christian ... he was not a Paul, nor a John.

But he loved, and he won his brother to Jesus.

We need ordinary people loving souls, going out after the lost.

ANDREW KNEW THAT PERSONAL WORK WAS THE

ONLY WAY OF WINNING SOULS.

There are NO SUBSTITUTES for personal work.

Illus:

Dr. Entzminger used to say:

"Don't telegram them; don't telephone them; leg-a-phone them.

This is true in the business world.

Illus:

I suppose I have an average of 2 or 3 calls a day over the phone to purchase certain products; to invest my money etc.

You know, I just don't do that.

Rarely, I buy from a salesman "one on one", but I'll come a lot nearer to doing it.

The world has learned this principle ... and we ought to learn it.

Elisha sent Gehazi, with the prophet's staff, but the body lay cold and still in death.

Elisha came, stretched himself upon the lad, breathed into him, and the boy came alive.

Jesus won people ONE BY ONE.

He preached His greatest sermon to ONE man at midnight.

He preached his sermon on eternal life to ONE woman.

He taught us to go after ONE lost sheep.

He told us that it was ONE lost boy.

The SECRET to the growth of any church is to win people ONE BY ONE.

Sunday School teachers can load down their car with boys and girls.

It will be inconvenient, but oh, the blessings.

HOW CAN I WIN SOULS TO CHRIST?

Magnify the Word of God.

Depend on the Holy Spirit.

Use personal testimony...... I have found the Messiah."

Go with our hearts overflowing with love for the lost.

REASON FOR WINNING SOULS

It is our duty.

It is for our happiness .... the thrill of a lifetime.

It is our responsibility.

It is possible that Andrew and John both set out to find Simon, but Andrew found him first.

Or, Andrew went after Simon, and John went after James.

Their message was the same, "We have found the Messiah."

AND HE BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS.

Jesus beheld him.

"Thou art Simon':,, meaning "hearing" or "to hear".

Jona means "a dove".

Cephas means A stone.

LEARN:

Jesus knows all about us... He knows our past.

He knows our names. He knows our present. He knows our future.

VERSE 43

"The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth

Philip and saith unto him, Follow me."

This is the fourth successive day.

Jesus wanted to go forth into Galilee ... not by accident, but by compulsion.

He findeth Philip....

He knew where he was.

We do not know exactly where He found him, but He did.

He invites: "Follow me."

It appears he followed without argument...

He arose and followed Jesus.

He left all to become a disciple.

IN CONVERSION:

God acts as a sovereign.

One is called in one way, another in another way...

This teaches us that God is able to call any one whom He pleases. It is God's business as to whom He calls.

Illus:

Isn't it strange that we do not hear of resistance.

In our modern day we hear so many times people say, "I resisted God for many years."

Or, they will say, "I refused to come to God for so long."

BUT IN THE BIBLE ... when Jesus called ... those He called CAME.

And, I might add, I could not have done anything else.

The flesh did not want me to be saved.

The world did not want me to be saved.

The devil did not want me to be saved.

God called me, and I was saved.

Salvation is of the Lord.

VERSES 44, 45

"Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

"Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

This gives us the city from which Philip came.

As Andrew did for Peter, so Philip did for Nathanael.

It appears that Philip knew much about the O.T.

He knew that Messiah had been prophesied.

He knew that Moses and the prophets spoke of such an one.

Nathanael evidently knew much about the O.T. also.

When Philip identified the person, Nathanael knew what he was talking about.

NOTE:

They seemed to be shocked that it was Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus of Nazareth was evidently known to them before this .... but not in this context as Messiah.

Legally, He was the son of Joseph.

Legally, He was a citizen of Nazareth.

But surprisingly, He is the MESSIAH.

VERSE 46

"And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of

Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see."

Nathanael had a bad opinion of Nazareth.

And, I might add, having been there I do also.

It seemed that nothing really good ever came from that place.

No wonder Isaiah said:

"He shall grow up as a tender plant, as a root out of the dry ground.... "There is no beauty in Him that we should desire Him."

All the people carried a low estimate of Nazareth.

If you were from there, you were a nobody.

It was an obscure town in a corner of Galilee.

Its reputation was bad.

Nathanael could not remember any prophecy about Messiah coming out of Nazareth....

He knew Messiah would be born in Bethlehem....

However, Narareth was along way from Bethlehem.

How could this be?

He is invited...... Come and see."

This is the best evidence.

This is the best proof.

Come see for yourself .... and then you can tell.

VERSES 47-51

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saitah of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.

"Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

"Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

"And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I saw unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

Jesus bragged on Nathanael being a true Israelite.

He was a Jew ... he kept the law ... in him was n o guile.

He was honest, sincere.

Deceit was not a part of his life style.

Nathanael asked, "How do you know me?"

I have never met you before.

We have never seen one another in the flesh.

You were not even close by where I was ... how did you know?

Jesus told him where he had been standing...

This indicated that He had supernatural ability.

ONLY GOD had such ability.

Hence, He was God manifest in the flesh.

Nathanael is convinced..."Thou art the Son of God."

Jesus commends him for his ability to see.

This is a special faith.

But Jesus says that He will show Him greater things than this:

No doubt this was an illusion to Jacob's ladder.

It revealed God's way to heaven.

Jesus was saying, "I am the way to heaven".

Perhaps this had reference to the Millennial Kingdom.

However, Philip did see greater things than this:

He saw the blind given sight.

He saw the deaf made to hear.

He saw the lame walk.

He saw the storm calmed.

He saw the dead raised to life again.

This was just the beginning of 3 1/2 years of walking with the Miracle Worker .... Jesus Christ.

What great things he saw.

John said if all the things that He did were written in a book, even the