It Was Necessary

This sermon was preached from John 3:14-21 to Tidioute Baptist Church for the evening service.


There are no notes available for this sermon.

Ye Must Be Born Again

This sermon was preached from John 3:1-13 for the Sunday morning service at Tidioute Baptist Church.

You should know this by now. I want us to remember why John wrote this gospel, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (20:31). There is another theme that we will see today that was introduced in the prologue. This secondary theme comes from 1:13, “Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Last Sunday night we left with 2:24-25. This left us with the understanding that Jesus did not trust man because, “He knew what was in man.” The very next verse starts with, “there was a man.” This is simply a literary device for transition. Jesus is still in Jerusalem at this time. 

A Man Named Nicodemus (Vv. 1-2)

Verse 1. It says that Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. This would have meant that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus would have known the Old Testament very well and was recognized by being a part of the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees were not usually concerned about matters in the temple. Jesus would have upset the Sadducees when He cleansed the temple.

Verse 2. For some reason, Nicodemus decided to come to Jesus when it was night. Perhaps Nicodemus felt that he needed to meet Jesus at night because he was a little fearful of what other might think of a Pharisee going to see Jesus. Another reason for seeing Jesus at night was to avoid the crowds that Jesus may have been attracting. Meeting at night allowed for Jesus and Nicodemus to have a private discussion, which was rare for Jesus.

Nicodemus did well to call Jesus a teacher. However, Nicodemus was not fully grasping the entire being of Jesus when he called Him, “from God,” and “with God.” Nicodemus did not understand that Jesus was God in flesh. Jesus is a teacher from God but He is not just “from God.” He is God. This is something Jesus is going to have to teach Nicodemus.

Nicodemus’ reason for calling Jesus a man from God is because of “these miracles.” First of all remember that the miracle would be better translated to the word sign as it was in 2:18. Nicodemus must have witnessed the signs that Jesus was performing in Jerusalem that were not recorded in this Gospel that are referred to in 2:23. Not every sign/miracle was recorded (20:31). 

“Except a Man Be Born from Above” (V. 3)

The words, “Verily, verily,” could also be said truly, truly. This was Jesus’ way of gaining someone’s attention because He was about to say something important. 

The word for “again” comes from the Greek word ἀνωθεν which can mean “1) an extension from a source that is above, from above; 2) from a point of time marking the beginning of something, from the beginning; 3) for a relatively long period of time in the past, for a long time; 4) at a subsequent point of time involving repetition, again, anew.” ἀνωθεν is an adverb, typically of location. ἀνωθεν is usually translated as above (19:11; James 1:17), top (19:23) and from above (3:31). There is a lot of debate about how ἀνωθεν should be translated for this verse and verse 7. The word “again/anew” or “from above” would fit the present context.

Some who argue that ἀνωθεν should be translated as “again,” do so because they claim that Jesus is talking about regeneration. Jesus will later talk about the Holy Spirit and point to 1:13 from the prologue. This is also reinforced by the fact that the Holy Spirit is the Person responsible for regeneration (Titus 3:5-6). There are also multiple multiple passages that talk about a Christian becoming a new creation because he has put to death the old man, that is the flesh (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). 

On the other hand, John could want ἀνωθεν to mean from above. This would fit the context for the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus goes on to make an extensive contrast between things that heavenly/above and things that are earthy. The author uses the same word again in 3:31 when John the Baptist is speaking about Jesus saying that, “He cometh from above.” The idea that the birth is from above is also reinforce in 1 John 3:9 and 5:18. 

John, the author, could also be using ἀνωθεν in both senses mentioned above.

No matter how one translates ἀνωθεν, Jesus is still making an exclusive statement. If any man wants to see the kingdom of God, he must be born from above. That person must be in Christ. That person must be born again. There is no other way that a man will even get to see/behold the kingdom of heaven. One born of God gets to see heaven, one not born of God will never see heaven. 

Nicodemus should have known that it was going to take a genesis from God or a re-genesis of some kind. The law of the Old Testament was not sufficient to save man. The Law was only sufficient to condemn man. Israel failed in keeping the Law of Moses. This was why God promised a New Covenant to Israel which included putting the law into their hearts (Jer. 31:33). Man was not going to succeed where an entire nation failed.

Nicodemus Confused (V. 4)

For some reason, Nicodemus takes Jesus’ statement in a literal sense rather than in a figurative sense. Only infants are born from their mothers. An old man can not be born by his mother. The old man would not fit inside his mother’s belly. I can not imagine the look on Nicodemus’ face as Jesus told him that he must be born again. 

Jesus Continues (Vv. 5-8)

Verse 5. There is a lot of confusion as to what Jesus means by, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit.” I take the phrase “born of water,” to refer to one’s physical birth. Every pregnant mother knows that the birth of her child to come very soon when her water breaks.

Jesus is saying though that being physical born is not good enough to enter the kingdom of God. This is the same exclusive statement that was made before. One must be born of the Spirit in order to enter the kingdom of God. 

Verse 6. Jesus emphasizes this even more in this verse. When Jesus is speaking of the flesh, He is not using it in the Pauline sense. Jesus is only referring to the physical body. Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit when He talks of the Spirit. This is part of the secondary them that was discussed from 1:13. The only way to be a child of God is by the will of God, not of flesh, not of blood, not of man, only by the will of God. There is a very simple but very drastic difference between the flesh and the spirit. Just because you were physically born does not mean you will get to see the kingdom of God. You must be born by the Holy Spirit. 

Verse 7. This is an emphasis on what was already stated. Nicodemus must have had a hard time understanding that one must simply be born of God in order to enter the kingdom of God. Being a good person and following the Law is not going to get you into heaven. Morality will not save you. 

The word “Ye” is plural. Some think that Jesus and Nicodemus were not alone in this discussion. Jesus was probably referring to the Pharisees that were stuck on the Law. 

Verse 8. This is a hard verse to understand. This is due to the fact that there is a play on words going on in the Greek. The word “wind” is the same word in the Greek for “spirit.” Both use πνευμα. This is definitely a pun because the Greek word ἀνεμος is usually used for wind. 

The analogy is that you cannot tell where the wind started and where the wind will finish its movement but you can see its affect on things. The same is with one that is born of the Spirit. You do not know why the person is changing, you do not know how the person is changing and you do not know where the person is going, but you do see that the Holy Spirit is working in a person’s life. 

“How Can These Things Be” (Vv. 9-15)?

Verse 9. Nicodemus is starting to understand. And he inquires further.

Verse 10. Jesus gives a criticism to Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. He should know about these kinds of things. He is supposed to know that things of heaven are not the things of earth or the physical body. 

Verse 11. Jesus makes a very simple but very profound point that will be fully explained later. One cannot bare witness of things that he has not seen. One cannot speak of things he does not know. Jesus continues from this point and says, “Ye have receive not our witness.” Jesus and John the Baptist have been baring witness of things they have seen. Jesus and John the Baptist have been speaking of things that they know. However, “Ye,” the Pharisees have not listened to either John the Baptist or Jesus. 

Verse 12. Jesus tried to explain things to Nicodemus with illustrations that he should be able to comprehend. 

Verse 13. Jesus makes this very simple. No man has been to heaven and come back to talk to be people about it. No man has every just strolled into the gates of the kingdom of God. There is an exception to this though. The exception is the Son of Man. The Son of Man is from heaven because He was in heaven. 

Jesus is able to bare witness because He has seen heaven. Heaven is His kingdom. He was there with God in eternity past. He is the prime Authority to speak of the things of heaven because He knows them better than anyone else. 

There is a great possibility that the whole conversation so far has been about Jesus. Yet Jesus is much more than just born of heaven. He is the λογος. He is the only begotten Son of the Father.

He Manifested His Glory

This sermon is from John 2:1-12 for the Sunday morning service

When we went through the prologue of this Gospel, I mentioned that there would be several themes that were to be repeated in this Gospel. Today, alongside the reoccurring theme for writing the Gospel, we will see the theme of how Jesus manifested His glory. John first mentioned this theme when he wrote, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (1:14). 

Do not forget the reoccurring theme that I mentioned. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (20:31). This account, especially this miracle, was written for us to understand this purpose.

The Predicament (Vv. 1-5)

Verses 1-2. This event happens shortly after Jesus finds Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael. This puts the event still very early in Jesus Christ’s ministry. We will see that this is the first sign that Jesus performs in His ministry as well. 

Jesus and His mother were at a wedding that was taking place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ family was there which may have meant that the bride and groom were at least known associates and that Cana was not a far distance from Nazareth. Remember, Jesus and the disciples were in Galilee in 1:43-51. They were already in the area. 

Verse 3. Typically, a Jewish wedding celebration would last for as long as a week. The groom and his family were responsible for providing food and housing for their guests. So it is easy to understand that they might run out wine to drink during the celebration. The mother of Jesus points out to Jesus that the wedding party has run out of wine. It may have been that Mary was helping with organizing the celebration or just simply heard that they ran out of wine. One must wonder why Mary pointed this out to Jesus. Was Mary expecting Jesus and the disciples to help with finding something safe to drink? Mary must have been expecting Jesus to be concerned in some way. Perhaps Mary was expecting Jesus to perform something miraculous? Jesus’ answer to Mary would give an indication that perhaps she was expecting something miraculous. Mary would have known that Jesus was the Messiah because the angel Gabriel told her (Luke 1:32-33). Mary may have also known about Jesus’ baptism and wilderness testings. Perhaps she even heard John the Baptist preach about Jesus being the Messiah. 

This was a problem for a number of reasons. First of all, now the guests have nothing to drink. Water was not always safe to drink either. It was very ordinary to mix wine into their water. Water and wine were usually mixed together being three parts water and one part wine. The alcohol killed any bacteria that would harmful. They were not aware of why the water was not safe to drink, only that it was safe after putting some wine into the water. Another reason that this was a problem was because the guests would have been allowed to take legal punitive actions against the new groom for not providing libations for the celebration. This may was a custom that seems foreign to us, but middle eastern culture took hospitality very seriously. 

Verse 4. Jesus’ response to His mother does not seem very polite. However, this was a very affectionate way of addressing one’s mother in that culture. Jesus does this again while He is on the cross (19:26).

The first part of Jesus’ response is a bit peculiar. I am personally not sure why Jesus would have said, “What have I to do with thee?” Perhaps Jesus was trying to explain that His work was going to be different that Mary was expecting from Him. This could be along the same lines as when Jesus was still young and Jesus’ parents found Jesus after losing track of Him. Mary tried to chide her child for not being with them but Jesus responded by saying, “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49)? 

The second half of His response is a phrase that is repeated a few times in this Gospel. In order to understand what Jesus was referring to, one should examine these passages. The next time Jesus said that His hour had not yet come with in 7:6, 8, 30. Jesus said this to His brothers and then the author said that Jesus eluded the crowd because His hour had not yet come. In 8:20, the author says the same thing again. After this, we affirmations that His hour has come. The first one is in 12:23 which is immediately after the triumphal entry. Then another affirmation in 13:1; after the last supper. The final one is in 17:1 when Jesus was praying in the garden before He was arrested. Therefore, this phrase has to deal with His work on the cross and how He will be glorified by His work on the cross. 

Verse 5. I enjoy what Mary says unto the servants. She basically tells them to do whatever He tells you to do. Mary recognized that Her Son was greater than she. Christ’s authority was greater than her authority. 

The Solution (Vv. 6-10)

Verse 6. Some commentators try to interpret this narrative allegorically. The reason being that the pots were meant to be used for purifying one’s hands before sitting down to eat dinner. This practice was a Jewish custom that was dogmatically elevated to religious ceremony. The commentators state that Jesus performed a miracle that showed His ways were to replace the ridiculous Jewish religious customs. I, however, do not see that allegorical interpretation fitting very well with this narrative. Jesus simply saw a need to be met that could only be met with His Divine work. I do not think that this is any different than when He fed the five thousand. 

Each of these pots held about two or three firkins of water. Each of these pots would have held about 20 to 30 gallons of water. 

Verse 7-8. If Jesus is God and He is able to perform the miracle of turning the water to wine, then why doesn’t Jesus just make the pots be automatically be filled with wine? Jesus never performs a miracle that is unnecessary. Jesus knew that there was water nearby. Jesus asked for the water to be brought before Him. He would perform the part that man is not able to do – the miracle. God will always tell us to do our part in His work. 

Jesus then asks the servants to serve the wine unto the governor of the feast. This must have been a guest of the celebration that was in charge of taking care of the organization of the celebration. 

Verses 9-10. The governor of the feast was unaware of that Jesus turned the water into wine, only the servants and disciples knew. 

The governor of the feast must have been very impressed with the taste of the wine. A customary practice was to bring out better tasting wine at the beginning of celebration when everyone was paying attention to the meal. Later, when everyone was not focused on the meal, the host wold bring poor wine. This was so no one would notice the difference between the two wines. However, the governor thought that this wine that Jesus had made was very tasty. He even made sure to let the groom know about it. 

John, the author, probably makes mention of the fact that the governor spoke to the host/groom of the party to show that Jesus met the need of not just the guests but also for the host as well. The host no longer needed to worry about how he was to provide for his guests, though he was probably confused as to where the wine came from. 

The Significance (V. 11)

Verse 11 explains why this event is very important. John explains why he put it in his Gospel. Remember John 20:31? Remember 1:14 in the prologue? 

The word miracles comes from the Greek word σημεῖων, which is “a sign or distinguishing work whereby something is known, or an event that is indication/confirmation of intervention by transcendent powers.” σημεῖων would have been better translated sign. Jesus turning the water into wine is Jesus’ first sign. The act signified who Jesus is. This is a significant theme in the Gospel of John. John was talking about the signs that Jesus performed when he wrote that, “These are written” (20:31). Jesus performed other signs that were never recorded. 

John also stated that this is the beginning of signs that Jesus performed in Galilee. This simply means two things. The sign of turning the water into wine was the first sign that Jesus performed. Secondly, this was was not the only sign that Jesus performed in Galilee. John could be telling his audience that will be another sign later in his Gospel. John could be saying that there were a multitude of signs done in Galilee that were not recorded in this Gospel. John could also be referring to the other Gospels that were already written. An example would be Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. 

John goes on further to say that Jesus “Manifested forth His glory.” The verb manifest comes from the Greek word φανεροω which means, “to become visible, to reveal, expose publicly or to cause to become known, disclose, show, make known.” Therefore, this means that the signs were meant to reveal something. What were they meant to reveal? They were meant to reveal His glory. 

Glory is a hard concept to grasp for us westerners. We know what it means to give glory to another person but that is using the word as a verb and it changes the sense in which it is being used. We could say someone worthy of glory but this still changes the sense of the word. John used the word glory in a very Jewish sense. He is using this word as a noun. When a Jew thought of the glory of God, he typically thought of the temple. The glory of God dwelled in the temple. This signified His presence and dwelling with His people. The best way I can describe this concept is that it was the holiness of God made visible. Jesus is God made visible. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is God dwelling among His people. Jesus is God. What is beautiful about this is that it is not just the glory of God made visible, it is of the glory of God working. Jesus Christ did not just simply walk about the earth during His incarnation, He proved Himself by the might works of God! That is what John wants you to understand. This is God in the flesh and He is reaching out to His people and changing their lives for His glory. 

There is no wonder as to why the disciples believed on Him. They saw the glory of God working in front of their eyes. They saw His sign and they understood that Jesus is God. 

The Transition (V. 12)

Jesus’ entire family must have been at the wedding. This verse lists not only His mother but also His brothers. 

From Cana, everyone traveled to Capernaum to stay for a few days. After those few days, they would travel down to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. 

Behold the Lamb of God

The message is from John 1:19-34 and was for the morning service.

Last week we covered verses 1-18 which was the prologue for the Gospel of John. There were numerous ideas and words that will become themes in the Gospel of John. Today we will be seeing one of those themes. Today we will be looking at what was John the Baptist's mission and purpose. Verses 6-8 told us that John the Baptist was sent to bare testimony concerning the light. Today we see what that looks like. Verse 15 echoes that same idea.

Also, as we go along, I want us to keep in mind the theme and purpose of John's Gospel. I am going to drill this into your head. "But these things are written, that ye might believe that jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His name" (20:21).  If you do not see that in these sermons, then I am not doing my job correctly.

The Questioning of John (VV. 19-28)

Men are sent from the religious authorities to see who John the Baptist is and to find out why he is baptizing men. 

John the Baptist was an interesting man. There is a possibility that he was orphaned at a young age because his parents were old when he was born (Lk. 1:18) and he was raised in the wilderness. He wore camel's hair for and a leather belt for clothing and ate locusts and honey for food (Matt. 3:4). He was probably raised with a group known as the Essences. 

"Who are You?" (Vv. 19-23)

Vv. 19-20. The commissioned men from the Levites and priests ask John the Baptist a series of questions. John's ministry was gathering notice from many people. He even had disciples that may have traveled with him (cf. 1:37). Therefore, these men wanted to know what was all of the commotion. 

It states in verse 19 that they simply ask, "Who art thou?" However, John just simply answers with, "I am not the Christ." It could be John knew what as the foremost concern in the minds of the men that were sent to inquire of John. 

The author is again making it very clear that John the Baptist never claimed to be the Christ/Logos by repetition of the word confess. 

The word Christ is a transliteration of the word Χριστος. It was translated from the word messiah. This means that the word Christ is a title that is given to Jesus. Being a messiah meant that a person was anointed by God to do express purpose. The best example of this is with king David. David was anointed by God to be set forward as Israel's future king. There have been many in Israel's history that have been anointed. Therefore it is fair to say that there have been many messiahs. David was seen as a messiah because he gave Israel its establishment as a nation by conquering all of the people in the land. Israel understood that there would be the Messiah who would come to deliver them. In the mind of the Pharisees, the Messiah would be like David sit on David's throne and establish Israel as a sovereign nation again. Israel had not been a sovereign nation since its deportation in 586 B.C. to Babylon. They have always been subject to another gentile nation. They were deported by the Babylonians. They were allowed to return and rebuild under the Persians. They were subjugated under the Greeks. In the time of Jesus, they were under Roman rule. They wanted a man like David to set up Israel again (Isaiah 9:6-7).  

This is not who John is. 

V. 21. The questioning from the group to John continues. If John the Baptist is not the Christ, then who is He? The men need to know.

The next question is if John is Elijah/Elias? Why would they ask if John the Baptist is Elijah? The Levites and Priest taught that Elijah had to come back again a second time before the Messiah/Christ would set up His kingdom. This come from Malachi 4:5. It also did not help the fact that John the Baptist had a lot of similarities. They both came from the wilderness (1 Kings 17:4-5) and they both dressed with a leather belt (2 Kings 1:8). So the question does not seem so far fetched. John the Baptist gives a simple answer, "I am not." 

There is still some debate as to how John the Baptist filled the role of Elijah. Jesus stated, "Elijah verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, that Elijah is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed as it is written of him" (Mark 9:12-13).  And when Gabriel announced John's birth he said, "And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17). But John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah. There must be some way to reconcile this apparent contradiction. The only way I can reconcile the difficulty is that John the Baptist was not Elijah in the flesh. Malachi 4:5 speaks of a literal return of Elijah in the flesh. Yet at the same time John the Baptist came "in the spirit of Elijah." This means that John the Baptist had a similar ministry to the future ministry of Elijah. Thus Jesus could say that John was Elijah but still allow for John to deny that he was Elijah. We actually do see a physical appearance of Elijah in the transfiguration. So I still take it to mean that we will see a physical appearance of Elijah in the future. 

The last question, "Art thou that prophet?" comes from when Moses wrote, "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken" (Deut. 18:15). The Pharisees probably understood this passage to reference to a prophet of great significance that would come in the same power as Moses. John gives an even more simple answer by replying, "No." 

Vv. 22-23. The men sent to question John are even more confused now than when they first started asking questions. John answered every question with a negation. The men then simply asked him, "Who art thou?" They exhausted all of their ideas of who John the Baptist might be. 

John's reply was unexpected. John references Isaiah 40:3 and states that he is the voice crying in the desert. This was something that was attributed to John the Baptist in all four Gospels. 

"Why do you Baptize?" (Vv. 24-28)

Vv. 24-25. The men that were sent are now even more confused. They do not understand John's ministry. If John is not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet, then why is he baptizing people? This was strange to them. Why are you baptizing Jews? They believed that they were already children of the promise because they were descendants of Abraham (Matt. 3:9). 

Vv. 26-27. The whole point of John's ministry was to prepare people for the coming of their Messiah. This is explained further when John said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matt. 3:2) and, "I indeed have baptized you with water: but He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mark 1:8). John baptized people who repented of their sin and pointed them to One who mightier than him. John wanted everyone to see the Christ. He wanted everyone to be ready for the Messiah. He wanted people to be prepared for that Prophet. John claimed that he was not even worthy to untie the latchet of His sandal; which was a task that was so low that only slaves would do the task. 

V. 28. This verse gives a location as to where these events were taking place. The KJV however, names Bethabara as the location. This is not an issue of translation but an issue of transcription. Origen stated that the majority of the copies/manuscripts stated, "Bethany" but he felt that it was wrong should read Bethabara. He felt this way after traveling to Israel not being able to locate Bethany. Origen was obviously wrong and it should say Bethany.

"Behold the Lamb of God" (Vv. 29-34)

V. 29. John sees Jesus and points Him out to all that are near. This event probably occurred after the baptism and wilderness testings of Jesus because the next day Jesus starts gathering His disciples together (1:35). The imagery that John uses is not specific to any one special sacrifice that was performed. However, the imagery is still profitable for edification. We know what John meant. Jesus would become the lamb/sacrifice to be placed on the altar so that we could have forgiveness of sin. This was fulfilled by Jesus' death on the cross. 

V. 30. The truth of Jesus being greater than John, even though John is older, is repeated again. This was something that was stated earlier in verse 15. Jesus has always existed. John was born. Jesus existed with God before John was born. Therefore Jesus is greater.

V. 31. From what we can understand from this verse it that John did not know that Jesus was the Christ that he was prophesying about. He knew that the Messiah was coming and that he was commissioned to preach repentance but he did not know who was the Messiah. This is also probably due to the possibility that the two men grew up in different areas despite being blood relatives. John probably grew up in the wilderness outside of Judea. Jesus grew up in Galilee which is north of Samaria. 

V. 32. John the Baptist is referring to the time that Jesus was baptized. John the Baptist must have been telling other people how he witnessed the Holy Spirit come down as a dove and stay upon Jesus. The emphasis is that the Spirit did not just land on Jesus but it remained on Jesus. This parallels as an anointing of Jesus. This is the point in time in which all the Gospels state that Jesus began His ministry while on earth. 

V. 33-34. There is some repetition in this verse probably for the sake of emphasis. John the Baptist was told by God that he would see the Spirit descend and remain on a person; that person would be the Christ. This explains why John stated that Jesus is the "Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." This is why John said that Jesus was the Son of God. 

John was a witness of God's work. The word of the Lord came to him in the desert. He preached only to point people to the long expected Jesus. 

We Have Found the Messiah

This sermon was preached from John 1:35-51 for the Sunday evening service.

Do not forget John's purpose in writing this gospel: "But these are written, they ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name" (20:21). Ask yourself, how does this narrative help reinforce this idea?

Simon and Andrew (Vv. 35-42)

Vv. 35-37. The events that have been recorded so far have occurred one day after the other. The first day was filled with the questioning of John the Baptist. The second day was John the Baptist baring record that Jesus is the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." This passage starts by stating, "Again the next day," making this the third day in a row. 

John the Baptist saw Jesus again and said the same thing that he said the previous day, "Behold the Lamb of God." 

It seems logical and at the same time, it seems strange to have the disciples of John the Baptist leave and follow Jesus. It seems strange because most teachers would not want to lose a student. It seems logical because John the Baptist was teaching that Jesus was greater than him. The disciples of John probably understood very well, if Jesus is greater than John, then why should I follow John when I can follow Jesus? The disciples are correctly understanding that Jesus was something that was greater John and we will see that they understand who Jesus was but not quite what Jesus had come to do. 

Vv. 38-39. It states that Jesus asked the disciples that just started to follow Him, "What seek ye?" Not much is known as to what Jesus meant by asking this question. He could have been meaning it very broad sense, e.g. "Why are you following Me?" 

The disciples already started calling Jesus Rabbi. The author states that calling a person Rabbi was the same as calling a person Master. 

The answer to Jesus's question does not seem straightforward. They respond by saying  Perhaps they were asking to see if they could sit down and meet in private so they could talk. 

Jesus then invites the disciples to the place that He was staying at the time. This must have been somewhere in the vicinity of where John was baptizing. 

The understanding from this verse is that the disciples stayed the night with Jesus. The author makes note of the time of the day. If the author was using a Jewish method of keeping time, then the time would have been 4 p.m. The Jews measure time from sunrise to sunset. Some argue that John was using the Romans method of keeping time which the hours would have started at midnight. However, the Romans only typically used this method for formal documents. When it came to the telling of time, it was a similar method in comparison to the Jewish method. There were many sundials that were found where VI was in the noon position. This probably meant that it was too late in the day for the disciples to bother with trying to make the trip back to where they were previously lodging before dark. 

Vv. 40-42. One of the disciples that was John the Baptist and was now following Jesus was named Andrew. The name of the other disciple is never mentioned. It is an educated guess that the unnamed disciple was the author of this Gospel. Andrew is not mentioned again until the feeding of the five thousand in 6:8-9 and then again for the last time at the triumphal entry in 12:22. In the Gospel of Mark, Andrew asked Jesus about His prophecy concerning the temple. All we know about Andrew is that he was the brother of Simon Peter and was a fisherman by trade. He is listed in every list of the twelve disciple, including the one in Acts 1. 

What is most important is what Andrew says to his brother Simon about Jesus. Andrew said that, "We have found the Messiah." Andrew believed John the Baptist's message that Jesus was the Christ. 

Andrew does not just claim that he found the Messiah, but he also leads Simon Peter to the Messiah. Andrew leads Simon to the truth. Come and see that what we say is true. 

When Jesus meets Simon for the first time, Jesus gives Simon the name "Cephas," which means stone. The word Cephas is Aramaic. Peter is the same name but in Greek. His original name is Simon who is also the son of Jona. The author probably refers to Simon Barjona as Simon Peter from this point forward in the Gospel so we do not get him confused with Simon the zealot. 

One must take notice that there is another account of the calling of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John (Matt. 4:18-23; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5. 1-11). The account given here in John does not conflict with the synoptic accounts. This account in John happens before the accounts in the synoptic Gospels. In John 3:22-36, John the Baptist and Jesus's disciples are baptizing people together. In Matthew 4:12 it states that, "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee." Then it talks of how Jesus started His ministry in Galilee and then He called the four disciples to leave their nets behind. 

So the order of events are: Jesus is baptized near Bethany in Judea • Jesus is tested in the wilderness • John the Baptist call Jesus the Lamb of God • Peter and Andrew meet Jesus • Jesus travels to Galilee, finds Philip and Nathanael • Wedding at Cana in Galilee • Overthrows temple the first time in Jerusalem • Meets Nicodemus • John and Jesus work together (3:22-36) • John the Baptist is imprisoned; Jesus starts traveling to Galilee • Jesus meets the Samaritan woman • Jesus calls the four to leave their nets behind at Galilee. There are a few other events that listed but this is the information that is needed in order to see that the synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John do not conflict with each other. 

Philip and Nathanael (Vv. 43-51)

Vv. 43-44. Again, John is accounting events that happened on days that were back to back. Jesus leaves the area outside of Bethany and travels to Galilee. There is no explanation given here as to how but Jesus finds Philip and commands Philip to follow Him. 

Philip, Andrew and Simon Peter are all from Bethsaida, which is a city on the northeast coast on the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus will later tell them to leave there nets behind. They may have all retreated to their hometown after John the Baptist was imprisoned. 

There is not much known about Philip either. He later asked Jesus to show him the Father so that might believe (14:8-9).

Vv. 45-46. Philip went and found Nathanael. Nathanael is never mentioned in the synoptic Gospels but Bartholomew is never mentioned in John's Gospel. Bartholomew means son of Tolmai and is therefore not a name. They are usually listed together in the synoptics (Luke 6:14). Therefore it would make sense that Philip and Bartholomew were the same person.

Again, the importance in this section is what the new disciple, Philip, is saying about Jesus. Philip told Nathanael that they had found the one that Moses and the prophets did write about. This is a reference to the passage that was discussed earlier in Deuteronomy 18:15. Philip also mentions that Jesus came from Nazareth and was the son of Joseph. 

Nathanael's response is interesting. There must have been some sort reputation for the city of Nazareth. It would be the same if I said that there came a great football/baseball player out of Tidioute. The response would be, "How can a good baseball player come out of Tidioute? We are not a baseball town. There is no minor league here." 

Just as Andrew did with Simon Peter, Philip invites Nathanael to meet Jesus. 

Vv. 47-51. There is a lot that happens in this conversation between Jesus and Nathanael that is confusing. Jesus named Simon Peter when he came. This time Jesus calls Nathanael a man without guile. This is actually to say that there is no deception or no Jacob. Jacob's name meant deceiver. 

Perhaps it would be best to understand that Jesus is exercising his ministry as a prophet when He mentions that He saw Nathanael before Philip came to see him. This would best explain why Nathanael was amazed by this when he said, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." This now makes four different people that have said that Jesus is the Christ; John the Baptist, Andrew, Philip and Nathanael.

Jesus simply assures Nathanael that he will witness greater works of God's glory than the one he just witnessed. Jesus states that Nathanael will "see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." This is an allusion back to Jacob's dream the night that he first fled from his brother Esau. Nathanael was a man that was not a Jacob but Jacob did get see angels and ascending and descending. Now Nathanael will get to see something greater – the Son of Man. 

The Son of Man is a title that Jesus gives Himself. This title probably came from Daniel 7:13-14. Jesus uses this term very frequently and is meant to be associated with His access to heaven while at the same time to His incarnation. This is something that will be seen numerous times the Gospel of John. This was also a reference to the fact that people from all nations will be part of His kingdom.