The Gospel for January 4th

Gospel
Jn 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples,
and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God.”
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
“What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher),
“where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day.
It was about four in the afternoon.
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.
He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
“We have found the Messiah,” which is translated Christ.
Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
“You are Simon the son of John;
you will be called Cephas,” which is translated Peter.

Comments:
John the Baptist saw the Messiah and cried out "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world".

An issue not directly related to this passage:
I found out today while reading another blog that John's Gospel is addressing a problem in the early Church. The problem was that some groups thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah. One of the Apostle's reason for speaking the way he did was to show that John the Baptist was the fore-runner to Jesus Christ. He pointed to Christ. He, John the Baptist, was not the Christ. John's Gospel reiterates this over and over. It really stands out and one can see that this is the message that John was trying to get across. Jesus was the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

What are you looking for?
Jesus' question rings throughout the centuries. What are we looking for? God knocks on the door of the heart of every person. Everyone hears the faint small voice of God calling them to Himself. He always seems to be saying - What are you looking for?

Peter and Andrew respond to Jesus. "Rabbi - where are you staying?"
We should have the same response to Jesus' question. Where are you staying? We should always be looking for Jesus in our lives. To find out where he is staying. A devout Christian is always looking for Christ in everything and everyone. As the deer pants for the stream our souls thirst for God.


"It was about 4 in the afternoon". I don't know why the Apostle John mentioned this but I'm sure there was a good reason.

Andrew heard John the Baptist say "Behold the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world". Andrew heard John and believed him. Jesus is the Messiah. Many people thought that John was the long awaited Messiah of Israel. John stated that I must decrease and He must increase. God's servants are always gifted with humility. We should pray for this kind of humility. What kind of humility John was displaying when he declared this! He stepped away from being the center of attention. He could have resisted and kept his followers. He could have rationalized in his mind that God had given him this ministry and all these followers needed him. But he knew it was his time to step aside and so he did. The Messiah has arrived.

Andrew the Apostle chosen by Christ to be one of the 12 pillars of the Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia - The Churches in Greece, Turkey and that region were led by the Apostle Andrew.

Andrew went and told his brother "we have found the Messiah".
The Messiah had been prophesied from long ago. Israel had waited for their Messiah for so long. The time has finally come. The Messiah has begun His work and is choosing his followers to build His Kingdom. He chooses the pillars of his Kingdom from such an unlikely place from such unlikely people. These are the ways in which God acts and it boggles our minds. Just ordinary fishermen on a lake in Galilee.


He then took Peter to Jesus. We should take the people who are the closest to us to Jesus. The people who know us should see that we have been with the Messiah. People will know when someone has been with Jesus. It is undeniable.

Jesus says to Peter - "You are Simon son of John; You will be called Cephas or Peter". Jesus surely has foreseen this event since time immemorial. I can envision that when God saw his creation being torn apart by the fallen angels and man give in to the temptation of the Devil, he foresaw this day of meeting with this man Peter. Peter the man to whom Jesus said "you are Rock and upon you the Rock I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it". This is God continuing to reconstruct what fallen Angels and fallen men have torn down. The perfect truth, beauty and goodness of creation is beginning to see the true light shining even brighter with this announcement from the Lord Jesus.

Peter, pray for us.
John the Baptist, pray for us.
John the Apostle, pray for us.