Are You Sure You've Found Jesus?

...Come And See!

Early Spring, AD 27

"Among You Stands One Whom You Do Not Know" 

So said John the Baptist to certain Pharisees, men who were priests and Levites dedicated to the service of God. They had come to see if this wilderness prophet might be the Holy One promised in Scripture. They had a chance to meet the Holy One, but missed it. They went back to Jerusalem to tell the powers that be there how John described himself--a forerunner, one who was unworthy to loosen the sandals of the Holy One. (John 1:19-28)

"Behold, the Lamb of God who Takes Away the Sin of the World!"

The very next day, and we hear the name "Jesus" for the very first time in the fourth Gospel. Jesus is that Holy One of whom the Baptist spoke, and here he is again, walking towards the Baptist. The heralding of this Jesus is the very purpose of the Baptist's ministry: "I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God." But Jesus walks on. (John 1:29-34)

"Behold, the Lamb of God!"

On the third day we are in company with Jesus again, and we learn that two of the Baptist's disciples have been listening to all this. This time they leave the Baptist behind, and walk to follow the Holy One. Jesus turns and says, "What do you seek?" The disciples want to know where Jesus is staying, for he has not been among the other disciples of the Baptist. (John 1: 35-38)

And what does it mean, "two of the Baptist's disciples?" Have they been staying with him and learning from him for months? Weeks? Or did they come out into the wilderness to hear what the Baptist had to say, and decided to follow his teaching and become Baptized? Surely these two have accepted the Baptism offered by this prophet. That may be all it takes for them to describe themselves as disciples of the Baptist.

"Come, and You Will See," says Jesus.

But Jesus himself is in a strange land. He has recently spent 40 days in the wilderness, and he has not returned to his home in Nazareth, many miles from here. The painter of the image above has imagined how that might be. But Jesus is a traveler, and soon he will travel again. Perhaps the tent in this image belongs to Jesus, and he has a donkey with him to haul it from place to place. Or perhaps he has moved in with another homeless person, someone who has offered him hospitality.

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus is at the otherwise unknown village of Bethany-Beyond-Jordan. Later in his ministry, when Jesus is seeking some respite, he will return to this village again. For now he is near the east bank of the Jordan River, almost certainly south of the Sea of Galilee. His visitors are from north of the Sea of Galilee, from the fishing town of Bethsaida. Jesus invites them to stay the night with him. (John 1:39)

What do they talk about? Surely they would talk about where they were from. Jesus would speak of Nazareth, and of the large family that he was from, with four older brothers and two (or three) older sisters. The extraordinary means by which Jesus became born and adopted into that family would be a story for another day. 

Who are these two baptized disciples? One of them is Andrew son of Jonah, whose older brother Simon has not yet been baptized by the prophet. It's not hard to figure out the other one: he is John son of Zebedee, the young fisherman who would later write the Gospel known by his name. He is the younger brother of James. These sons of Zebedee are mentioned in John 21:2, but nowhere in this Gospel are the actual names of these two fishermen/apostles disclosed.

Simon is in the vicinity, a long ways from home, and has evidently been listening to the prophet. Andrew goes to fetch his brother, saying, "We have found the Messiah!" Simon is brought to meet Jesus, who gives him a new name: Peter. (John 1:40-42)

Also in the vicinity is Andrew's neighbor Philip from Bethsaida, along with Philip's friend Nathanael (Bartholomew) from Cana. (Cana is not on the Sea of Galilee, but it is closer to where we find the Baptist.)

But here Jesus goes into action. He himself finds Philip, and says, "Follow me!"  Jesus has decided to go to Cana in Galilee, and is inviting his newly found potential disciples to attend a wedding there. Philip goes to find Nathanael and brings him to Jesus, saying "We have found the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote--he is Jesus of Nazareth."

Find and be Found:

You may be looking for Jesus. You may have heard of him or even met him, but before you can know him you must truly find him. But Jesus is also looking for you. He's ready to go looking to find you, for the shepherd knows his sheep. And when you have found him, you will know his voice, and follow him.

An extraordinary thing is happening in the Islamic world today, and I don't mean the terrorists. The terrorists are only doing in the open what they have always wished for privately. No, I mean the people of Islam who are being found by Jesus. In the hundreds (if not thousands) they have been receiving dreams and/or visions in which they see or hear Jesus calling them. This is happening even in the hearts and minds of certain mujahidin warriors. I have known of these myself, and have seen photos of them being ordained and consecrated into the family of Jesus, in private groups amidst the world of Islam.

You will not see the details or the photos, for theirs is a very dangerous calling. They have already experienced martyrdom when exposed. But Jesus knows the voice of his sheep, and when he finds them, they will also know his voice, and will follow.

-----------------------------------------------------------

End Note: Word Study on "Find"

The Greek word eurisko [hyurisko] "I find," can be found in the English exclamatory "Eureka!, "I have found it!", associated with the discovery of gold in California in 1849.

Etymology: eu means "good," as in euagggelion [yuangelion] "good word" or "gospel"  from which we get "evangelist." The second root is related to zeteo [dzaytayo] "I seek." Jesus uses this word (in the imperative tense) together with 'find' (in the future tense) at Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9 -- Zeite kai euresete, "Seek and you will find."

The primary use of "find" in the New Testament is as a successful outcome of an effort to "seek." A secondary use is when something is encountered unexpectedly: Mary was "found" to be with child.

The Theological Dictionary of the NewTestament (TDNT) has a good summary for "find:"

This word occurs in the New Testament mostly with reference to things relating to God's work and kingdom, e.g., surprising events (Mt 1:18), of miracles (Mk 7:30), or supernatural gifts (Mt 7:7-8), or the gift of God's kingdom (Mt 13:44), or encounter with Jesus (Mk 1:37), or experience of God (Lk 4:17), or gifts of salvation such as pasture in Jn. 10:9, grace in Acts 7:46, mercy in Rom. 4:1, and redemption in Heb. 9:12, or God's call and salvation (Mt 18:13), but also with a suggestion of responsibility (Lk 13:6-7), and the seriousness of divine judgment (Mt 24:26).

Therefore we can conclude that Andrew and Simon and John and Philip and Nathanael and probably James were all at the Jordan river, far from their homes, because they were seeking something-- someone-- who could make sense of this world they were in and the direction it was going. They were seeking the Messiah! Andrew and John had the messiah pointed out to them. The Messiah himself went to find Philip, after which Philip told his friend, "We have found" the one who had been foretold by the ancients. Their group had met with success. Little did they expect that this Holy One would invite them into his family to attend a wedding (perhaps his own sister's wedding) where his mother would be checking up on the wine supply.

It's your turn now. Seek Jesus. Be found by him. Become part of his family.