A Study of John's Gospel

John 1:35-39: Come and See

A study of John 1:35-39

"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."

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭35‬-‭39‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Disciples: "mathētēs", "μαθητής"; masculine noun - a learner, pupil, disciple.

-He Looked At: "emblepō", "ἐμβλέπω"; verb - to turn one's eyes on; look at.

-Lamb: "Amnos", "ἀμνός'; masculine noun - a lamb: consecrated to God. In these passages Christ is likened to a sacrificial lamb on account of his death, innocently and patiently endured, to expiate sin.

-Of God: "Theos", "θεός"; masculine noun - spoken of the one and only true God.

-Heard: "akouō", "ἀκούω"; verb - its use by John in the sense to listen to, have regard to.

-Say (Speak): "laleō", "λαλέω"; verb - to use words in order to declare one's mind and disclose one's thoughts; to speak; is frequently used in the N. T. of teachers, — of Jesus, the apostles, and others.

-They Followed: "akoloutheō", "ἀκολουθέω"; verb - to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him.

-Saw: "theaomai", "θεάομαι"; verb - to see with the eyes, to perceive.

-Are You Seeking? (Do You Seek?): "zēteō", "ζητέω"; verb - to seek in order to find; what do you seek? What do you wish?

-Come: "erchomai", "ἔρχομαι"; verb - universally, to come from one place to another. As one who is about to do something in a place must necessarily come thither.

-You Will See: "horaō", "ὁράω"; verb - to see with the eyes; i.e. come to see, visit, one; of Christ: to have seen him exhibiting proofs of His Divinity and Messiahship.

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

The day after seeing Jesus again, after His 40 days of temptation in the wilderness, and declaring Him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the Son of God, John the Baptist (JB) was standing with two of his disciples. While standing with his disciples JB saw Jesus walking by, and again said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples who were with him heard and went to follow Jesus. Jesus saw them and asked what they were looking for. They answered by asking Him where He was staying, and Jesus invited them to come and see. They followed, saw where He was staying and stayed with Him for that day because it was already about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

From verse 40 of this chapter we know one of the two disciples standing with JB was Andrew and it is very likely the second is John the gospel writer. It is probable the second disciple was John because he never names himself in this gospel account and the details provided as to the specific hour (10th hour = 4 p.m.) in which these two first saw Jesus bear the marks of an eyewitness account.

As JB was standing with Andrew, and likely John, he "looked at" Jesus as He walked by and repeated his statement from the previous day saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God!". John just recorded JB saying this in verse 29 and the fact that he records it again here seems to indicate JB had started to say this almost every time he saw Jesus. This was what JB thought to be the most important thing about Jesus at this time. JB came before Jesus to prepare people for his arrival by calling them to a baptism of repentance. The baptism of JB had no cleansing effect for sin, it was merely an outward show of people's inward acknowledgement that they needed to be cleansed and forgiven of sin. Essentially, JB came to tell people about their greatest problem, sin, and about the only solution to their problem, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away sin. For this reason it is understandable why JB faithfully declared who Jesus was when he saw Him. This was the mission of his life, and it should be the defining mission of our lives as followers of Jesus too. We have been given the task of graciously explaining to other people the sin we all have, the eternal consequences for our sin, but also of the forgiveness and eternal life offered freely to all by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Next, we read that the two disciples followed Jesus. While it is not recorded whether or not JB explicitly told them to follow Jesus, it would have been implied and encouraged anyway. This is the One JB had been telling them and the other multitudes about. Now that the promised One had arrived, following Him was the only sensible and logical thing to do. JB had been sent ahead to herald the arrival of the Son of God, now the Son of God had come. An express command to now follow Him was hardly necessary.

Jesus turned and saw the two disciples following Him and asked, "What are you seeking?" It is appropriate that John records Jesus speaking to them first. They did not run to catch up to Him, but rather they followed, perhaps at a little distance, too nervous to intrude, but Jesus turned, saw them, and spoke to them. This is how it is for all of us. While we may even have been interested onlookers of Jesus, to come to Him first requires Him to reach out to us. And when He does He asks us, "What are you seeking?" He reached out to these two disciples, inviting them to draw near by asking what they were looking for. And this is an important question He asks, and we must ask ourselves. We need to examine our motivations. Are we seeking Jesus out of mere curiosity, or for power, wealth and prosperity in this world? Or are we seeking forgiveness for our sin, relationship with God, and to be restored to wholeness in Him? Do we seek the Giver or simply His gifts? What are we seeking?

In answer to Jesus' question the two disciples ask Him a question about where He was staying that evening. It was already the "tenth hour," or in other words, 4 p.m. (16:00) and they had more than a few questions to ask Him. They asked Him where He was staying hoping to join Him and spend time in deep conversation with Him. Instead of sending them back to JB, Jesus extends them an invitation saying, "Come and you will see."

Other people, like JB, are used by God to point people to Jesus. As Jesus followers this is still our mission today, but no one can come to Christ through another person. After hearing the witness of a believer in Jesus we must all come to Him ourselves. To follow Jesus means to have a personal relationship with Him, and this is what Jesus invited these disciples into. He instructed and equipped His followers by living with them, and that is how He teaches and equips us today through the perpetual abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity.

Lastly, again I would like to point out the detail John provides of this happening at the "tenth hour" (4 p.m./16:00) is one of many indications this is an eyewitness account. The gospel accounts are full of such details and details like these are a part of the mountain evidence that these gospel accounts are a record of reliable eyewitness testimony.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

From this passage we learn it is not enough to hear about Jesus from someone else. To come to Jesus we must go to Him ourselves. Christianity is not just a religion, it is also a relationship. It is a religion, but it is the only true religion (James 1:26-27), and it is not based on ritual or good deeds, but on grace alone and faith alone in Jesus Christ. True religion is about having a personal relationship with Jesus, following Him, serving Him, worshiping Him and living a life centered around Him. This passage should cause us to witness faithfully about Jesus to others, just as JB did here, and do nothing to hinder and everything to encourage them to follow Jesus and give their lives to Him. This should also cause us who believe to remember that Jesus turned, saw us, and invited us to "come and see" who He is and what He has done for us. We should pray prayers of thanksgiving for His loving and gracious invitation as we also pray for Him to continue this act of grace through us by our witness of Him to others.

Self Reflection:

What am I seeking in life? Am I seeking the God who made me or simply something to make my life in this world more comfortable?

How can I grow in bearing witness about Jesus to others and inviting them to "come and see" the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?

Are there any parts of my life I have not surrendered to Jesus where I can grow in centering my heart and life on Him?

#comeandsee #JesusChristisLord #SeekJesus #love #faith