Do the Same Part 1

The other week, our denomination’s CEO Dr. Willie Nolte (who also is a member and Elder of our local Anaheim, California church) preached on Sunday. Stating that unless you were on the International Space station, the past 18 months were quite different for each and every one of us during the pandemic lockdown and economic closures, spending a large amount of time our houses. But, even the network and cable sports and shows were shut down so there was mainly reruns and old movies available on the television programs for entertainment, but there were too many, so which ones to watch? So, most of the time, you’d watch shows based on someone’s recommendation. When someone we know says. “Hey, you need to watch this show or that show”, then then we listen. There is power of the personal recommendation and so much in our lives are based upon the influence of these personal recommendations. 

 

Pastor Willie looked at a passage of Scripture which illustrates, shows and ties it together with watching Jesus Christ, the Master and discipleship. The macro-message of this passage is that (1) it serves as an example for disciples (what a disciple of Jesus would do); and just hearing and understanding, but applying in our lives. Jesus is the Master and His disciples are those who choose to fallow and learn from Him. Secondly, (2) it is a challenge to discipleship. 

 

John 1:35-51 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. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called

Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 

In this passage we have the beginning of the “Handoff” from John the Baptist to Jesus the Messiah by pointing to the Savior of the world. Watch our Lord, the Master at work; what does Jesus do?  How does He act and how does He interact with people? It is an example for us all to follow; watch the Master, then do what the Master does. In the narrative we see Jesus initiate and invite. First, Andrew and John (the disciple) on the personal recommendation of John the Baptist followed behind walking, and Jesus notices and initiates the conversation, saying to them, “What are you seeking?” They understood that Jesus was who John the Baptist said He was and asked “Where are you staying?”, implying “May we stay with you awhile and visit?” 

 

Later, Jesus finds Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Jesus is the one who sees and initiates the conversation. The Master initiates and asks us to follow Him. He didn’t say, “Get your life together and then follow me.” He didn’t say, “Stop (fill in your own vice) then follow me.” He didn’t say, “Learn the Bible, then follow me.” He just says, “Come and see for yourself” and that is the model of the Master. The beauty and simplicity is that the disciples basically know next to nothing. But, they followed the example of the Master. Jesus initiated and invited, then His disciples did the same thing. The first thing that Andrew did was found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ) and he brought him to Jesus - (initiate and invite). Philip did the same thing. After Jesus initiated found and invited him to follow, Philip found and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph … Come and see” (initiate and invite). 

Let's continue Dr. Nolte's message on following Jesus in the next post. 

In Christ, Brian