NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 22
J ohn 1
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page 1796
31I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that
he might be revealed to Israel.”
32Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and
resting upon him. 33I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with
water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who
will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34I saw this happen to J esus, so I testify that he is the
Chosen One of God.*”
The First Disciples Follow Jesus (21)
35The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. 36As Jesus walked
by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” 37When John’s
two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39“Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went
with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said
and then followed Jesus. 41Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We
have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”*).
42Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said,
“Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”*).
43The next day J
esus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come,
follow me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.
45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses* and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from
Nazareth.”
1:34 Some manuscripts read the Son of God.
1:41 Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean
“anointed one.” 1:42 The names Cephas (from Aramaic) and Peter (from Greek) both mean “rock.” 1:45 Greek
Moses in the law.
attracted large crowds, he was content for Jesus to take the higher place.
This is true humility, the basis for greatness in preaching, teaching, or
any other work we do for Christ. When you are content to do what God
wants you to do and let Jesus Christ be honored for it, God will do great
things through you.
1:31-34 John the Baptist and Jesus were related (see Luke 1:36), but
John still needed confirmation of Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. At Jesus’
baptism, God gave John a sign to show him that Jesus truly had been sent
from God (John 1:33). Jesus’ baptism is described in Matthew 3:13-17;
Mark 1:9-11; and Luke 3:21-22.
1:33 John the Baptist baptized with water as an act of preparation; his
baptism was a first step because it represented repentance and symbolized the washing away of sins. Jesus, by contrast, would baptize with the
Holy Spirit. He would send the Holy Spirit to all believers, empowering
them to live as transformed people and to proclaim the Good News of
salvation. This outpouring of the Spirit came after Jesus rose from the
dead and ascended into heaven (see 20:22; Acts 2).
1:34 John the Baptist’s mission was to point people to Jesus, stating
clearly that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. Today, people are
looking for someone to give them security in an insecure world. We
must point them to Jesus and show them how he gives certainty,
direction, and fullness of life.
1:35-51 John the Baptist and these new disciples used several names
for Jesus: Lamb of God (1:36), Rabbi (1:38), Messiah (1:41), Son of God
(1:49), and King of Israel (1:49). As they got to know Jesus, their appreciation for him grew. The more time we spend getting to know Jesus, the
more we will understand and appreciate who he is. We may be drawn
to him for his teaching, but we will come to know him as the Son of
God. Although these disciples made this verbal shift in a few days, they
would not truly understand Jesus until three years later (Acts 2). What
they so easily professed had to be worked out in experience. We may
find that words of faith come easily, but deep appreciation for Jesus
comes with living by faith.
1:32
Matt 3:16
Mark 1:10
Luke 3:22
1:33
Luke 3:16
Acts 1:5
1:34
John 1:49; 10:36
1:40
Matt 4:18-22
Mark 1:16
Luke 5:2-11
1:41
Ps 2:2
John 4:25
1:42
Matt 16:18
1 Cor 15:5
1 Pet 2:5
1:43
John 6:5-6;
12:20-22
1:45
Gen 3:15
Num 21:8-9; 24:17
Deut 18:15, 18
Isa 7:14; 11:1-10;
52:10, 13; 53:1-12
Jer 23:5-6; 30:9
Ezek 34:23-24;
37:24-25
Hos 11:1
Mic 5:2
Zech 3:8-9;
6:1213; 9:9
Mal 3:1; 4:2, 5
1:37 One of the two disciples was Andrew (1:40). The other was prob-
ably John, the writer of this book. Why did these disciples leave John
the Baptist? Because that’s what John wanted them to d o—he was
pointing the way to Jesus, the one he had prepared them to follow.
These were Jesus’ first disciples, along with Simon Peter (1:42), Philip
(1:43), and Nathanael (1:45).
1:38 When the two disciples began to follow Jesus, he asked them,
“What do you want?” Following Jesus is not enough; we must follow
him for the right reasons. To follow him for our own purposes would
be asking him to follow u s—to align with us to support and advance
our cause, not his. We must examine our motives for following him.
Are we seeking his glory or ours?
1:40-42 Andrew accepted John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus
and immediately went to tell his brother, Simon, about him. There was
no question in Andrew’s mind that Jesus was the Messiah. Not only did
he tell his brother, but he was also eager to introduce others to Jesus
(see 6:8-9; 12:22). How many people in your life have heard you talk
about your relationship with Jesus?
1:42 Jesus saw not only who Simon was but who he would become.
That is why he gave him a new n ame—Cephas in Aramaic, Peter in Greek
(the name means “rock”). Peter is not presented as r ock-solid throughout
the Gospels, but we learn in the book of Acts that he became a solid
rock in the days of the early church. By giving Simon a new name, Jesus
introduced a change in his character. (For more on Simon Peter, see
his profile on page 1643.)
1:46 Nazareth sat near the crossroads of several trade routes and
thus had contact with many cultural influences the Jewish people
considered sinful. Tradition says there was also a Roman garrison located
there, which no doubt would have greatly influenced the town. Some
have speculated that the people of Nazareth had an aloof attitude or
a poor reputation in morals and religion, which may have been what
was behind Nathanael’s harsh comment. Nathanael’s hometown was
Cana, about four miles from Nazareth, where Jesus would perform
his first miracle (2:1-11).
