HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1323
JOHN 1
page 953
from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”
20 He came right out and said, “I am not the
Messiah.”
21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are
you Elijah?”
“No,” he replied.
“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”*
“No.”
22 “Then who are you? We need an answer
for those who sent us. What do you have to say
about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of the prophet
Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”*
24 Then
the Pharisees who had been sent
him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to
baptize?”
26 John told them, “I baptize with* water, but
right here in the crowd is someone you do not
recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine,
I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the
straps of his sandal.”
28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an
area east of the Jordan River, where John was
baptizing.
25 asked
Jesus, the Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward
him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I
was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming
after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him
as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with
water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit
descending like a dove from heaven and resting
upon him. 33 I 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.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I
testify that he is the Chosen One of God.*”
The First Disciples
35 The following day John was again standing
with two of his disciples. 36 As Jesus walked by,
John looked at him and declared, “Look! There
is the Lamb of God!” 37 When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rab bi” (which means
“Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
1:21 Greek Are you the Prophet? See Deut 18:15, 18; Mal 4:5-6.
1:23 Isa 40:3. 1:26 Or in; also in 1:31, 33. 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.
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.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one
of these men who heard what John said and
then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his
brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found
the Messiah” (which means “Christ”*).
42 Then 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”*).
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow
me.” 44 Philip 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.”
46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can
anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.
47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here
is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete
integrity.”
48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael
asked.
Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig
tree before Philip found you.”
49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are
the Son of God—the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just
because I told you I had seen you under the
fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”
51 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all
• Motives
JOHN 1:35-41
Jesus has a way of getting right to the
heart of the matter. When he looked back
and noticed two of John the Baptist’s disciples now following him, Jesus caught
them up short, asking bluntly, “What
do you want?” It was a perfectly timed,
well-placed question. The two men were
obviously seeking something, but what?
All they had heard from John was that
Jesus was the “Lamb of God.” Were they
looking for fame, power, truth, adventure,
or just an interesting way to spend an
afternoon? Seeking and following Christ
first requires a confession of our motivation and desires. How would you respond
if Jesus suddenly turned and asked,
“What do you want?”