'The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter) (John 1:35-42).”
On hearing John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, and another disciple left John the Baptist and, on Jesus’ invitation, began following him. ‘Follow me’ was usually the way Jesus called disciples to accompany him in his public ministry (Mt. 4:19). Andrew and the other disciple did not yet know of Jesus’ mission but spent the day with him to see what he was about. In the afternoon Andrew went and found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus telling him that they had found the Messiah. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Cephas and can mean rock or Peter. In the OT, naming a person or object was the equivalent of taking possession of it. In this short passage Jesus was called Lamb of God, Rabbi and Messiah which was an acknowledgment that they believed Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
Almighty God, you invite all of us to “come and see” but most of us are unwilling to leave everything and follow you. The journey from knowledge of Christ to love of Christ is long and arduous so grant us an abundance of your grace so that we can follow you with our whole hearts and be witnesses to your kingdom by our lives. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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