John 1:35 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).
I really did not give much thought to “John was standing with two of his disciples” before. I guess I just glanced over this and thought John was standing out in some body of water and telling people to repent and be baptized. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance expressed in water baptism and bearing active fruit in one’s life in preparation for the appearing of the Messiah. Mark 1:4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John was sent to call the people to urgent repentance in light of what God would soon bring about. John had disciples who learned from him. Acts 18:25 introduces us to a man named Apollos of whom it is said: “This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John.” While Apollos still needed further instruction and clarification in the faith, accounts like this make it clear that the core of the gospel was preached and taught by John. When John saw Jesus walk by he said to the two disciples standing with him, “look, the Lamb of God”. John preached repentance, confession, baptism, and the coming Messiah. Even unto death, John called people high and low to turn their hearts and their lives from their sin unto God. John preached warning people of the wrath to come. Luk 3:7-10 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?”
Many times people were cut to their heart and asked “What then shall we do?” From the warnings of the wrath of God to come, people made intentional choices to repent, confess, and be baptized. Some of these men stayed on with John. We see Andrew was one of the two and when he heard John say “behold the Lamb of God” they immediately followed Jesus. Andrew did something else too, he first went and told his brother, Peter, “We have found the Messiah”. To the heart that is seeking, Jesus will be seen. If the warning about the coming wrath of God is rejected the need for Jesus will never be seen as needed. Sin is always at the door of our heart, knocking and trying to open the door to entice us to live for self, rely on self, and deny there is any need to change. There is a yielding that allows this door to open just as there is a firm resistance to keep it closed. It is an intentional choice and both become easier over time. Yielding day after day to sin will harden the heart to the point where the door is wide open and wrong seems right and false seems true. The intentional choice doesn’t even need to be made anymore because this way of life has become common, regular, and established. Resisting day after day will keep the door firmly closed. The intentional choice to keep the door closed is made every waking moment. God’s Word will strengthen the resistance and give power to the weak who intentionally choose to resist. Sometimes we don’t even know what to resist until God’s Word reveals it to us. That is the power of His Word. Be mindful of your heart and bath it in God’s Word every day.
