God’s Favorite

John 1:35-50

Jesus’ Disciples

CIT: Jesus gains disciples

CIS: Followers add followers

SO: The hearer will invite others to experience Jesus teachings and life

Follow along at d1.church/notes.

Intro: God’s Favorite

This series is designed to show you through the eyes of John, the Person of Jesus, the Jesus of the Godhead, and the key moments of his life. John is not a chronological book. Some things happen out of order compared to the other gospels. The gospel of John is not about exactness; it is about a relationship between Jesus and “the one Jesus loved.” 

I have a friend who helped us buy our first house. He was our broker. He really made something I thought was impossible happen. He worked tirelessly to get us into our home. One day, I was with him at church when he was talking to another person who was starting an insurance company, and I walked up. He introduced me and said Duffy is a referral machine. Referrals in the insurance and financial game are everything. Most of the business that comes in will be from people your company has serviced who are satisfied and will recommend you. He then told me how many people I had sent his way for home loans. Truth be told, since he said that, I have found it to be true. If I like something, I will recommend it to everyone I know. 

Got a good burger? I will send people your way.

Want a new phone or computer? I will tell you everything you want to know about

Apple.

Need Insurance? I know a guy.

Want to know about Jesus? Let me send you to a church in this community or any other where I know a pastor. 

John emphasizes the gospel’s evangelical nature early in scripture.

Let’s get into the Word of God.

1. Lamb of God (John 1:35-39)

The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “Where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

EXP: Before Today, John had pointed to Jesus and told those who were with him that he was the one coming. This is in verse 29. You may be wondering why I did not start at verse 19 today. Well, I know I did not cite scripture, but I did preach all of that last week. So now we have the second day in a row in which John the Baptizer sees Jesus of Nazareth and says, “Look, the Lamb of God!” “He is the one I have been shouting about!”

This time, two of his followers get the hint and leave John to follow Jesus. The two are Andrew, whom we know from a couple of scriptures later, and we assume the other is John. (Not named, and narrating his own story). So they start following Jesus, and he stops and asks them what they want. Unable to fully qualify their response, they ask him to be their Rabbi and want to go where he is going. He invites them to come.

ILL: This past week, I had to call my mortgage company to discuss an issue with my escrow account. They owe me money. I called the customer service number and went through all the necessary computer modules and entries. Then, finally, I got to talk to a person. I explained to the agent what I needed, and they repeated my concern and said, "Let me get you to the person who can handle that problem.”  

APP: One of John the Baptist's greatest strengths is that he knows who he is and where to point people to Jesus. 

T.S.: John and Andrew may have missed the first clue, but they did not miss the second. 

2. Cephas (John 1:40-42)

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

EXP: After spending the day with Jesus, Andrew goes to get his brother, Simon. The bible records it as the first thing he did. He didn’t just go and say, "We found another Teacher”; he told him, "We have found the Messiah.” The chosen one of God. I assume that at this time, John also shares with his brother James. In the other Gospels, there is a moment when Jesus is at the Sea of Galilee and calls out to these two sets of brothers, saying, “Follow me.” And they do. The gospel of John gives us the pre-moment to that great call that had them leave their boats and follow him only. All four are always called together. I believe James was as much a member of this group as John, Andrew, and Peter. 

ILL: The first place Andrew and John go is to their family. I once knew a man who started as just a neighbor of one of my friends. His son tells of the days when he and his dad fought over the drugs he had stashed in his bed in his attempt to deal drugs in high school. His father was a drunkard and drug user, and had been all his life. One day, my friend’s neighbor is talking to him in the yard, and he tells him about Jesus. This man wants prayer, and my friend gathers others at church and prays for him that his addiction would be broken, and prays with him for salvation. That man went home, threw out everything that resembled sin in his life, and began telling every family member he could about Jesus. It was more important for him that his family made it to heaven than if he did. When you got up at that church on stage and looked to your right, everyone on that side was related to him in some way. He had to share what God had done for him and ensure they had the same chance. 

ILL: I saw a clip of Phil Robertson’s testimony this week, in which he talks about his conversion. He is the Duck Commander patriarch, and a couple of years back, they released a movie about his life called The Blind. His sister and wife were going to church and convinced their preacher to go to the bar to speak with Phil about giving his life to Christ. His sister told the preacher, “If you can convert my brother, he will convert millions.” She knew what Andrew knew. 

APP: When you have an encounter with the Messiah, it is impossible not to understand the difference between then and now. Then you have to share with those you care about. 

T. S.: In Andrew’s case, he is the one who brings Simon Peter to Jesus. Andrew made the jump from John to Jesus and knew he had found the best thing. 

3. Phillip and Nathaniel (John 1:43-50)

The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.“Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

EXP: The next day, Jesus moves out from where he is staying and, along the way, sees Phillip and commands him to follow him. He does. He is most likely known to the other four already in Jesus’ group. Phillip goes to his friend Nathaniel and invites him to come as well. Nathaniel is a bit skeptical. Jesus, knowing this, reassures him by announcing he doesn’t have a mean or lying bone in his body. Nathaniel says, “ How can you say that about me?” Jesus tells him he saw him at the fig tree. I do not know what Nathaniel was doing at the fig tree, but he knew he was the only one there. Whatever it is, it is enough to convince Nathaniel that he is God. Jesus says, "You think that is good? Wait till you see what’s next.”

ILL: I was at a conference this past week, and all the speakers structured their talks similarly. They gave us the big outline first. There are four things to say about culture. I have five changes to volunteership in your church that will change your team. Then they gave us the highlights. Then spent the next 30 minutes flushing it out. Speakers, authors, and teachers do this so that if people read or listen only to the first part, they will still be affected by the main idea. My intro today followed the same idea. 

APP: If you only read the first chapter of John, you will know a few things.

1. Jesus is the Messiah
2. The prophecies of old told us about him
3. Those who encountered Jesus had to share the Good News.

TS: Our encounter with Jesus will not allow us to be just seat warmers in church. We will have a burning desire for members of our family and friends to experience Jesus. 

We will need to become the greatest Referal machine ever. Because what comes next is the heavens opening and angels ascending and descending on Jesus.

I want to pray for three groups today:

1. Some of you may be waiting on a parent, boss, or pastor to come and fix some things in your life. Let me get you to the person who can help you. 
2. I pray today that you will take your issue to Jesus and let him handle it. 
3. Some of you have been struggling with whether you are supposed to share your conversion story with your family and friends.
4. I hope that you will be emboldened by John’s words today and begin to share the Good News. Maybe one of them will bring millions to Christ.
5. Some of you heard for the first time that Jesus is the Savior of the world. You think you have seen something, wait to see what is coming next.
6. I pray today for salvation.