“We Have Found the Messias”
105
atmosphere of spiritual influence. While His manners were gentle and
unassuming, He impressed men with a sense of power that was hidden,
yet could not be wholly concealed. Was this the One for whom Israel
had so long waited?
Jesus came in poverty and humiliation, that He might be our ex-
ample as well as our Redeemer. If He had appeared with kingly pomp,
how could He have taught humility? how could He have presented
such cutting truths as in the Sermon on the Mount? Where would have
been the hope of the lowly in life had Jesus come to dwell as a king
among men?
To the multitude, however, it seemed impossible that the One
designated by John should be associated with their lofty anticipations.
Thus many were disappointed, and greatly perplexed.
The words which the priests and rabbis so much desired to hear,
that Jesus would now restore the kingdom to Israel, had not been
spoken. For such a king they had been waiting and watching; such
a king they were ready to receive. But one who sought to establish
in their hearts a kingdom of righteousness and peace, they would not
accept.
On the following day, while two disciples were standing near, John
again saw Jesus among the people. Again the face of the prophet was
lighted up with glory from the Unseen, as he cried, “Behold the Lamb
of God!” The words thrilled the hearts of the disciples. They did not
fully understand them. What meant the name that John had given
Him,—“the Lamb of God”? John himself had not explained it.
Leaving John, they went to seek Jesus. One of the two was Andrew,
the brother of Simon; the other was John the evangelist. These were
Christ’s first disciples. Moved by an irresistible impulse, they followed
Jesus,—anxious to speak with Him, yet awed and silent, lost in the
overwhelming significance of the thought, “Is this the Messiah?”
Jesus knew that the disciples were following Him. They were the
first fruits of His ministry, and there was joy in the heart of the divine
Teacher as these souls responded to His grace. Yet turning, He asked
only, “What seek ye?” He would leave them free to turn back or to
speak of their desire.
Of one purpose only were they conscious. One presence filled their
thought. They exclaimed, “Rabbi, ... where dwellest Thou?” In a brief
interview by the wayside they could not receive that for which they