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We Have Found the Messiah
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and rabbis were ready to receive. But one who sought to establish in
their hearts a kingdom of righteousness, they would not accept.
John Directs His Followers to Jesus
On the following day, while two disciples were near, John again
saw Jesus. Again the face of the prophet was lighted up as he cried,
“Behold the Lamb of God!” The disciples did not fully understand.
What meant the name that John had given Him—“the Lamb of
God”?
Leaving John they went to seek Jesus. One was Andrew, brother
of Simon; the other was John the evangelist. These were Christ’s
first disciples. They followed Jesus—anxious to speak with Him,
yet awed and silent, lost in the thought, “Is this the Messiah?”
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Jesus knew that the two 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?”
They exclaimed, “Rabbi [Teacher], ... where dwellest Thou?” In
a brief interview by the wayside they could not receive what they
longed for. They desired to be alone with Jesus and hear His words.
“He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where
He dwelt, and abode with Him that day.”
If John and Andrew had possessed the unbelieving spirit of the
priests and rulers, they would not have been learners but critics, to
judge His words. But having responded to the Holy Spirit’s call in
the preaching of John the Baptist, they now recognized the heavenly
Teacher. To them the words of Jesus were full of freshness and
beauty. A divine illumination was shed upon the Old Testament
Scriptures. Truth stood out in new light.
The disciple John was a man of earnest and deep affection, ardent
yet contemplative. He had begun to discern “the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
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Andrew sought to impart the joy that filled his heart. Going in
search of his brother Simon, he cried, “We have found the Messias.”
Simon also had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and he
hastened to the Saviour. The eye of Christ read his character and
life history. His impulsive nature, his loving, sympathetic heart, his