The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 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?” 39 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. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 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).

This is now the third day in the sequence. The seventh day included the wedding at Cana (John 2:1); and since Jewish weddings traditionally were on Wednesdays, it would make this third day the Sabbath Day. But it was not a day of rest for either John the Baptist or Jesus, for John was preaching and Jesus was gathering disciples.

The two disciples of John who followed Jesus were John, the writer of the Gospel, and his friend Andrew. John the Baptist was happy when people left him to follow Jesus, because his ministry focused on Jesus. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

When Jesus asked them, “What are you seeking?” He was forcing them to define their purposes and goals. Were they looking for a revolutionary leader to overthrow Rome? Then they had better join the Zealots! Little did Andrew and John realize that day how their lives would be transformed by the Son of God.

“Where are You dwelling?” may have suggested, “If You are too busy now, we can visit later.” But Jesus invited them to spend the day with Him (it was 10 a.m.) and no doubt He told them something of His mission, revealed their own hearts to them, and answered their questions.

They were both so impressed that they found their brothers and brought them to Jesus. Andrew found Simon and John brought James. Indeed, they were their brothers’ keepers! (Gen. 4:9)

Whenever you find Andrew in John’s Gospel, he is bringing somebody to Jesus: his brother, the lad with the loaves and fishes (John 6:8), and the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus (John 12:20–21). No sermons from Andrew are recorded, but he certainly preached great sermons by his actions as a personal soul winner!

“We have found the Messiah!” was the witness Andrew gave to Simon. Messiah is a Hebrew word that means “anointed,” and the Greek equivalent is “Christ.” To the Jews, it was the same as “Son of God” (see Matt. 26:63–64; Mark 14:61–62; Luke 22:67–70).

In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed and thereby set apart for special service. Kings were especially called “God’s anointed” (1 Sam. 26:11; Ps. 89:20); so, when the Jews spoke about their Messiah, they were thinking of the king who would come to deliver them and establish the kingdom.

There was some confusion among the Jewish teachers as to what the Messiah would do. Some saw Him as a suffering sacrifice (as in Isa. 53), while others saw a splendid king (as in Isa. 9 and 11).

Jesus had to explain even to His own followers that the cross had to come before the crown, that He must suffer before He could enter into His glory (Luke 24:13–35).

Whether or not Jesus was indeed the Messiah was a crucial problem that challenged the Jews in that day (John 7:26, 40–44; 9:22; 10:24).

Simon’s interview with Jesus changed his life. It also gave him a new name—Peter in the Greek, Cephas in the Aramaic that Jesus spoke—both of which mean “a rock.” It took a great deal of work for Jesus to transform weak Simon into a rock, but He did it! “Thou art … thou shalt be” is a great encouragement to all who trust Christ. Truly, He gives us the “power to become” (John 1:12).

It is worth noting that Andrew and John trusted Christ through the faithful preaching of John the Baptist. Peter and James came to Christ because of the compassionate personal work of their brothers.

Later on, Jesus would win Philip personally; and then Philip would witness to Nathanael and bring him to Jesus. Each man’s experience is different, because God uses various means to bring sinners to the Savior. The important thing is that we trust Christ and then seek to bring others to Him.

Christ—Messiah: the words “Christ” (christos) and “Messiah” are the same word. Messiah is the Hebrew word and Christ is the Greek word. Both words refer to the same person and mean the same thing: the anointed one. The Messiah is the anointed one of God. Matthew said Jesus “is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16); that is, He is recognized as the anointed one of God, the Messiah Himself.

In the day of Jesus Christ people feverishly panted for the coming of the long promised Messiah. The weight of life was harsh, hard, and impoverished. Under the Romans people felt that God could not wait much longer to fulfill His promise. Such longings for deliverance left the people gullible. Many arose who claimed to be the Messiah and led the gullible followers into rebellion against the Roman state. The insurrectionist Barabbas, who was set free in the place of Jesus at Jesus’ trial, is an example (Mark 15:6f).

The Messiah was thought to be several things.

1. Nationally, He was to be the leader from David’s line who would free the Jewish state and establish it as an independent nation, leading it to be the greatest nation the world had ever known.
2. Militarily, He was to be a great military leader who would lead Jewish armies victoriously over all the world.
3. Religiously, He was to be a supernatural figure straight from God who would bring righteousness over all the earth.
4. Personally, He was to be the One who would bring peace to the whole world.

Jesus Christ accepted the title of Messiah on three different occasions (Matthew 16:17; Mark 14:61; John 4:26). The name Jesus shows Him to be man. The name Christ shows Him to be God’s anointed, God’s very own Son. Christ is Jesus’ official title. It identifies Him officially as Prophet (Deut. 18:15-19), Priest (Psalm 110:4), and King (2 Samuel 7:12-13). These officials were always anointed with oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit who was to perfectly anoint the Christ, the Messiah (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-33).

These verses as a whole also bring us to another key word in John’s gospel: witness.  There are at least eight given for our consideration:

1. There is the witness of the Father.

(John 5:37)  “And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form…”

(John 8:18)  “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.””

In His heart the inner voice of God spoke, and that voice left him in no doubt as to who he was and what he was sent to do. Jesus did not choose his own task; it came from God. His inner conviction was that God sent him into the world to live and to die for men.

2. There is the witness of Jesus.

(John 8:14)  “Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.”

(John 8:18)  “I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent  me.””

Jesus claimed to be the light and the life and the truth and the way. He claimed to be the Son of God and one with the Father. Unless his life and character had been what they were, such claims would have been merely shocking and blasphemous. What Jesus was in himself was the best witness that his claims were true.

3. There is the witness of his works.

(John 5:36)  “”I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.”

(John 10:25)  “Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me,”

(John 14:11)  “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.”

(John 15:24)  “If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.”

4. There is the witness of Scriptures.

  (John 1:45)  “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.””

  (John 5:39)  “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,”

  (John 5:46)  “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.”

5. There is the witness of the last of the prophets: John the Baptist.

(John 1:7-8)  “He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. {8} He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.”

6. There is the witness of those with whom Jesus came into contact.

The woman of Samaria bore this testimony: (John 4:39)  “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.””

Listen to the words of the man born blind, now healed: (John 9:25)  “He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!…(John 9:38)  “Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.”

The crowd in general also witnessed of His power: (John 12:17)  “Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.”

7. There is the witness of the disciples themselves.

(John 15:27)  “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”

(John 19:35)  “The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”

(John 21:24)  “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

8. There is the witness of the Holy Spirit.

(John 15:26)  “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

(1 John 5:7)  “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”