Episode 2 – The Seven – John 1:19-51
The Context
At the end of the Old Testament is the book of Malachi and turning to the beginning of the New Testament we find the Gospel of Matthew. But when you turn what may be just the one page that separates the Old from the New, you are passing through 400 years of silence where God withheld from speaking to the Jewish people. The prophecies foretold of a coming Messiah, the anointed one of God who would be the savior of the people, but they didn’t know when. So they waited, and they watched.
In the waiting, still unbeknownst to the world that the Messiah was dwelling among men, John the Baptist had gained a following. People were trailing this street corner preacher throughout the desert lands because he was foretelling of a coming hope that the Jewish people had lost sight of over the centuries of silence. At the same time, he also acquired the attention of the Jewish leaders. And so, we find the stage set for John to complete the task of preparing the way of the Lord.
There are few places in the Bible where we see humility abound more beautifully than with John the Baptist. Jesus is beginning to gather his disciples, the limelight is starting to shift away from John, and as we venture into this week’s text be inspired to take the time to learn from the life of John, who sought only to make known the name of Jesus.
In the waiting, still unbeknownst to the world that the Messiah was dwelling among men, John the Baptist had gained a following. People were trailing this street corner preacher throughout the desert lands because he was foretelling of a coming hope that the Jewish people had lost sight of over the centuries of silence. At the same time, he also acquired the attention of the Jewish leaders. And so, we find the stage set for John to complete the task of preparing the way of the Lord.
There are few places in the Bible where we see humility abound more beautifully than with John the Baptist. Jesus is beginning to gather his disciples, the limelight is starting to shift away from John, and as we venture into this week’s text be inspired to take the time to learn from the life of John, who sought only to make known the name of Jesus.
Time Alone
Along with this book, have your Bible and a pen ready. The only person who needs to be on your mind right now is God. Trust that the world around you isn’t going to implode while you take some time to step away to step into an exclusive moment with God. Close the world out so you can really let God in.
Read John 1:19-51
Who are you? After 400 years of waiting and watching for a sign that God was again moving amongst His people, it stands to reason that John the Baptist was far from being the first to be asked by the Jewish leaders with bated breath, “Who are you?”
But in verse 29, the moment when Jesus first enters into the narrative of John’s Gospel and into the presence of John the Baptist, the first words spoken by John tell of a man who knew with utter certainty that the one he had been looking for his entire life was before him.
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 NIV
In fact, looking through all four Gospels, not once do we read of any of the twelve disciples called by Jesus asking the question, who are you? From Matthew the tax collector, to James and John, sons of Zebedee, these unassuming men recognized Jesus in a way that the religious leaders of their day never did.
Was there ever a moment in your life when the Jesus you had been taught growing up, or the Jesus you had been looking for out of pain and perhaps desperation, became undeniably present and you KNEW that this is the One you had been looking for?
Has it ever felt like 400 years since you last felt God’s hand at work in your life? Might it be that today feels like another day of living in that 400 yearlong page between the Old and New Testaments?
There can certainly be seasons in life when what feels like God’s absence may be perceived as God being one who watches us, idle and uncaring of our pains and sufferings. Let these words of Paul dispel any troubled thoughts you may carry about God.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6 NIV
We also need to be real about the fact that for many people, and honestly for all of us to some extent, there are times when we reject the call of Jesus to follow Him into what we truly need. John doesn’t describe at length the calling of the twelve disciples the way the other three Gospels do. But in verse 43 of chapter 1 we read the same invitation given to Phillip as was given to all the rest, “Follow me.” NIV
Has there been a specific moment when you knew that God was calling you to surrender control and follow Him? How did you respond, and whether you followed or fumbled, in what ways did your life change?
In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
That moment when your pulse quickens, your fingers and feet start to dance, and you have the unshakable sense that God is impressing upon you an opportunity to follow Him; what comes to mind when you think about God deeply influences the choices you make next. At one far end is the mind tainted with doubt and disbelief in the power and promises of God. At the other, far to opposite, is the mind of child-like faith that places full trust and reliance in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Do you whole-heartedly believe God to be worthy of your full trust?
If you say yes, how does your life attest to you placing your full trust in Jesus as you follow him? If you say no, what hinders you from trusting that no greater life can be had than one fully surrendered to Jesus?
Imagine yourself literally following behind Jesus, when he turns around to look at you and then asks, “What are you seeking?” John 1:38 ESV
This question might seem rather straightforward, at first leading you to believe that Jesus simply wants to know what it is you are looking to gain by following him. But the longer you follow the Messiah, you begin to realize that even our thoughts aren’t a mystery to him. He hears them, knows them, and speaks into what was never spoken.
Thinking back to the question that Jesus first asked you, you begin to wonder, “Did Jesus ask me what I was seeking so he would know, or so that I would?”
As you decidedly live a life set on following Jesus, what are you seeking?
Read John 1:19-51
Who are you? After 400 years of waiting and watching for a sign that God was again moving amongst His people, it stands to reason that John the Baptist was far from being the first to be asked by the Jewish leaders with bated breath, “Who are you?”
But in verse 29, the moment when Jesus first enters into the narrative of John’s Gospel and into the presence of John the Baptist, the first words spoken by John tell of a man who knew with utter certainty that the one he had been looking for his entire life was before him.
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 NIV
In fact, looking through all four Gospels, not once do we read of any of the twelve disciples called by Jesus asking the question, who are you? From Matthew the tax collector, to James and John, sons of Zebedee, these unassuming men recognized Jesus in a way that the religious leaders of their day never did.
Was there ever a moment in your life when the Jesus you had been taught growing up, or the Jesus you had been looking for out of pain and perhaps desperation, became undeniably present and you KNEW that this is the One you had been looking for?
Has it ever felt like 400 years since you last felt God’s hand at work in your life? Might it be that today feels like another day of living in that 400 yearlong page between the Old and New Testaments?
There can certainly be seasons in life when what feels like God’s absence may be perceived as God being one who watches us, idle and uncaring of our pains and sufferings. Let these words of Paul dispel any troubled thoughts you may carry about God.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6 NIV
We also need to be real about the fact that for many people, and honestly for all of us to some extent, there are times when we reject the call of Jesus to follow Him into what we truly need. John doesn’t describe at length the calling of the twelve disciples the way the other three Gospels do. But in verse 43 of chapter 1 we read the same invitation given to Phillip as was given to all the rest, “Follow me.” NIV
Has there been a specific moment when you knew that God was calling you to surrender control and follow Him? How did you respond, and whether you followed or fumbled, in what ways did your life change?
In his book The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
That moment when your pulse quickens, your fingers and feet start to dance, and you have the unshakable sense that God is impressing upon you an opportunity to follow Him; what comes to mind when you think about God deeply influences the choices you make next. At one far end is the mind tainted with doubt and disbelief in the power and promises of God. At the other, far to opposite, is the mind of child-like faith that places full trust and reliance in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Do you whole-heartedly believe God to be worthy of your full trust?
If you say yes, how does your life attest to you placing your full trust in Jesus as you follow him? If you say no, what hinders you from trusting that no greater life can be had than one fully surrendered to Jesus?
Imagine yourself literally following behind Jesus, when he turns around to look at you and then asks, “What are you seeking?” John 1:38 ESV
This question might seem rather straightforward, at first leading you to believe that Jesus simply wants to know what it is you are looking to gain by following him. But the longer you follow the Messiah, you begin to realize that even our thoughts aren’t a mystery to him. He hears them, knows them, and speaks into what was never spoken.
Thinking back to the question that Jesus first asked you, you begin to wonder, “Did Jesus ask me what I was seeking so he would know, or so that I would?”
As you decidedly live a life set on following Jesus, what are you seeking?
Time Together
Whether you are a part of a small group or have decided to get together with a couple of friends to discuss Sunday’s teaching over coffee, this section of questions is provided to help guide a group discussion. Our hope is that these questions, along with sharing from moments during your personal study time, will lead to conversations that are both edifying and life changing.
What are three names of God that you spiritually connect with the most?
Have someone read Leviticus 14:12-13,19-20
Have someone read John 1:29
Apart from Jesus, John the Baptist knew before anyone else what the Messiah had ultimately come to do. Nowhere else and by no one else in the four Gospels is Jesus called the Lamb of God, except by John the Baptist twice in this first chapter of John’s Gospel. Before him stood a dead man walking, the sacrificial lamb pure and without fault, worthy and appointed to be slain so that the sins of the world may be washed away in his blood.
Throughout John’s entire Gospel, perhaps the greatest piece of Good News might just be these words of John the Baptist in verse 29. Jesus died so that all of our sins may be forgiven in him.
Do you fully believe and trust that in Jesus our sins were nailed to the cross and they condemn us no more?
How in your life have you proclaimed this Good News to others?
People seldom need convincing they have sin in their life. The hardest part is helping them believe that in Christ they can be forgiven. Often, we fall short of sharing the full Gospel because, while we willfully tell people that God loves them, what many are needing to hear is that God desires to forgive them and forever take away the guilt and shame of their sins.
How can we encourage one another to be bold in our faith? How can we encourage one another to share in love and the truth that God offers to those who believe in him? How can we encourage one another to live in the forgiveness of sins bought by the blood of Jesus Christ?
What are three names of God that you spiritually connect with the most?
Have someone read Leviticus 14:12-13,19-20
Have someone read John 1:29
Apart from Jesus, John the Baptist knew before anyone else what the Messiah had ultimately come to do. Nowhere else and by no one else in the four Gospels is Jesus called the Lamb of God, except by John the Baptist twice in this first chapter of John’s Gospel. Before him stood a dead man walking, the sacrificial lamb pure and without fault, worthy and appointed to be slain so that the sins of the world may be washed away in his blood.
Throughout John’s entire Gospel, perhaps the greatest piece of Good News might just be these words of John the Baptist in verse 29. Jesus died so that all of our sins may be forgiven in him.
Do you fully believe and trust that in Jesus our sins were nailed to the cross and they condemn us no more?
How in your life have you proclaimed this Good News to others?
People seldom need convincing they have sin in their life. The hardest part is helping them believe that in Christ they can be forgiven. Often, we fall short of sharing the full Gospel because, while we willfully tell people that God loves them, what many are needing to hear is that God desires to forgive them and forever take away the guilt and shame of their sins.
How can we encourage one another to be bold in our faith? How can we encourage one another to share in love and the truth that God offers to those who believe in him? How can we encourage one another to live in the forgiveness of sins bought by the blood of Jesus Christ?
Time for More
If you are looking to grow in your knowledge of the Bible and desire to have a plan for further reading, here is a list of Scriptures that cross reference to certain parts within this week’s text. A cross reference is two biblical texts that share similar meaning and reading these is an effective way to expand your understanding of the Bible as one book, divided into 66 little books, all centered on Jesus Christ.
John 1:23 < > Isaiah 40:3-5
John 1:29 < > Revelation 5:6-14
John 1:32-24 < > Matthew 3:13-17
John 1:51 < > Genesis 28:10-13
John 1:23 < > Isaiah 40:3-5
John 1:29 < > Revelation 5:6-14
John 1:32-24 < > Matthew 3:13-17
John 1:51 < > Genesis 28:10-13
Posted in For Second Chances