Jesus Calls The First Disciples

John 1:35-42

35 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).

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Every word John the author has written is deliberately chosen and deliberately placed. John wants us to see that the thing that first got the attention of Andrew and the unknown disciple (whom we will later conclude is John the author himself) is John the Baptist’s remark that Jesus is the Lamb of God.

(That little detail “it was about the tenth hour” is a great example of eyewitness detail dropped into the story.)

Simon was a traditional Jewish name, and we know from archeological evidence that it was one of the most popular Jewish male names at the time of Jesus. Jesus gives Simon, Andrew’s brother, the nickname “Rocky.” (Cephas means “rock” in Aramaic, and Peter means “rock” in Greek, and because most of the early Christians spoke Greek, Peter became the name by which Simon Peter was known in the early church.)

What I love about this little story is how Andrew brings his brother to Jesus, who then speaks to Peter in a way that is personal to him.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

This is how it always is with Jesus—it is our privilege to bring other people to Him, but then He takes over and speaks to them in a way that is personal and meaningful to them.

Jesus's View Every Morning

Here's a brief video showing what Jesus saw from his window in Capernaum every morning:

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 5:1-11

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"Immediately"

I've always thought that the calling of Andrew and Peter, James and John was a strange story, but recently I read something somewhere that made a lot of sense to me. Twice, Matthew tells us that the brothers left their nets "immediately," i.e., when Jesus calls, they respond totally: they don't hedge their bets or halfway follow him. What's Matthew trying to tell us?

Either we follow Jesus, or we don't: there is no place for a half-hearted discipleship.3

Jesus says, "Follow me." In response, what do you need to "immediately" leave, drop, or do today?

Today's Scripture

Matthew 4:12-25