Chapter 1: 19 - 51
JOHN The Baptist
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19 Now this was John’s testimony when the
Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he
was.
20 He did not fail to confess, but
confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are
you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered,
“No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give
us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about
yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the
prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the
way for the Lord.’ ”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been
sent
25 questioned him, “Why then do you
baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John
replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
27 He is the one who comes after me, the
straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the
other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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John’s Testimony about Jesus.
(John is Jesus’s Cousin. But John did not know until Jesus started
his work. Holy Spirit in HIM identified Jesus Christ. Not everyone (High
priests/Pharisees) did.)
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29 The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!
30 This is the one I meant when I said,
‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
31 I myself did not know him, but the
reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to
Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw
the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me
to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down
and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
34 I have seen and I testify that this is
God’s Chosen One.”
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Transfer of Ministry
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35 The next day John was there again with
two of his disciples.
36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,
“Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say
this, they followed Jesus.
38 Turning around, Jesus saw them
following and asked, “What do you want?”They said, “Rabbi” (which means
“Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you
will see.”So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day
with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one
of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
41 The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the
Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus
looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called
Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ).
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MESSIAH
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40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one
of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
41 The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the
Christ).
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SIMON TO PETER
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42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus
looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called
Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ).
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DISCIPLESHIP
Andrew
Peter
Philip
Nathanael
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43 The next day Jesus decided to leave
for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was
from the town of Bethsaida.
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.”
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MOSES’s Prophecy
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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.”
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NAZARETH – Not a popular town
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46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from
there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
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NATHANAEL – Skeptical
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46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from
there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
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JESUS’s view on NATHANAEL
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47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching,
he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no
deceit.”
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NATHANAEL & JESUS
(There must be something that was in Nathanael’s heart that
Jesus/GOD alone can see)
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48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree
before Philip called you.”
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WITNESS MIRACLES – Becos of Belief
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50 Jesus said, “You believe because
I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than
that.”
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SPIRITUAL REALM visible to eyes becos of belief
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51 He then added, “Very truly I tell
you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on’the Son of Man.”
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*Disciple Nathaniel
Book of John is the only book where the disciple *Nathaniel* has a reference. However, it was widely believed by the biblical scholars that Nathaniel is otherwise referred to as Bartholomew who worked together with Philip. Bartholomew is another apostle (other Apostle is Thomas) who visited India in 2nd century. His missionary works were mainly around the urrent Mumbai & Konkan coastal regions.
