The First Disciples

"Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!' 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 The Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, 'What do you seek?' They said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), 'where are You staying?' 39 He said to them, 'Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). 40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, 'You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone)."

This is the calling of the first disciples of Jesus. John the Baptist had disciples that were following him, but when they heard him call Jesus the Lamb of God, they knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and they left following John, to go follow Jesus. Now, the first thing I think of when I realize what is happening here, is, "I'm glad it is John and Jesus, and not me and one of MY friends." Because, if I had been doing what John the Baptist was doing, and getting some followers, my pride would probably begin to get all puffed up, so that when they left me to follow one of my friends, I would get extremely jealous. We get that way as humans, don't we? We get all wrapped up in what we are doing, and begin to view that in a way that overstates the importance of it. Jesus didn't "need" John the Baptist as an "advance man." John came to fulfill the Scripture prophecies. Jesus could have used television and billboards and email and websites to promote Himself (if they had been invented back then). But get this. He used a relative. Now, most people have at least one family member...well, enough said. You get the point. But when His cousin, John the Baptist, saw Jesus, he acknowledged Him by calling Him the Lamb of God, which was the purpose of His ministry here on earth. Jesus was going to become the sacrificial Lamb of God, to take your sin and my sin upon Himself. He was going to die so that you and I wouldn't have to. And when John said that, two of his disciples realized what he was saying, and left to follow Jesus.

When Jesus realizes He is being followed, He turns to them to ask them if they know exactly what they are doing. "What do you seek?" He asks them. I believe that this surprised them, so they asked Him their own question. I believe that they just didn't know how to articulate what was deep in their hearts: "We seek YOU." That was what was on their hearts, but they were caught off-guard by His question, so they asked, "Where are You staying?" Beloved, let me ask you: What do you seek? Is it a wife? A husband? That promotion? More money? We look for fulfillment in life in all different kinds of places and people, when all our fulfillment is not places and people, but a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ. Andrew and his friend realized this. They spent the day with Jesus, and Andrew goes and finds his brother Simon, whom we know in the Bible as Peter. When Jesus sees Simon, whose name means "shifting sand," Jesus changes His name. He tells him, "You were once known as Shifting Sand, but now you are going to be known as A Stone." He changes his name from Simon to Cephas. Cephas is Aramaic. When the Bible was translated into Greek, Cephas became petros, or Peter.

Beloved, when we come to Christ, it tells us in the Bible that He gives us a new name that only He knows. He loves us so much He gives us a new name unique to us. Something like the pet names we would give a boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. He changed Peter's name from something mediocre, like "shifting sand," to something firm and stable, like "a rock." It was an indication of what He was going to do in and through Peter's life. My friend, what is He going to do through YOUR life? Believe in Him. Trust in Him today. Allow Him to live through you, and allow you to touch your world for Him. Shalom.