35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated 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.
Message: Becoming Disciples of Jesus
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: John repeats the words he spoke in verse 29 when "he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" This time in front of two of his disciples -- "Behold, the Lamb of God!". His eyes focused on Jesus. The disciples heard and followed Jesus as well, wondering where He was staying.
John clearly is communicating here that the chief reason for Jesus coming is to take away sin. His first mention of Jesus is him being the Lamb of God. This seems to be the central idea about Jesus that we need to remember.
The previous process for the removal of sin was cumbersome. The temple or tabernacle was built for this purpose. There were 3 parts to the tabernacle - Most Holy Place (the top of the mountain), Holy Place (side of the mountain), and Courtyard (foot of the mountain). The Priests were made holy before entering the Holy Place past a curtain or veil. The sacrifice was made and then the priests were daubed with blood from sacrifices to be cleansed from defilement of sin. Every day, twice a day, they had to be re-consecrated to be in the temple. Annually, on the Day of Atonement, the priest would take blood to apply to mercy seat on top of the ark. And this was the process to remove sin. It had to be repeated annually. Hebrews 10:19 reminds us that because of Jesus and because of His blood shed on the cross, "we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus."
And so this is the proclamation of Jesus as the Lamb of God. He is not yet gone to the cross, but John mentions that He will and based upon that promise he can baptize people prior and they experience a changed life, just as we are baptized and receive Christ now for a changed life.
The simple aspect of this passage is the disciples followed Jesus. What occurred here is John directed people to Jesus and those followed. Here it is 2 unnamed disciples. There is conjecture that one is Andrew, Simon Peter's brother identified in verse 40 - "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother." The other is unnamed and some have thought this was John, the author, the son of Zebedee as he never identifies himself by name in this gospel.
Summary: John showed two disciples Jesus, proclaiming Him as the Lamb of God, and they followed Jesus.
Promise: If we are to be true disciples of God’s Word, then we must likewise follow Christ.
Prayer: O Father, I thank you for the testimony of John that speaks to me of Jesus being the Lamb of God, our Savior and Lord. He took the sacrifice on the cross for me, and provided the way for me to be accepted by You God. Never let me lose the significance of this. And help me to always think of sin as something serious that I am to avoid in my life. You Jesus are my substitute and have provided the way for me to have eternal life. So I follow You. In response to this, I follow You. All my days I am to be focused on this. Thank you for time in Your word, for training me.
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