John • The passed-over passages 2 • Jesus' first disciples

Steve Schott
Sep 22
12 min read

► Previously in John we looked at the 7 signs recorded, and referenced in John 20:30-31, where it says

30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

► We also explored the 7 "I AM" statements that do not always correspond to the signs, but also add definition to the nature and purposes of Jesus.

► Links to all of these posts can be found at the end of this posting

► Now I'm going to turn my attention to what I call the "passed-over" passages, Those passages from chapter 1 to chapter 12 which I haven't previously dealt with.

► After that we'll deal with chapters 13 to 19, which I call "the end of it all". These chapters deal with a single 24-hour period, that starts with the last supper in the upper room, and takes us all the way to the cross and the tomb.

► And then we'll end with chapters 20 and 21 that I call "the new beginning".

► Today we are going to continue dealing with Jesus' first disciples. John only records the "calling" of 5 of the 12 disciples. This event is more like a "pre-calling", as His formal calling of the disciples is recorded in Matthew 4 and/or Mark1, both of which take place chronologically between John chapters 4 and 5.

Let's set the stage for this event...

The Word made flesh

► John 1:14-18 → 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

→John gives basic information about the significance of Jesus…

• He is Lord – “higher rank”

• He is eternal – “He existed before me”

• We have all received of His “fullness”

• Realization of grace and truth; beyond and above the Law

• God in a bod

• The visible expression of the attributes of the Father

The testimony of John the Baptist

► John 1:19-23 → 19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

→ First we see, in verses 19-23 that JTB is saying that "I am not HIM; I’m only His front-man." He wants to make sure they understand that he himself is not THE ONE!

► John 1:24-28 → 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

→ They ask him why he’s baptizing. He doesn’t answer their question, but makes a statement about Jesus.

→ Bethany beyond the Jordan, just north of the dead sea.

• Bethabara – NKJV, KJV

"This word has been substituted for “Bethany” which is in the original text because some feel that John incorrectly identified Bethany as the place of these events. The solution is that two Bethany’s existed, i.e., one near Jerusalem where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived (11:1) and one “beyond the Jordan” near the region of Galilee. Since John took great pains to identify the other Bethany’s close proximity to Jerusalem, he most likely was referring here to that other town with the same name." (see note1)

► John 1:29-34 → 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

→ "The next day" – after the inquisition by the Jews

→ “Behold the Lamb of God…” - JTB is clearly stating that Jesus will save by His own death. The lamb was a sacrifice to cover the penalty of death because of sin.

→ “I have seen the Spirit descending…” as he is speaking in the past-tense, the baptism of Jesus (which is not recorded in John) must have happened the previous day (“The next day…”).

• The actual baptism of Jesus is recorded in these passages...

Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–23

The disciples begin to follow Jesus

► John 1:35-37 – 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.

→ "Again the next day..." - not sure if it's the same "next day", or the "next, next day", but the point is that all of this passage happens in a very short time frame - only a day, or two, or three.

→ "Although the verb “follow” usually means “to follow as a disciple” in the writing of the apostle (v. 43; 8:12; 12:26; 21:19, 20, 22), it may also have a neutral sense (11:31). The “following” here does not necessarily mean that they became permanent disciples at this time. The implication may be that they went after Jesus to examine Him more closely because of John’s testimony. This event constituted a preliminary exposure of John the Baptist’s disciples to Jesus (e.g., Andrew; 1:40). They eventually dedicated their lives to Him as true disciples and apostles when Jesus called them to permanent service after these events (Matt. 4:18–22; 9:9; Mark 1:16–20). At this point in the narrative, John the Baptist fades from the scene and the attention focuses upon the ministry of Christ." (see note2)

► John 1:38-39 → 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.

→ Note: He did not call them; they were following Him.

• Checking out the competition???

• It’s almost as if John has intentionally told them to follow Jesus and see and hear for themselves what had been revealed to JTB.

→ He asked them a question (“What do you seek?”).

• Notice they never answered His question.

• They responded with a question of their own (“Rabbi, where are you staying?”).

→ 10th hour – some commentators have suggested that this is Roman time, which would have been 10am. But consistency with other time designations in the gospel of John would suggest that this is Jewish time, or 4pm. The implication that they “stayed” with Him because it was almost nightfall and it would be appropriate in that culture to spend the night and have a meal.

→ We still don’t know who the “followers” are yet.

► John 1:40-42 → 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated 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 is translated Peter).

→ "One of the two" – Andrew

• Who is the other one? We are never told. The implication (eyewitness recording of the 10th hour suggest that it is John ).

• He finds first his own brother – Peter

> Cephas – Peter??? Cephas is an Aramaic name and means rock or stone; Peter is the Greek equivalent.

• Why would Jesus change Simon’s name to Peter (Cephas) (Rock)?

> Hardheaded???

> Strong???

> Immovable???

> Big guy???

> Some have suggested this was a precursor to Jesus telling Peter “upon this rock (petra) I will build My church” in Matthew 16:18.

> Roman Catholics use this verse to indicate that Peter was the first Pope.

> Others might say that Jesus was contrasting Peter, even though he was a stone (petros), the church itself would be built on the large rock (petra) of Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

♫ Matt 16:13-20 → 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

> The irony of Jesus calling Peter the “rock” upon which He will build His church is apparent in the very next verses.

♫ Matt 16:21-23 → 21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

► John 1:43-44 → 43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.

→ Philip – they were probably still in Bethany beyond the Jordan. Jesus is picking up this straggler from Bethsaida before He leaves for Galilee.

→ Note: in this text Philip is the only one who has been called specifically by Jesus. All the others either were “following” or were called out by those who were.

► John 1:45-51 → 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

→ Nathanael is most likely the disciple called Bartholomew in the other gospels and Acts.

• Bartholomew = “Son of Tolmai”

→ Jesus calls Nathanael a man in who “there is no deceit”. He was saying he was a truthful man. To the point of bluntness.

• Was He referring to the comment that Nathanael had made regarding Nazareth?

• Jesus’ point was that Nathanael’s bluntness revealed that he was an Israelite without duplicitous motives who was willing to examine for himself the claims being made about Jesus. The term reveals an honest seeking heart. The reference here may be an allusion to Gen. 27:35 where Jacob, in contrast to the sincere Nathanael, was known for his trickery. The meaning may be that the employment of trickery characterized not only Jacob but also his descendants. In Jesus’ mind, an honest and sincere Israelite had become an exception rather than the rule. (see note3)

► So what is the significance of the first five disciples?

→ Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, Nathanael

→ These were the first to respond to Jesus for who and what He was.

→ They responded first to the words of JTB.

→ They also responded to Jesus call to “come and see”.

→ They were the ones to get a little “taste” before all the others of what it would mean to follow Jesus.

→ His “formal” call of the disciples would not begin until Matthew 4 and/or Mark 1, which takes place between John 4 and John 5.

► Application for us - how does/can this affect us?

→ Do we follow Jesus because of the claims of the witnesses we have (Scripture)?

The clearest witness we have today of Jesus is the Bible. Others in our world can tell us everything they know about Jesus, but ultimately their testimony should, and must, coincide with what is written in the Scriptures. If anyone's "word", or opinion goes against what is clear in Scripture, then that witness must be discounted.

→ Do we follow Jesus when He calls to us “come and see”?

It would be nice if we could audibly hear Jesus speaking to us, but the reality is, we don't. Some claim that they have, but being the sceptic that I am, I'll continue to trust what I read, rather than someone's "revelation". I have all the revelation that I need in the Scriptures.

→ Some of the disciples called others to experience Jesus for themselves. Do we call others?

The most noble thing I think we can do is to follow the example of Philip, when he cornered Nathanael and encouraged him to "come and see." It's not so much what we say that is important, but what they hear and see for themselves from God's Word. The truth of Scripture is more than enough to encourage someone to commit their life to Jesus

→ I pray that we would.

The Signs

► Sign 1, Water to Wine, Jesus is the master of the ELEMENTS → John 2:1-12

► Sign 2, Nobleman's Son, Jesus is the master over DISTANCE → John 4:46-54

► Sign 3, Lame Man at Bethesda, Jesus is the master over TIME → John 5:1-18

► Sign 4, Feeding of 5,000+, Jesus is the master over DIMENSION → John 6:1-15

► Sign 5, Jesus walks on water, Jesus is the master over NATURE → John 6:15-21

► Sign 6, The Man Born Blind, Jesus is the master over HISTORY → John 9:1-41

► Sign 7, The Raising of Lazarus, Jesus is the master over DEATH → John 11:1-46

The "I AM" Statements

► I AM #1 • I AM the Bread of Life - Jesus ELIMINATES HUNGER → John 6:26-58

► I AM #2 • I AM the Light of the World - Jesus ELIMINATES DARKNESS → John 8:12-9:5