“What do you want? (John 1:35-39)“
Yesterday we considered the question where are you as God come into a garden where he placed his friends. The visit to his friends was not really welcomed as they attempted to hide from God.
Today there is another home visit, this time one orchestrated by two guys who eventually would become followers of Jesus.
Jesus comes to visit his cousin John and as Jesus approaches, John tells his followers look here is the Messiah (actually the term John uses has to do with the Jewish festival the passover in which Jewish people are reminded when they were slaves in Egypt and God told them to kill a lamb and sprinkle the blood on the door posts so that when the angel of death came that night and saw the blood he would passover that house and the firstborn of that house did not die)
John was saying, Jesus had been sent by God to do the same, only not for the nation Israel but for the whole world.
So let us stop there and let me ask you have you considered or accepted Jesus shed his blood for you, so you too can escape not physical death but eternal death and God’s judgment.
This statement of John aroused curiosity into these two guys and they went after Jesus.
Yesterday two people hid from God. Today we see two people want to be with God. Let me tell you the best thing you can do is to seek Jesus.
Jesus asks a natural question “What do you want?” The men avoided the question and changed the subject, asking Jesus a question
“Where are you staying?”
Note how Jesus replies not by giving them his postcode but by giving an invitation Come … and see” (John 1:39).
Let us stop there to consider how inquisitive are you about knowing Jesus or spending time with Him? You see we often want to come to God with “I want something from You,” while God is much more interested as He was with these two guys by saying to us, “I want to be with you.”
Well they accept Jesus invitation and stay with Jesus. Yes you have guessed it. I am about to say there is no better person to spend the evening with than Jesus. I really do hope you accept Jesus invitation.
These two guys learn a lot by spending time with Jesus and you will too.
They discover Jesus to be the Messiah, the long awaited saviour, promised to the nation Israel. Finding out about Jesus by accepting His invitation they become followers of Jesus and we are told one guy (his name is Andrew) immediately goes to find his brother and bring him to Jesus so he too can become a follower of Jesus.
I promise you that you can discover Jesus too, and I believe you will come to the same conclusion Jesus is saviour not just to Israel but for all mankind including you.
So in these different times let me ask you the same question Jesus did “What do you want” I hope it leads to acceptance of the invitation Jesus still gives “Come and see”
Stay safe and Blessed.