Share Life
This term, let’s keep chatting about our evangelism as a church, so that we can pray for each other.
Who am I praying for?
Pair up and discuss your names lists.
Ask one or two people to share how they’re going with their lists.
Encourage each other to keep adding people to our names lists.
Reflect: how many names are on your list?
Reflect: how many names would you like to see on your list?
Opening Up
In Study 1, we viewed Jesus’ arrival from the eternal perspective of one who was there from the beginning.
In this study, we will sense the expectation of his arrival brewing within the Jewish nation.
The Old Testament Scriptures taught God’s people to expect one who would speak with prophetic authority and rescue his people. This awaited arrival of the Messiah or Chosen One of God had huge national and personal implications.
In today’s passage, John the Baptist helps to reveal Jesus through the lens of the Scriptures. Andrew and Philip, newly-minted disciples of Jesus, will serve the same purpose later on.
Read
John 1:19–51
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
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.
John Testifies About Jesus
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.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
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).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
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.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
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.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 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.”
Digging In
What stood out to you or surprised you? What questions arise from the passage?
To understand the background of the Jewish leaders’ questions and John the Baptist’s response (v.19-23), read the following passages:
Deuteronomy 18:14-19
Isaiah 40:1-5
Malachi 4:1-6
According to John 1:29, how will Jesus ultimately fulfil John’s description of him (see Rev. 5:6-14)?
How do John the Baptist’s words (v.30) affirm what is written about Jesus in verses 1-2?
How is Jesus’ identity revealed to John the Baptist (v.31-34)?
In John 1:19-51, where do we see the trinity—God the Father, Son and Spirit—working together? Why is this significant?
Jesus is not a solo unit—not only does he work with the Father and the Spirit; he gathers disciples as well.
Looking at how Andrew and Philip respond to Jesus
(v.40-42, 45-46), how are they great models for us in
relating to our family and friends?
Are you eager to share Jesus with others? What
stops you from being more like these disciples?
In John 1:51, Jesus makes a striking reference to
Jacob’s experience in the desert when God affirmed to
him his divine character and purposes. Jacob then
called that place the “house of God” and the “gate of
heaven” (Gen. 28:17).
Read
Read Genesis 28:10-19
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.
9. With Jacob’s experience in mind, what is Jesus promising his followers in John 1:50-51?
Taking it with you
Name two things revealed about Jesus in today’s passage that have challenged and/or encouraged you to deepen your faith in him.
Who can you share Jesus with this week? Who might you invite to Share Life this year? Pray for opportunities.