What Jesus Did

Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, "Your name is Simon, son of John — but you will be called Cephas" (which means "Peter").

—John 1:42 NLT

Key Thought
When a new child is born, godly parents stare lovingly at their gift from the Father and wonder, "What will this child grow up to be?" They name the child, taking great care not to give that child a name that will be a burden. They want their child to be blessed by God and to be a blessing...

 

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means "Christ").

—John 1:40-41 NLT

Key Thought
Did you notice the first thing Andrew did? He searched and found his brother and told him about Jesus! When we see Andrew in the Gospel of John, he is always bringing others to Jesus. Shouldn't you be an Andrew, too? Who is someone with whom you...

 

Jesus looked around and saw them [John the Baptizer's two disciples] following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?" "Come and see," he said. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.

—John 1:38-39 NLT

Key Thought
"Where are you staying" could be accurately translated by the slang expression...

 

The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" When John's two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.

—John 1:35-37 NLT

Key Thought
John had already talked about Jesus being the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). This time, however, his identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God provokes a response from two of his own disciples. They...

 

[John the Baptizer said,] "I didn't know he [Jesus] was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God."

—John 1:33-34 NLT

Key Thought
Our goal of spending a year in the Gospel of John is to reach this same point that John the Baptizer did! We want to know what Jesus did; so when we...

 

"I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel." Then John testified, "I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn't know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'"

—John 1:31-33 NLT

Key Thought
Isn't it interesting how hard it is for us to...

 

[John the Baptizer said,] "He [Jesus] is the one I was talking about when I said, 'A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.'"

—John 1:30 NLT

Key Thought
What John says in this verse sounds kind of like a broken record (John 1:15, 22-23, 26-27). John the Baptizer doesn't falter or fail in this testimony about Jesus. He remains faithful and true to his task of pointing others to Jesus. He praises Jesus' greatness and trumpets the...

 

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

—John 1:29 NLT

Key Thought
Animal sacrifice seems so foreign, maybe even cruel, in our day. Yet it was God's way of helping people know that their sin was costly, injurious, and serious. Their sin didn't impact just them, but it touched all they influenced and damaged their relationship with God. Taking a lamb from their own flock — something precious and of great...

 

John told them, "I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. Though his ministry follows mine, I'm not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal." This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

—John 1:26-28 NLT

Key Thought
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."© If we are not careful, we can find ourselves looking at the story of Jesus as we view a work of good...

 

Then the Pharisees who had been sent asked him [John the Baptizer], "If you aren't the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?"

—John 1:24-25 NLT

Key Thought
What right do you have to do what you do? That's a good question, especially for those of us who are blessed with freedom. We take for granted our right to do what we do. Behind this question, however, stands a powerful truth: We have the right to do what we do only because God in his grace has...