Week 7 ———  What are you looking for?
John 1:35-42

(You may notice we skipped #22, which covers John 1:35. It will be released tomorrow, as it coincides with our Resurrection Day message.)

John 1:35-42   The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “Where are you staying?” 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.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Sometimes, we don’t know what we are looking for. When you reach a… certain age… you may find yourself walking in a room because you know you are looking for something—but you temporarily forget what you are looking for. (It is even more embarrassing when the keys you forgot you were looking for are in your hand or those glasses you forgot you were looking for are on top of your head.)

Jesus asked the disciples, “What are you looking for?”  Was he asking for him or for them?  Was he asking so he would know, or was he asking them to consider for themselves so they would really know what they were looking for?  I think he wanted them to consider what they were seeking.  It is an important question.  What are you looking for from Jesus?

I don’t think Andrew and John really knew what they were looking for.  John the Baptist had just pointed Jesus out as “The Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.”  Perhaps they wanted Jesus to explain how he would be that Lamb.  Perhaps they wanted him to ask them to be his disciples.  Maybe they didn’t know exactly what they wanted, but they knew the answers to all the essential questions were in this ‘lamb of God.’  

Their reply, “Where are you staying?” is an answer to Jesus question.  They want more time with Jesus.  They want a relationship with Him.  Just this week, one of my friends had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with someone whom I can only describe as his pastor-hero. This world-famous pastor, author of around 50 books, leads one of the largest churches in the US.  My friend was asked to submit a few questions to ask this celebrity pastor.  In talking with him about it, it was clear that my friend didn’t want answers to questions as much as he just wanted to make a new friend.  He wasn’t seeking answers so much as seeking a relationship.  

John says it was the tenth hour. It is important to know that John counts time differently than the other gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the synoptic gospels) count time using the Jewish method of dividing the daylight hours into 12 hours from sunrise to sunset (6 am to 6 pm). So, in this method, the tenth hour of the day would be 4 pm.  However, John uses the Roman method, which counts the hours from midnight (or from noon).  So the tenth hour in John would be 10 am, which makes the phrase “stayed with him that day” a more reasonable description.

Jesus invites them to come with him and see where he is staying.  Andrew takes a detour to locate his brother, Simon, telling him, “We have found the anointed one (Hebrew ‘Messiah’ / Greek ‘Christos’ / English ‘Christ’).  Peter joins the two and meets Jesus who tells Peter he will in the future be called ‘Cephas’.  ‘Cephas’ is a transliteration of the Aramaic word for ‘rock.’  Peter is the English version of the Greek ‘petros’ (meaning rock).  The Hebrew word for ‘rock’ is ‘evan’.  We are not told why Simon will be called ‘Peter,’ Evan,’ or ‘Rocky’ in the future.  (We will talk about this one day in the future.)  

This brings up the question of what language Jesus spoke.  It is almost undisputed that Jesus spoke Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, but what was his primary language?  It matters because knowing a speaker/author’s primary language influences understanding of their work.  For years, theologians (including the Pope) have maintained that Jesus spoke Aramaic.  The Jews adopted that language during their captivity in Babylon.  Parts of the book of Ezra and much of Daniel are written in Aramaic.  On returning from exile, Nehemiah complained that the Jews did not speak their original language. (Neh. 13:23)  So Ezra established Hebrew Torah readings, prayers, and songs, many of which are still used today.  

Recent evidence makes it more likely Jews in Jesus’ day spoke Hebrew more than Aramaic.  The Dead Sea Scrolls material, written between 200 BC and 100 AD, is almost exclusively Hebrew, both scripture and commentary.  Of the 215 different types of Jewish coins that have been discovered (dating from 200 BC to 200 AD), all but one had a Hebrew inscription.   Personal letters from that period have been discovered in Hebrew.  And the Book of Matthew was undoubtedly initially written in Hebrew.  It is clearly from a Hebrew mindset, with many Hebrew idioms and expressions, and there are many word connections and puns that do not work in other languages.  Finally, there is John 19:19-20.

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. (John 19:19-20)

The word translated “Aramaic” by the ESV is the Greek “Hebraisti.”  Scholars have long asserted that this word can mean either Hebrew or Aramaic and because they once believed that Hebrew was a dead language, it had to mean ‘Aramaic.’  Scholars are not quick to give up their traditional beliefs, but with more and more information proving that Hebrew wasn’t a dead language in the first century, this view is changing.

Jesus asks this question many times in the gospels. He asks the blind man what he wants.  

What are you looking for from Jesus?  Some people have questions and want answers.

Some want a ‘get-out-of-hell-free card’. Some want Jesus to take all of their problems away. First, I think we should seek a relationship.  That is what God wants.  He designed creation so that we would have a place to fellowship with him, and He is moving events so that we will have that Eden experience again with Him.  Secondly, I want from Jesus what he wants for me.  I dare not trust my own desires.  I trust that this God, Yehovah, who loves me, will only give me good gifts.  He knows my needs better than I do.  

So these two teenagers, Andrew and John, joined by the oldest of the future disciples, Peter, spend the day with Jesus. And it changed them forever. Note that they are not called to be disciples of Jesus at this point. That will happen months later. But it certainly explains how when Jesus sees Simon and Andrew again, fishing in the Sea of Galilee, they are willing to drop their nets and immediately follow this teacher they knew from before. 

Today, let’s you and I spend a day with Jesus.  If we do, we will never be the same.

(Bono said his hit “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” was really a gospel song, but more about doubt than faith. If you haven’t heard the version he does with a gospel choir from Harlem, you need to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Wt3dhF4fU )