Listen to the Audion of Today’s Reflection:
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John 1:35-39
Jesus’ First Disciples
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.
This is just part of the gospel reading that was listed by the daily lectionary as the reading for yesterday. But I’m suggesting that we think about just this part, because it seems to me that every follower of Jesus should regularly ask ourselves the question Jesus asks in verse 38 – “What do you want?”
Just to establish the context of the passage: Before beginning his ministry, Jesus had come to the area where John the Baptist was performing his baptisms. John had steadfastly denied being the Messiah himself, but had pointed out Jesus and identified him as “the Lamb of God.” What’s more, John had testified that God had given him a sign that Jesus was “he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit” – and that sign was the Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove.
Now in our reading for today, John the Baptist once again points out Jesus as the Lamb of God, this time to two of John’s own disciples. The two disciples walk away from John and begin to follow Jesus. That’s when Jesus asks them the question I mentioned above – “What do you want?”
It’s not uncommon to hear someone ask, ‘What do you want?’ – and it’s often asked with a little bit of impatience. Lots of times, it’s meant to express something like, ‘Why are you bothering me?’ But that would be sort of unusual for Jesus – the gospels don’t usually portray him as responding to people that way. So it seems more likely that when Jesus asked these men what they wanted, he really meant to ask them what they had in mind in following him. What were they looking for? What were they hoping to find?
After all, these two disciples of John were following someone who had been identified to them by their master as “the Lamb of God.” That wasn’t really the kind of description that matched the typical Jewish expectation of the Messiah. They expected a mighty patriotic warrior-king. If you were following someone like that, the answer to “What do you want?’ would have been pretty predictable. They would have wanted him to drive out Romans. Or maybe they would have wanted positions in his future royal court.
But of course, a provincial carpenter like Jesus probably wouldn’t strike someone as a mighty warrior-king. At this early point in his ministry, he was probably walking around in the humble clothes a “blue collar” worker like a carpenter would wear. So these two disciples of John the Baptist probably weren’t following him to find power and glory – or wealth and prosperity, or anything else that goes with earthly power.
So, what do you think they did want? What led these men to leave their master on the spur of the moment and follow Jesus?
My sense is that the Holy Spirit led the two men to sense that Jesus could offer them a deeper encounter with God than they had experienced previously. These two guys had been following John the Baptist, playing some role in his ministry. But John had told them that he had seen the Spirit come from heaven and settle on Jesus. Apparently the men had a hunger to go deeper in their lives of faith, and they sensed that Jesus could get them there.
Psalm 42 has a line I find intriguing: “Deep calls to deep.” It seems to me that’s what was happening in this passage. I suspect that in the case of these two men, the deep heart of God was calling to the depths of their hearts and minds – calling them to hunger for a deeper relationship with him.
That’s why I say we followers of Jesus should read and think about this passage from time to time – because it seems to me that Jesus asks each one of us the same question he asked those two disciples of John the Baptist: “What do you want?” What is it you want from your experience with Jesus?
Obviously, all of us are looking for something in following Jesus. But is it just the traditional stuff you get from ‘going to church? A little peace and quiet on Sunday mornings? A nostalgic experience of a cherished past, when things seemed simpler and safer? The company of some friendly people who will be nice to you? A place to take your kids so they’ll be taught wholesome “Christian values?”
Those are all good things. And if that’s what you want from Jesus, I hope you find them. But it’s a shame to stop there, because Jesus offers us more. Much more. His deep is calling to your deep. I believe Jesus is calling each of us to open our hearts to a fresh experience of his transforming presence.
I believe he’s inviting each of us to become more deeply committed to prayer – and not just to tell God regularly what we want him to do for us. But also to listen for God’s voice speaking into our lives – to take time to be quiet in his presence, to let him speak to us and change our hearts and minds.
I believe he’s inviting us to a deeper experience of worship – to enter the sanctuary expecting to encounter him there, expecting him to hear the worship of our hearts and pour out his Spirit on us in return.
I believe he’s inviting us to a deeper experience of service – as he himself served others with all kinds of needs. We’re invited to experience the joy of humbling ourselves in service to others as he did, of serving alongside him, because as we often say, our love for Jesus compels us to serve those in need.
I believe Jesus offers each of us a chance to know him in a steadily deeper and more personal way. To really come to know him, not just to learn about him like a historical figure or a leading ancient philosopher. To come to know him in a way that is transformational. But Jesus doesn’t seem to force that kind of deep relational faith on anyone. Instead, he seems to ask us that simple question he asked the two men in today’s reading: “What do you want?”
Let’s pray: Lord, we want to experience your presence in a deeper way than we have in the past. We want to be transformed in your image. Breathe your Spirit into us, and awaken in us a daily hunger to be in contact with the deepest part of you. Amen.
Every Blessing,
Henry
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