ESOCS Devotional 15 November 2023 – Who Will You Follow and WHy?
MEMORY VERSE: ““Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus”. John 1:35-37 KJV
TEXT: JOHN 1:35-42 (KJV)
Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, saw and bore record that Jesus is the son of God (John 1:34). His job was to point people to Jesus, the Messiah, for whom they were looking.
One of the two disciples standing with John the Baptist was Andrew (John 1.40), and the other was probably John, the writer of the book of John from where our text was taken. Why did they leave John the Baptist? That was what John wanted them to do – as he was standing with the two disciples, he saw Jesus, and he looked at Him and pointed the way to Him whom he had prepared them to follow. These were the first disciples, along with Simon Peter (1:42) and Nathaniel (1:45).
When the two disciples followed Jesus, He asked them, “What seek ye?” (v 38). They followed Jesus and stayed with Him that day. Andrew accepted John the Baptist’s testimony about Jesus and immediately told his brother, Simon, about Him.
Following Jesus is not enough: we must follow Him for the right reasons. To follow Him for our own purpose is asking Him to follow us- to align with us to build our cause, not His. We must examine our motives for following Him. Are you seeking His glory or yours? How many people in your life have heard you talk about Jesus? Who will you follow and why?
FURTHER READING: Luke 9:57-62; John 6:8-9, 22-58; 12:22
ESOCS Devotional 15 November 2023
