Bible Understanding Made Easy Volume V: John’S Gospel

By Anthony L. Norwood

Take the mystery out of Johns Gospel! This is a helpful tool to understand the divinity of Jesus, his love for us, and Gods true plan of salvation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984544285

Anthony L. Norwood

Anthony L. Norwood has preached Gods Word since 1999. He is currently the minister to the Henry Street Church of Christ in Gadsden, AL, USA.

Book preview

Chapter One

Chapter One Outline

I. The Divine status of Jesus prior to the creation of the world (John 1:1-5)

II. The ministry of John the Baptist (John 1:6-9)

III. Jesus, the Savior, was rejected by mankind (John 1:10-11)

IV. The believers are saved by Him as they inherit the status of being the children of God (John 1:12-13)

V. Jesus took on human form as the Son of God showering grace and God’s revealed truth upon mankind (John 1:14)

VI. John reveals Jesus as the Son of God to the world by preaching and demonstrating his own submission to the Lord (John 1:15-28)

VII. John explains the purpose of his baptism was to reveal the Son of God to mankind (John 1:29-34)

VIII. Two disciples hear John declare Jesus as the Lamb of God and decide to follow the Lord (John 1:35-39)

IX. Andrew reveals his knowledge of Jesus being the Christ and calls Simon Peter to follow the Lord (John 1:40-42)

X. Jesus calls Philip to discipleship (John 1:43-44)

XI. Philip advises Nathaniel who also becomes a disciple of the Lord (John 1:45-51).

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:1-5).

The Gospel writer, John the Apostle, is starting off his work by describing the Divine nature of Jesus Christ. He calls Jesus by the term "Word." At the creation of the world and all things within it, the Word was already present (John 1:1-2). Thus, Jesus existed prior to the existence of the world. As a result, this means He must have been Divine and had no creator. The Bible continues by saying that the Word, which again is Jesus, was co-existing with and equal to God. This means that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were also present before the creation of the world. As you can see, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exists as God and were before the creation of the earth, plants, animals, and mankind. As you can see, from the opening statements of the Book of John, the Gospel writer is proving the Divine status of the Lord. He was man, when He became human according to John 1:14. However, becoming human never stripped Him of His Divine nature as well.

Furthermore, we see the Divine power of Jesus in action as He is credited with creating the world and all things within it (John 1:3). How could Jesus be just a man if He had the creative powers to design and bring to life the whole world and everything within it? He was Divine; otherwise, He would not have had any creative powers as the Bible righteously declares about Him.

Moving on to John 1:4, we see that Jesus is life. This means that the Words from God He revealed to mankind would usher in eternal life for those who would believe and obey the Lord, because they came from God (Hebrews 1:1-3). In Him was also light, which means the Word of God is light to all those who want to be led to eternal life (Psalm 119:105). If one follows Jesus’ ministry, then he or she will be guaranteed eternal life in heaven (John 3:16). Remember, Jesus said, "…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Friend, there is no eternal life and home in heaven for anyone who is not a follower of Jesus.

Returning to our Bible narrative, we see the rejection of Jesus’ ministry in John 1:5. Darkness means those who are trapped in sin. Those who Jesus taught that did not believe in Him were still in darkness, because Jesus is the only way out of sin (John 14:6). Many did not understand the importance of Jesus’ ministry due to unbelief. Thus, they did not have a chance to be saved.

"6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:6-13).

The Bible changes scenes from describing the Divinity of Jesus and His teachings to John the Baptist ministry (John 1:6). John was a man sent from God as a prophet. His God given ministry was to identify Jesus as the Savior of the world. His ministry was designed to build faith in Jesus as the Son of God (John 1:7). The Bible goes on to tell us that John was not the Light, which means he was not the Savior. He was only sent to point out the Savior to the world. He was never determined to be the Savior (John 1:8). This is why later on in Bible history, all of John the Baptist’s followers had to become followers of Jesus Christ exclusively by being baptized in Jesus’ name (Acts 19:1-7). The same holds true today. If one is baptized into a name that is not Jesus Christ directly, even if the group of people claims to be Christians, he or she must be baptized again to truly be a member of Jesus’ church. For instance, we cannot become Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or any other name than Christian. Jesus nor any of His apostles baptized anyone and called them any man-made names not found in the Bible.

Jesus is the true Light and His light can shine upon all mankind (John 1:9). This means that the Lord came to save all those who will believe and obey Him (Mark 16:16; Matthew 7:21). He does not care about race, nationality, or any other arbitrary concept to divide people. When one becomes a Christian, he or she is a part of God’s one family throughout the earth no matter his or her race, national origin, gender, etc. (Ephesians 4:4-6). Thank God that He is no respecter of persons!

Moving on, the Bible confirms that Jesus was a true, historical reality. He literally came to the earth nearly 2,000 years ago. However, His Divine status was not acknowledged by mankind because He did identify Himself as the Son of God. This confession led to His sentence of death at the hands of the Jewish leadership (Luke 23:66-71). Thus, not knowing Him means a lack of acknowledgement as the Son of God by His peers generally speaking (John 1:10). This lack of acknowledgement of His Divinity was due to the unbelief of His peers at the time.

John 1:11-12 records the rejection of Jesus by the very people He came to save. Though He was the Son of God, performed many miracles, and taught the Word of God in perfection, He was still rejected by unbelievers. However, for those who will believe in Him, He gave them the ability to become God’s children! Thus, those who are Christians are literally the adopted children of God (Romans 8:15). Being children of God opens up the line of communication with God the Father where we can talk to Him any time (1 Peter 3:12). It gives us a pipeline to all of the material things we need in this life (Matthew 6:33). It gives us spiritual strength to accomplish new levels of spiritual development, wisdom, growth, and achievement that we could not achieve on our own (Galatians 5:22-23). It gives us eternal life on the judgment day (John 3:16). It gives us a home in heaven (John 14:2). It gives us a relationship with Jesus Christ forever more in the bliss of the eternal heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 21:4). Of course, there are many more benefits to name for children of God. However, these examples should suffice. Please give your heart to the Lord today to receive these great benefits. Please see the section of this book entitled God’s Plan of Salvation for more information on how you can be saved today!

Lastly, God shows us that we experience a spiritual rebirth when we become children of God (John 1:14). This is why God says that after one is baptized, one’s sins are washed away, becomes a part of the body of Christ, and has no condemnation any more (Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:27; Romans 8:1). God literally becomes our Father when we become Christians (Romans 8:15). Thus, we have an intimate relationship as family with God, Himself! That is an awesome privilege indeed!

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

John 1:14 is so important to the Christian faith that we must study it alone. As we discovered earlier in the chapter, the Word is Jesus. The Bible says that He was made flesh. In other words, He became a human being and had not existed as a human being until later in Bible history. As mentioned earlier, Jesus is Divine. It was by choice that He was made into human flesh so He was able to die for our sins. This is also important, because His suffering with temptation and overcoming the same made Him both the perfect role model for us to do the same thing and one who actively helps us during our time of temptation now because He can relate to our struggles (Hebrews 4:14-16). This makes our prayers more effective, because Jesus has experienced everything we are going through and is more than willing to provide strength against the temptations of the devil (Philippians 4:13). Remember, if we imitate all the thoughts and deeds of Jesus, we will automatically be pleasing to the Father God. This is because Jesus never sinned and always did the things that pleased the Father (John 8:29). We were made to be imitators of Jesus in the eternal plan of the Father (Romans 8:29).

Furthermore, the Word of God says that the apostles witnessed the glory of Jesus being the Son of God. Remember, Jesus was the literal Son of God as Mary was His mother, but Joseph was His adoptive father. Only God, Himself, was Jesus’ true father (Matthew 1:20). Through all of Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and resurrection, the apostles saw Jesus’ true status of being the Son of God.

Even more, the grace of God was extended through Jesus Christ. John 3:16-17 explains it best and reads, "16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." God gives mankind a chance to receive His grace by being a follower of Jesus Christ. This means that salvation is not earned, but given. In other words, God’s favor upon all Christians is showered upon us as an unmerited gift. The death of Jesus Christ made this possible for all mankind to receive this grace. Although all mankind has earned eternal punishment, the coming of Christ did not send eternal punishment into the world but eternal salvation instead (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Lastly, prior to moving on to another verse, please notice that Jesus was also full of truth. This means that God the Father’s Word to be revealed to the world was contained in Jesus Christ. This new revelation would be called the New Testament of the Bible. The New Testament is also known as the New Covenant. Thus, Jesus is the giver of the last revelation of God’s Word to mankind. As a result, the New Testament must be obeyed for anyone to be saved. No one can be saved without it (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 1:1-3). The Old Testament is important as it is a learning tool God gave us and it also has many Messianic prophesies that identify Jesus as the promised Son of God, but the New Testament is in force today and not the Old Testament (Romans 15:4; Psalm 2; 16:8-11; 22; Isaiah 53). The Bible says that the Old Testament was taken out of force when Jesus died on the cross and the New Testament took effect at that moment (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 12:24; Colossians 2:14).

"15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:15-17).

In these verses, John the Baptist is teaching the world about the Divinity of Jesus. He is showing the world that Jesus was and is greater than he was. In fact, He tells the world that Jesus was before him (John 1:15). This is an amazing detail, because John was born in the earth 6 months before Jesus. This is because his mother Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant when the angel told Mary she was to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit in order to bring Jesus into this world. Elizabeth and Mary were cousins (Luke 1:26-38). So, the only explanation for John’s statement that Jesus was before him was that Jesus was Divine and had no creator (John 1:1-13, 14).

Furthermore, the Bible is showing us that all Christians have received the fullness of Christ. Remember, John the Apostle has already taught us that we have received grace and truth from Jesus (John 1:16). These 2 things are what the apostle is referring to. All baptized believers have received God’s grace, which means His unmerited favor. Of course, all Christians have received God’s truth, which is the New Testament revelation given to us by Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15-16; Hebrews 12:24). All of these blessings from God originated from Jesus’ ministry. In fact, these blessings have resulted in grace upon grace, which means that God’s grace is compounded daily upon all Christians. This is how God continues to have patience with each Christian as we strive to become more and more like the perfection of Jesus Christ each day of our lives (Hebrews 4:14-16; 2 Peter 1:58; Philippians 2:12-13). This is God’s patience allowing us to clean up our sinful lives to become more and more like the Lord until the end our lives (Romans 8:29).

Lastly, prior to moving on to another set of verses, we must consider John 1:17. This verse gives us a dose of Bible history. The Bible tells us that the Old Covenant (now known as the Old Testament) came from Moses. It is often referred to as the Law of Moses and is comprised of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Bible says that the Law of Moses worked against mankind (Colossians 2:14). It worked against us, because it was designed to point out our faults and bluntly called for the execution of sinners instead of their salvation. This is why the Apostle John is contrasting the Old Testament with the New Testament in John 1:17. He is showing us the superiority of the New Testament over the Old Testament. In other words, he is showing us that it is much more favorable to live in this era instead of the Old Testament time frame. Today, we have the advantage of God offering grace instead of the punishment the Old Testament consistently called for. This is why no one should want to implement any portion of the Old Testament in their lives. In fact, when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, the Old Testament was eliminated as the commandments mankind must keep in order to be pleasing and acceptable to God (Colossians 2:14). So, please understand that we are living in the New Testament era and cannot mix the commandments of the Old and New Testaments. We must have one or the other according to the Bible’s teachings in Galatians 5:4. Paul had to correct the church of Christ at Galatia, because they were trying to mix Old and New Testament teachings together and was told they had fallen from grace. So, if you are worshipping in a church that is mixing in Old Testament commandments such as worshipping on the Sabbath instead of the first day of the week like the New Testament says, get out of it immediately (Acts 20:7). This is because there is no salvation in places who implement both Old and New Testament commandments.

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18).

As you can see, God the Father has chosen to make Himself invisible to the world. He is a Spirit and this is why we cannot lay eyes upon Him while we are in this flesh (John 1:18). However, God the Father has decided not to remain anonymous to us. The Words of His Son, Jesus, are His Words (Hebrews 1:1-3). Thus, we learn the mind of God through Jesus’ ministry as recorded in the New Testament of the Bible. In fact, the Bible says that Jesus is the express image of God the Father. The express image means to be a duplication (Hebrews 1:3). Thus, Jesus is exactly like God the Father. This is why Jesus told His followers that since they seen Him, they had also seen the Father (John 14:5-10). As a result, whatever makes Jesus sad, happy, pleased, or angry does the same thing to God the Father. Even more, when we imitate the thoughts, words, and deeds of Jesus, we are imitating the thoughts, words, and deeds of God the Father. Jesus always did the things that pleased the Father and our imitation of Jesus will result in us pleasing God the Father as well (John 8:29). Furthermore, notice that Jesus is in the bosom of the Father now. In Jewish customs, friendly people dined together in a reclining fashion next to each other. This is what is meant when we say that one is in the bosom of another. It means a close fellowship one with another. John is showing us that Jesus is in heaven right now with the Father and they are inseparable one to another and enjoying one another!

"19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No" (John 1:19-21).

John 1:19 begins a dialogue between John the Baptist and the Jewish leadership of the time. The delegates, called priests and Levites (the helpers of the priests in the Temple), were sent on a mission to find out who John was. In other words, they were trying to find out if He was the promised Jewish Messiah or not. Of course, the Messiah was the One promised in the Old Testament to be the Ruler and Savior of the Jewish people.

Furthermore, John bluntly confessed to not being the Christ, which is another way of saying He was not the Messiah (John 1:20). This response prompted further questioning by the Jewish leadership. They wanted to know if he was Elias. Elias is the Old Testament prophet Elijah (John 1:21). This is important, because it was prophesied that someone like Elijah was coming back to the earth before the coming of the Messiah in (Malachi 4:5-6). So, it was a logical question that the Jewish leadership asked. However, it was not the literal Elijah coming back to the earth. It was someone like him that God foretold would come. Of course, Jesus confirmed later on in Bible history that this same John the Baptist was indeed the prophesied person who was like Elijah (Matthew 17:10-13). After John the Baptist confirmed that he was not the literal Elijah they expected, he also confirmed he was not the prophet that Moses foretold would come back in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 18:15; John 1:21). The prophet foretold to come by Moses was the same prophet to be later known as the Messiah. So, Jesus actually was foretold by Moses to come to the earth and be the Person the Jewish people needed to listen to in order to be pleasing and acceptable to God. Remember, no salvation is available to anyone who does not obey Jesus Christ. This is because when we obey Jesus, we are actually obeying God the Father (Matthew 7:21).

"22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou ? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees" (John 1:22-24).

Since John the Baptist denied being the Messiah and Elijah, the Jewish delegates wanted him to tell them who he was? That way, they would have an answer for the Jewish leadership, which is called the Sanhedrin (John 1:22, 24). John finally told them that he was a preacher out in the deserted areas of town. He was sent by God to prepare the hearts of the people so they could receive the Messiah when He appeared on the earth (John 1:23). James Burton Coffman (n.d.) sums up John the Baptist’s response as follows:

The prophecy mentioned here is Isaiah 40:3, and thus John laid claim to the office of the harbinger of the Messiah. The synoptics applied this prophecy to John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4).

"25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing"(John 1:25-28).

The dialogue between John the Baptist and the Jewish leadership continued in John 1:25. They asked John why he was administering baptism to the Jewish people if he was not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet foretold to come by Moses? This question opens up our understanding of one of the purposes of water baptism. Water baptism makes someone a follower of that leader. Thus, those who were baptized by John the Baptist were considered to be John’s disciples (Matthew 9:14). The same thing holds true today. When we are baptized in water, spiritually, God makes us a part of Jesus’ body, which is the church (Galatians 3:27). Then, Jesus truly becomes the Head of our lives (Ephesians 5:23). Thus, we have not become a Christian yet until we submit to Jesus’ command of baptism in water. This is why it is extremely important to be baptized as it is a commandment of Jesus if we want to be saved. There are no exceptions to this rule as the Bible teaches. This is another reason why later on in Bible history, John’s followers had to be re-baptized in order to be a part of the Lord’s church (Acts 19:1-7). Here is what the Bible teaches regarding water baptism as Jesus and His apostles taught in the New Testament:

• "15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16).

• "18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20).

• "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).

• "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us * (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…" (1 Peter 3:21).

• "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).

So, if you have been attending and worshipping with a church who is not teaching the truth about baptism, God did not send them to preach. They are preaching a false doctrine and you need to get away from them. God does not send liars to do His work. All lies come from Satan and he has servants in the world who masquerade as God’s people (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). As mentioned, you have been baptized in the name of a false teacher and become a part of a false organization where there is no salvation (Matthew 15:14). So, find a local church of Christ congregation that will tell you the truth for your salvation. Do not let pride of tradition stop you from being saved. This is another tactic the devil uses to keep people in false churches (1 John 2:16). Please see the section of this book entitled, God’s Plan of Salvation for more information on this most urgent topic!

Returning to our dialogue between John the Baptist and the Pharisees, we see that John confirms that He baptized with water, but is not the Messiah. He indicates to them that the Messiah is present among his followers (John 1:26). His baptism was in preparation of the hearts of the people to receive the Messiah. This is because John preached one must repent (i.e. change his or her behavior) and be baptized as the result of this repentance for the forgiveness of their sins (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:4). It was for the people to render obedience to God just as we are to render our obedience to God’s ordinance of baptism today to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Mark 16:15-16). Also, later Bible revelation proves that John was commanded to baptize all of the Jewish believers, because when Jesus was baptized, a sign from heaven would indicate He is the Son of God during this process (John 1:31-34).

John shows us that Jesus is greater than him. So much so, He stated he was not able to remove the Lord’s sandals (John 1:27). In Hebrew customs, this was the work of a slave. Thus, his humility is showing us how humble we should be as God’s servants. It is an honor and privilege to be a child of God. Although we are friends of Jesus, we must always keep in mind that we are His servants too and we should always keep a humble, submissive attitude toward Him. Jesus said it best, "…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). This information shows us that we must put our needs second and the Lord’s work first at all times. We will be rewarded with eternal life and a home in heaven that will always outweigh the sacrifices we make in this lifetime of living righteously and spreading the Gospel of salvation in Jesus to the world.

Lastly, the author gives us the location of where John the Baptist was questioned in John 1:28 as Bethabara. Matthew Easton (1897) gives us some insight as to where it is believed this location was:

… a place on the east bank of the Jordan, where John was baptizing (John 1:28). It may be identical with Bethbarah, the ancient ford of Jordan of which the men of Ephraim took possession (Judges 7:24). The Revised Version reads Bethany beyond Jordan. It was the great ford, and still bears the name of the ford, Makhadhet ‘Abarah, the ford of crossing over, about 25 miles from Nazareth.

"29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God" (John 1:29-34).

In this passage of Scripture, John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). This was the purpose of the Lord’s ministry. Yes, He performed miracles and did many wonderful things. However, these special events were not the main focus of His ministry. Jesus said, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Thus, His life was actually devoted to dying for our sins. This is important, because all mankind has sinned (Romans 3:23; 6:23). As such, we are all worthy of eternal punishment. We have merited eternal punishment through our deeds. Unfortunately, not until Jesus died for us did we have a way out of this guilt and subsequent punishment we were all destined for. Remember, God’s Word calls for death when sin occurs. As a result, like a sacrificial lamb, Jesus would offer His own life as the sacrifice which appeases the Father God’s wrath on our behalf. This effectively clears all baptized, believing Christians of their guilt to allow us to appear righteous in the sight of God on the judgment day (Romans 5:9-10). This is why John called Jesus the Lamb of God!" Thank God for Jesus. Without Him, we would have no hope of salvation.

Moving forward, John again confirms that Jesus was greater than he was as he did earlier in this chapter (John 1:30). However, he shows us why God the Father sent him to baptize the children of Israel in relation to the Son of God (John 1:31). The reason is that when the Son of God was baptized, a miraculous sign would be provided to John so he could positively identify and declare the Son of God to the world (John 1:32). Furthermore, John confirms that he had no idea who the Son of God really was prior to this sign being provided to him. Thus, there was no bias on John’s part, because the Son of God was not revealed to him until he baptized Him! John recounts Jesus’ baptism and tells the audience that the sign did occur during Jesus’ baptism. That sign was the Holy Spirit with an appearance like a dove descending from heaven and remaining upon the Lord. There was not a literal dove that landed on the Lord, but some type of miraculous manifestation of something resembling a dove who was the Holy Spirit (John 1:33-34). This gave John the confidence and ability to formally declare Jesus as the Son of God!

Moving on, Jesus would baptize some of John the Baptist’s followers in the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a special gift given to the apostles (John 1:33). It allowed them to:

• Remember the Word of God that Jesus taught them before He ascended back into heaven after His death, burial, and resurrection later in Bible history (John 14:26)

• Learn new information to lead the church later in Bible history and today (John 16:13)

• Heal the sick and cast out demons (Acts 19:11-12)

• Raise the dead back to life (Acts 9:36-43)

• Preach the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to any one on the planet in their native tongues without studying a single foreign language beforehand (Acts 2; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16)

• Many other miracles (Mark 16:17-20).

"35 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" (John 1:35-39).

Again, we see John the Baptist and two of His followers. In front of them, He declared Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:35-36). After hearing John speak, which included his declaration of Jesus being the Lamb of God, they began to follow Jesus (John 1:37). Jesus asked them what they were looking for as they followed Him (John 1:38). The 2 men called Him Teacher and wanted to know where the Lord was residing at the moment. He invited the 2 men to see where He was residing and they followed Him accordingly. There is common argument among commentators as to whether the tenth hour was Roman time or Jewish time. If it was the Roman time method, it would have been 10 AM in the morning when the Lord and the disciples met. If it was the Jewish time being used, it would have been 4 PM in the afternoon. The Bible says that the disciples spent the day with the Lord and thus, it most likely was the Roman method of calculating time reported by the Apostle John (John 1:39) (McGarvey & Pendleton, 1914).

"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" (John 1:40-42).

As you can see, Andrew began following Jesus immediately. He would become one of the 12 apostles later on in Bible history. He was the brother of another person who would become an apostle as well, which was Simon Peter (John 1:40). In his excitement, Andrew reveals to Peter that the Christ has been found. "Messiah means both Lord and Savior. It can be used interchangeably with the word Christ (John 1:41). Andrew’s actions should be imitated by every Christian on the planet. As you will find out after Jesus rose from the dead in later Bible history, He told all Christians to introduce Him to the world as their Savior (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16). Thus, we must all have the zeal and work ethic of Andrew to make sure we are delivering God’s Plan of Salvation to the world out of compassion for the souls of mankind! Please see the end of this book entitled God’s Plan of Salvation" for more information!

Moving forward, Jesus foretells the strength that Peter would have in the future by renaming him. Peter would certainly be a strong, spiritual person after the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord later in Bible history (John 1:42). McGarvey and Pendleton (1914) give us excellent insight regarding John 1:42 with the following comment:

Thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter). Cephas is Hebrew, Peter is Greek, stone is English. It means a mass of rock detached from the bedrock or strata on which the earth rests. The future tense, thou shalt be, indicates that Peter was to win his name. It is given prophetically to describe the stability to which the then weak and vacillating Simon should attain.

"43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:43-51).

Moving forward in our Bible narrative, we see Jesus going into Galilee. Of course, this was the province where He grew up. While there, He encountered Philip. He called Philip to follow Him. Philip did so as He was instructed (John 1:43). Philip would also become one of the Lord’s apostles later in Bible history. Philip also lived in the same city as Andrew and Peter. That city was called Bethsaida (John 1:44).

As Andrew did in the previous verses of John 1, Philip also went and told the good news regarding the Savior being revealed to the children of Israel. However, the way he explained it to Nathaniel gives us more insight into Bible prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah as foretold in the Old Testament (John 1:45). Remember, Philip said that the Messiah was foretold to come in both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. This was the children of Israel’s way of describing many books in the Old Testament. The books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The books of the Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. As you can see, the Messiah was foretold to come hundreds of years before Jesus was born on the earth and these prophecies are captured throughout the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. Here is a sample of some of the Old Testament prophecies foretold by the Old Testament regarding the coming of the Messiah in which Jesus fulfilled:

• "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…" (Deuteronomy 18:15 New King James Version).

• "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14 New King James Version).

• "3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs