Humble Hero

John Directs His Followers to Jesus

On the following day, while two disciples were near, John again saw Jesus. Again the face of the prophet lighted up as he called out, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The disciples did not fully understand. What did the name mean that John had given Him—“the Lamb of God”? HH 56.1

Leaving John, they went looking for Jesus. One of them was Andrew, the brother of Simon; the other was John the evangelist. These were Christ’s first disciples. They followed Jesus—anxious to speak with Him, yet awed and silent, lost in the thought, Is this the Messiah? HH 56.2

Jesus knew that the two were following Him. They were the first fruits of His ministry, and joy came into the heart of the divine Teacher as these souls responded to His grace. Yet when He turned to them, He asked only, “What do you seek?” HH 56.3

They exclaimed, “Rabbi [Teacher], ... where are You staying?” In a brief interview by the roadside, they could not receive what they longed for. They wanted to be alone with Jesus and hear His words. HH 56.4

“He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day.” HH 56.5

If John and Andrew had possessed the unbelieving spirit of the priests and rulers, they would not have been learners but critics, to judge His words. But they had responded to the Holy Spirit’s call in the preaching of John the Baptist, and now they recognized the heavenly Teacher. The words of Jesus were full of freshness and beauty to them. A divine illumination was shining on the Old Testament Scriptures. Truth stood out in new light. HH 56.6

The disciple John was a man of earnest and deep affection, eager yet thoughtful. He had begun to discern “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. HH 56.7

Andrew set out to share the joy that filled his heart. Going in search of his brother Simon, he announced, “We have found the Messiah.” Simon also had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and he hurried to the Savior. Christ’s eye read his character and life history. His impulsive nature, his loving, sympathetic heart, his ambition and self-confidence, his fall, his repentance, his labors, and his martyr death—the Savior read it all. He said, “% 7FYou are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ (which is translated, A Stone).” HH 56.8

“The following day Jesus ... found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” Philip obeyed the command, and he also became a worker for Christ. HH 56.9

Philip called Nathanael, who had been among the crowd when the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. As Nathanael looked at Jesus, he was disappointed. Could this man, carrying the marks of toil and poverty, be the Messiah? Yet the message of John had brought conviction to Nathanael’s heart. HH 56.10