Reflections on John 1:35-39

Reflections on John 1:35-39

Read the text over a few times and reflect on the questions below…………………

" 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.[a]

 John the Baptist

In John’s Gospel – the Baptist is a somewhat enigmatic figure. The contours of his life, his message and his ministry are perhaps given more definition by Matthew, Mark and Luke. But what is important, in John’s Gospel, is that He points the way to Christ. His task, his noble task, is to guide others to Christ. Reflect on our text - its John who guides the men to Jesus and its through John that the Father draws the hearts of these two men to Christ. John guides, he directs and he helps discern.

• Who are those people in our lives who have guided us to Christ?
• Who are those people who, even now, direct us to what is true, beautiful and good? 
• Do we guide others to Christ? 
• Do we have that humility? 
• Do we have that focus? 
• Do we have that desire? 

The Lamb of God

When John referred to Jesus as the ‘Lamb of God’ the two men would have realised immediately what he was referring too – Jesus was destined to be the one who would suffer for his people, shed His blood and give His life. John saw Jesus in terms of his sacrifice – the Lamb who was to be slain. But how we see Him? How do we imagine Him? Is He the lawgiver? The Judge? Is He the teacher? The healer? The Crucified One or the Risen One? The babe of Bethlehem or son of the Carpenter? How do we imagine Him? How do we see Him?

  “What are you seeking?”

In John’s Gospel, these are the vey first words of Jesus – it’s the first time we hear him speak. Quite possibly, these are the first words Jesus speaks to each and everyone of us. Jesus doesn’t come to impose on us an ideology or an idea or a doctrine . Rather he calls on us to look into our own hearts and become aware of our fundamental desires: • What do we really want for our lives? • What are we looking for? • Are we prepared to believe in ourselves and make clear choices?

“Where are you staying?/where are you living?”

The disciples ask Jesus a seemingly rather strange question “Where are you staying?” or in some translations “Where are you living?” The question indicates that these two disciples don’t want ideas or theories. They don’t want to be students rather they want to be in relationship with Jesus to stay with Him. They want to let themselves be touched by his life and by all that he is and has . Where does Jesus stay in our lives? Where does He live? In whom do we encounter his presence? Where do we find Him? In our lives – where does He stay? Where does he live?

  “Come and see”

Notice the ‘gentleness’ of what Jesus says. He doesn’t impose or compel or force anything on anyone. Rather he gently invites each one of us to move forward. He says “come”, “come and see” – come and live an experience of love, of healing and a new inner freedom. The two disciples follow him. How we experience the call of Jesus? the call of the Church? Do we sometimes feel that duty not love is what moves us? When we answer his call, when we respond to his invitation – what moves us is it faith? Is it love? Or is it obligation and a sense of duty?

“The Tenth Hour”

The scripture scholars that the ‘tenth hour’ was around 4 in the afternoon But why does the Evangelist give us this information? A few theories……………

• St. Augustine: For Augustine this is a reference to the ‘ten commandments’ – Jesus surpasses these, He is the new law giver and something new and something different is about to begin - something that goes beyond the Jewish law . 
• More Modern Theologians (Butlmann): The tenth hour is the hour of fulfilment, the hour when things change, the hour when things come together. 
• The interpretation I prefer, however, is perhaps more mundane. So important was their encounter with Jesus, so important was that initial calling, the disciples remembered the exact hour at which they were called. We spend most of our lives, forgetting things that aren’t that crucial– appointments, bills to pay, errands…………..But when it comes to the important events in our lives, we remember – times, dates, circumstances, situations………..the Apostles were doing the same………. 

What were those in times in our lives we were aware, powerfully aware of God’s presence in our lives? When were those times that we returned to God? When were the times that we answered his call and the times our lives changed?