The Prelude to the Public Ministry of Jesus (5)

We are continuing to study what has been called, “The Prelude to the Public Ministry of Jesus”, which is contained in John 1:19-51. This is the fifth Lord’s Day we have addressed this portion of this Fourth Gospel. To this point the emphasis has been on the witness that John the Baptist gave forth of Jesus. But that witness came to its conclusion with John declaring the second of two great truths regarding Jesus as the promised Christ. The first great declaration of truth regarding Jesus was that He was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). And then the second great declaration of truth that John gave of Jesus was that it was “He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (1:34). These are the two great works of God in bringing us salvation. First, He secures through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ the forgiveness of the sins of all of His people from all over the world. And second, Jesus the Lord, that is, the promised King over the Kingdom of God, enables His people to live lives of obedience and holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit that He imparts to them. Both forgiveness and holiness are essential aspects of salvation, which God has freely given to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Our study today (John 1:35-42) contains information regarding the first disciples of Jesus. The focus of this passage is the self-witness of Jesus and of his initial disciples. There are two sections to this passage. The first is contained in verses 35 through 42, which speak of Andrew and Peter becoming disciples of Jesus (1:35-42). The second section tells of Philip and Nathaniel becoming disciples of Jesus (1:43-51).