QUESTION #3 What seek ye?

QUESTIONS JESUS ASKED BIBLE STUDY

 

     Read John 35-51 KJV: 

 

   What seek ye? (John 1:38)

  Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? (John 1:50)

 

WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING? 

JESUS CALLS HIS DISCIPLES

Reference: john 35-51

 

What do you seek? This is the first questions Jesus asked His first followers. His question applies with equal force to you and I. 

 

When John the Baptist baptized Jesus he proclaimed Him “The Lamb of God”. And again, the next day as he and two of his disciples stood he saw Jesus walk by and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard John speak, and they decided to follow Jesus. When Jesus noticed them following Him, he turned to them and asked, “What seek ye?” They ask him, “Master, where do you dwell?” Jesus said, “Come and see.” They went with Jesus and spent the day with Him.

 

One of the two was Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother). Andrew went and found his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” Which being interpreted means the Christ.  Andrew took Peter to meet Jesus.  Jesus looked upon Peter, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jona, you shall be called Cephas (which by interpretation means a stone). 

 

The next day Jesus went to Galilee to find Phillip, and He said unto Him, “Follow Me.” And we find in scripture that he did. Phillip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said, “Now can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Phillip said, “Come see for yourself.”

 

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming He said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathanael asked Him, “How do you know me?” Jesus told him, “Before Phillip called you, you were under a fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael was amazed, he said, “Master You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel!” Jesus said, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, you now believe?”

 

Nathaniel - (the other three Gospels refer to him as Bartholomew). 

 

Each of the four Gospels includes the calling of Jesus’ disciples; the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) also provide lists of the Twelve, whereas John simply mentions them as a group. The order in which the disciples were called and the order in which their names are given in the lists vary by account.

 

 

In Matthew 4:18-22, the first disciples to be called are listed like this:

Simon Peter and Andrew

James and John

 

Mark 1:16-20, lists the first disciples in the same order:

Simon Peter and Andrew

James and John

 

Luke 5:4-11 lists the first disciples as:

Simon Peter

James and John

 

John 1:35-51 relates Jesus’ early encounters with these men:

Andrew and an un-named man - almost certainly John, who never names himself in his own gospel:

Simon Peter

Phillip

Nathanael (Bartholomew)

 

The first six disciples, then were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Phillip, and Bartholomew. The differences between John’s account and the Synoptics’ account are easily explained. John relates the first, introductory meeting of Jesus with Andrew, John, Peter, Phillip, and Nathanael. The Synoptics describe the actual calling of these men to follow Jesus. When Jesus told Peter in the fishing boat to “follow Me,” and Peter immediately left his nets and obeyed, Peter was not following a total stranger. He had met Jesus previously and had spent time with Him. The same is true for Andrew, James, and John.

 

Matthew (also called Levi) was called separately, sometime after the first six (Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32).

 

The Bible does not describe the calling of the other five disciples. Jesus had many people following Him early on in His ministry. Luke 6:12-16 tells us that, after a night of solitary prayer, Jesus officially named His twelve disciples, whom He also called apostles:

Simon Peter

Andrew

James

John

Phillip

Bartholomew (Nathanael)

Matthew

Thomas

James son of Alphaeus

Simon who was called the Zealot

Judas son of James (elsewhere called Thaddaeus)

Judas Iscariot

 

The order in which the apostles were called is not the primary focus in the accounts of their calling. Rather, the emphasis is on the fact that they were called at all. None of them were worthy of Jesus’ calling. Few, if any, were of noble background, and none of them had religious clout. At least four of the disciples were fishermen. Simon was a Zealot, part of a political group that sought to overthrow the Roman government. Matthew worked for the Roman government as a tax collector and would have been viewed essentially as a traitor to the Israelites. Judas Iscariot eventually betrayed Jesus. 

Despite the diversity of backgrounds and education levels among these men, they had an important calling as the original twelve disciples of Jesus. Theirs was an honorable work. They became eyewitnesses of Jesus’ works on earth as well as His resurrection. It was these men (excluding Judas Iscariot) who laid the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). It was through their Spirit-empowered witness that the church began (Acts 2). Their work helped provide the New Testament writings we have today. The twelve foundations of the wall of the future New Jerusalem will have engraved on them the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:14).

 

Jesus is still calling disciples to work in the kingdom of God. He awoke and called me in the middle of the night.  It was not a coincidence that it just happened to be Sunday morning. I jumped up and started following the Lord from that day forward. 

 

WHAT SEEK YE? Jesus asks you and I the same question today: What exactly are you seeking when you come to Me? Are you truly wanting to know Me? Do you want something from Me other than a relationship? Are you following Me because others do? Or because you want to KNOW Me?

 

Jesus is still calling. 

 

Will you follow Jesus?

 

Notes: