NT06 Twelve Disciples Follow Jesus
“I want to be with Jesus.”
John, a slim boy with dark eyes, turns to his friend Andrew. He pokes him
in the back and runs away. “Come on, Andrew. Why are you not coming?’
John and Andrew have just come to a great knowledge. They have dreamt of
this moment for a long time now. THE MESSIAH HAS COME!
Neighbours and acquaintances were talking about a man, who was preaching
at a place along the Jordan. He was called John the Baptist, because he
baptized people. John and Andrew went to see him. They wanted to know what kind
of man he was. He looked strange for he had wild hair and his coat was made of
camel’s fur. But what he said was amazing.
“Come on, hurry up! We will lose Him!“ exclaims John impatiently. Jesus
is walking ahead of them. Andrew looks in front of him, where Jesus is walking,
and then behind to where John is. John hurries toward Andrew. His coat flutters
around his legs.
A lot of people had come to listen to the stories of John the Baptist.
John and Andrew stayed with him because they wanted to learn as much as
possible. Then John the Baptist told about a man who was more important than
him.
“When I baptized him, the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove. Then I heard
a voice saying: “This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am pleased.” “
John and Andrew were very excited. They hardly had any sleep. Imagine:
THE MESSIAH!
“Look, the Lamb of God!”
A few weeks later, John and Andrew were sitting near a shrub with their
feet in the water. They were listening to John the Baptist. He was discussing
some issues with some Pharisees when Jesus passed by. John stopped teaching at
once and pointed to Jesus. They understood John for they were Jews! John and
Andrew had offered a lot of sacrifices in the temple. If you sacrificed a lamb,
your sins were forgiven. The lamb made atonement for your sins. So the one John
pointed to, must be the Messiah. If that was true, then Jesus was more
important than John! So they quickly packed up their bags to follow Jesus.
“Rabi! Rabi!” John breathes heavily. He pulls Andrew by the arm and
encourages him: “Come on!” Jesus looks back. Fortunately, he sees them.
“Rabi!” John says. He is embarrassed because he does not know what to
say. “Uh … where do you live?”
His face turns red. Can he invite them into Jesus’ house? Was that not
too impudent? Jesus is not a friend of theirs? But Jesus understands the
situation. He opens the door and welcomes them in. “Come in. You can see for
yourself.” Jesus smiles.
The years pass by. While John writes this story, he remembers every
detail of this meeting.
“It was ten o’clock,” he writes. “Andrew and I stayed the whole day.” The
next morning, Andrew walked along the river. The fierce wind blew his clothes
to the back. He was so happy because he had met Jesus. His feet felt like
dancing … Oh dear! He almost bumped into somebody who was coming towards him
from the other side. “Hello! Andrew!” called that person. It was Simon, his
brother. What a coincidence!
Andrew exclaimed out of excitement: “Oh Simon, we have found the Messiah.
Yes, we really have! Shall I bring you to Him?”
A few minutes later, they were standing in front of Jesus. “Rabi, this is
my brother ….”
He did not have to say anymore. Jesus knew everything.
“You are Simon, the son of John and you will be called Cephas (translated
Peter).” Simon was amazed. Was Jesus calling him Peter, a rock? How could that
be? Most of the time, he was such a weakling. He turned toward his brother.
“You are staying, aren’t you?” Andrew asked. Of course, he was staying.
Andrew, John and Peter laughed and chatted a lot while the four of them
continue their journey. Surely big things were going to happen. They would hear
Jesus’ words of wisdom and see His miracles. But first of all, they would meet
some more friends. Listen what happened the next day.
“Follow me!” Jesus said to Philip, who was from the same town as Andrew
and Peter. He was just sitting down on a bench to read from a scroll when they
passed by. At once, Philip knew that He was the Messiah. He looked for his
friend, Nathanael, who was praying under a fig tree in his garden. “We have
found the Messiah, Jesus from Nazareth,” he called out. Nathanael did not
believe this at first. From Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth?
Even though he had some doubts, he still accompanied Philip to Jesus. Jesus saw
them coming.
“There is the Israelite who does not fool anybody?” He says. “Who? Me?”
Nathanael exclaimed in surprise. “Do you know me?”
Jesus had seen him while he was still under the fig tree before Philip
called him. He also knew what Nathanael was doing there.
“Rabi!” Nathanael said. “You are really the Son of God, the King of
Israel.” The others nodded.
“Do you believe because I saw you under the fig tree ?” Jesus smiled.
“You shall see greater things than that!”
John, Andrew and Peter are happy to meet Philip and Nathanael. Thomas,
two James’, Matthew and another Simon and two Judas’ shall join the friends
later. They will journey across the country with Jesus. And they had never
regretted following Jesus.