THE CALL OF THE FIRST THREE DISCIPLES

John 1:37-42 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto Him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two, which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

The two verses preceding the lesson text indicate that there were two Jewish men that had come to John the Baptist, and had become his followers, which probably resulted from submitting to His baptism in the River Jordan. Only days after this, as they were walking with John the Baptist, they met Jesus. And introducing themselves to Him said, Behold the Lamb of God (See Vs. 35-36). No doubt they knew this was the Jesus that Johnpreviously had providentially professed to be the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). It seemed that, on this very appropriate occasion, John the Baptist, turned over these two disciples to Him, and they followed Jesus.

Seeing that they were following Him, Jesus asked, What seek ye? Today, as followers of Christ and members of His church, He asks each of us this same question, and we would answer that we are seeking the eternal live in heaven that God promised through Him. No doubt they knew that through Him their sins could be removed (Vs. 29), which would allow the hope of salvation for their souls. They replied with this question, Rabbi, ...where dwellest thou? This seemed odd, but from it we know that they desired to spend much time in His presence in order to hear and receive His teaching. Traveling on the road, as they were doing, did not lend itself to listening to the Lamb of God to the extent they desired. They wanted to sit in His presence and devote their entire attention to every word of the doctrine He was willing to teach them. Again, this should be the desire of every Christian today - to constantly search the New Covenant inspired scriptures, which contain God's plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. To the question, where dwellest thou, Jesus answered, Come and see. With His open invitation, they readily followed Jesus to His place of lodging - a place not specifically identified in this passage. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: for it was about the tenth hour, or in the present day reckoning of time, it was about four o'clock in the afternoon. No doubt while these two disciples were with Jesus, He taught them much about the righteousness God desires of His children.

One of the two, which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. Of these two, one was named Andrew. The name of the other wasn't given. Because of this, most bible scholars believe that it was John, the apostle of Christ and author of this inspired gospel. Andrew's brother was Simon Peter. Not that it has any significance, but Andrew, who was probably the older brother, came to Jesus before Simon Peter knew Him. Immediately following his meeting with Jesus, Andrew went and found his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. Once finding, recognizing, and believing Christ Jesus to be the promised Savior, Andrew did what everyone should feel the need to do once finding the Savior - that is, immediately they should feel the need to tell others that they too may come to Christ and gain the hope of eternal salvation.

And he (Andrew) brought him (Simon Peter) to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone. There is no indication that Jesus knew Simon Peter by his given name, or that he was the son of Jona (or Jonas, see John 21:17). By the all-knowing power of God, Jesus knew Simon Peter and what He had in store for him. At that moment of time, Jesus said Simon Peter was to be called Cephas, meaning a stone. With his maturity, Peter became a firm, immovable stone, preaching the gospel of salvation through Christ Jesus.