Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #9 In the Land Beyond Jordan

After his baptism by his cousin John, Jesus went immediately into the wilderness. Before seeing Jesus again, John moved over to Bethabara beyond, or east of, the Jordan River to continue baptizing. We track him down there where the Pharisees had sent the priests and Levites to grill him on the rumored appearance of the Christ.

John 1:19-28:
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias [Elijah] And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet [a prophet like Moses, referring to Deuteronomy 18:15] And he answered, No.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John, as his manner was, with complete humility and conviction, continued to point the way to Jesus Christ. (Please see Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #6 John the Baptist for more insight into this discussion between John and the emissaries of the Pharisees.)

The Next Day: Behold the Lamb of God

The next day, those following John the Baptist witnessed a very wonderful meeting—the initial presentation of the Messiah to the world.

John 1:29-34:
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Jesus appeared on the scene, and John declared of him, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” Then he backed up the claim with his eyewitness account of the spirit descending and remaining on Jesus at his baptism—full proof that the man they saw that day, Jesus, was the Son of God.

The Next Day: Three New Disciples

Once again the next day, to all around who were listening which included two of his own disciples, John proclaimed Jesus as the Lamb of God.

John 1:35,36:
Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

The two disciples with John understood that this man Jesus, the Son of God, was the promised Messiah and they began to follow him.

John 1:37-39:
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.

Andrew, one of the two disciples, went to find his brother Simon to bring him to Jesus.

John 1:40-42:
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 Messias, 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 first thing Jesus did when he met Simon was to give him a nickname! Jesus did not know this man, though he may have quickly gauged some of his personal traits. And yet, he already presented him with a new name, a most personal and very often defining part of his life. It must have been by revelation from God that Jesus did this.

Peter’s given name, “Simon” (Simeon in the Old Testament) means “to hear” in Hebrew. But from that point on, he was also called “Cephas,” the Aramaic word for “a rock.” The corresponding Greek word is petros, which gave the Greek name Petros, rendered “Peter” in English today.

Why did Jesus assign Simon a new name, and in particular, the name that meant “Rock”? Because in their developing relationship, I believe that Jesus was giving him a name to live up to—“Rock.” As we continue to journey along our Gospel Road, we will see that Jesus used one or the other of these two names, Simon or Peter, when he spoke to him.

I believe Jesus addressed him as “Simon” when he was acting out as his natural self—brash, impetuous, giving up too easily, or at times even fearful. Jesus called him “Peter” when he was taking on his true calling of God as a rock-solid leader, speaking boldly the Word of God, or standing against evil. Watch for this as we continue in our travels, and I will point them out in future posts.

The Next Day: Two More Disciples

The next day after Andrew and Peter began to follow him, Jesus purposefully called out Philip before he went to Galilee.

John 1:43,44:
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

Apparently without much introduction, Jesus said to Philip, “Follow me.” And so Philip did. The fact that Philip came from the same town as Andrew and Peter gives us a clue to his immediate and unfettered commitment to follow Jesus. It was no coincidence that these men were all in the area, listening to John the Baptist making Jesus Christ manifest to Israel. Perhaps one of the brothers, Andrew or Peter, had recommended him to Jesus, knowing that Philip would be as thrilled as they were to find the Son of God.

And was it not the same for us when we first began to follow the Lord Jesus Christ? I remember that I told my family and friends all about him, and invited them to join me. Thankfully, some did—and we are still traveling together to this day! Andrew brought his brother Peter, and likewise, Philip wanted to share the great news with his friend Nathanael.

John 1:45,46:
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

As Nathanael’s friend, Philip would have known that Nathanael was a student of the scripture and so appealed to him accordingly: “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write…” Yet in all the prophecies regarding the Messiah, none mentioned him coming from the town of Nazareth.

It seems that Nathanael could not picture the savior coming from the much-maligned Nazareth, known for its rough-and-tumble ways, in part because it was located on a major trade route. But Philip did not argue or try to persuade him further, he simply invited Nathanael to “Come and see!”

John 1:47,48:
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Similar to his initial meeting with Peter, Jesus once again greeted the new man by divine inspiration, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” This speaks volumes about Nathanael, reinforcing our image of his hope-filled search for the Christ in the scriptures and also, in spite of his initial skepticism, his pure-hearted desire to meet him in the flesh.

When Nathanael then asked Jesus how he knew him, Jesus replied that he had “seen” him under the fig tree. Fig trees were a favorite for finding shade in the heat of the day, and students of the scripture including “true Israelites” could often be found under them, reading or in discussion. This figurative language portrays Nathan’s love of the Word of God and eagerness to see the Messiah, the true King to Israel.

John 1:49-51:
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

What a glorious beginning to the Son of God’s ministry on earth! John the Baptist pointing out the Lamb of God to the multitudes! Yet in another sense, it occurred quietly, on a very personal level, between Jesus himself, and Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael.

And that is how our heavenly Father works even today. He so loved the whole world that He gave His only begotten Son for any and all to believe unto everlasting life. Yet our heavenly Father knows His own, those who have received Him, and how personally He comes to each of us to meet every one of our own individual needs in Christ. How blessed we are above all to be on this glory road, learning about our true and only savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

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