Some of the disciples of John the Baptist followed Jesus. One of those was Andrew. The first thing Andrew did after encountering Jesus was to go find his own brother. “We have found the Messiah,” Andrew said. When Andrew brought his brother, Jesus looked at Simon and said, (my paraphrase) -- (Hey, I know you. I know your family, your history and guess what; I am going to call you by a special name that will indicate my close relationship with you.) (See John 1:3-42) Jesus knows His followers intimately, better than they know themselves.
The next day Jesus found Phillip, who was also from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Then Phillip found Nathaniel. “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and als the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Obviously these guys had already been looking for Messiah and knew something about what the scripture said. Nathaniel said,“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” These guys knew their geography too because Nazareth was a barren wasteland bordering on desert. When Jesus met Nathaniel, He identified his greatest characteristic—Nathaniel was an honest man who spoke his mind. Nathaniel may have been skeptical because of the circumstances of Jesus' life, but he was soon convinced by his own encounter with Jesus. Each believer must have a personal encounter with the Son of God. Belief may come after skepticism--as in the case of Nathaniel and people like C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity) and Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ); or it may grow in personal suffering as in the case of Corie Ten Boom (The Hiding Place); or happen suddenly through personal transformation as in the case of Nicky Cruz (Run Baby Run). Jesus is not threatened by skepticism. He knows how to reach people, how to meet them where they are and engage them for eternity. The best believers can do is tell about Jesus and pray.
Jesus also called James and John, and immediately they dropped what they were doing and followed Him. He identified these brothers as Boanerges—sons of thunder pointing to their temperamental traits no doubt. Jesus called Matthew—who was a sinner and tax collector, Thomas—was the doubter, Simon—was a Zealot, and Judas--was greedy and a betrayer. Jesus also called women, Mary Magdalene was a woman who had seven demons; Jesus called her to follow God. The woman caught in adultery Jesus called to a life of purity. The Samaritan woman Jesus called to honesty. Salome--the mother of James and John, Jesus called to deny her selfish ambitions; and Mary--His own mother, Jesus called to a life of service and personal sacrifice--of her own Son. When Jesus calls His followers, it is not for them to go and clean up whatever the flaws in their character might be and then return to follow Him, instead it is just for them to immediately heed the call. Jesus accepts each one “as is” and He knows how to transform all followers for God's usefulness.
Later, other disciples of John the Baptist questioned him about Jesus honing in on their ministry—because Jesus was baptizing and drawing people to Himself. John’s reply is almost like his last prophetic words and summary of what he came to communicate. John compares Jesus to a bridegroom and himself as the friend. “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Read John 3:22-36 for the entire prophetic word John gives) This is a recipe for all believers, I must decrease but JESUS must increase. The more I yield to Jesus, the more I choose to humble myself, obey His word and decrease, the more HE increases in me. The beauty is, as Jesus increases in me, I too am lifted up. It is Jesus people are drawn to, it is Jesus that gives purpose and insight, it is Jesus who fosters love, mercy and compassion in believers. It is Jesus who must increase. John the Baptist was satisfied with allowing Jesus to increase and himself to decrease, can I hope for anything greater or better in myself?
The voice of Jesus must have been extraordinary. With it He called men, commanded nature and condemned demons. John said he was a voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the LORD. Jesus said He was the voice of the good shepherd and that His sheep recognize HIS voice, but not the voice of strangers. (John 10:1-5) “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice…” (John 10:14-16)
It is so comforting to know Jesus, the good shepherd, knows His own and that somehow we who are His own, are wired to recognize, follow and obey His voice. Before anyone can listen to HIS voice, they must be willing to hear. And before anyone can hear His voice, those of us who already know we have found the Messiah, must be willing to go and tell others the good news. For whatever reason, God chose to reveal the truth by using mere mortals as His work partners. How sad it would have been if Andrew had not found Peter--one of the first things Jesus did was heal Peter's mother-in-law. If the Samaritan woman had not shared about Jesus, many from her village might never have believed in Him. If the disciples of Jesus had not heeded the Great Commandment, and been willing to die for their belief, perhaps none of us would have ever come to be saved. The Bible says, If today you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart...today we must believe in Jesus, then we may follow His voice each day and into eternity.
Watch Nicky Cruz share his story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zelqF0mamCw
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