Jesus’ First Disciples – John’s Gospel, chapter 1 verses 35 to 42
Here is the very first beginning of the Christian church.
Two people are prompted to see, hear and follow Jesus
35 The next day John [the Baptist] was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
They are invited to come
38 Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
Their first spark of understanding
“We have found the Messiah” (that is the Christ)
They share the excitement
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
A future transformation predicted
Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).
Yet Jesus still calls him Simon, almost never Peter (“rock”). It is later, in the book of Acts, that he is called Peter, the leader of the early followers of Jesus. He had become a different man, with a different name.
