(John 1:38)
�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?�
What gets your attention? For some it is the sight of a pretty girl, or a virile man. For some it is the sound of children, especially grandchildren, playing. For some it is a hot stock market tip. For some it is the sight of a hot meal! For some, especially at this time of year, it is the sight of two equally matched basketball teams fighting it out on the court.
Whatever it might be, the thing that gets your attention, or �turns your head,� is that which is dear to your heart. Where your attention lies, therein lies your interest.
I used to substitute teach in high school. One of the things I constantly told the young people I would stand before, was that everyone has talent. Some are talented at taking tests. Some of them excel at sports. Some of them are mechanically inclined. Some are adept at music. But, that thing in which they have an interest is that thing in which they will excel.
Quite a few of us seem to excel at self promotion. Our principle interest is ourselves! It seems that this is especially so among those of us who have begun to tap the potential of the internet. We build ourselves up in our own little niche. In the words of the pundit, we become legends in our own minds.
Jesus had an interest. Here was One Who could have well be interested in building up His Own self. But, the interest of Jesus was in the soul condition of others. Our text verse gives just such a picture of the Savior.
The first thing we notice is that the Savior reacts to those about Him. �Then Jesus turned��
The Savior was attentive to the people about Him. We are beginning another silly season of partisan political activity. All of the politicians will be telling how much they care about us. Each will attempt to outdo the other in promises to cater to our needs and wants. Most are simply playing the game as they have learned.
Their real interest lies in getting elected. To that end they will do all they can to seem like a caring person who has empathy for our lot in life.
Most of them have never been close to the block we live, let alone our lot. They have scant idea of the real trials and tribulations of the people they seek to �lead.� They have a two-fold agenda. First they want to get elected so they can continue to pursue the goals of their political philosophies. Second the want to get elected.
Or, is it the other way around?
Jesus displays His true interest in the men who were seeking Him. He turned toward them and their needs.
Most politicians are very approachable during the election cycle. Not too many of their ilk are all that approachable after they have secured their �mandate.� Jesus, however, was always approachable by the people. It was their soul need which was the purpose of His life, and of His death, upon this earth.
Jesus may have been a teacher. Jesus may have been a moral influence in the lives of those who heard Him preach. But, the purpose for which Jesus came into the world was that men and women be given the opportunity to have their sins forgiven.
To this end the Savior was accepting of people. To the woman taken in adultery He simply said, �Go and sin no more.� He did not berate her. He accepted her and offered her a new life with the promise of the pardon of her sin.
To the woman at the well, Jesus offered the Water from which she would never thirst again. Again, He did not berate her over her sin. Neither did he condone her sin. He knew that she had been in several previous marriages and was now living in open adultery. He did not attack her; He simply acknowledged that it was now time for her to live a life in newness of spirit.
To the tax collector sitting in the tree, Jesus said, �Come and fellowship with me.� Jesus did not assail this man�s role with the Roman occupation. Jesus did not attack this man�s dishonest dealings. But, the force of the Person of Jesus upon this man caused a reformation, and a repentance, in this publican�s life and soul.
The only people that the New Testament gives any indication of harshness from the lips of the Savior were those religious leaders who would stand before the sinner and the Savior. Jesus sought the sinner with single-mindedness. He turned toward these men because He was the answer to their soul need and He wanted to offer them the peace which He, alone, could offer.
Notice, also, that the Savior reviews. ��and saw them following��
In Luke 19:10 Jesus gave His purpose in the earth. He said, �For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.�
Jesus seeks the people. You may notice that I put that in the present tense. That is because this is still the plan of Jesus for this day. He is still seeking those who are lost in their sins. The only difference between then, in those Judean hills of two thousand years ago, and now in the twenty-first century, is that Jesus seeks to use our hands - and our tongues - to fulfill this mission.
Our purpose as Christians in this day is not to wall ourselves up in the sanctuary, as many in our culture would claim is our only place of witness. We are not to so center our message on the �social gospel� that we forget the Gospel of the Good News that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity. We are not to become so enamored of temporal causes that we forget the Gospel of eternity.
Our purpose in this time is to introduce others to the Savior. We ought to do this in the same manner as did Jesus. We need not �brow beat� anyone. We seek to win the sinner, not to whip him!
This does not mean that we ignore the fact of sin. But, it does mean that we employ the truth that Jesus died in time so that we might live in eternity. We reach out with the open hand of love rather than the closed fist of accusation!
Jesus did this because He saw the people.
It is one thing to seek the sinner. It is another thing to see the sinner.
As we look at individuals as people we can feel their needs and aspirations. When we look at �them� as only statistical demographics we are prone to see no one but ourselves. We need to see the individual, and get a personal feeling for that person, so that we will pray for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit into the life of each lost individual. It is not our job to convict a person of his sin; that is the job of the Holy Spirit. It is our task to present the Savior.
Jesus turned about and spoke to these two men. That displayed a personal interest on His part in the needs of their lives. I could preach to thousands (Not likely. But, I could!). That would only be rhetorical exercise unless the Spirit energize by the Word of His witness.
It isn�t likely, as I said, that I would preach to thousands. But, it is likely that I can speak to one. So can you! That is the task that is given to every Christian. A burden for souls is heightened as it becomes a burden for a specific soul.
I honestly believe that this is one of the reasons why we see so few conversions in this day. We are so busy fighting doctrinal, and social, differences that we have forgotten the primary need of humanity is that they, one at a time, respond to the Savior. In a military analogy, we have allowed our friends and acquaintances to slip into a Christless eternity while we have sat on the high ground of supposed moral superiority.
Folks, how moral is it that we tell everyone what is wrong with them while we refuse to tell anyone Who it is that can cure the need of their life!
We notice, in this text verse, that the Savior remarked to the men. ��and saith unto them��
At this point we see the Savior asks the need of the men. This was not necessary. Jesus knew their need. They needed redemption from their sin.
Back in the Garden God asked, �Adam, where are you?� This was not necessary. It is not possible that Adam could have been hidden from God. The purpose of God asking this question was to allow Adam to respond with a confession of his sin. God knew about the sin of Adam. God could have written Adam off at that point. But, God cared. So, He asked the question.
Jesus also cared. He displayed an interest in the men.
Jesus said he was �seeking the lost.� That is an active posture. I have lost items. Sometimes I just search and search until I�m exhausted. Then, I find the item while I�m not even looking for it.
Such is never the case when it comes to the souls of men. Satan is an active participant in this Spiritual War. He will strive to keep men from the Savior. Jesus knew this so He approached the people. Jesus actively went to call men to Himself.
One time I preached in a church in a city near here. At the end of the service I gave an altar call. The preacher jumped up and ended the service. He told me, �If
God decides to save someone, He�ll do it. The doors are unlocked and anyone can come in.�
I would suspect that there were few conversions in that church during the tenure of that pastor. People will respond to the Gospel message. They do this because of the conviction which the Spirit sends upon them. But, the process will not start until the message of the Gospel is presented.
If I order a pizza and do not get the �special� they are offering, the reason may be that I did not know about the special offer that might have been available. Likewise, to expect one to simply come to us with a request to embrace the Gospel, when he has never been presented with the claims of the Gospel - and no one has ever prayed for the person, is a possible outcome. But, it is highly unlikely. God can do what He wants. But, in this dispensation, God has given to us - the Christian - the duty to spread the Gospel into the world about us. That is the purpose of the Great Commission!
The Savior attempts to contact the people. Are we, sometimes, in the position of the Pharisees of old? Do we stand between the people and the Good News of the Savior? That is a reasonable question when we refuse to present the claims of Christ to the world about us..
The Savior, we notice, makes a request. ��What seek ye?��
Just as the Savior asks the need of the men, so also He seeks their need.
I heard my granddaughter crying yesterday. The first thing I said was, �What�s wrong, Shandi?� This wasn�t asked in idle curiosity. I wanted to know so I could try to make things better.
Jesus sought that men speak of their need so that He could heal them of their soul need.
Did you ever have one of those days when you just couldn�t decide what you wanted for lunch. Pizza? Too early. Hamburger? Not again! Soup? Nah. Maybe a salad? Maybe; if I were a rabbit!
And then someone says, �How about�?� That suggestion just �clicks.� A balanced meal; a cake in one hand and a milkshake in the other!
O. K. That might not be what we would need. Still, it might be what we want. What we would need would be someone to straighten out our menu maladjustment!
Jesus, by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and the faithfulness of Christians to witness, will draw men to the conclusion that they need to fill that spiritual void in their lives with the fellowship of the Father which comes only through a trust in the sacrifice of the Son.
That will satisfy, straighten out, spiritual maladjustment.
The truth is that Jesus sees the need of men even before we are able to understand what the need is! A newborn bird probably doesn�t understand that one day he will be called upon to soar through the heavens. Neither does man, generally, understand that he needs to be ready to soar with He Who sits above the Heavens. It is the convicting grace of the Spirit of God which awakens the sleeping soul to the fact that there is more, even, than he can dare dream, in store for those who love the Lord.
Jesus satisfies the need of men.
The men here responded to the Savior. They offered Him the respect He deserved. ��They saith unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master.)��
As Jesus had reacted to their need, they now reacted to His wooing voice. He called. They responded. These men were followers of John the Baptist. But, they now saw Him of Whom John had prophesied.
John had properly done his job. He had prepared the people to accept the Savior. That is also our job. We ought not seek a �following� among men. What we need is a �company� among men to journey with us. We are not the leader. We are alerting others to the fact that Jesus is the leader.
Our purpose is to display His love so that others will desire a relationship with Him and begin their own pilgrimage after His footsteps. They, in turn, will entice others to follow the Master. So will these others then continue in pursuit of the Savior�s grace.
The circle is not complete until we all reach the shores of the Heavenly Kingdom. Glory of glories is that we are allowed to join in the work!
They called Him, Jesus, Master. This was a sign of respect. Too often in this day of preachers droning on about a nebulous pseudo doctrine of the �Prosperity Gospel,� people tend to look upon Jesus as a spiritual �Bank of Good Times and Wealth.� We want, and we expect Him to fulfill those wants.
How different is this from the true Gospel while asks that we labor from love of Him. He has already given us salvation from our sins. He has already given us a fellowship with God. He has already given us the promise of a home in Heaven.
It is our turn to offer Him a life of devotion to His Own Person. It is our turn to offer Him a life of obedience to His gentle rule. It is our turn to offer others this peace which He has made available to us.
He is the Lord of the Universe. He is the Lord of our lives. Or, He should be the Lord of our lives! He is not a passbook to our carnal wants and desires! Let�s remember to reverence Him!
The men, here, responded to the Savior. So must we.
Finally, it is good to consider the Savior�s real estate. ��where dwellest thou?�
The men were, at this place, simply asking where Jesus was going to be. Where He was, they wanted to follow. That is something we need as well. You may have heard the story about the elderly couple driving down the street. Well, where else would they drive!
They drove past a young couple who were sitting so close together as to nearly appear as just one individual. The elderly lady, sitting near her door on the passenger side of the automobile, said, �We used to sit together like those kids. What has happened to our relationship?�
The elderly gentleman, sitting on the driver�s side, said, �I don�t know. I�m still sitting where I always sat.�
Jesus doesn�t move. We need to adjust our lives to keep them close to Him!
The request of the men also had to do, although they might not have understood it at the time, with pardon from their sin. To truly follow Jesus is to accept Him as Savior. Anyone who would stop short of this decision, or attempt to follow Him for any other reason, does not have a true fellowship with the Savior.
There may be any number of other factors considered. But, without the decision to accept Jesus as Savior, all are useless. With that decision there is great grace in His presence.
Finally, the request of the men led to the palace of His Heavenly abode.
There are many things, in the matter of fellowship, in the matter of purpose in life, in the matter of comfort, which Jesus offers to us in this life. But, in the cold midnight of the end of life, as we step into the Valley of the Shadow, the greatest comfort is that this life is not the end. This life is but a passageway into a glorious existence with the Lord!
What glory and comfort is this thought as we contemplate the lives of those who�ve gone on before. What great anticipation is this thought as we contemplate our own human mortality. Jesus is our Savior not in just this life, but in the life to come!
What about you? Have you ever accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior?
Why not do so right now?
Lord, we pray your convicting power on the reader. May the Christian be inspired to do Your will. May the nonChristian be convicted to accept your Sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. In the Name of Jesus, Who is above all, Amen.