We are reading together in the Word of God in John chapter 1. John chapter 1, you'll find it, Church Bible. I'm not sure if the large edition is the same page numbering, but I'm at page 1068. So John chapter 1, the fourth gospel. We want to read two sections from the chapter The first 18 verses, and then the latter half from verse 35. So this is John's record of the ministry of Christ as it began. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light. The true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. He were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him and cried out, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me. And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side. He has made him known. And then from verses 19 to 28, We have John's engagement with the Jewish leaders as they question him about his ministry. And then the following day, John announces who Christ is. And we read of then from verse 35 of the first disciples. The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, behold, the Lamb of God. The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, what are you seeking? And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? He said to them, come, and you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. But it was about the 10th hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, so you are Simon, the son of John, you shall be called Kivas, which means Peter. The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and you will see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered him, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, or teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel. Jesus answered him, because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. Amen. So how has your week been? That's a question we often ask each other, isn't it, on the Lord's Day as we fellowship after worship. Perhaps our answer is busy. Maybe our answer is frustrating. Things haven't worked out according to plan. Maybe our answer is challenging because unexpected things or ongoing difficulties have taken on a new level. Perhaps we say tiring. What about exciting, discouraging? Maybe for somebody here, they would say their week was relaxing because they've been on holiday and they're just back from holiday again. John chapter one records the first week in Jesus earthly ministry. The commentator Leon Morris suggests that the apostle John deliberately begins his gospel in a way that reflects Genesis chapter one in the beginning. And that takes us back to the original physical creation. And John shows us then Jesus to be engaged in a new creation. Just as he was engaged in that first creation of the heavens and the earth and all they contain. Morris concludes, this chapter records, and I quote, the happenings of one momentous week. The happenings of one momentous week. And we want this morning to focus on this wonderful chapter of God's Word. We don't have time to take in all of it. We're going to look at what Morris believes are days 3 to 5, which is from verse 35 to verse 51. And our text and title of our sermon is found in verse 37. The words, and they followed Jesus. They followed Jesus. My headings are very easy to pick this morning, or else I'm being very lazy. We're going to think about the three words in our text. We're going to think about Jesus, the one who was followed We're gonna think about the they, the ones who did, the following, and then we're going to think about followed. What does it mean to follow Jesus? So first of all, let's think about Jesus. I want us to imagine for a moment that you have no Bible knowledge. You've walked into church this morning, And you've only known the name of God and the name of Jesus as blasphemies. And this portion of scripture, including the verses that I didn't read, is the only chapter of scripture with which you are familiar. That would be a wonderful privilege for the person who's never heard of God or Jesus except as a blasphemy. If they were looking at this chapter, yes this chapter, and at nothing else of scripture but this chapter. Because the chapter is packed full of the knowledge and the information and the response that needs to be made by all of us and all people if they are to be saved and if they are to go to heaven to be with God when they die. The name Jesus is but one name that is used of this unique person. that John presents to us, that's the Apostle John, and of whom John the Baptist preaches in this chapter. If we took time, we could go through the chapter and we would get near 20 different terms or titles that are used for Jesus. For example, verse 1, he's the Word. Then later on he's described as the Light. And later on, he's described as Jesus Christ. He's described as the only begotten of the father. It is just incredible. This is a glorious, glorious chapter in the word of God. And so, Jesus, he's the one whom people follow in this chapter. He's the one that John the preacher in this chapter and John the Baptist in this chapter is absorbed with. He's been born at a particular time, about six months ahead of Jesus. He's been the son of much promise, John the Baptist. And now the time has come for him to arrive on the stage of history. And John is full of the person and work of Jesus. He speaks of him from eternity, the one who was the word, the one who is God, the one through whom the world was made, and the true light who grants the knowledge of God that exists in every human being. People today will try and say to us, there is no God. I don't believe there's a God. Well, people who say that, sadly, they have suppressed that natural God-given knowledge that is in every human being by birth. And that God sometimes, A bit like when a child was playing with a jack in a box, you wound the handle and the jack popped up and the child then slammed it down. Sadly, that's what people in our day and generation, but not only in our generation, have done with the knowledge of God. In life and in their experience, God turns the handle and the knowledge of himself pops up and people slam it down. I don't want that. I don't want to go there. I will live my life without God. And John reminds us that we have that knowledge of God by nature within us. Then he goes on in verses 14 to 18 and he says, this Jesus is not only God, he is also man. The word That's the Son, boys and girls. That's Christ, the eternal Son of God. Verse 14, became flesh. He became a human being, just like we are, except he had one vital difference, boys and girls. He had no sin. He was born without sin, and he lived without sin. And he died without sin of his own. Dying, of course, for our sins, which he took upon himself. But they didn't become part of his nature. Because he rose again from the dead. And so, he's the word become flesh. He's come to save. He's the only begotten of the Father. There's only one son like this. and the Son reveals and explains God to us. What is God like? People ask today. How can I know what God wants of me? Some people are thankfully asking today, and we should always say to them, go to the scriptures and read of Jesus, his life, and you'll learn what God is like. and what he taught, and you'll learn what God is like. And listen to what he says to the crowds, and you'll learn very quickly what God wants of each one of us. This Jesus, John describes, that's the Apostle John recording this chapter as full of grace and truth. Verse 17, what a beautiful description of our Savior. full of grace, full of truth. He has all truth in himself. Yes, there is truth that we can discover and we can know and learn. Two plus two equals four and so on. But our truth that we know, you could write it on a postage stamp. but he is full of truth. All truth ultimately comes from God and belongs to God and is seen and experienced in Christ. Remember that, young people in school, when it's been suggested that you find truth in evolution or in some other philosophy that man has devised. Truth resides in God. God is truth. Christ is the truth, full of truth. And to know what is best for your life and my life, and to live for God, we need to know Christ Jesus, the truth, but then full of grace. This God and this Christ doesn't say, treat us as sometimes can happen to us. When somebody knows more than us, they look down upon us. And they despise us and they treat us roughly and they say, maybe it's happened to you boys and girls, I hope it hasn't. In school, where a teacher's been unthoughtful to you and said, you know this, get on with it and do it. and be what you ought to be. Well, that's not the way God deals with us. He's full of grace. He reaches down to us. He pours grace into us. He gives us what we don't have and what we need in order to know Him and to live for Him. And so, then in the section that we're going to be looking at, particularly These disciples, these men that begin to follow Jesus, they're pointed to the fact that he is the long-promised sin-bearer. He's the Lamb, the Lamb. Not the lamb picked any longer from the shepherds flock and the lambs that were all in Jerusalem at Passover to be killed and at other times. No, here's a human being whom God looks upon as a lamb. He's going to take sin upon himself. He's the Lamb of God, because the Lamb of the flock can never deal with our sin, never dealt with Israel's sin. It was only covering it until the true Lamb of God would come. And so, He is the Lamb of God, and look at what He does. He takes away the sin of the world, takes away the sin of people from all over the world, not just you Jews. Not just you church people, John's saying, but you unchurched people out in the world, the Gentiles of that day, the unchurched of that day and of our day. He is the one who takes away the sin of those who receive him. If you go back to verse 11 and verse 12 again. So boys and girls and men and women, this is what, the people were hearing through John the Baptist. This is the Christ Jesus that he knew in his life and that he followed in his life and that he proclaimed to the crowds that were gathering by the River Jordan, gathering to hear him preach and then to receive this Old Testament washing that signified they were turning away from their sin and they were turning to God and they were looking and waiting for the Christ of whom John spoke. Boys and girls and men and women, what a Savior. What a glorious, glorious Savior we have in Jesus Christ. And this is one of the richest chapters in all of scripture and presenting us the eternal glory of the Christ. And then his coming in that voluntary way at the will of the father to deal with our sin, to enter into your experience and my experience by living in this world, but living without sin and then dying. To bear our sins, and that word bear means to carry away. To take them away from the sight of God. So that God looks upon you and he looks upon me and Christ and he says, my sons, my daughters, and he delights in us as he delights in his own eternal, only begotten, sinless son. Is that not something to be glad about, boys and girls and men and women? Is that not something to give thanks for? They followed Jesus. And congregation today, and anyone listening from home, anyone listening who doesn't belong to the church, there is no one else like Jesus. And no one else is worthy for you to follow. and no one else will do for you what Jesus can do for you. Whatever issues you're grappling with in your life, and there's people grappling with all kinds of issues today. Who am I? I think I'm in the wrong body, and I think this and I think that, and we need to think Godward. And we need to allow this Christ whom God has sent, this Jesus, to fill our thoughts and our minds because that's what John is doing as he preaches and he baptizes here in chapter one, Jesus. I could say so much more, but I need to stop there. And the question is this boys and girls and men and women, are we following Jesus? Whom are you following in your life? Are you following the crowd? Are you following your own ideas and thoughts? Are you following your peers at school or in the community or at work? Or are we, are you following Jesus? He's the only one worthy of following. But then let us notice secondly, where our text says, and they followed Jesus. They, we want to think about the they now, boys and girls. Who are the they behind this phrase? And when we look at the rest of the section from verse 35 to 44, there are five people mentioned. Five men Not because Jesus was for men only. He loved women to come to him and many women did come to him. But these are men who are ultimately going to be leaders down the line, the church, and he's looking at this stage around him for men. Because he's been in this crowd, perhaps for days, perhaps for weeks. Perhaps as soon as John's ministry began, Jesus went to hear him. That would be perfectly natural and to be expected of the sinless son of God who wanted to know the will of his father for his life, that he would assemble under the ministry of this last Old Testament prophet who was preparing the way for his coming. And so on days three to five, there are five men who begin to follow Jesus. Verses 35 to 37 tell us that two of them were John's disciples. Now, boys and girls to be a disciple in those days was like being a pupil. So if you wanted to learn, um, to be a doctor, you attached yourself to a doctor and you were their disciple, you were their pupil. If you wanted to be a bricklayer, you attached yourself to a bricklayer and you were their disciple. So already there are men and potentially women also, surely women also, who are followers of John, who are learners, who are beginning to grasp that vision that John has for the coming Christ and to have that passion. And they're almost standing, you know it's like boys and girls when you can't quite see far enough and you've got to get on your tiptoes. Or you're expecting your grandparents to come and You can't wait and you're standing at the window and you're noticing every car that comes up the road. Well, that's the kind of expectation that John has created here. And there are those with John now who are on their tiptoes waiting for the Christ. Isn't that wonderful? That God in his sovereignty is already making a people ready and receptive to his Christ. And so we're told that two of John's disciples, that they are with him. And look at what John says, behold the Lamb of God. That's that phrase we were thinking about earlier. And look at verse 37. The two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. So two of John's pupils, they say, as it were, bye-bye, John. Thank you, John. You've shown us Jesus. And we are now wanting to follow Jesus as you have prepared us to do and as you would want us to do. And so they become Jesus' disciples. Verse 38, Jesus turned and seeing them following, said to them, what do you seek or who do you seek? And they said to him, Rabbi, that's teacher, that's the pupil saying teacher. They're saying we want to join you, we want you to be our teacher, we want to follow you. And look at what Jesus says, come and you will see. Come and you will see. Now boys and girls, you can imagine that these two men, while they were expectant and looking forward to Jesus coming, It's a bit like when you're going into a new place, maybe for somebody's birthday party, or you're maybe going into a new class at school, and you're looking forward to it, but you're a bit apprehensive, you're a bit afraid, you're wondering, will it be okay? What happens if I don't get on there? Or what happens if nobody speaks to me? Or what happens if I'm turned away? And you can think of these disciples, yes, they are these men, two men, they're beginning to follow Jesus, and they're probably wondering, will Jesus accept us? And notice how Jesus speaks exactly to reassure them. Come, come on, join me. Come and you will see more of who I am and more of what I am about. And then in verse 41, we have a third person. And here we have Simon. He's the brother of one of the two who've just begun to follow Jesus and turned away from John. And the third is Simon, Andrew's brother. And so, it's reckoned that it's in the fourth day that he, verse 41, because they spent all the previous day with Jesus, that's in the fourth day that Andrew goes. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, we have found the Messiah. Wonderful boys and girls, men and women, When Andrew spends that afternoon with the Christ, and observes his life, and no doubt asks some questions, and hears Jesus explain things, he says to himself, do you know something? Tomorrow, I must go and tell my brother. Because he will want to know of this Jesus. And we're not told, we don't know precisely where Peter was, but this word for finding him, he goes and he finds him, it's the word that is used of Mary and Joseph when they were looking for Jesus amongst the crowd coming back from the temple. It's the word that's used of the woman who's lost her coin, of the shepherd who's lost his sheep, of the father who's lost his son. And so it's that idea of a diligent search and desire to bring his brother to Jesus. We have found the Messiah. That's the one that we've been told about in church, the one that they may have learned of from their parents, Not everybody was expecting a savior from sin at this stage. Some were expecting a political Messiah to deliver from Rome, but we have found the Messiah. And then when we go to verse 43, we have another, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, we're told. Here now, we're on day five. Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. And look at what happens now. He found Philip. So, no human being involved. Only Christ, in his sovereignty, in his divine nature, knowing where Philip was, and then in his human body, going and locating Philip, and inviting Philip, and saying to Philip, come follow me. And so then we read boys and girls and men and women verse 45. The fifth and final disciple is Nathanael and Philip goes and he finds Nathanael. And when you read verse 46 and verse 47, um, we see that, um, Nathanael is unsure. Galilee, Nazareth. It's a little backwater, a bit like Keshe and Fermanagh. And Cana, where Nathanael lived, was much more of a hub. And so Nathanael thinks, well, surely the Messiah is going to come not from the backwater, He's got to come from the big known place, the big name on the world of that day. So he's unsure. But look at how Philip says to him, come and see. There's an invitation. An invitation to somebody who says, well, I'm not sure about this. I'm not sure about this one that you're talking about. Philip encourages him, but look at what Jesus says. Again, how wonderful this is because we see Jesus speaking into the need of this man, the fears of this man, and recognizing who this man was and is. Jesus said, you are a true Israelite. There literally is Behold an Israelite in whom is no, and the word is used of Jacob, in whom is no Jacob. Do you remember boys and girls about Jacob? He was a bit of a twister. And he liked to control things, so for his own ends. And Jesus says, Nathanael, as I look into your heart, and imagine, remember this, Nathanael's not quite sure, is this the Messiah? Jesus says to him, I can see into your heart. Well, that knocks away a few doubts, doesn't it? I can see into your heart. Who can see into my heart but God. And so Jesus again speaking into this man's life where he was uncertain and unsure. And so we read of these men, they follow Jesus and they've been exposed to John and his ministry and they've been hearing about Jesus and about his coming and now they begin to follow him. They're all different backgrounds, different personalities and they have different concerns and issues. And as God looks at us today, and as Christ looks upon you today, and me from heaven, he sees us in all the variety of our personalities. He sees us in all the variety of our situations, and the challenges that we face. in family life, in working life, and he sees us in the light of our own doubts and fears and concerns that burden us down. And here's the beautiful thing about this wonderful Savior. He deals with us exactly according to our fears. He doesn't say pull yourself together and get on with it. He doesn't say, stand up and stop your wimping around the place. No, he brings this gentle word of reassurance, which then we can carry with us. And you probably have times in your life, maybe even the time you were converted, and you had questions, and you weren't sure about things, and you just find the Lord dealing with those one after another. either in family worship or in public worship or through a friend or whatever. How gracious is Christ in his dealings with us. A bruised reed he will not break, a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. And so whatever things are bothering you or me this morning that are the new challenges in our lives, we can bring every one of them to Christ. and we can trust Him to minister into our hearts and to the depth of our need so that we will follow Him. Follow Him. So we thought about Jesus, the one being followed. We thought about these five men, the ones who are doing the following. And we want to think now briefly at the end about what does it mean to follow? What does it mean to follow? Well, we use the word follow in lots of different ways today, don't we? We meet somebody on the road and they say, can you tell me how to get to such and such a place? We say, well, actually, I'm going there. Just get in your car. and follow me and I will take you there. So we use it in that sense of getting to a place that we don't know. And then of course, boys and girls, the big following today is where? Facebook. How many followers have you got on Facebook? How many followers have you got on Instagram? And that's the big thing that people talk about. And that's what the big stars, so-called, of our world talk about. They've got so many thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers. What does that mean? Well, it doesn't mean very much. It doesn't mean very much that somebody's following you. or that you're following somebody else on Facebook, I have an interest in what you're doing. I have an interest in who you are. But it's just an interest. I'll grow out of it. Or it's just part of my life. It's not the whole purpose of my life. And then, of course, we have a phrase which we say about following the crowd. And the following the crowd is the person that they drift along. They don't have strong ideas. They don't have a sense of where they're going or what they're about. They just drift into the day. And they drift through the day. And they drift out of the day. And tomorrow's a new day. And so they follow the crowd. And eventually, the crowd, they become part of the crowd. And they become like the crowd. And have the values of the crowd. And then sometimes we use the word follow. I might say, and the older people will appreciate this, I followed Professor Leakey in Kilraths. So you come after somebody in a job. Well, is that the sense of follow here? Well, there is a geographical aspect because the people do leave John and they walk to another place with Jesus, but there's far more involved, much more involved than those other ways that we've talked about following. This is not a vague interest. Well, we'll just drift along with you, Jesus, and see where you take us and what happens. They certainly don't know where they're going. But they do have a sense, this is the one to follow and we should trust him. And they're not going to replace Jesus, their whole focus is now beginning to be built around Jesus. This word follow, it's used four times in our passage and In three of the four times it's used in these verses, 36, 37, sorry, 36, 37, 38, and 40, and 43. Sorry, not 36, leave that out. Leave 36 and 38 out. 37, 38, and 40, and 43. In three of those, it means to commit oneself to. So here's a commitment following involves commitment of life and heart and will and of our mind. And that's what these men are doing. They're committing themselves to Jesus, not as we're the people you've been waiting for. I'm sure you're delighted to have us. We'll help you with any problems, we'll sort them out. No, they're committing themselves to Jesus as learners. Pupils, they want to be with him. They want to hear his teaching. They want to see his life. They want to observe his works. And so we read that they followed Jesus. And the way in which this word is written, boys and girls and men and women, means to follow once and for all time. Now these men may not have seen it that way at that time. They probably Well, they probably weren't, they didn't know what all was going to happen, and so they were probably only thinking of the immediate response they were making. But it is significant that John records it in this way, that the beginning of their following in response to Jesus meant it was going to be for the rest of their lives. And I find that so encouraging Because I look back in my own conversion in my early teens, and I just think of the feeble steps that I was taking at that stage. But the wonderful thing is, that it was the work of God in us. And when God brings us to that point, even you young children, and you're taking your first initial step to trusting and following Jesus, From God's point of view, this is the direction you're going to go the rest of your life. And you see, he's gonna lead you. He's gonna lead you. Because to follow, there's gotta be a leader. And how wonderful that is that he follows us every day, or sorry, that he leads us and we follow him every day of our lives. So to follow means to begin, and it's to begin to learn, to begin to commit, to begin to be and to do what Jesus wants us to do. Sometimes our problem is that we want to know 20 years ahead or 10 years ahead. And Jesus is saying to us, follow me today. Follow me today. You can trust me. and you can leave your tomorrows, and the next year, and the next 10 years, and we who are getting older, we can leave the end of our lives in his hands, because he will lead us in the way that is full of grace and truth, even then, so that we will not be destroyed, even in the dark valley of the shadow of death. There's two applications that I want us to make at the end. And it's to ask the question, how are we following Jesus today? Are we like the Facebook follower? It's vague. It's a vague interest. Yes, we'll be at church on the Lord's Day morning. But when I go home, when the Lord's Day has passed, well, I'm back, I'm thrown into my work again. You know, it takes over. Is that the way we're following Jesus? Surely the Savior deserves better than that. Are we following Jesus a bit like the crowd? We're drifting along. We drift in, we drift out. We don't have any sense of clear purpose in our lives. What Christ is wanting to do through you. because he wants to do something special through each one of us. Not something spectacular, but something unique to you and to me, through you and me, where he's placed us in our families, in our communities. The second application is this. They follow Jesus as learners. We mustn't confuse this with the time when Jesus appointed the 12. The 12 were not appointed for at least 12 months after this. And some of these men do become the 12. And Jesus is at this time investing himself in men whom he's praying and believing and hoping will be the 12. but they're not yet the 12. And the point is this, we need to learn Christ before we're called to lead by Christ. So important, it's so basic, but it's something that is actually being neglected in parts of the church today. Somebody's converted and immediately they're catapulted up to the front to give their testimony. They are catapulted into leadership and it's the ruination of their profession of faith. We have to learn before Christ. We have to learn Christ before Christ called us to lead. One more application that I intended to make earlier, and I can't develop this, But here's the question I want us to ask too. Who are we engaging with in our world? With a view to seeing them following Christ. Notice that John was the basis, John the preacher was the basis of Andrew. And the other name, the other person was probably John himself. The first two, it was through the preacher they began to follow Jesus. But then what about Simon? It was through his brother. And Nathaniel, it was through Philip. And so there's an emphasis in this passage, if you want to think in terms of numbers, there's some emphasis in this passage on the importance of our personal witness and our ability to say to people, come and see, I have found the Messiah. And I would like you to learn about the Jesus that has changed my life and he is able and willing to change your life. But then we also recognize here that there's a role for the preacher. There's a role for the believer. But then there's the role of Christ. There's the role of the Holy Spirit. And that is illustrated in Philip because we read Christ found Philip. And it's ultimately Christ finds all of us and all people. but he finds through the preaching of the word. He finds through the witness of his people. And yes, there are times when he does find people without any human involvement whatsoever. So let's, that's our third application this morning. It's really essential to be following Christ, to be followers of Christ means we're witnesses of Christ. We want to see others following Christ. And if we're not doing that, we need to ask why. And we need to address it. And if it's fear, or whatever, remember what we saw earlier. Christ comes and he deals with our fears. And he gives us the grace and the strength to be what he wants us to be and to do. Amen.