Jesus and Relational Discipleship

Text: John 1:35-51
Theme: Jesus’ approach to discipleship was more relational than it was demanding.
Key verses: “As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God!.’ When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. ‘What do you want?’ he asked them. They replied, ‘Rabbi…where are you staying?’ ‘Come and see,’ he said…they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day” (v. 36-39). “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Come follow me’ (v. 43). “Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the person Moses and the prophets wrote about!…Come and see for yourself,’ Philip replied. As they approached, Jesus said, ‘Now here is a genuine son of Israel–a man of complete integrity.’ ‘How do you know about me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, ‘I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.’ Then Nathanael exclaimed, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God–the King of Israel!'” (v. 45-49).
What God said to me: First, son, keep in mind that you can’t sum up everything about Jesus’ approach to discipleship from this one passage. However, there are some strong indicators found in these exchanges with his disciples that will shed light on his relational approach. Most of your young life you were taught and you assumed that the disciples simply heard Jesus command them to follow and they did–without any foreknowledge of Jesus and of what they were doing. However, you can now see that was not always the case. Yes, Jesus said, “Follow me,” and yes, they did follow him immediately, once they heard his clear call. However, it’s what they saw and experienced before that life-altering moment that is so very important for you to grasp. Take Andrew, for example. He heard John, whom he was originally following, endorse Jesus as the Messiah. Then, when he asked Jesus where he was staying, Jesus didn’t say, “Come follow me and then you can find out.” Jesus put no initial demands or conditions on Andrew at all. He simply said, “Come and see.” Jesus invited Andrew to be near him and get to know him for an entire afternoon and evening. There is no record of Jesus doing anything miraculous or spectacular in front of Andrew that day. Thus, Andrew was exposed to Jesus’ deity through the endorsement of his leader, John, and to his humanity, through Andrew’s visit with Jesus. How Jesus related to Andrew before calling him is hugely significant for you to understand and apply. But there’s more in this passage that helps to substantiate Jesus’ relational approach. Notice what Jesus first said to Simon and to Nathanael. Again, his first communication wasn’t a demand to follow him. In fact, Jesus’ first words weren’t even about him. He spoke to them about them. Jesus told Simon his name would be upgraded to Peter. It wasn’t until the next day that Jesus saw Peter by the lake and called him to follow. The first thing Jesus did with Nathanael was to compliment him on being a man of genuine integrity. I want you to notice that of the four disciples mentioned in this chapter, only one–Philip–got an upfront invitation to follow Jesus. All of the others were drawn to him first through Jesus’ deliberately relational approach. Dwayne, there is deep significance here for the Church as you go and make disciples. You don’t literally “make” them, of course. More often than not, in fact, their becoming my disciple will start first with you becoming their friend.
What I said to God: Father, I don’t quite understand all that I just wrote and think I heard through Your Word. I will continue to search Your scriptures and study the life of Your Son to see how I and those I lead can be most effective in building Your Kingdom. Please help me be sensitive to each person I encounter, knowing that some of them will be ready for an immediate invitation to follow Christ, while others will need time to first be shown Christ.