John 1:49 (The Real Deal)

Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 4:18 – 7:13 Relate: I am a Syracuse fan. What I mean by that is that I recognize that the Syracuse University Orangemen have the greatest basketball program in the history of college athletics. We are the best. I am…

John 1:48 (I See You)

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Daily Bible Reading: Exodus 1:1 – 4:17, 1 Chronicles 6:1-3 Relate: At my college there was a famous pond. I don’t know that anybody ever bothered giving it a name but everyone knew it…

Echoing Jesus (John 1:46)

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. Daily Bible Reading: Job 40:6 – 42:17 Relate: “What do you want?” Then “Come and see.” Later, “Your name is Simon, son of John. But you will be called Cephas.” Finally, “Come, follow me.” These four brief statements are all we…

Philip (John 1:43-44)

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. (John 1:43-44) Read: Job 35:1 – 37:24 Relate: Peter, James, and John. Those are the three disciples who are always in the limelight. Andrew might sometimes make that list because he’s…

Peter (John 1:42)

Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”). (John 1:42) Read: Job 32:1 – 34:37 Relate: Have you ever daydreamed about having a superpower? Did you ever wonder what it would be like to move through time? What about being able to influence someone’s mind or…

Andrew (John 1:40-42)

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. (John 1:40-42) Read: Job 30:1 – 31:40 Relate: When Billy Graham is going to be…

Follow (John 1:37)

When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. (John 1:37) Read: Job 19:1 – 21:34 Relate: I’m a chicken. There is no other way around it. I am just too scared to step out and do what I believe God is truly calling me to do. For years now my heart has been to just pack…

Jesus Is (John 1:34)

I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. (John 1:34) Read: Job 12:1 – 14:22 Relate: The theology of Jesus’ identity is so rich in John. We have only worked our way through the first half of the first chapter but already we have seen that Jesus is… Pre-existent (1:1, 1:15, 1:30) The…

I Did Not Recognize Him (John 1:30-31)

He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” (John 1:30-31)…

Lamb of God (John 1:29)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) Read: Job 1:1-4:21 Relate: The phrase “Lamb of God” seems so common in church culture and literature that I normally tend to breeze right by it. “Lamb of God.” Yup, right.…