2 Kings 10-12 John 1:29-51

“One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’ (‘Messiah’ means ‘Christ.’)” (Luke 1:40-41 NCV)

At the height of John’s popularity, he turned the public eye away from himself and onto Jesus. He had proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Once he realized that Jesus was the Messiah, he pointed people to Jesus. He looked at Jesus while surrounded by his disciples and said, “behold the Lamb of God,” (v. 36) and a couple of his disciples left to follow Jesus. After they followed Him and stayed with Him, Andrew went the next day and got his brother, saying, in essence, “You’ve got to come meet this guy. He’s really the Messiah!” And later, Philip found Nathanael who was, understandably, skeptical at first but who soon recognized Jesus as the Messiah also. Jesus’s followers grew as one person told another person about the Messiah, or the Christ.

Throughout history, this has been the most effective way of making disciples of Jesus Christ. While I seek to proclaim the gospel in these messages, I know that in most cases they will not persuade others that Jesus is the Messiah. My hope and prayer is that they will strengthen and encourage Christians who will then go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ with their friends. For those who aren’t Christians, I hope that these words will encourage them to seek to find out more about Jesus Christ and that they will find other Christians whose lives exemplify the grace of Jesus Christ within them. If you are my personal friend who hasn’t accepted Christ as your Savior, I hope that my life shows the love and grace of Jesus Christ to you. I’d love to spend some time talking with you about my joy in Christ. Whatever the situation may be, one person telling another person about Jesus Christ is still the best way to make disciples. So share your love of Jesus with others and help change the world.

Lord, it’s so easy to talk about other things with friends. Sometimes, I’m worried that people who don’t know You will reject me when I talk about Your love and grace. Give me the courage to represent You to others all the time.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.