Sermon Text - January 20, 2008
“What’s the Question?”
John 1:35-42
Rev. Susan Towner-Larsen
I'm going to invite you all to grab a Bible out of the rack in front of you because we're going to open up the text together. Only I'm going to ask you to open up if you're on the side of the sanctuary, would you please open to the Gospel of Matthew in the back of the book and find the first chapter of Matthew. And this side of the sanctuary, would you find Mark and the first chapter of Mark. What happens first in a story is really important. Of course, if you're writing a story or a book you want to start it with something that really grabs people. So that's what we're going to try to do in the Gospel.
The Gospel writers know this, and they have a very important mission that you want to convince us that Jesus Christ's is the Messiah. So it's very interesting how each one began. Let's look at Matthew. What does Matthew begin with? Someone raised their hand or just tell me how Matthew begins? Don't give me the words, just give me the gist of it . . with Abraham! There's a genealogy, right. It's really important to know that Jesus comes from Abraham. And then it goes right the birth story.
How about Mark, how does Mark begin? In the good news of Jesus. Then what does Mark do? Goes back to the prophet, the most famous prophet of Israel and he's brought to testify that this man Jesus is the Messiah. Okay, let's switch over here, if you would find Luke on the side of the sanctuary and you folks go to John. How does look began this important story? John the Baptist and then the birth story. Okay, John an important prophet of the time of Jesus is brought to testify. And how does John begin? Very famous words, we almost all know them - "In the beginning was the Word." A sort of majestic, powerful prologue. And at what story does he tell first?
He goes right to John the Baptist. So all of us let's look at the Gospel of John the first chapter, and I'm going to read for us a couple of the verses, versus 35 to 42. If you would follow along, I invite you to listen carefully to this story and please notice how Jesus is identified, and noticed his very first spoken words.
In this part of the story we have the first appearance of Jesus and the first word that John had Jesus utter. Listen to God's Word. "The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples. And as they watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, 'Look! There is the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following he said to them, 'what are you looking for?'
They said to him, 'Rabbi, where are you staying?' He said to them 'come and see.' They came and saw where he was staying and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. One of the two heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, 'we have found the Messiah.' He brought Simon to Jesus who looked at him and said, 'You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas.'
So how was Jesus first identified? What label is put on him right away? Lamb of God, which the people of that day would have known meant Messiah. John doesn't waste any time - the other three Gospels sort of build up to "Messiah-ship". John goes right for it. And what does Jesus say first, "what you're looking for?" Or in the original, "what do you seek?"
A question, you know life is full of questions. Some are sort of everyday questions. What are some of those everyday questions we get asked? How are you? What's for dinner? What time is it? My daughter called me this morning to say, "what's the weather in Seattle?" And some questions are sort of life questions, the kind we don't answer in a moment. The kind we spend our life working on.
Lots of people have asked life questions. In the "Bucket List" movie I saw recently they asked the question, where did you find joy? Where did you give joy? I remember reading Moody's books, the couple centuries ago, decades ago or whatever the life after life where the being of light to let us into the next life, says, "what did you learn? And where did you show love? Or maybe you prefer Joseph Campbell's question, what's your bliss? Those are some of the big questions of life and when we get to the end of our life we like to think that we've pondered a few of those.
The disciples have an interesting answer. Jesus says, "what are you looking for?" What do they say, "where are you staying?" Staying in the original is the word abide. John uses the word abide 42 times, and it means: what anchors you? Where are you rooted? What's your foundation?
They want to know what holds Jesus together. Where are you rooted Lord? He says, come and see. And some of them came and saw. Read to the end of the chapter, oh heck, read to the end of the Gospel. He changed lives.
You might get your name changed, you might drop everything and followed him. Come and see. What are you looking for, whom do you really seek? Amen.