Jesus and His Friends

Video Host: Heather Poe - National Fine Arts Coordinator

BIG SCRIPTURE: John 1:40-46

BIG IDEA:

In this passage Jesus is finding and calling on the men who will follow him and be his Disciples. A disciple is a follower or student of a teacher or leader. In this case the disciples are personal followers of Jesus. These disciples would become Jesus’ closest friends during the next three years of his ministry. They are the people he does life with, his best friends, and the people who witness his miracles and ministry firsthand. We have written accounts of Jesus’ life today because of the friends he did life with.

It starts with Andrew following Jesus. He overhears John the Baptist call Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Andrew had to have great faith that this was true because not only did he immediately follow Jesus, he went and told his brother, Simon, that they had “found the Messiah.”  The word messiah or Christ means, savior and deliverer. The Jewish people were desperately waiting for a messiah that would lead them to victory over their enemies. We will find out later that Jesus, the Messiah, did not just come to fight for the Jewish people, but to build relationship with all of us.

The next day, Jesus invites Philip to follow him. Like Andrew, Philip has to share this good news with someone. He finds and tells Nathanael, but Nathanael isn’t convinced. Instead of getting upset with Nathanael, Philip doesn’t pick a fight or try to convince him; he just invites him to “come and see for yourself.” He knew that an encounter with Jesus and building a friendship with Jesus was enough to convince Nathanael to follow. The same can happen with you and your friends:  Invite them to come, to get to know Him, believe in Him, and follow Him. 

BIG QUESTION:

• Of the disciples we just talked about that were called to follow Jesus, who are you most like and why? Do you instantly believe? Do you run to tell others as quickly as possible? Or are you slower to believe and need firsthand proof?
• As a follower of Jesus, how can you invite your friends to “come and see” for themselves instead of arguing with them that they need to know Jesus? How can you share Jesus?
• God has called all of us to him. Reflect on a time you felt called by God. Write your reflection down.

BIG PRAYER:

God, thank you for coming down to earth to build a relationship with us. Thank you for being worth following. Help us in our faith journey to follow you with excitement, inviting other’s to come with us and see that you are the savior and our friend. Help us be faithful friends just as you are a faithful friend to us.