John the Baptist is introduced quite differently in this Gospel. There was no mention of raiment of camel’s hair or a leathern girdle about his loins or that he ate locusts and wild honey. His singular purpose is to announce the presence of the Messiah and he will have the honor to baptize the Lord Jesus.

"And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And He confessed and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?" It is significant that the religious leaders had to ask, "Who art thou?" From John’s response we note they must have implied the more direct question, "Are you the Christ." John denied being the Christ or Elijah or the prophet predicted by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 & 18:18. John was not trained in the rabbinical schools. He held no position in the Temple. He was not identified with the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or the Herodians. By what right was he baptizing men and bidding them to repent? The delegation finally gave John an opportunity to answer in his own words.

"He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?" Out of humility, he described himself as one crying in the wilderness. He used the same term written in Isaiah 40:3. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Note that if Christ is the Word, John is merely the voice. He was there to make known and bear witness to the word. Why did John not cry in the temple? Judaism was just a hollow shell with outward form but no life within. The wilderness symbolized the spiritual barrenness of the Jewish nation.

"John answered them, saying I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing." John did not deny that he baptized with water which was a symbolic rite for the Jews. The men were asking about baptism. John ignored the irrelevant quibbles about rites and urged them to look to Christ as their Lord and Saviour. How often do we get bogged down in how things are done when why they are being done is the critical issue? John was the son of a priest, born due to God’s direct intervention, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb and engaged in a ministry which drew great multitudes. Yet he proclaimed how much greater was the Christ.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water." John is pointing out that all the sacrifices of Old Testament times had foreshadowed the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Abel sacrificed a Lamb in Genesis 4. God provided a Lamb in place of Isaac in Genesis 22:8. The blood of the Lamb was used for Passover in Exodus 12. In Isaiah 53:7 we learn that the Lamb of God will be a man. Here we learn who he was. In Revelation 5 the Lamb was magnified by the hosts of heaven. Revelation 22:1 has the Lamb glorified, seated upon the eternal throne of God. John again declares that Christ existed before him and was preferred over him. John baptizes to prepare a people for the Christ.

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a heavenly dove and abode on him. It did not come and leave again. Why would the Holy Spirit descend as a dove on Christ when it appeared as tongues of fire at Pentecost? John proclaims that he who sent him to baptize explained the significance of the Holy Spirit abiding in Jesus. In all, John testified to: Christ’s re-existence, His Lordship, His superiority, His sacrificial work, His moral perfections, his Divine right to baptize with the Holy Spirit and His Divine Sonship.

"Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, "Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour." This gospel does not record the call to service reported in the other Gospels. It records the conversion of these first disciples of Christ. The two men had already attached themselves to John and were baptized and eagerly awaited the promised Messiah and Saviour. Within their own eyes, they were seeing the Son of God who was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin. They came to Christ through the ministry of John the Baptist.

Jesus then asks "What seek Ye?" Christ desired to be followed but not through formal or superstitious worship. What He wants is the heart that seeks Him for himself. "Where dwelleth thou?" is not a question of idle curiosity. It showed they longed to be with Him. They did not seek a what. They sought a who. It was Christ on whom their hearts were set. Jesus said, "Come and see." They came and saw and "abode" with Him. Abode is in reference to spiritual fellowship as opposed to physical proximity.

"One of the two which hear John speak, and follow Him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus behold him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a Stone." Note that Andrew went first to his brother. We also should start with those closest to us. Cephas is Aramaic for rock. Petros is Greek for stone. The renaming was to indicate that Simon’s fiery and rash temperament would be replaced by Peter the fixed and stable rock. From the other Gospels, we learn that John also brought his brother James although the story is humbly omitted from this Gospel.

"The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou are the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Philip also had his heart so filled with the love of Christ, he had to share the discovery with others. When Philip was questioned by Nathanael, the invitation was simply "Come and see." Nathanael was the second of seven to bear witness to Christ’s Deity. John the Baptist did so in1:34 and Nathanael in 1:49. We will mention the other five as we continue our studies.

In this lesson we hear of four different cases of conversion.

The first two (Andrew and John) heard a preacher (John the Baptist) proclaiming Christ as "the lamb of God," and promptly sought out the Saviour for themselves.

Simon Peter was brought to Christ by his brother who had followed and found the Saviour on the previous day.

James was also brought to Christ by his brother John who, in humility, fails to mention it in this Gospel.

Philip seemed to have no believer to help him like many of the people in the world today. Jesus found Philip and said unto him, "Follow me."

Nathanael was sought out by Philip and warmly invited to come and see Christ for himself. Christ completed Nathanael’s conversion by showing he knew all about him before he saw him.

Not only did these first converts find the Saviour in a variety of ways, Christ dealt differently with each one.