The next day again John [the Baptist] was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, saw them following, and said to them, “What are you seeking?” (John 1:35-38, ESV)
We are all seeking something!
For some of us, it might be faster ball speeds and longer carries. We are eager to find reliable putting mechanics and better chipping techniques — even if that means going left-hand low.
Golf is that one sport that both baffles and bewitches us. On Friday, you shoot the lowest score of your life. On Saturday, you couldn’t find a fairway if your life depended on it.
On Friday at the Travelers, Scottie “made everything.” On the weekend, he couldn’t find anything. Same guy. Same course. Same equipment. Same process. But the putter was M.I.A. We have to believe that even world No. 1 was searching for that elusive something.
When John the Baptist passes the baton to Jesus, two of his disciples begin following Jesus after hearing John declare, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Sensing he has company, Jesus turns and asks, “What are you seeking?” This is the kind of question that goes deep into the marrow of our bones.
If asked, I would stammer and stutter — especially since the One asking is the only person capable of fulfilling my deepest desires. Where would I even start? Health? Happiness? A clean conscience? Peace? Safety? Immortality?
Interestingly, the two disciples respond with a question of their own: “Where are you staying?”
They need more time. Their list is too long for a quick reply. Jesus obliges them with: “Come and see.”
Typical of the Gospel writers, John does not tell us what happened when they arrived. Instead, he skips forward to Andrew looking for his brother, Simon Peter.
When Andrew finds Simon, he says, “We have found the Messiah” — which means Christ, the Anointed King. Then they go to find Jesus. What are we to make of all this?
Israel was living under the iron fist of Rome, longing for the promised King who would come and deliver them. We in the West have a tough time grasping what life under Caesar was like. God’s people were captives in their own land. Like Nazi-occupied France, Roman soldiers suffocated their daily lives.
So, when modern readers hear about a man dressed in camel’s hair and eating locusts — John the Baptist — saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” or when they hear Andrew, a fisherman, saying, “We have found the Messiah,” the significance may not immediately register.
But for Andrew and Peter, those words were loaded with hope. When they heard “the Lamb of God” and “the Messiah,” they knew that what Israel had been seeking had finally arrived. What had they found?
They had found the Priest with the one Lamb who could atone for sin, remove guilt, and wash away shame.
They had found the Messiah-King with authority to defeat the tyrannical powers that destroy our lives.
Granted, they expected a military king who would overthrow Rome. What they received was far greater: a King who overthrew the deeper evil powers behind Rome — and behind every despot, sin, and dark force that seeks to tyrannize human hearts.
When John writes about the Lamb and the Messiah, he is drawing from the rich imagery of the Old Testament. He is writing about the answer to our deepest needs.
In Jesus, we find the only One who cancels our debt, cleanses our conscience, and enables us to overcome the power of sin.
As Blaise Pascal observed many years ago:
All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this goal. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both… They will never take the least step but to this object [happiness]. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves. — Pascal’s Pensées
What are you seeking?
Look to Jesus Christ — the Lamb of God, the Messiah-King, and the only One who can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.
Prayer: Father! Enable us to see where the true treasure in life is found!