John 1:29-34 covers the second day in a four-day period in the life of John the Baptist as recorded in this gospel. Previously in this gospel we have seen the Apostle John, the author of this gospel, present Jesus Christ in eternity past (vs. 1,2), in creation (vs. 3) as incarnate (vs. 14), as our Redeemer on the cross (vs. 29) and as the architect of the church age or dispensation, which is best seen in the book of Acts.

John the Baptist was designated by God to announce the coming Christ. His message was one of repentance. Repentance in the Bible is nothing more than a change of direction or mind. For an Israelite (or anyone for that matter) to repent, he was to turn from the Jewish system of law and sacrifices (a system of works), from any self-effort and/or other person; and turn in faith alone to Jesus Christ as the Messiah for his salvation. John the Baptist was a “grace” person who preached that the only way one could have eternal life was to accept by faith the person and work of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist also baptized in water exactly in the way and for the same reason we baptize today. Baptism was an outward sign or proclamation on one’s acceptance of Christ.

John 1:29-31

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One I meant when I said, ‘A Man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’ I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel.”

These statements took place at the baptism of Christ. Actually the baptism of Christ isn’t even recorded in John, but only certain events and statements that preceded and followed it. The likely reason it isn’t mentioned in this gospel is that in John the emphasis is on the deity of Christ, whereas the other gospels emphasize the humanity (as king, as man and as servant) of Christ.

John the Baptist declared Christ as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. By doing this he vividly called to the Jewish mind the sacrificial practice that would clearly explain how Christ would handle the matter of sin. The lamb was one of four sacrificial animals of Leviticus order required by God. The Israelite of the day was well informed regarding these sacrificial ceremonies and their meaning. When the lamb was sacrificed in the pre-church dispensation at the Jewish alter, the priest would place one hand on the lamb, which was tied down on the alter, and one hand on the person who then confessed his sins. It was then that the sins of that person were transferred to the lamb. This was the way the Jewish people learned and experienced salvation. The lamb was innocent, but the lamb paid for that person’s sin with its blood. The Leviticus offerings simply communicated the gospel. Even if a person couldn’t read, he could visually see and understand it.

This was a clear message to Israel as to how the Messiah was to pay for their sins. On the cross, during the last 3 hours, Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of all mankind (past, present and future), became that sin and paid the price for that sin by experiencing spiritual death. All the sins of all mankind were judged at the cross. They can’t be judged again. Because all sins were judged, sin is no longer a barrier between man and God.

This fact is covered numerous times in Scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:19
2 Corinthians 5:21
1Timothy 2:6
Hebrews 2:9; 9:26
1 Peter 2:24
2 Peter 2:1
1 John 2:2

Because the blood of Jesus covers our sins, we then only need to make the conscience decision to accept by faith alone the person and work of Jesus Christ for the payment of our sins and the guarantee of eternal life. At that moment of decision we are instantly saved, no matter whether we “feel” saved or not.

We see a couple of other points in these verses. First we see that John the Baptist had only one focus, only one message. His focus was on Jesus, and his message was one of grace, i.e., faith in Jesus Christ. Second, and although it isn’t mentioned in these verses that all this took place during one of John’s baptism events, we see that one of the reasons John the Baptist was commissioned by God to baptize by water was so that Christ could be revealed in person to Israel. This “revealing” is depicted in the following three verses.

John 1:32-34

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. I would not have known Him, except that the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is He who will baptize with Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

The identity of the Messiah was unknown to John the Baptist even though they were relatives (Luke 1:36). John's ministry was threefold: he sought to lead his hearers to repentance (Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3), to announce the coming of the prophesied Messiah (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:2,3; Luke 3:4) and to actually reveal the Messiah in person to Israel. Somehow John understood that the revelation of the Messiah would take place in conjunction with his baptizing ministry.

God had previously told John the Baptist what sign he would see, which would reveal the Messiah. The sign was the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove coming down from the sky, resting upon and remaining in the designated person. When John the Baptist witnessed this event happening to Jesus when He rose up from the baptismal waters, he knew Jesus Christ was the Messiah. John then proclaimed to all that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. The verb for “is” in the Greek can best be translated “keeps on being;” therefore, John declared that Jesus “is and keeps on being the Son of God.”

John 1:35-42 (the third consecutive day of John the Baptist as record in this gospel)

John 1:35-39

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” “Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.

The two disciples who were with John the Baptist on this day were Andrew, Peter’s brother, and John, the author of this gospel, 1&2 John and Revelation. Upon seeing Jesus, John once again declared Him to be the Lamb of God. The repeated allusion to the Lamb of God focused the attention of John's disciples on Jesus as the basis for the divine forgiveness of sin. It stirred their interest and prompted them to follow Jesus. There is no indication here that their departure from John to follow Christ bothered John in the least. Unlike some minister’s today who become upset when one of their followers departs to attend the services of another minister, John remained at peace in the will of God. If anything, I believe he was happy that such action was only to the benefit of Andrew and John. He knew that they would be in better hands. There is no place for jealousy and envy in God’s ministry of His Word.

When Jesus saw that Andrew and John were following Him, He inquired of their purpose for following Him. He wanted to know what they were looking for. This is the same question Jesus poses to those who follow Him today. People follow Jesus for many reasons. Some follow to achieve success, money, popularity, fame, pleasure, material things and sex. All these produce no happiness, no joy or peace. All such objectives only lead to increasing loneliness and emptiness. But Andrew and John gave no such answer. Instead and by their reply of Rabbi, where are you staying?, they indicated that they recognized Him as Teacher or Master (a term of respect) and were only interested in Him. They sought Jesus!

At this, Jesus invited them to come and assured them they would see. If anyone will seek Jesus, he will always be invited to “come” and will be guaranteed, “to see.” This principle is always true when one comes to the Word of God. If you sincerely come to Scripture seeking Jesus, you will be lead appropriately by the Holy Spirit to truly know Christ, who is the Word of God.

They then went and spent the day with Christ. The reason the writer knew it was about the “tenth hour” was because the writer of this gospel was one of the disciples who followed and spent the day with Christ.

John 1:40-42

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

Here we have an example of one type of personal evangelism, which is “family evangelism.” Andrew went to a person who was related to him and attempted to bring that person to Christ. This would be similar in nature to reaching out to someone who is a personal friend or close associate, i.e., someone who knows the Christian and his life well. There is probably no more difficult task facing any Christian today than that of bringing an intimate family member or close friend to Jesus. Yet upon discovering that Jesus was the Messiah, that is the Anointed One, it was the first thing that Andrew chose to do. He went to his brother Simon and convinced him to come to Jesus. There is no greater deed any Christian may do for his family members than to bring them to Christ. Upon seeing Simon, Christ recognized him, declared his linage (as only the Creator would know) and then renamed him. Christ renamed him “Cephas” (translated “Peter”), which is a “small rock” or “pebble.”

John 1:43-51 (the forth consecutive day as recorded by John in this gospel)

John 1:43-46

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, He said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote---Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

In these verses we have another example of personal evangelism, and this one may well represent the type whereby one reaches out to someone who is not personally close to the one representing Christ. The next day we find that Christ found Philip and extended to him the invitation to follow Him. Philip responded by in turn finding Nathanael and telling him about the Christ. Since Nathanael was apparently acquainted with the Scriptures and knew that the Messiah was to come from the family of David and out of Bethlehem, he couldn’t understand how anything good could come from Nazareth. Philip had only one response, which was to invite him to “come and see.” This is the only response we need today to those who question the efficacy of Jesus Christ. We need only to tell them of His purpose and work when here upon the earth in physical form and then invite them to come to the Word and see for themselves. Philip brought Nathanael to the Living Word; we bring the lost to the Written Word. The principle is that evangelism must be centered on the Word of God (Christ) to be successful.

John 1:47-51

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

As Nathanael approached, Jesus proclaimed that he was a “true Israelite” and an honest person. This statement of truth amazed Nathanael, so he asked Jesus how he knew this. Jesus responded by revealing His omnipresent attribute, i.e., the ability to be anywhere and everywhere at anytime. Nathanael immediately understood that he was in the presence of Deity and so confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God and the King of Israel. He knew he had found the Messiah.

Jesus' comment on Nathanael suggests that the latter had been reading of Jacob's experience at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-17). Jacob was filled with falsehood and had been forced to leave home because he had lied to his father and had swindled his brother. If under these circumstances Jacob was eligible for a revelation from God, would not Nathanael be even more worthy of such a blessing? Jesus said that Nathanael was free from anything false and used the imagery of Jacob's dream to confirm His deity and describe that greater revelations would be given to Nathanael. The principle is that upon the expression of faith there is always the promise of more and better to come.

The term "Son of Man" is used here for the first time in John's Gospel. It appears twelve times in this gospel. As the "Son of Man," Jesus reveals divine truth (1:51); he has a supernatural origin (3:13; 6:62); his death by being "lifted up" achieves salvation for men (3:14; 8:28; 12:34); he exercises the prerogative of final judgment (5:27); he provides spiritual nourishment (6:27). This title is also used of his being "glorified" (12:23; 13:31), which John applies specifically to death and resurrection (7:39; 12:16). John does not emphasize the apocalyptic aspect of the title that appears in Matthew (16:27; 25:31), though it appears once in such a context as John 5:27. The sacrificial aspect of the title appears in Jesus' announcement of the betrayal given in the synoptic accounts of the Last Supper (Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22). In its general usage it is the title of the incarnate Christ who is the representative of humanity before God and the representative of Deity in human life. In the perfection of Christ's humanity, God finds the fullness of his expression to men.