A Few Good Men for Jesus
Jesus returns to Galilee after His victory in the wilderness. John recognizes Him and calls out. The first of many good men turn and follow Jesus.
I’m trying to harmonize all the gospel accounts into one story. John’s gospel is the one that gives us a glimpse of what happened right after Jesus returns for the wilderness. The others take giant leaps here in several different directions; emphasizing things they saw as pivotal. This is NOT to say they don’t agree, but their focus is different. I will probably get things in the wrong order at some point in time but I am trusting the Holy Spirit to lead our journey.
Let’s rejoin our story as John testifies of Jesus and men begin to gather to Him. AND He calls His first disciples. Holy Spirit, lead this journey. Help me keep in the order of Jesus’ life. Give me wisdom and understanding. I KNOW I won’t be able to account for every moment, but help me put the impactful ones in story form for those who are searching. Speak into my life, what You would have me take from Your stories.
♥ ♦ ♥
While Jesus is enjoying His meal with the angels and His Abba, John is facing a group of inquisitors. These men are sent by the Pharisees to challenge him and stir up trouble. Their intent is to discredit John and turn the people away from him. They challenge John’s authority.
“Who are you” (John 1:19) they ask.
John KNOWS what they are asking. They don’t want his name but his place in the Lord’s plan. “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20) John replies.
They are relieved that he said this, as the people might have believed him. But they press on. “What then? Are you Elijah?” (John 1:21a) they press.
John shakes his head. “I am not” (John 1:21b). John does not deny that he is sent by the same Spirit as Elijah.
“Are you the Prophet?” (John 1:21c) they press on.
John gives them a one-word answer; “No” (John 1:21d). He knows they are nearing the point where he wants them to be.
“Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” (John 1:22).
They have arrived at the point of allowing the truth to come out. John raises his voice and proclaims; “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:23).
The priests and Levites think they have him now. They have found a way to stop John. Or have they. “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:25).
John ignores their challenge of his authority. He has already addressed it in the reference to the prophecies. He turns his attention to the purpose of his mission; to prepare the way for One even greater. “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:26-27).
The priests and Levites shake their heads. They have had enough for one day. They need to go back and revise their strategy. The people will turn on them if they push any harder.
Jesus rejoins the world outside the wilderness. The time with His Abba was AMAZING, but it’s time to begin the work. The first place Jesus goes is back to the river bank where John is baptizing.
John sees Jesus among the crowd. He is doing nothing to draw attention to Himself. John points Him out. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:29-31).
John watches Jesus for a few moments then, is a voice filled with awe wonder he continues. “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” (John 1:32-34).
Jesus dips His head in recognition of John and continues on His way. “Not yet” His Spirit speaks. Jesus does not want the crowd flocking to Him. They would only be coming to see the ‘next exciting thing’. Jesus is looking for the true seekers.
The next day, John is cleaning up from his day. His disciples, those following him, work nearby, helping with the task. John’s spirit is drawn to attention as Jesus walks by. John turns in time to see Jesus. In a wistful voice he says; “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36).
Two of John’s disciples are close enough to hear. Excitement surges through them and they hurry off to follow Jesus. Jesus instantly knows that He is being followed. He smiles to Himself before turning around to face them.
“What are you seeking?” (John 1:38a) He asks is a conversational tone.
Andrew speaks up. “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” (John 1:38b).
“Come and you will see” (John 1:39), Jesus says. Then He turns and resumes his walk.
Andrew and his companion, Philip, are stunned. Soon, they hurry and catch up to Jesus. They follow mutely behind. Their minds are a whir with questions, but their courage hasn’t caught up yet. After a time, they talk about mundane things instead. It is a long journey from the place where John is baptizing to the place where Jesus is staying; in Capernaum. It takes several days, but John’s disciples refuse to turn back or leave Jesus.
Jesus reaches the home where He has been staying. The two men stand, frozen, at the gate and Jesus enters it. He turns to them with kindness; “Are you coming in?”
Almost as if they were jolted by lighting, they spring forward and follow Him through the gate. Jesus smiles as He leads them into the house.
By the time they arrive, it is late in the evening. Jesus invites them to stay the night. The questions finally come pouring forth and the three of them talk late into the night. Jesus calls a halt to their questions. “There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. Now is the time for rest. We will speak more in the morning.”
When morning arrives, Andrew is so excited that he HAS to tell his brother about Jesus. “Lord, if I may, can I bring my brother to meet You?”
Philip takes this as leave to also go. It has been a wonderful time but he is needed in Bethsaida.
“Of course. I will be here when you return.”
With that promise, Andrew hurries off to find his brother; Simon. They live in Capernaum as well.
“We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41) Andrew calls out to Simon as he approaches.
Simon hears the excitement in Andrew’s voice. He looks at him with a little bit of skepticism, but agrees to go with him anyway.
As the two approach Jesus, Jesus looked at him and says, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42).
Simon doesn’t know what to think about this; “Why would He call me ‘a rock’?” He doesn’t voice his question though.
The three men spend the day with Jesus. They talk about their lives and how they have been waiting for the Christ to come. At the end of the day the men all go their separate ways. Jesus is AMAZING, but they still have work to do.
Jesus is not angered by their ‘need’ to finish their tasks. It is how they support their families. He knows that the time will come, soon, when they walk away from those tasks. HE will call them Himself.
The next day, Jesus walks by the place where Simon and Andrew are working. “It’s time” He says to himself. He walks down by the shore and calls out to the two brothers. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
Simon and Andrew look at one another, their eyes huge! The drop their nets immediately. They don’t even take time to dry their nets and deal with their boat.
Jesus walks on a tiny bit further and sees James, John, and their abba Zebedee in their boat. They are partners of Simon and Andrew. Jesus smiles. “They will be partners in My ministry too” He says to himself. To the men, He says; “Follow me, and I will also make you fishers of men.”
The brothers immediately jump out of the boat, leaving their abba behind to tend to the nets and boats. Zebedee watches the four young men walking away with Jesus. He isn’t sure what to think of it at this point in time, other than all the hard work that waits for him on the shore this morning.
Jesus continues walking with the four men He has just tasked to come with Him. They near the town of Bethsaida when he sees Philip. His heart knows Philip as one of His own. He goes to Philip and says; “Follow Me.”
Philip was the other disciple of John who had followed Jesus that first day when John pointed him out. Philip sees Andrew in tow and doesn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. But he has an errand to do first. “Allow me to go and find my brother and I will follow You.”
“Go” replies Jesus.
Philip hurries off to find his brother, Nathaniel. He finds him sitting under a fig tree, enjoying the shade and a bit of fruit. “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45)
Nathanael looks up and Philip and says; “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46a).
Philip with a huge smile on his face says to him, “Come and see” (John 1:46b).
Nathaniel shrugs his shoulders, throws the remnants of his figs away, and gets up to follow Philip.
As Philip and Nathanael coming toward Jesus, He smiles and says of Nathaniel, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47). Nathanael looks at Jesus with suspicion and says, “How do you know me?” (John 1:48a).
Jesus smiles and answers him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:48b).
Nathanael’s eyes go huge! “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).
Jesus claps Nathaniel on the shoulder and shakes His head. “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these” (John 1:50).
Jesus turns and takes in all the men He has gathered so far and says to them; “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51).
There is not a downtrodden face in the bunch! They are ready to go wherever Jesus leads. Their lives are about to change forever.
Jesus has their first adventure ready to go. They will be his ‘plus six’ at a wedding the next day.
Just before setting off, Jesus tells the group where they are going. “We are going to a wedding in Canaan.”
Simon stops his group. “Lord, we will be here when You return. Weddings tend to last quite a while and we need to take care of our families.”
“I will see you again. And then you will have a decision to make. To wholly follow Me or to stay in Capernaum with your boats.”
Jesus, Philip, and Nathaniel arrive on time for the festivities. They melt well into the crowd. Mary, Jesus’ ima, is helping out at the wedding.
As the day goes along, the wine runs out. This is a disaster! It means public humiliation and disgrace. It shouts that the family is too cheep or too inept to host a proper wedding ceremony. Mary knows that the family is neither. There are more guests than expected. Mary knows where to go for help; Jesus, her Son.
During the early years after Joseph died, Jesus was able to stretch the family cupboards in miraculous ways. His family never went hungry. He hasn’t had to do this since His younger brothers were old enough to help support their ima. But Mary remembers, and calls on Him in this hour of need.
Mary walks over to Jesus with purpose. She has brought one of the servants with her. They stands nearby until He notices His ima. When He does, He smiles at His ima. She steps up and discreetly announces; “They have no wine” (John 2:3).
Jesus looks at her and says; “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).
Mary pats Him on the arm and turns to the servant who accompanied her. “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). With that said, Mary turns and walks away.
The servant isn’t sure what to do. She stands there, her hands folded in front of her, looking between the retreating back of Mary and Jesus.
Jesus sees her distress. “Take me to the kitchen” He says.
Once in the kitchen, Jesus sees six jars used to hold water for ritual washings. He nods His head once. The servants have gathered around Him. “Fill the jars with water” (John 2:7).
The servants hurry to do as He commands. It takes several minutes but they fill the jars to the brim. Another dropper full would send the contents onto the floor. Once they are finished, they turn to Jesus, who has stood by watching.
“Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast” (John 2:8).
The servants all look at one another with shock. “What is He trying to do to us? Get us thrown out and banned for wedding work?” the head of the servants thinks. He chokes down that thought. “Mary told us to do ‘whatever He said’, and I trust Mary” he says to himself.
He steps up and grabs the dipper. With steady hands, he draws out of the first pot. He turns and makes his way to the master of the feast. It takes a moment for the man to notice the servant. He is busy trying to distract the guests from the wine problem. Once the master of the feast notices the servant, he quickly excuses himself and steps over.
“What is it” he asks, before seeing the dipper.
The servant raises the dipper just a bit until the master notices it. He carefully takes it and takes a sip. He is expecting to tase something barely palatable. His eyes widen in surprise as the flavor fills his mouth and nostrils. He looks down at the dipper, then back up at the servant. “There is more of this?”
“There are six identical jars in the kitchen.”
The man drains the dipper and hands it back to the servant. “Bring it out and begin serving the guests right away.”
The servant nods and hurries back to the kitchen. His eyes are nearly glowing with excitement. “The master of the feast says to bring out the wine and serve the guests!”
The servants all scramble into action. “Careful and don’t spill a drop” the head servant calls out.
As the jars are being brought out for the guests, the head servant turns to Jesus. “Thank You SO MUCH! I don’t know how to explain it, other than a miracle! If it wasn’t for Your help, the wedding would have been a disaster and I would have been ruined.”
“I am glad that everything turned out alright” Jesus says, then He returns to the feast.
The master of the feast seeks out the bridegroom. He feels compelled to say something about this amazing wine. He finally sees his opportunity. He steps up and speaks in the man’s ear. “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10).
The bridegroom’s face is confused. He has no idea what the man is talking about. The man hurries to retrieve a cup of wine for the bridegroom. When he returns, he places it in his hand.
Looking carefully at the master of the feast and the cup, he takes a sip. His eyes go wide and a smile spreads over his face. Thank you for this! It is marvelous.
The master of the feast starts to protest that it is not his wine, but he thinks better of it. “This can only help my reputation” he decides. He bows politely and goes back to his duties.
When everything is finally winding to a close, the master of the feast takes the head servant aside. “Where did that wine come from? I know it wasn’t here when we set up.”
The servant looks around, trying to find Jesus. He doesn’t see Him anywhere. Finally, giving up trying to locate Jesus, he tells the story instead. “Mary, niece of the brides’ family, brought me to her Son. She told Him the problem and told me to do whatever He said. He had us fill the jars with water. It was from that water that I drew the dipper I brought to you. HE must have turned the water into wine. I didn’t see how He did it, but there can be no other explanation.”
The master of the feast’s face goes white. “I’m SO glad you didn’t tell me the story first. I wouldn’t have believed you.”
“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
With confusion knitting his brows together, the master asks; “Then why did you even bring me the dipper?”
“I honestly don’t know. Something in His eyes gave me the confidence to act. And I did. I pushed down all thoughts of the consequences, and just did it.”
“This is one for the history books. Let’s not spread this story though. Let people come to their own conclusions regarding our services.”
Jesus, His ima, His brothers and His disciples return to Capernaum. They stay there for a few days, visiting with one another.
“What are You going to do with Yourself now” ask Joseph.
“I’m going to stay here and begin the work I was born to do.”
“And what work is that” James asks.
“Teaching the people about the Lord.”
James shakes his head. “Jesus. That’s a child’s dream. You aren’t even a Levite. What makes You think the people will listen to You?”
Mary smiles. “Let your brother be. He has work to do here.”
Nothing more is said on the subject. Mary and her sons return to Nazareth. “Come home for a visit” Mary says as she hugs Jesus one final time.
“I will Ima. Soon” Jesus promises.
After His ima and brothers return to their homes, He begins teaching in the synagogues.
(to be continued)
We are at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There is MUCH MORE to come. I have always wondered why Mary was so certain He could help at the wedding. I hope I provided an appropriate answer. I believe it was from the Spirit, as I hadn’t thought of it until that moment in time.
Father God, the work is just starting; for me too. Help me weave a cohesive story from Jesus’ life. Help me see the flow from one area to the next. I want to tell His story with all the detail I can; including from the perspective of those around Him. Lead me where I should go and show me the places to dig a little deeper.
