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The First Followers of Jesus

35 The next day John [C the Baptist; 1:6] was [standing] there again with two of his ·followers [disciples]. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God [see 1:29]!”

37 The two ·followers [disciples] heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following him, he asked, “What are you looking for?”

They said, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (“Rabbi” means “Teacher.”)

39 He answered, “Come and see.” So the two men went with Jesus and saw where he was staying and stayed there with him that day. It was about ·four o’clock in the afternoon [L the tenth hour; C hours were counted from dawn, about 6 AM].

40 One of the two men who followed Jesus after they heard John speak about him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and say to him, “We have found the Messiah.” (“Messiah” means “Christ.”) [C Both Hebrew Mashiach (Messiah) and Greek Christos (Christ) mean “Anointed One.”]

42 Then Andrew took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas.” (“Cephas” means “Peter.”) [C Both Aramaic Cephas and Greek Petros mean “rock.”]

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Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts

35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they [a]followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following Him, and asked them, “What do you want?” They answered Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went [with Him] and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the [b]tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the [c]Messiah” (which translated means the Christ). 42 Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated [d]Peter).”

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:37 The concept of “follow” can represent three separate possibilities: in the early stages of His ministry (1) walking with Him physically (literally), that is merely being in His presence regardless of personal belief or commitment; (2) accepting and identifying with the salvation He offered; and later on (3) being identified with Him by being subject to the scorn and rejection of unbelievers because of personal belief and commitment to Him.
  2. John 1:39 The Romans reckoned time from midnight, so in Roman time the tenth hour would be 10:00 a.m. The Jews reckoned daytime from sunrise (about 6:00 a.m.), so in their system the tenth hour would be 4:00 p.m. Here, either time is possible, though the Roman reckoning may be more likely because if it were 4:00 p.m. the disciples might have felt compelled to go home before evening set in.
  3. John 1:41 The words “Messiah” and “Christ” are not personal names, but titles derived respectively from Hebrew and Greek verbs meaning “to anoint.”
  4. John 1:42 I.e. rock or stone in Greek.