Where Do We Find Jesus?
John 1:35-51
February 9, 2025
I’m starting a new sermon series today. I’m going to be preaching through the gospel of John, starting with the first chapter today and ending with the 21st chapter on April 27. I’ll be looking at one or two chapters every week. I encourage you to read along at home. For the next three months, let’s all read through the whole gospel of John.
The gospel of Jesus is the story of Jesus but told from a very different perspective than the other three gospel biographies of Jesus. I’m hoping that reading this book will help us deepen our connection to God. I will be highlighting certain parts, but I’m sure you’ll come across other stories or thoughts that will touch your heart and life as you read John at home.
I’m going to start out our journey through John with an imaginary interview with our author. I’ll play the role of the author of John and Connie will be the interviewer.
C: Tell me a little about yourself. Who are you?
M: I was not born with the name of John. But that’s the name I’ll answer to these days after compiling the book. John is actually the name of one of Jesus’ earliest disciples. He’s in a sense the patron saint of our little community here in Ephesus. We call ourselves the John community of Jewish Jesus followers.
C: So, can I call you John?
M: Sure. But understand that my writing is not just my creation. Our community has been collecting some stories about Jesus. As we’ve shared them with each other over the years, we’ve been adding our own perspective. You see, the gospel of John is not just the work of my hand. It’s the work of so many people.
C: So, tell me a little about your community.
M: We are the rejected ones. All of us used to belong to the local Jewish synagogue here in Ephesus. But we started hearing stories about this Jesus. And each of us felt they held the truth that we needed. The message was different than the one we were hearing in our synagogue. The message of Jesus centered on love, not law. It included an inclusive open stance toward gentiles. But most of all we experienced this Jesus in a deeper, spiritual way.
C: How does that make you the rejected ones?
M: We continued to be active in the synagogue for many years while we met together in our small group weekly. But eventually, the leaders of the synagogue told us to leave. They called us unclean for our love and acceptance of gentiles.
C: I’m so sorry to hear this. That must have been hard for all of you.
M: Yes, it was. But we had each other to lean on. And in the midst of all that rejection, we sensed that the spirit of Jesus was encouraging us. It forced us to turn inward to the God in Jesus and find his spiritual help to be life-giving.
C: So, why did you write the gospel of John?
M: Don’t forget, it was not just me. I was just one of the key editors. It was a group project. And actually, a project people had been working on for years.
C: But weren’t there already other gospel accounts of Jesus around. Why did you write yours?
M: Yes, the other three major gospels were written years before ours. But they didn’t talk about Jesus in the same way we felt about Jesus. For us, Jesus Christ is that amazing spirit of God living inside us. Jesus was not for us just some guy in history. Jesus was the God who lived in our hearts. We wanted to share a spiritual or mystical understanding of Jesus.
C: Does that mean your stories are not based on history?
M: That’s right. We wanted to express our experience of Jesus using symbols and spirituality instead of facts and history. It’s a gospel of the heart, not the head. That’s the Jesus we knew. That’s the Jesus we needed after being so rejected by our Jewish community.
C: How does your book differ from Matthew, Mark and Luke?
M: We tell the story of Jesus over a three year period. Those other books compress Jesus’ ministry into one year. In our story, most of the action happens around Jerusalem, whereas the other accounts tell about Jesus in Galilee. Jesus’ message in the other accounts is focused on God’s kingdom or kindom. But in our book, we have Jesus talking about himself. The focus is all on Jesus.
C: What else is different?
M: Jesus’ teaching style is expressed differently as well. Matthew, Mark and Luke have Jesus teaching in little parables or short quips, but we have Jesus preaching long, rambling sermons – more like what we hear on Sunday mornings.
C: How did Jesus actually teach when he walked on this earth?
M: We don’t know and we don’t really care. We are not writing some historical biography of this man Jesus. We’re writing a powerful story that we hope will express the Jesus we feel in our hearts.
C: Give me some examples of what you’re talking about.
M: We start out the book describing Jesus as light and wisdom. Jesus shines in our hearts and reveals God’s wisdom to us.
After talking about the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus, we have Jesus’ first words as these: “What do you want?” Jesus is talking to two of John the Baptist’s followers. He is asking them, “What are looking for? What do you seek?
These words are ones that we feel the Jesus who lives in our hearts is asking us. Jesus is asking us what we’re after in life. What is it that we are pursuing, that gives us life?
C: So how would you answer that question?
M: Most of all, I’m looking for love. I’m looking for a God who loves me and cares about me. I’m seeking out people who reveal that love of God and are willing to share it. I too was rejected by so many of my friends in the synagogue. I was shunned and made to feel unwelcome. I’m looking for love and acceptance.
I’d be curious to know how the people in your congregation would answer that question. If someone asked them, What are you looking for? What do you want in life? How would they answer that question?
C: Why don’t you ask them?
M: What do you want? What are you looking for?
C: Could you continue the story you tell in that first chapter?
M: When Jesus asked the followers of John the Baptist, “What do you want?” they didn’t answer. They returned with an important question of their own. “Rabbi or Teacher, where do you live?” In other words, “Where can we find you Jesus? Where is Jesus?”
C: How would you answer that question?
M: The folks in our John community answer that question differently than others. Others might say, “We find Jesus in our church. It’s all about the institutional church.” Some might say, “We find Jesus in the sacrament of holy communion. It’s all about sharing the bread and cup together during our worship service.” Some might say, “We find God in the observance of the Law. It’s all about following the Torah, our Law book.”
Finally, so many followers of Jesus in the past fifty years have thought Jesus would be found coming back again as a conquering warrior or strong ruler. They look for a powerful Hero.
C: But how would you answer that? How would the people in the John community answer that question?
M: We find Jesus in our hearts. It’s a spirituality that comes from deep within us. It’s a Jesus who walks close to us as we go through our hard times of rejection. It’s the Jesus of the heart. It’s the Jesus who is expressing God’s love.
C: Keep telling your story…
M: After they ask Jesus where he lives, Jesus answers: Come and see. That’s what our book is about. An invitation for people to come and see this Jesus we’ve found. Come and experience God’s love in Jesus. Like that Old Testament scripture says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Now, one of the two men who Jesus said this to is named Andrew. His brother is Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew does after meeting Jesus is go to his brother and bring him to Jesus. Andrew brings Peter to Jesus. Then Jesus says, “Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas. This name can be translated as Peter or Rock.
C: Is this the same Peter mentioned in the other gospel accounts?
M: Yes, but we tell the story a little differently. We don’t highlight the central importance of Peter as the other writers do. We are thankful for Peter’s leadership, but we don’t feel compelled to follow his direction like so many others have done. We think the disciple John should be the one who should have center stage, not Peter. John and his emphasis on love is so much more important than Peter and his emphasis on God’s forgiveness for our sins.
The story continues with Jesus meeting Philip and Nathanael.
C: I notice you have Jesus saying to Nathanael: Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. Was there a real disciple named Nathanael or…
M: No, we just made that one up. We wanted to give a nod to the importance that Paul has played in our community. But it didn’t make sense to actually use Paul’s name as Paul didn’t actually meet Jesus in person in the flesh. So the references we gave let everyone know that we’re talking here about Paul.
The emphasis in this part of the opening section is people inviting friends and family members to experience Jesus.
C: Tell me again, what do you hope the listener receives when they hear this first chapter of your book?
M: I want them to think about three questions:
- What do you want in life?
- Where do you find Jesus?
- Who are you inviting to meet and experience this Jesus?
C: Thank you, John, for sharing your story.
M: You’re welcome.
Let’s all ponder those three questions:
- What do you want in life?
2.Where do you find Jesus?
3.Who are you inviting to meet and experience this Jesus?
Let’s ponder our answers to those questions as we listen to our special music.
