Tuesday after the First Sunday after Epiphany
Scripture: St. John 1:35-42 (NKJV)
1:35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek? ”
They said to Him, “Rabbi ” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.”
They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, a Stone).
Devotion
Two of John’s disciples hear the forerunner’s proclamation, “Behold the Lamb of God!” and follow Jesus. The Holy Ghost, through John’s preaching, creates faith in their hearts. They believe Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This faith desires to follow Jesus and learn from Him. This is why they address Him as Rabbi, which John tells us means “Teacher.” This faith wants to dwell where Jesus dwells and abide with Him, learning from Him, so they ask Jesus where He is staying. Jesus answers, “Come and see.” He invites them to His dwelling so that they might remain with Him, learning the Gospel. This is what faith does. Faith believes the preaching about Jesus and seeks to ever be with Jesus, learning from Him.
Although Christ has ascended into Heaven, He still invites us to “come and see” where He dwells so that we might learn from Him. Christ promises to be present wherever His Word is purely preached and His Sacraments are administered correctly. He promises to be present in the Word and Sacraments to take away our sins as the Lamb of God and to teach us to walk in His paths. He invites us to read the Scriptures daily so that He can nourish our faith through the Word. He does not want us simply to believe once and then go about our business. He continually invites us to “come and see” where He dwells because our souls need daily nourishment, even as we daily sin much and daily need our sins forgiven.
Grant us an increase of faith, O Lord, so that we may daily desire to learn from You through Your Word, and protect us against the temptations which threaten to separate us from Your Word. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
