Jesus' First Friends

John 1:40-51 NIV

40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And 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).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."

44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip 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."

46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

50Jesus said, "You believe[b] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you[c] the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

In this passage Jesus reminds me of the following:

1. Seek your friend's best interest - v42

2. Commend your friend before other people - v47

3. Be interested in your friend's business - v48

4. Allow room for improvement - v50, 51


Think:

What principles of friendship are laid down for us in this passage?


Prayer:

Help me to be open to You first, then I will have courage to open myself to others.

I Found It

John 4:16-30 NIV

16He told her, Go, call your husband and come back.

17 I have no husband, she replied.

Jesus said to her, You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.

19 Sir, the woman said, I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.

21Jesus declared, Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

25The woman said, I know that Messiah - called Christ - is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.

26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he.

The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, What do you want? or Why are you talking with her?

28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ[a]? 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.



As I look at the passage i found out that the woman has stages of transformation.

1. From curiosity to real thirst - v15

2. From her personal data to true worship - v16-24

3. From her obscure understanding of the Messiah to a close encounter with Him - v 25-26