John
1: 35-40 explains that soon after Jesus returned from His temptation in the
wilderness, John the Baptist saw Him walking, and looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
The
two disciples that were with John at the time followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and seeing them following,
said to them, “What do you seek?”
What
do you seek?
A
friend posed this same question during our annual CME pastor’s conference. Rev. Rickdrekia Sanders asked: Are we working to be in the image of a
Jesus that doesn't understand our struggle, or are we trying to find a Jesus
that can relate to our personal struggles of life? Or, do we really feel that we need a Jesus?
In
other words: What do you seek?
The
answer depends on us.
We
understand becoming a born-again, redeemed, converted follower of Jesus Christ
(also known as “a disciple”) to mean starting a personal relationship with Jesus. People start personal relationships for
personal reasons. What we look for in
Jesus depends on what we are looking for in our individual personal journey.
Andrew,
brother of Simon Peter, was one of the Baptist disciples who followed Jesus
that day (John 1: 40). Andrew followed
Jesus because Andrew was looking for the fulfillment of his mentor John’s
prophesies. That’s how Andrew
introduced Jesus to his brother Peter.
Andrew first found his own
brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is
translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. (John 1:41, 42)
Simon
Peter had several interactions with Jesus without coming to faith in Him as the
Messiah. Peter was looking for the
secret to success in their fishing business.
In
Luke 5, Jesus commandeered Peter’s boat as a floating pulpit and then told
Peter where to fish. But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master,
we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will
let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)
They
caught so many fish that even with 2 boats and 4 professional fisherman working
the nets, the quantity was more than they could handle. That was the Jesus Peter was looking for.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees,
saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5: 8)
And
that is when Peter finally accepted Jesus invitation to become a disciple. Jesus
said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men. (Luke 5:
10)
Saul,
the persecutor of Christians in the book of Acts, was looking for the purest
adherence to the Mosaic law. On the road
to Damascus, Saul encountered the original Author of the law.
Suddenly a light shone
around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice
saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You,
Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is
hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 9: 4-5)
Even
Judas was looking for something personal. He was looking for a payday or perhaps a
scapegoat for the inaction of the Jews against Roman occupation. Judas found that Jesus. Jesus let Judas turn Him in for the
money. Jesus showed that he had the
power to lay down a mob of armed men with just a word.
When
Judas showed up in Gethsemane with a contingent of the Temple guard, Jesus went forward and said to them, “Whom are you
seeking?” Jesus had to ask twice
because when He responded “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the
ground. (John 18:3-8)
Are we working to be in
the image of a Jesus that doesn't understand our struggle or are we trying to
find a Jesus that can relate to our personal struggles of life?
We
are each trying to find the Jesus we think we need or want for whatever is our
personal place at the moment.
But,
check this out:
After Andrew found Jesus, Andrew no longer looked to John the Baptist for
answers.
After
Peter found Jesus, Peter abandoned the fishing business to be a Disciple.
After
Saul found Jesus, he became Paul and spent the rest of his life articulating
the doctrine of grace instead of the Law.
We
each come to Jesus because we are looking for something personal. But when we find Him, if we receive Him for
real, then we discover that He is so much more than what we were looking for
that what we were looking for no longer matters. All that matters is Jesus.
As
for the question: Do we really feel that we need a Jesus? Ask Judas that.
Without
Jesus, Judas had the money he wanted. He
had the public trial of a righteous Jewish Rabbi/Prophet he needed to justify a
revolt. Judas had all that he had
sought, but he no longer had Jesus. So, he threw down the pieces of silver in the
temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:5)
Yes,
however we may come to Him, we all need Jesus.
---Anderson T. Graves
II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield,
Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking
Organization (SAYNO); and director of
rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
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Support
by check or money order may be mailed to
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Chapel CME Church
P O
Box 132
Fairfield,
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