What do you seek? The first words of Jesus in the Gospel of John encapsulate one of the most fundamental truths of the human condition. Everyone seeks a sense of purpose and meaning to life. Each and every one of us, whether or not we want to admit it, knows that life has meaning to it. We are not here by random chance. The desire to seek is written on our hearts by the one who created us: the desire to seek him.
The First Disciples of Jesus
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). John 1 : 35-42
Scriptural Analysis – John Points The Disciples To Jesus
John begins the third day in his Gospel using the same pattern of recognition and pronouncement we have seen previously. John the Baptist sees Jesus walking by and pronounces who he is, “The Lamb of God.” This is the same title John the Baptist assigned to Jesus on the second day recorded in The Gospel of John.
Having heard John the Baptist’s testimony, two of his disciples leave and follow Jesus. The Greek word for follow, akolouthein, has two possible meanings. The first is a spiritual following in which the disciples learn from and model themselves after the one followed. The second is a physical following where they follow the same path as the teacher. In the Gospel, both meanings are involved.
Scriptural Analysis – Jesus Invites The Disciples To Follow Him
Jesus, recognizing that he is being followed, turns to them and asks them a most important question, “What do you seek?” The response of the disciples demonstrates to us their current understanding of who Jesus is. They ask him, “Rabbi, where are you saying?” This shows that at this point in time, they view Jesus as more of a teacher than as Lord.
Jesus’s response to them is both invitational in nature as well as a promise, “Come and see.” The disciples stayed with Jesus until the tenth hour which correlates to four in the afternoon. The Greek word used by John in his Gospel for stay, menō, has theological significance for John. This verb can also be translated as remains. It is used elsewhere to denote the intimate relationship between Jesus and his Father, which the disciples are called into, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10). The disciples say not only where Jesus was staying in an earthly sense but began to understand his true spiritual home with his Father.
Scriptural Analysis – The Calling Of Simon
We learn that Andrew is one of the two disciples who followed Jesus through the witness of John the Baptist. Now, he will bring his brother, Simon, to Jesus through his witness. Andrew tells Simon point blank, “We have found the Messiah.” It is hard for us to imagine what this revelation from Andrew would have stirred in the heart of Simon. Once again we see the recognition and pronouncement pattern play out. Jesus looks at Simon and pronounces who he is, “Simon the son of John.” Jesus then tells him who he will be: called Peter, Cephas. In giving Simon a new name, Jesus is showing Simon his role in God’s plan connecting him to the Great Patriarchs of the Jewish people:
Abram became Abraham – “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham.” (Genesis 17:5)
Jacob became Israel – “Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28),
Now Simon becomes Kēphas, “the Rock.” At the end of The Gospel of John, Jesus will entrust the care of his sheep to Peter.
Daily Application
Saint Augustine
This passage reveals so much about Jesus in just a few short lines. To begin with, it is important to note who makes the first move in this encounter. The disciples followed Jesus, at some distance, but did not approach him. Jesus makes the first move. He stops, turns to them, and speaks to them. Jesus still does that today. He stops, turns to us, and speaks. As Saint Augustine tells us, “Take heart; you would not be seeking Me if I had not already found You.” We are able to seek God only because it was God who first found us.
The first words of Jesus recorded in John’s Gospel are, “What are you looking for?” This is the most fundamental of all human questions. What are we truly seeking in this life? What will make us happy, and bring us fulfillment? This is a question that all of us wrestle with. Fundamentally, humans were wired for a purpose. We instinctively know that life should have purpose and meaning.
Once again, we turn to the master, Saint Augustine to explain this longing, this seeking that we all experience. In his Confessions Augustine writes, “Because you have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.” (Confessions 1.1.1) We were made for God and thus we are seeking him until we find him. Sometimes, that seeking has us run through a series of false Gods: money, promiscuity, and addictions. However, none of those will ever satisfy because they do not fulfill our most basic desire which is union with God.
Finally, Jesus tells the disciples to Come and See. Jesus invited the disciples to follow him and he would show them who he is and who they are. Jesus makes the same invitation to us today. He wants to show us today who he is and who we are. He desires nothing more than for us to realize our identity as beloved sons and daughters of the Father. Pope Benedict tells us that this encounter with Jesus gives our life, “A new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Deus Caritas Est 1) He gives our life purpose.
Your heart longs for the one who created you. Keep your heart open and allow Christ to find you. If you have a seeking heart he most certainly will. Then he will invite you to come, to come and see the truth and beauty of who he is and the truth and beauty of who you can be in him. Christ will reveal to you the true purpose of your life.
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