What Do You Want?
John 1:35-42
When two disciples heard John announce that Jesus was among them, they decided to follow Him. Jesus saw them following and turned and asked, “What do you want?”
To which they replied, “Where are you staying?”
“Come,” He replied, “and you will see.”
Imagine how they must have reacted. They quickly became attentive when they learned that Jesus was present and they wanted to know where He was staying. After all, Jesus was the One many waited in anticipation for. Finally, Jesus arrived and was simply passing by. The disciples went with Jesus and spent the day with Him.
The first thing that Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him that he had found the Messiah. He brought Simon Peter to Jesus. Amazingly the next day they set out and Jesus found Phillip and said to him, “Follow me.” Then Phillip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote about.” (John 1:45)
So, what did they all want? Well, we know that when they all came into contact with Jesus they stayed, they were drawn, and they followed.
Was Jesus testing their faith when he asked what they wanted? Was He looking for a spoken act of faith? Was He looking for an acknowledgement of who He was? Jesus didn’t ignore them as they began to follow; He became their friends.
Maybe we could ask ourselves, what do we want? Do we want a fulfilling relationship with Jesus? Do we want to follow? Do we want to wait upon the Lord to draw us near to Him? Do we want to bring others to Him?
This was the beginning of the disciples’ journey with Jesus. They appeared to be eager followers. Did they tire at any time? Maybe. Do we grow weary in well doing? Yes. But the beauty of Christianity is coming together for rejuvenation. In other words following together!
