John 1:29-42
There seems to be something in all of us that makes us long for a Messiah - a charismatic leader who will make all the right decisions and take us to a promised land of plenty. This seems to hold for all kinds of leadership, whether of nations, football clubs, churches; wherever people hope for great things, they hope for a leader who will come up with the goods.
John the Baptist's calling was to announce that that leader had arrived, and to prepare the way for him. Here in John's gospel we see John the Baptist (not the John who wrote the gospel) pointing him out to his own followers. But he does so in very strange terms: 'The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world'. That could only mean one thing: this leader was going to be a sacrificial lamb! That's not what his followers wanted to hear! Talk about Son of God and baptising with the Holy Spirit was fine (though they would not have fully understood those either), but a Messiah as a Lamb?
Andrew and his friend decided to act on John's words, and went after Jesus. 'Where are you staying?' showed that they wanted to get to know Jesus better. 'Come and see,' was the invitation they were hoping for. What they talked about we do not know; but it was enough to convince them that John was right, and to tell others about Jesus.
Had they found the Messiah? He turned out not to be the leader they were hoping for - he did not free them from oppression, he did not take over the leadership of the nation let alone the world. Even today Jesus is not the Messiah many are looking for.
We believe that Jesus is the Messiah sent from God. We believe that one day he will reign over a perfect world. But in the meantime, we are bound to be surprised and probably confused!
Question:
What are your hopes for Jesus? How does he live up to them?