John 1,19-51

John 1 -2
19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. 43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Hello everyone, I am kiki. Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible study”.
We will adopt a relaxed also enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everyone.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with my sister on related issues. Today is the second lecture on the Gospel of John 。Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!

My summary of John 1-2 study:

There was a man named John the Baptist. One day, some important Jewish priests and Levites came to ask John who he was. John told them that he wasn’t Jesus or Elias, but he was like a voice calling out in the wilderness.
John also said that there was someone else coming after him who was even more special. When Jesus came to see John, he called Jesus the Lamb of God, which means Jesus is the one who takes away our sins. John saw a special light from heaven on Jesus and knew that Jesus was the Son of God.
Some of John’s friends started following Jesus too. One of them was Andrew, who had a brother named Simon Peter. Simon became friends with Jesus and Jesus gave him a new name, Cephas, which means stone.
Jesus then went to a place called Galilee and met another friend named Philip. Philip told his friend Nathanael about Jesus. At first, Nathanael didn’t believe, but when Jesus talked to him under a fig tree, Nathanael believed and called Jesus Rabbi, which means teacher, and King of Israel. Jesus promised Nathanael that he would see even more amazing things in the future.
So, this chapter is about how John the Baptist and his friends met Jesus and learned that he was very special and the Son of God.
I have no idea whether my understanding for this second chapter is correct or not, now let my Ingrid sister help me to make a summary.

Sister’s comment from my studying summary:

Hello sister, you understood this part of the bible very well, there was only one detail, that John saw the Holy Spirit decending like a dove on Jesus and that the Holy Spirit abided with him. And the brother of Andrews name was Simon and Jesus gave him the name Peter which means Kephas en Hebrew.

Question list, based on John 1,19-ff

Okay.Base on above bible study content, now let me ask sister some related questions.

Who was John the Baptist and what was his role in Jesus’ life?

John the baptist was in family with Jesus. Their mothers have been cousins. But since one of them lived in Jerusalem and the other one in Nazareth, they did not know each other. John did not talk about his family relationship with the Messiah, I think he even did not know that part. But God gave him a clear instruction, that the Messias will be identified by the descending Holy Spirit.

So today we should not think, that the family of the pastors or other people should ministrate. God calles the people who he wants and filles them with the Holy Spirit to serve like he filled John in the body of his mother with the Holy Spirit.

How did the Jewish priests and Levites question John about his identity? What are they purpose of them to ask John questions?

It was strange for them, that a person, who did not learn the Thora and did not have a ministry in their synagoges beginns to preach and to baptized. Like many churches today, the religios leader had a very hierarchical system and for them it was not possible that someone who had not completed a degree in theology and was not appointed as a Pharisee or priest and therefore had neither title nor rank talks about God.

What did John confess about himself, and who did he say was coming after him? What effect does his confess have?

He made it clear, that he was not the Messiah, just one who calles the people to repantance, because the kingdom of God was near. When Jesus came he went a bit apart for to open the way for Jesus, but he went on preaching until the king Herodes killed him, because he blamed him for adultery.

Why did John baptize people with water if he wasn’t the Christ or Elias?

It was a baptizing of repentance. The people who got baptized had it clear, that they need the Messiah. So the ministry of John was to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus.

What did John see when he saw Jesus approaching him, and how did he refer to Jesus?

He witnessed on Jesus, that he is the lamb of God who will carry away our sins.

Who were Andrew and Simon Peter, and how did they become part of Jesus’ disciples?

Andrew and Simon Peter were fisherman and they left everything to become disiples of Jesus.

What did Jesus mean when he said that Nathanael had no guilt, and what did Nathanael call Jesus?

He confronted Nathanael with the opinion he had about himself. But when somebody meets the holy Jesus, he will be aware about that he is not sinnless and so Nathanael noticed, that he was not completly pure, too.

What did Jesus tell Nathanael he would see in the future, and how does this relate to the concept of heaven and angels?

Jesus refered to the glory that those will see who follow him with their whole heart

“Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.”—what does Jesus mean to see greater things than these?

Jesus did a lot of wonders while he was here on earth and more important: He changed and still changes the life of the people who would like to receive him.