John 1:35–42

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now 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 own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).

As always, John’s retelling of these events proceeds at light speed. The events proceed at light speed too. John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Lamb of God and two of his disciples take off after Him. Jesus asks the perfect diagnostic question, “What do you seek?”

True to form, they answer a question with a question, “Rabbi, where are You staying?” Calling Him Rabbi answers His question; they seek to be taught. That earns them an invite—kind of a non-answer too, but perfect.

Then things continue developing at a blistering pace. One of the two disciples who followed Jesus recruits his brother, Simon, calling Jesus the Messiah. He understood exactly what John meant when he talked about the Spirit descending and remaining on Jesus.

Jesus takes one look at Simon and jumps years ahead by renaming him “Cephas.”

Simon hasn’t even said anything yet.

God’s sense of timing can look anachronistic while events are unfolding. Later, looking back, we sometimes get to see how it was all planned out.

This is especially true with answered prayer. God’s sense of timing can seem strange, but it’s not a sense of timing at all; it’s a sense of purpose. We see things from inside of time and wonder why He’s so slow.

He’s not slow; He’s deliberate. Our impatience reflects a desire for comfort instead of sanctification.

We’ve got a lot to learn, and He designs to teach us.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.