Out of the hundreds of things that a preacher could focus on in the Gospel of John, I am strongly influenced in my selection by John 1:14-16, “And the Word [that is the eternal Word who is God, John 1:1] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
I believe that this Gospel was written by the eyewitness John so that, through his inspired testimony, we could join him in the “seeing” of verse 14. “We have seen his glory.” It’s the glory of the only Son of God—that is, the one who is himself of the very same substance or essence of the Father, very God of very God, the image and radiance of the Father who is eternally begotten, not made, by the Father.
And this glory of Jesus who is God incarnate is full of grace and truth, and we receive grace when we see his glory. Verse 16: “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
Seven Glimpses of the Glory of God’s Son
So as I study this Gospel, my choices about what to say to you are governed in large measure by this: What in this text is going to show the glory of the only Son from the Father? And how is it that seeing this will give grace to you?
So today that is what I am asking as we walk through John 1:35-51. I see at least seven ways John wants us to see the glory of Jesus—and receive more grace.
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3. Jesus Is the Giver of Spiritual Sight.
Third, Jesus is the giver of spiritual sight.
Verses 38-39:
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour [that is, about 4 p.m.—the tenth counted from 6 a.m.].
Here we begin to see the multi-leveled meanings in some of John’s simple language. Regularly in this Gospel people are talking at the physical level, and Jesus is taking their language and leading them deeper to the spiritual level using the same language. For example:
- Nicodemus is talking about physical birth, and Jesus is talking about spiritual birth (John 3:3-8).
- And the woman at the well is talking about water from the physical well, and Jesus is talking about spiritual water that he will give (John 4:7-14).
- The crowds asked for physical bread, but Jesus meant that he was the living bread (John 6:30-51).
- The Pharisees deal with a man who was given physical sight in John 9, and Jesus speaks of spiritual sight. Verse 39: “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
So when Jesus says in John 1:37, “What are you seeking?” he was asking something deeper than they think. There were people who followed Jesus, seeking the wrong thing. In John 6:26, he says, “You are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” So he is asking John’s disciples here: What are you seeking? I think he would ask you the same question. What are you seeking?
They do not go to that level. They simply say (in verse 38), “Where are you staying?”—we are seeking your address. As usual, Jesus is patient with this kind of response, and he gives them another chance. Only this time, it’s not a question; it’s a command and a promise. Verse 39: “Come and you will see.” On one level, it could mean simply: You will see where I am staying. But in the mind of Jesus and the mind of John this meant: If you will truly come to me, you will see spiritual reality. You will have spiritual sight.
Seeking Jesus, Finding Christ
Coming to Jesus in John’s Gospel means again and again entrusting yourself to Jesus, and receiving his promises (5:40; 6:35, 37, 44, 7:37). So they come to him, and they stay with him the rest of the day. The next two verses (40-41) show that they have indeed “seen.” “One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ).”
Jesus began the relationship by saying, “What are you seeking?” (verse 38). And now we hear Andrew say to his brother, “We have found the Messiah.” At first, they were only seeking where he was staying. Then because they came to him and spent time with him, they saw. The point is that if you come to Jesus, you see. You see spiritual reality. You see the key that unlocks the ultimate meaning of all things.
This is the glory of the Son of God. This is the grace we receive.
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