 Lord, as we come before you, mighty Father, I just want to thank you for another session today. Lord God, I pray that you continue to guide and protect each and every one of us. Lord God, open our minds and our hearts, mighty Father, as we dive into the scriptures this morning. Lord God, we thank you for the lives of each and every person here. Mighty Father, I just pray that you give each of us a takeaway, a revelation from what we have, we will learn today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. Yes, we'll get started. So last week we began with an introduction to the Gospel of John. We looked at why we are very confident that John is the author of this Gospel. And then we moved into the first portion of the Gospel, which would be the first 18 verses, which were the prologue or to use a more simple term, introduction. So in this introduction, which probably was in the form of a song, in this form of a hymn, which people actually used to sing in their church gatherings, in this prologue, in this introduction, we have all the basic main topics which John is planning on covering in his Gospel. He introduces all of those topics very briefly, at least mentioning maybe one or two words on each of those topics. So we see that he talks about Jesus being logos, the word, he speaks about him being the light, he speaks about Jesus as the life. There's also a mention of some people preferring the darkness over light, but the assurance is given that the darkness will never be able to overcome the light. So these are all topics which will be covered in much greater detail later even as we move through this Gospel. So after having given his introduction in the first 18 verses, John formally begins explaining to his readers all the things that he wishes to share with them about Jesus, about who Jesus is in his divine nature and how it is right for us to place our trust in this Jesus, because in him we have eternal life, in him there is going to be regeneration, we will have the privilege of becoming a different, a new person, a born again person who will now be born into the kingdom of God. So John is now getting ready to lead us into all of these topics one by one. And so if we can have someone read out one or two verses even as we go along, that would help. This being a Google class, there isn't much scope for interaction. So the only kind of interaction that is possible is when you guys read out one or two verses, it gives me the assurance that someone is there at the other end actually listening, it helps. It also kind of breaks the monotony a bit instead of having me drone on and on. When someone hears another lovely voice reading the scriptures, it will make everyone sit up and say okay, there's something new going on. So it really does help when you people read. So last time we had around two or three persons volunteering to read for us, that was really helpful. So even today, when I ask you to read out the scriptures, please if you could do that, it doesn't take much effort, it's just a matter of reading out a few scriptures. So if you could do that, it would help. Another request, it would be so nice if you can come up with your questions. It's easier to look at a raised hand when you're sitting in front of the screen rather than in one of the physical classes. So here it's quite easy for me to look at my screen and notice if someone has raised a hand. So please feel free to do that if you have any doubt. If there's anything that you would like to share regarding that particular verse that we are dealing with, it would make the whole thing more interactive. So I will kind of watch out for any raised hands. And so anytime during the session, if there's something that you would like to share, if there's any question that you would like to ask, just jump right in. And on the other hand, if you're more comfortable typing something in the chat, that's also totally fine. So we'll get started with verse 19. So we have someone read out verses 19 and 20 for us. We are looking at John chapter one, if someone could read out for us verses 19 and 20 please. Now this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And asked him, what then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered, no. Yes. All right. So we see here that John is writing about himself and he says something in verse 20. He says he did not fail to confess, but confessed freely. I am not the Messiah. So here we have a spiritual leader who has gained much popularity. He is now in fact so popular that even though his ministry is being done out in the wilderness, there are people who are willing to go all the way out into the wilderness just to hear him preach and just to be baptized under his spiritual leadership. And we in fact even have the Pharisees coming to him. So we even have the prominent religious figures of that day coming to John the Baptist to be baptized by him. So this is the level of popularity that John the Baptist has gained, but this has not corrupted him in the least. He could not care less about the fame. He is not interested in being popular or in making a name for himself. And so when people ask him, are you the Messiah? He says over here in verse 20 about himself, he says that he, John, did not fail to confess, but confessed freely that no, I am not the Messiah. Because John the Baptist was very clear about his purpose, his mission. He knew right from childhood that he is going to be the person who is going to point people towards the Messiah. And so he always knew that the, you know, the highlight should not be on him. Rather it's going, it should be on this Messiah towards whom he is pointing. And so he does not try to make any false claims to fame. Rather he very openly says, no, I am not the Messiah. And in fact, we seen, you know, if we go a few verses down, we see that he actually points people towards the actual true Messiah. And this should be our own attitude, even in our ministries and even in our regular Christian walk, you know, we should not feel the need to promote ourselves. Rather we should be always people who are pointing towards the Messiah, towards Jesus and promoting him. So even those of us who may not be in full time ministry, you know, rather than trying to promote ourselves, we can try to find opportunities where we are instead promoting him, you know, Jesus Christ and allowing people to see him rather than us. It can be something as simple as, you know, having finished a project really well at the office and having been given a promotion. When people come to you and they, you know, compliment you and they praise you for your achievements, it could be something as simple as you saying, I really spent time praying for this because I knew I could not do it on my own and Jesus helped me in doing this. Just by making that simple statement, you're taking the people's eyes off you and you're pointing them towards the Messiah, towards the one who can actually make a difference in their lives. You see, they are being nice to you by coming and complimenting you, which is good. And it is good that someone is affirming all the efforts that you have put in. But by just doing this one simple thing where you're also bringing Jesus into the picture, you're showing them that there's something greater than just you and your abilities. There's someone who's backing you up, helping you, you know, and you're receiving divine help to become who you are. So that kind of makes them think. It kind of makes them wish that maybe they could have Jesus on their side as well. So like John, rather than being people who would prefer to promote ourselves, maybe we could become pointers towards Jesus. We could be people who are promoting Him rather than promoting ourselves. So that's just one simple lesson that comes across through this verse 20, where John emphasizes and stresses and says, he did not fail to confess, but confessed freely that, no, I am not the Messiah. So the, you know, the leaders especially, they ask him, who are you? Are you Elijah? Because for them, they had been told in the Old Testament scriptures, they had been warned in the time of Malakai that a time is coming when they will no longer hear from prophets. In fact, they will long to hear from the prophets, but God will no longer choose to communicate through people and they will be divine silence. And so in Malakai chapter four, verses five and six, they are told that one day the silence will be broken when Elijah comes, when he comes, he will once again start declaring the words of God, and then people will get to hear from God once again. And then this Elijah, he is going to become the forerunner for the Messiah. So this is something that the Jewish people were aware of. It is something, an event that they were eagerly waiting for. And so maybe we can look at Malakai four, five to six, and then see how applicable these verses are to John the Baptist. So if we could have one person quickly turning to Malakai chapter four, verses five and six, if we could have someone read out Malakai four, five and six, please. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and grateful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the father to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. Yes. So here in Malakai four, it's saying that a day is coming when the Lord will come. And he can come as judge or he can come as saviour, depending on the response of the people. So here in these verses, it is told that when Elijah comes along and starts preaching repentance, if the people are willing to repent, if they are willing to repair their relationships with one another and with the Lord, then he will choose to be their saviour and the judgment will be put off for a longer period. So these are some of the things that are revealed in this chapter. And so the people were waiting for Elijah to come. They did not know whether he would literally come back as himself, the first Elijah who was born and lived in the Old Testament times, or whether another person would come along, who would have the spirit of Elijah, who would be similar to Elijah in his speech, in his ministry, in his calling. So they ask, so if you are not the Messiah himself, then are you Elijah? Is that why you are doing this work of preparation? Because we see that people have been coming to John the Baptist from different walks of life. You have soldiers coming to him to be baptized. You have the normal ordinary everyday people coming to him to be baptized. You have religious leaders coming to him. So it's like as of all categories of people are reaching out to the Lord and preparing themselves and getting ready to receive the Messiah. And so it does look like as if this person, this John the Baptist is turning the hearts of people, changing them so that they become what God wants them to be, so that when the Messiah comes, they are ready. They are willing to receive whatever he has to offer. Their hearts will be ready and tuned to whatever it is that he has to say. So people are actively trying to prepare themselves for this. And so there's a likelihood that he could be Elijah. But then John the Baptist again says, no, I am not in the sense. He admits that he is not the actual physical Elijah of the Old Testament times and that no, he is a different person. He's just John the Baptist. So he says no to that as well. But then later when we see Jesus talking about him, this is what Jesus says about John the Baptist in Mark chapter 9, verses 11 to 13. So if we could have someone turn to Mark, the Gospel of Mark, and if we could have someone read out for us, Mark chapter 9, verses 11 to 13. Mark 9, 11 to 13. And they asked him saying, why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Then he answered and told them, indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be treated with contents? But I say to you that Elijah has also come and they did to him whatever they exist as it is written to written of him. Yeah. So here this actually is a passage which is coming immediately after the transfiguration, you know, which Jesus experiences on the mountain. So they're coming back from there, you know, just now the disciples have had an encounter with Moses and Elijah in the flesh. And so they're kind of thinking about that. And so they pose a question here. And Jesus says, Elijah did come and the people did to him what they wished to do. And here Jesus is very clearly referring to John the Baptist. So even though John the Baptist frankly admitted that he is not the physical Elijah of the Old Testament times, Jesus acknowledges that at least in spirit, he is like Elijah. And he did do his preparation work, you know, for the coming of the Messiah in the right way. Because Jesus says, Elijah does come first and restores all things. And then he in the next verse in verse 13, he says, Elijah has come. So John the Baptist, whatever he was supposed to do in restoring all things, in preparing the people and getting them in tune with God so that they will be willing to hear from the Messiah when the Messiah reveals himself, all of this John the Baptist did do. And in fact, we see in another passage where, you know, Jesus speaks very highly of John the Baptist. So John the Baptist did not promote himself. But when the time came, God himself promoted John the Baptist. So if we can just do our part in pointing people towards Jesus Christ, when the time comes, the Lord will himself exalt us. It's not something that we would have to desperately do on our own. The Lord himself will speak up on our behalf and he will promote us when the time comes. So this is a good learning that we can take away, you know, from these verses. So we see that in the next portion of the verse, the people now ask him, okay, fine, if you are not the Messiah and you are not the Elijah either, then are you the prophet? Because Moses had referred to somebody who would come as the prophet. And so they were wondering whether John the Baptist is at least this person who Moses had talked about. And that we would find in Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 15, 18 and 19. We will not read out those verses, but over there in those verses, Moses talks about how God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you. Now over here, Moses is talking about how he is not going to be the first and last, you know, leader of the Israelites. There are going to be many more people whom God will be sending and these prophets will minister and they will lead and guide and help. So he assures the people that there are going to be other prophets. But also at another level, it's like as if Moses has given an indication that there are going to be many prophets and then, you know, in fact, he goes on to talk about who is a true prophet, how will you recognize a false prophet in case, you know, someone pretends to be a true prophet. He talks about all of those things. But there's also an implication in these verses that one day they would be the prophet being sent by God. So yes, there will be many prophets who will come after Moses, you know, to help the people and speak the words of God to them. But there will also be one specific prophet who will be like Moses from among you and he says you must listen to him is what he says in Deuteronomy 18 verse 15. So keeping this in mind, these leaders now question John the Baptist and say, okay, fine, at least are you this prophet? Now, why are they asking these questions? Because John the Baptist is standing over here doing baptism is doing it without having received any prior permission from the high priest or from any other religious leader. So their basic question is by whose authority are you doing this? There are people coming to you trustingly and they are repenting of their sins and they are getting their hearts, you know, right with God and all of this is happening. But by whose authority are you doing this? And then John speaks up and in verse 23 he says, you know, these things that I am doing, it is because it was prophesied about me by Isaiah. And so he says, Isaiah talked about a voice of one calling in the wilderness makes straight the way for the Lord, I am that person. So that is the spiritual authority with which I am baptizing. So, you know, this is explained to us in verse 24 where it says, now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the prophet. And that is when John explains, you know, he says, I have been prophesied about in the Old Testament, I am the person that Isaiah talked about, I am that voice calling in the wilderness, you know, that the paths leading to the Messiah need to be straightened out. So I am preparing people's hearts so that they will receive him when he comes. And so he says, that's the reason why I am baptizing. And then he goes on to make this statement about the Messiah and about baptism. So if we can have someone read out for us versus, we are still in chapter one. And if someone could read out for us versus 26, 27, and 28, 26, 27 and 28, please. John chapter one is 26, 27. I baptize you with water, John replied, but among you stands one you do not know, he is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals are not worthy to untie. This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Yes. So John says, so because Isaiah prophesied about me, based on that spiritual authority, I am baptizing, but I am only doing this with water. On the other hand, there is someone coming, you know, who is going to baptize differently. So that's going to be talked about somewhere else. But here he says, this person who's going to be coming, I am not worthy to even untie his sandals. So just for us to know, you know, to get a little background on this whole system of baptism in, you know, during those days. This is something, this is a practice which started off during the, during what we call the inter-testamental period, you know, the time between the Old Testament events and the New Testament events. So during those 400 years, which, you know, lapsed between the time of Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist. So during those times, if you remember, the Jewish people had been scattered to different places. Some of the exiles had returned back to Jerusalem, to their homeland, and they were living once again over here. But there were others who had chosen to continue living, you know, in Babylon, in Persia, in Egypt. So they were Jews scattered all over the place. And sometime during these years, even as they began to teach and preach about Yahweh, and about the Messiah whom he's going to be sending, some people began to place their faith in Yahweh, and they gave up their pagan religions and they turned to the living God. So this ceremony of baptism was introduced for them. So a formal baptism ceremony would be done, where these people would step into, you know, a river and they would be immersed in that water. And so that would be a declaration by that person saying, I am no longer a follower of the pagan religion that I was following earlier. Now I am a follower of the living God Yahweh, and I am also looking forward and waiting for the Messiah who is going to be coming. So baptism was something done for the non-Jewish people who are now turning towards the living God. But here we see that John the Baptist is not so much doing it for the Gentile people. He is doing this baptism ceremony for the Jewish people themselves. So he in fact has given new significance to this ritual. He is saying to the Jewish people, you know, the others will come when they will come. But right now you people, first of all need to get ready for your Savior, for your Messiah. And so he starts baptizing the Jewish people themselves. Up to that time baptism was something that was done for the Gentile community. And of course the baptism ceremony was used also by some rabbis who wanted to formally, you know, declare certain people as their disciples. So some rabbis would have this baptism ceremony done for new followers. You know, once they finish their probation period, I guess you could say, then they would undergo this baptism ceremony to declare I am now a disciple of so and so rabbi. And now, you know, I'm going to be learning from him and I'll be following him. So the baptism ceremony was used in these, you know, in these ways in those days. So now John the Baptist gives it a whole new significance and says, if you're doing this, you're doing it to show God that you are ready to listen to whatever he has to say. Because once your heart is ready, once the Messiah is revealed, you will be in a position to accept him. And so when the Pharisees actually come to John the Baptist to be baptized, he very openly says to them, you people are like a brood of wipers. I mean, this doesn't apply to you. What made you even think that you can come and get baptized? You know, those are the wordings that he uses, rather strong wordings that he uses, because these people are definitely not going to be open to the Messiah. They have not come over there to actually repent of their sins. They are doing it because all the people are doing it. And if they, the leaders are not doing it, then it's going to look bad. So they've actually just come over there, you know, more like a, it's more like a, you know, promotional session rather than actually due to any repentance on their part. And so John the Baptist in fact refuses to baptize them, because there is no true repentance involved in what they are doing. So that's regarding baptism. And then coming to this other idea that, you know, John introduces over here, John the Baptist introduces over here about how he is not worthy to even untie the straps of the sandals of the Messiah who will be coming. Now again, this has, this is something that is associated with rabbis and their disciples. So people who have interest in spiritual things and want to learn, they would come to a rabbi and say, you know, I want to become your disciple. I want to learn from you. So the rabbi invests time in teaching them about spiritual things. And so these disciples would literally live with the rabbi, you know, in his home. So obviously the rabbi cannot look after so many people by himself. So, you know, they would kind of divide responsibilities. So all these disciples would be taking care of different, you know, household chores, they would be helping out in the everyday, you know, routines of, you know, daily life. So you could say in a sense that the rabbis are like, the disciples are like helpers. So the rabbi could actually ask them, ask many things of them, you know, and they would have to oblige because he is giving them spiritual truths is training them up in the ways of God. And so from their side, they would reciprocate by, you know, helping him and taking care of him and doing all of those things. But one rule was laid down. A rabbi should not go to the extent of asking them to, you know, clean his sandals. So, you know, that is something which only slaves would should be expected to do. So when the rabbi walks into the home and he sits down, it's the slave who will have to come unstrap that, you know, they didn't have this, you know, they're ready to wear shoes. Whenever you just slip in your feet and into the shoes and, you know, you're done. You know, they leave you have seen those paintings you have of those, you know, olden times, Jesus times, footwear, you see, right? They literally have these long straps which go around the ankle and up your, you know, leg. So they literally strap it on to their feet. You know, they're not like our modern shoes. So the slave would quickly come, you know, kneel down in front of the rabbi and, you know, open the straps, you know, untie the straps and take off the sandals and then probably go and clean it. So no rabbi was allowed to ask his disciples to do that. That would be going too far simply because they were living in times where there were no paved roads. All the roads would have been really dusty and it's not just a matter of dust. You know, you have animals which are being used as transportation facilities. So you have donkeys and camels and whatnot. And, you know, they kind of tend to leave their dung all over the place. So footwear in those days was not really something very clean. And so even a rabbi's disciples were not expected to do this menial job. And here is John the Baptist saying, you know, when this messiah comes, I am not worthy to even do that job of a slave. I mean, I don't even deserve that task because he is so great and I am that insignificant. And so he makes it very clear that he has no importance, you know, no status. On the other hand, all importance, all glory, all prominence must go to this messiah towards whom he is pointing. So having made those things very clear to his people, you know, we see him now finally pointing towards the true messiah. If we can have someone read out verse 29. So we are still in chapter 1. And if someone could read out for us verse 29, please. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes. Now, this is a verse that fascinates me. I mean, imagine, these people have been waiting for hundreds of years for their messiah king who's going to come and, you know, defeat these Romans and restore their pride as a nation. They're going to have their own king once again. You know, the messiah king who will be sitting on the throne to rule over them in righteousness. These are the things that they have been waiting for. And now John is introducing this messiah to them as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And this is not really the kind of messiah that they have been looking for. And so I wonder when John spoke these words, how many people were standing around him and what they would have thought when this is how he introduces the messiah, calling him not king, but calling him the Lamb of God. The Lamb is a very, is something that they would have been very familiar with, especially lambs which take away sin. That is something that's a concept that they would have been very familiar with. Because, you know, every single day sacrifices are being performed at the temple, where lambs are being sacrificed for the sins of the people. So this is a very familiar concept. But to apply this term and this concept to the messiah, that would have sounded very strange to their ears. And just to touch upon another aspect of this, this messiah is being introduced to them as the Lamb of God. This is something that they're all familiar with. They've all taken lambs to the temple, you know, to perform the sacrifice for themselves and for their family members. So, you know, if you have somebody named Matthias going over there to the temple, you know, Monday morning, he takes a lamb and he goes over there. So if someone sees him, you know, going over there to the temple with his lamb, they would say, ah, look, there's Matthias and his lamb, the Lamb of Matthias. And what is going to be happening to this Lamb of Matthias? Once that lamb goes over there to the temple, it's going to be killed. You know, it's going to be sacrificed. So the Lamb of Matthias doesn't exactly have anything, you know, great to look forward to. It's going to be dead in the next few minutes. Okay, that is the Lamb of Matthias. Couldn't we just take another random name? Josiah, you know, Lamb of Josiah. So now Josiah is taking his lamb over there to the temple and we all know why he's taking it over there. He's going to, he's taking it over there because it's going to be sacrificed and that lamb is going to lay down its life so that he and his family members can be considered acceptable in God's eyes so that they can continue to have the favor of God upon them so that the judgment of God, of a holy God will not be released upon them. You see? So they appreciate what the Lamb is doing but the Lamb itself does not have much of a, it doesn't have a very good future ahead of it. And so here it's not talking about the Lamb of Matthias or the Lamb of Josiah. It's talking about the Lamb of God. Look at the picture that is drawn over here. Just as Matthias takes his lamb to the temple, just as Josiah takes his lamb to the temple, here is God taking his lamb to the temple. And this is not just some animal. This is his own son. I mean, it just shows the beauty of the love of God that, you know, humans are just taking animals towards which they would probably not have any sentimental attachment and they are taking those to the temple and they have one very clear purpose that they're going to sacrifice it. But now there's something very personal, something very emotional and intimate being done by God, where God is taking his lamb to the altar. And this is not just some lamb. This is his own son. And why is he being taken over there so that the sins of the world will be removed and taken away? That is the love of this God towards his people. So it is amazing that, you know, for us to actually understand what God would have felt regarding this whole thing, we are given an example in scripture so that at least we will be able to understand a little bit of what would have gone on in God's heart regarding this whole thing. Because we have an example in the Old Testament in Genesis chapter 22, where we see Abraham more or less in the same spot where he is taking not an animal to that altar. In fact, his son opens his mouth and asks him, where is the lamb, you know, which we are supposed to sacrifice? And Abraham doesn't say anything because he doesn't know what to say. You know, he just says the Lord will provide. He just leaves it at that. So it is his own son that he is taking to the altar to be sacrificed over there. So it's very easy to talk about Mataya's lamb and Josiah's lamb, but this lamb of God, this God's personal involvement over here, and it shows the deep love that he has towards this sinful world, towards this sinful humanity. So the people who heard John introducing Jesus in this way would not have caught all the implications of this line at that time, but later, even as they would have reflected upon this, what God was promising to do for them, the significance of that would have really hit them later when events showed what would happen to the lamb. So now John goes on to give a little detail about some details regarding this lamb of God. He explains why he is calling this normal average looking person as lamb of God. So he explains why he is calling him that, and this is the explanation that he gives in verses 30. Maybe we can read all the way up to 34. So we are still in chapter one. If we can have someone read out for us verses 30 to 34, please. Verse 30, this is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who is preferred before me, before he was before me, 31. I did not know him, but that he should be revealed to Israel. Therefore, I came baptism with water, 32. And John bore witness same. I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dog and he remained upon him. Till verse 32 or 33? 33, yes. 33 also. 33 and 34. I did not know him. Okay. Okay. I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on him, this is he who baptized with the Holy Spirit 34. And I have seen and testified that this is the sound of God. Okay. So John is saying, see there's a reason why I'm calling this particular person the Lamb of God, because he says in verse 34, I have seen and I testified that this is God's chosen one. You see up to now I did not know who it was, but when that baptism ceremony was going on, I was told very clearly that the person upon whom the spirit descends, that will be the person who is the chosen one. So he says, I myself did not know him. He says that in verse 31, he repeats it once again in verse 33. He says in verse 33, and I myself did not know him. Now, why is John repeating this two times? Because when it comes to just normal human interactions and relationships, he knew Jesus. Why do I say that? Because when Mary learns about Elzebeth pregnant with child, she immediately goes to her to congratulate her and spend time with her. So most probably Mary and Elzebeth were relatives and probably close relatives because she immediately goes to her. So, which means that Jesus and John the Baptist would have been related in some way. So when they were kids, they would have known each other. They would have grown up knowing each other. But John the Baptist never knew that he is the chosen one. We know that from babyhood, even from the time that he was conceived, the Holy Spirit was already upon John the Baptist. And so he was already in tune with the things of God. But it had never been revealed to him that this person with whom he associates once in a while whenever Mary visits. He never knew that this person, this Jesus, is the chosen one. And so twice he says that I myself did not know him. But now I know because I literally saw it with my own eyes. I was told that the one upon whom the Spirit descends, that will be the chosen one. And I have seen it happening. So he says in verse 33, the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen and I testify that this is God's chosen one. And so with great excitement, he's announcing to the people and saying, look, look, this is the chosen one. This is the Lamb of God. So I'm not sure how many people understood this term Lamb of God at that time because they were looking for a king and not for a sacrificial lamb. But at least they kind of got what he was saying, you know, that this is the Messiah whom they have been eagerly waiting for. Some of the people standing over there might have been disappointed because Jesus looked very ordinary. He didn't look like any great leader. There was no shining halo above his head. Nothing. He just looked very normal, very ordinary. But now John had discovered that this person whom he had known from childhood is the chosen one. And he's very excited. And he's saying, I've seen it. I saw the Spirit descend upon him in the form of a dove. And this is him. And he's pointing towards Jesus. So it says the next day he does the same thing. That would be in verse 35. Maybe we can look from verse 35 up to verse 39. Verses 35 to 39 please. Verse 35, 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 and 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 10th hour. Yeah. So we see here that the next day again, John is now standing with two of his disciples. We get to know that one of them is Andrew. And the other one is most probably John himself, the writer of this book. So these two disciples of John, the Baptist are standing over there. So John the Baptist again points towards Jesus and says, look, look, you know, the Lamb I was talking about yesterday, this is the Lamb of God. And immediately these two disciples of John the Baptist leave him. Now they want a new Rabbi. They're no longer interested in the old Rabbi because the old Rabbi has been, you know, telling them again and again, I'm, you know, preparing you for this Messiah who is going to come. So this is it. Once their leader tells them, this is the man that I have been preparing you for. They are now ready to take the leap. So they immediately begin to follow Jesus. And you know, John doesn't even stop them. John is excited that now, you know, he has prepared them. He's now sending them to their Savior and he's done his part. So it's all very beautiful here. You know, there are no selfish motives involved. You know, no human desire for maintaining your hold over people, none of that. So John is gladly releases his two disciples. The two disciples are more than happy to go. They start following Jesus. You know, they have not yet been introduced to him personally, so they don't know him personally yet, but they start following him. And Jesus turns around and says, what do you want? And they say, where are you staying? You know, because they want to go and spend time with him. So he says, come and you'll see. So he invites them and they go. And it says they spent that day with him. So it's not like they stay there five minutes and say, okay, fine. You know, it's been nice meeting you. You know, when I have a need, I'll come back to you. No, that's not the attitude. They spend that day with him. They must have just fired a hundred questions, asking him so many things that are no in their minds. These are two men who are hungry for the things of God. So we see this. So we'll, okay, we have another one minute and then we would probably have to go into our break. So we see that in the next few verses, you know, verses 40 to 44, Andrew takes the initiative to immediately go and tell his brother that we have now found the Messiah. You know, we spent the entire day talking to him and the things that he's been telling us, the things that he's been teaching us. This is definitely him. So Andrew is like very excited about it. And so he goes and tells his brother about it. And then we also get to know about a few others who become the first followers of this Lamb of God. Okay, so we'll take our break now and at 10 o'clock, let's get back together and we'll resume our class. Thank you.