Daily Devotional • August 7
A Reading from John 1:29-42
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simonto Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
Meditation
John the Baptist’s entire ministry has led to this very moment. Having heralded the arrival of the coming Messiah, John now sees Jesus for himself, declaring him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” In the next scene, John again identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, this time within earshot of his two disciples. They are compelled to follow Jesus — literally, at first, but soon, in the deeper, fuller sense of discipleship.
It only takes one life-changing afternoon for these two men to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One and begin sharing their personal testimony, inviting others to follow him.
John the Baptist had only known in part to whom he was pointing, and yet he faithfully took up the role of forerunner. Now, his work is complete: his disciples have rightly begun following the “Chosen One.”
Similarly — even as we see in a mirror, dimly — we are to take up our role as evangelists, pointing others to Christ and inviting them to follow Him as Lord.
And here’s what we will find: we can’t talk up Jesus enough. We can’t overpromise when it comes to Jesus; we can’t overstate his goodness, his glory, his worthiness. For an encounter with Jesus is an encounter with the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the one true Lord, the only one deserving of our devotion.
Lauren Anderson-Cripps is director of communications and marketing at Nashotah House Theological Seminary and writes for a variety of publications, including The Living Church. Lauren lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Sam, and their dog, Tennessee Jed.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Ibadan – The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill, North Carolina