Find Your Brother

“He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being translated, the Christ).” (John 1:41)

It happened that after John the Baptist baptized Jesus, he was standing with two of his disciples and saw Jesus. He told his disciples “See, the Lamb of God.”  Obviously, they understood what that meant. They followed Jesus and stayed with Him. One of John the Baptist’s disciples was Andrew, brother of Simon Peter. He found his brother and told him that they’d found the Messiah. (John 1:35-41) This is what happens when we discover the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of the world. We immediately want to share the news with others. The other thing is that we want to stay with Him.

The peace and joy of being with Jesus is unknown in this world except when He is near. His presence brings the peace needed in any situation. When there’s a spirit of strife, struggle or uneasiness, the manifest presence of Jesus will dispel it because Jesus is Peace. The same is true if one is in a situation of sorrow, dread or darkness. The manifest presence of Jesus brings joy and light. There is hope wherever Jesus is present. A side note: Jesus is always present in us through the Holy Spirit. What I am talking about is the manifest presence of Jesus. Jesus said where two or more are gathered in His name, He would be among them. (Matthew 18:20) Jesus actually shows up and manifests His presence of peace, joy, love and light. He changes the atmosphere. And this is what Andrew and the other disciples felt. In their spirits they recognized the deity of Jesus. They stayed with Him. Andrew finds his brother to tell him that they’d found the Messiah. How many of us did exactly what Andrew did? I know that the answer to that is 100%. We cannot help it. We want everyone to know Jesus, the source of love, of peace and of joy.

The other thing is that we want to stay in that atmosphere that can only be found in the presence of Jesus. These two disciples wanted to stay with Jesus and they stayed with Him where He was staying overnight. When the Samaritan woman told her whole town that Jesus was the Messiah, they believed on Jesus because of her testimony. They begged Him to stay with them and He stayed two days. “Then as the Samaritans had come to Him, they begged Him that He would stay with them. And He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.” (John 4:40-41) When Paul was in Rome and preached Jesus he stayed there two years preaching and teaching. “And Paul remained two years in his own hired house. And he welcomed all who came in to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God, and teaching those things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all freedom, and without hindrance.” (Acts 28:30-31) After the resurrection, Jesus joined Himself to two disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t realize it was Jesus, but His presence was so that they wanted Him to stay with them. “But they constrained Him, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And He went in to stay with them.” (Luke 24:29) It was then when Jesus broke bread that their eyes were opened and realized they were with Jesus.

In our study we find that when we share Jesus, Jesus is present and people want us to stay with them sharing knowledge of Jesus. It is vitally important to do that by visiting regularly to share more of Jesus. We’ve been commissioned. “Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20) We don’t have to go to other nations unless the Lord tells you, you know without a doubt and you have heard in various confirmations that this is what the Lord wants you to do. There are people that need to hear about Jesus all around us.

When we come to Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit Who indwells, leads and guides us. But there is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit where we receive the anointing and power to share the Gospel. It is what the apostles received at Pentecost. That is why they just couldn’t stay in that upper room, but had to go out and preach to the thousands of people from different nations that had come to Jerusalem for the festival. And through the miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit were able to share the Gospel in the different languages of the visitors so they could understand the Gospel. Luke wrote about it. “But you shall receive power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In other words, we will be witnesses in our hometown, in our nation, in neighboring nations and wherever the Lord will lead us. It’s reasonable to start where you are, with your neighbors or in your neighborhood.

In summary, just like Andrew couldn’t keep the knowledge of Jesus to himself, we can’t either. Remember those days when you just wanted to know more and more about Jesus and spend hours with Him because in His Presence is love, joy and peace unlike what we find on earth. So we must make ourselves available to those who have just received Jesus and want to be in His presence. With the power of the Holy Spirit we will be able to witness just what the Lord wants and what others need.