October 5 What Do You Want?

John 1:35-39 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
 
JOHN the Baptist points John and James – the two disciples – to Jesus. He repeats, “Look the Lamb of God.” With humility and reverence, the prophet from God points to God. He is as all God’s teachers must be – wise in God’s knowledge and humble to point students to the Lord.
   As the two disciples approach Jesus, he asked, “What do you want?” I like this question. Jesus sometimes asked this of people who sought healing. He knew what they wanted, but he wanted them to speak their desires. Saying to the Lord, “I want …” can seem selfish, but our prayers are focused on what we want, aren’t they? Hopefully we want God to move for others’ benefit. “I want war to end. I want people to know Jesus. I want to be a good husband.” Jesus wanted to hear the disciples say, “We want to be with you.”
   In the language of the day, that is what they said. Asking, “Teacher, where do you staying?” the two spoke in the culture’s way to invite themselves to spend time with the Teacher. We may feel that is rude from our point of view in the U.S., but hospitality is very important to many people groups around the world. You actually honor someone when you say you want to see where they live. With Jesus’ invitation, the two disciples go. It is 4 pm. There is time for conversation and a meal. Their lives are about to change.
 
Prayer: Lord God, I want your church on earth to be true to you. I want your Spirit to empower the church to point the world truly to you. Amen.