Joh 1:36 | KingComments | STEP | After the testimony of the Lord as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, John is back at the Jordan the next day. Two of his disciples stand with him. Then John sees the Lord Jesus walking there. The Lord does not come to him, but shows Himself there. When John sees Him, he is immediately full of admiration for that Person. He says: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In he added what this Lamb will do. Here he is full of the Lamb Himself. That Person has taken up his whole heart. This testimony of John from a heart full of the Person of Christ has a consequence that we do not see in his previous testimony. The two disciples who are with John hear John speak and also become full of Christ. Through the testimony of John, they look away from him and are seized by the glory of the Lord Jesus. Any service before God is only good if the servant detaches the hearers from himself as human servant and leads them to Christ. Such a servant is John. His two disciples leave him and follow the Lord. To “follow” presupposes that we are not in the rest of God. We follow the Lamb on earth in the midst of circumstances where sin has not yet been taken away ( ). In the Garden of Eden, Paradise, where sin was not, there was no need to follow. In heaven there will be no following either. There we will find joy and rest in the place where we are. Following the Lamb is an activity we can only do as long as we are on earth.

‏ John 1:36

Behold, the Lamb of God

After the testimony of the Lord as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, John is back at the Jordan the next day. Two of his disciples stand with him. Then John sees the Lord Jesus walking there. The Lord does not come to him, but shows Himself there.

When John sees Him, he is immediately full of admiration for that Person. He says: “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In Jn 1:29 he added what this Lamb will do. Here he is full of the Lamb Himself. That Person has taken up his whole heart. This testimony of John from a heart full of the Person of Christ has a consequence that we do not see in his previous testimony.

The two disciples who are with John hear John speak and also become full of Christ. Through the testimony of John, they look away from him and are seized by the glory of the Lord Jesus. Any service before God is only good if the servant detaches the hearers from himself as human servant and leads them to Christ. Such a servant is John. His two disciples leave him and follow the Lord.

To “follow” presupposes that we are not in the rest of God. We follow the Lamb on earth in the midst of circumstances where sin has not yet been taken away (Rev 14:4). In the Garden of Eden, Paradise, where sin was not, there was no need to follow. In heaven there will be no following either. There we will find joy and rest in the place where we are. Following the Lamb is an activity we can only do as long as we are on earth.