Smoodock's Blog

It’s now the third day since Jesus was baptized, and he was still in Bethabara (John 1:28), which comes as a contrast to Mark 1:12, but more about this in another study. At this time, John was standing with two of his disciples, as he watched Jesus, as he was walking away, presumably toward Galilee, and once more John pointed Jesus out to the two disciples with him, saying: Behold the Lamb of God (John 1:35-36). When John did so, these two disciples left following John and began following Jesus (John 1:37).

It soon became obvious to Jesus that they were following him, so he turned and asked: “Whom do you seek?” (John 1:38). Immediately, they addressed him with respect, calling him Rabbi, which means Master or Teacher, and they asked where he lived (John 1:38-39). On a later occasion, a group of men carrying weapons sought Jesus and came upon his disciples, and Jesus came forward and asked the same question: “Whom do you seek?” (John 1:38; cp. 18:4, 7). Thus, we are able to understand that not all, who come seeking the Lord, do so out of respect or are willing to be taught. Indeed, some will come with violence in their hearts, hoping to seize and destroy. Still, on a third occasion a woman came seeking the remains of Jesus, or what was left after the men of violence had accomplished their destructive work, and once more Jesus asked: “…Whom do you seek?”

I believe there are lessons to be learned in this passage, where two men leave off following John and begin following Jesus. The one is named, Andrew, the brother of Peter (John 1:40), but the other remains anonymous. Nevertheless, he must be known by Andrew and probably by the author of the Gospel of John. So, the obvious question would be: Who is he? Some scholars identify the young man who ran naked from the men who seized Jesus in Gethsemane as Mark, the writer of Peter’s Gospel (Mark 14:51-52). No other Gospel writer mentions this incident, and why would anyone mention such a trivial detail, unless the detail was important to the author? So, the probable explanation is that Mark was pointing to his own failure to stand with Jesus, showing that he, too, abandoned him.

Moreover, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20) is mentioned, as such, only in the Gospel of John, but he is never identified by name. Nevertheless, it is testified in his narrative that it was he who wrote the Gospel narrative, which we call John’s Gospel (John 21:24). My point is to say that the unknown disciple mentioned in John 1:37-40, is a trivial detail that doesn’t serve the account of Jesus’ early ministry. It isn’t needed, and serves no purpose in its mention, except to serve the possible description of the author’s early reluctance to follow Jesus, even though he understood and believed the testimony of John the Baptizer.[1]

So, we have four examples of folks who are asked by Jesus, “Whom do you seek?” Andrew was a man ready to follow Jesus and wanted to know him and recognized him as his teacher. The violent men in Gethsemane also sought Jesus, but had ulterior motives. They neither respected him as a teacher, nor did they wish to know him better. They came simply to seize him and destroy him and all things concerning him. Mary represents the folks who seek what the men of violence have left after they’ve done their evil deed. She is willing to pick up the pieces and cherish what is left. However, she becomes astonished that the men of violence only appeared to have destroyed all that was precious about Jesus. Indeed, nothing is destroyed. On the contrary, what had been known in the past has now taken on new and more precious meaning. The unknown disciple represents he (or she) who doesn’t want to be publicly known to follow Jesus. There is a certain shame in being a disciple that some, at first, find unnerving, so they wish to follow, but remain anonymous. They want the gravy, but have trouble digesting the meat. Thus, we have the author of the Gospel of John pointing to himself, at his first meeting with Jesus.

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[1] In an earlier study, I identified this man as Barnabas, not the Apostle John as is traditionally accepted. See my study: Barnabas Whom Jesus Loved.