character – Page 17 – 300 words a day

how do you know me

You know me, some of you, because we see each other every day. You know me, some of you, because someone introduced us. You know me, some of you, because you discovered me on your way to somewhere else. When Nathanael asked Jesus, “How do you know me?” he wasn’t talking about simple introductions. That’s […]

by Jon Swanson

come and see

Philip had a bunch of information about Jesus. He was the one that Moses wrote about. He’s one that the prophets wrote about. He’s from Nazareth. He’s the son of Joseph. From one little conversation with Jesus, it seems, Philip knew a lot. We guess this because right after Jesus invited Philip to follow him, […]

by Jon Swanson

a teacher who recruits

College admissions offices spend enormous energy recruiting students. Most faculty members don’t. The faculty are part of the product that recruiters sell. “If you come here, you will get to study with Dr. X. He’s the one who wrote that famous commentary on John. In fact, he was on the translation team.” It’s possible that […]

by Jon Swanson

Jesus sees what we may not

Andrew is a connector. He brings people to Jesus. The first person we know of is his brother, Simon. Andrew brings Simon to Jesus. Jesus notices Simon. He looks at him. He sees him. (Just as a thought experiment, imagine walking up to Jesus with your brother after listening to the excitement in your brother’s […]

by Jon Swanson

the first thing he did

Andrew spent a day with Jesus. He had been a follower of John (the baptizing one). He was looking for something spiritual. He was looking for someone that would be the one, the answer, the Messiah. And after spending a day with Jesus, Andrew went looking for his brother and said, simply, “We have found […]