AMAZING

“And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus”, John 1:37 

These two disciples were with John the Baptist, the amazing man whom many would love just to see close by and to touch. One of these two was Andrew, the man who brought his own brother, Peter, to Christ.

I wondered how I would feel to know John the Baptist that way, as close by as they did. It would be amazing I guess, to walk with and to hear the greatest man ever born of woman. And then, I just wondered what kind of men these two were, who left him for Christ.

John was a man who would, most likely, look into a man’s eyes and say truth in such a way that one would not even have a moment to blink an eye or to defend oneself. I believe John was like a missile which never missed its target, no matter what kind of resistance it found in its way. It is amazing to find people on earth like John. Nevertheless, I am reminded of those words of Jesus, “He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward: and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward”, Mat 10:41. One must have a simple heart to hear a simple heart. If one hears a prophet’s words, one must have prophet’s ears.

I was touched by these two men’s example today. I believe that, if someone tells another person, “offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come”, it is half way gone never to want to hear him again (especially about his opinion concerning myself), and half way gone not to take him seriously if he says anything else. His kind of speech makes me naturally want to defend myself before he speaks if I were ungodly. We hear of Andrew and the other that they “heard him speak”, nevertheless. That's why these two shall have a prophet's reward.

Andrew must have been the simplest of men on earth too, along with the other disciple. If it is true that when “He comes unto his own, his own receive him not”, John 1:11, how much more reason is there to believe amazing people hear amazing people. They did not praise John – they just obeyed him without force and very naturally took his words as God’s own opinion concerning them. This is mainly why "who receives a prophet" as a prophet is a prophet at heart, since they have and live by the same God. An unbelieving heart would not take God in like that if God came to speak that way at all. It is the kind of heart they have which makes them be rewarded. The kind of heart they have makes them give them that cup of water to such who seem to be harsh on any of them.

Because they were simple, because they were having the kind of heart they had in them, they instantly followed Jesus and exchanged John for Him on the spot. Would you leave a famous, powerful, chosen man to become a disciple of another one you scarcely know anything about? They "heard John speak" even if he did not tell them to follow Him. Simple people are fully able to make their own mind up and not make a mistake when they do so under light. Simple people care about truth and not about fame. These are the kind of people who may come to convert men to God who will become mighty apostles. Whoever is able to hear John speak as he does the way they did, will surely make God and God’s Kingdom great and wonderful and become able and willing to follow the Lord who has nowhere to lay His head down even if He made foxes to have holes for them. Of such little ones it is truly prophesied: “The little one shall become a thousand and the small one a strong nation”, Is.60:22. And they will breed holy, mighty descendants too, just like Ananiah did breed Paul. Amen.

José Mateus
zemateus@msn.com