What Jesus Did! 'They Followed Jesus!' — John 1:35-37

Thursday, January 22, 2026

The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" When John's two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
— John 1:35-37 NLT

Key Thought

John had already talked about Jesus being the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." [1] This time, however, his identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God provokes a response from two of his own disciples. They followed Jesus. They shifted their allegiance from the human messenger to the glorious Message.

As disciples of Jesus, our goal is to resist preacher or teacher infatuation - our faith shouldn't be built on a preacher, a pastor, a teacher, an evangelist, or anyone other than Jesus. We should remember the goal of every messenger's ministry should always be to get people to follow the Savior. Make sure your faith and hope are tied to Jesus and not to one of his messengers. The glory of any preacher's or teacher's message should be Jesus, not that particular messenger's style or personality. Let's make sure we follow Jesus; our doing so should be the true objective of a Christian messenger!

[1] John 1:29.

Today's Prayer

Father, thank you for those who have powerfully influenced my life toward faith. Your messengers who taught me about Jesus, stirred my heart to faith, and called me to righteousness are precious to me. However, dear Father, please guard me against valuing your messengers so much that I forget to seek Jesus as your living and enduring Word. By the power of your Holy Spirit, nudge me away from an over-dependence on human messengers and help me to follow your Son wholeheartedly. In Jesus' name, I live and pray. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of John 1:35-37 NLT — "Look! There is the Lamb of God!"

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About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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