One On One: 100 Days With Jesus--Ministry YearsSample

Convinced: The One who we hoped for

Imagine this interview with Jesus’ disciples: Describe the moment you knew He was Messiah—when you knew for sure He was the One. The One to give your whole life to. The One He said He was. 

Peter Luke 5:1-11

Early on I knew He was something important, I just didn’t know what. One time we fished all night. . . and caught nothing. I know fishing, and I couldn’t figure it out. That was the day Jesus preached on the shore near our boats and the people crowded Him out, so He came over and asked me to take Him in a skiff so He could teach from the water. So I did. When He was done teaching, He said, “let’s go fish.” And I, the experienced one, wanted to say, “It’s a bad day for fish, plus you don’t fish mid-day.” But the look in His eyes made me say, “Sure, whatever you want.” And we went to a deep eddy and I threw out the net. (He told me which side.) But before anything happened, I glanced at Him and He was grinning at me. Full white smile under His bushy beard. What? And then the net yanked me so hard I almost went in. Fish! I’d never seen so many fish. He laughed so hard He almost went in!   And the skiff filled up with flipping, silvery fins and we were taking on water and still He laughed. Later onshore, with a hand on my shoulder, He said just as sure as He told me my name, He said, “From now on you will catch men.” And that’s the day I anchored my boat, left my nets, and followed Him.

Andrew  John 1:35-44

I think I knew the first day. I had been following the prophet-preacher John, who was baptizing in the Jordan. On that day John pointed to Jesus walking towards us and said, “Look— it’s God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is who I’ve been talking about!” I didn’t waste time but started after Jesus. Is what John said true? And Jesus turned and asked, “What do you want?” not in a rude way, but more like inviting. But in that moment how could I say, Are You Him? Is it true? Did God send You? So instead, my friend and I asked Him where He was staying. We wanted more than a roadside chat. So, He took us to His friends’ house and we sat at their table and Jesus   talked and talked and opened up the prophecies and the law for us. And with it, He opened our hearts and mine beat so hard in my chest that I could hear it say, It’s Him, It’s Him, It’s Him. And when the day wore out, we stood up all stiff and sore from sitting still for so long, focused on His words, every nuance, every expression and I knew. He is the Promised One. The first person I had to tell was my brother. We found Him, I told Peter. We found the Messiah. 

Nathanael John 1:45-51

It was like that for me, too; I knew the first day. Philip told me they had found the Messiah—but he said He was from Nazareth. Those days I was too quick with my opinions, even quicker with tongue and I questioned how anything good could come from that backwater town. After all, I was a rabbinic student, perhaps with a head a little too big for my yarmulke. But, I was sincere in my longing for Messiah. Just that morning, I had been praying for Israel’s redemption as I sat alone under the fig tree. It is our custom to pray for the Redeemer to come while sitting under the branches of our national symbol. My teachers say, “he who, when he prays, does not pray for the coming of the Messiah, has not prayed at all.” My classmates and I debated about Messiah’s coming from day to night. We believed it would be in our generation. So, later that day when I met Jesus and He said, “I saw you under the fig tree,” I thought, who else could have heard my prayer for the Messiah then the Messiah Himself?” His eyes gripped me. He saw into me. I dropped to my knees and worshipped Him then and there and every day since. Oy, was I wrong about Nazareth! 

Tomorrow: One on one with Jesus on the water