Poul Madsen
"Again, on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples;
and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." John 1:35-37
THIS passage of Scripture starts with the little word "again". The word speaks of repetition, and life consists of repetitions. We can make them dull and dead, a mere routine, or we can make them wonderful new character builders, because living repetition is what produces perseverance and steadfastness. The manna was repeated day by day throughout almost forty years. The Israelites gathered it again and again, getting up in the morning, going out into the fields, stooping down to the ground and picking it up. Was it just a dull monotony, or was it a daily miracle?
It is true that the Israelites often found it irksome, but that was their own fault. They said, "Is there nothing else than this manna? Must we have it again and again?" Quite often I hear people talking like that. Are we going to a meeting again? Are we going to pray again? Are we going to have another convention? They complain about what is to be "again". It is up to us, however, to make the repetitions of life a means of building up a character of perseverance and strength. Nowadays repetitions are not appreciated, for superficial people cry out for novelty. They do not like the word "again", but always want something different. So it is that believers run here and there, living a shallow life instead of having their characters built up by the daily repetition of the essential things of life. Novelties quite often provide escape from the path of duty. It takes real determination to do the same thing in a new way day after day.
Here was John the Baptist again. He did not seem to be interested in variety, as such. He was centred in God, and therefore he had no need for novelties. He concentrated on the will of God day by day, remaining in the spot where God wanted him to be, content to be in the place which God had appointed for him. John was ready to do things again and again, and yet again. You could always find him in the place of duty, and that is just the place where you can always find God. If you want to meet with God, then remain at the place of your duty. Learn to persevere; learn to do the same thing again and again in a living way. Do not seek after novelties, but live day by day with God and for God in the place of duty.
So it was that John stood "again", presenting us with a picture of a man as God wants man to be; a man of strength, of steady character and [64/65] reliability. In our hearts we know that a person should be like that. Those who are always running after the latest thing can seldom be relied upon. They will often be where they ought not to be; they cannot be found where they are needed in the will of God. They themselves imagine that they are seeking God, but if they seek Him in the wrong place, they should not be surprised if they do not find Him. So often God is to be found in the place of the everyday duties of life.
We may ask what John was doing on that most important day. We know that two days before he had had a wonderful experience, and that was a great day for him when he baptised his Lord and saw the Spirit of God come upon Him. "On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (v.29). That for him was a great day of testimony. Now what would happen on this next day? Would it not be an anticlimax? The days before had been full of the wonderful glory of the Lord, and now, what could he expect today? He could not count on the same experience and yet, in spite of that, he came to the same place again. Why had he done this? Because in true life every day is unique in its own right. Every day links us to the past, and yet every new day offers us something hitherto unknown. Every day we can rightly say, "This is the day of the Lord", and if we face it in that spirit we shall be grateful for the repetitions. This is the day of the Lord, therefore I read my Bible. I have done it a thousand times before, but this day it will be unique. This is the day of the Lord and therefore we meet together. We have done it hundreds of times before and may imagine that we know all about fellowship; nevertheless this time will be unique. This is life for today. So John was on the same spot, not to repeat his yesterday but to live the new day fully for the Lord. John shows us how to redeem time. If we do this, then time gives us something, but if we allow time to pass by in dull repetition, then we not only lose the day but lose something in our own character.
WE do not know what John had done that day until the tenth hour but one thing is certain, he did not just speak of his experiences of yesterday. He had faith enough to keep quiet and to concentrate on the Lord, waiting for what was new and then for what he should speak. John is a wonderful example of little activity but tremendous power; he was never found on the periphery of things but always in their very centre; living hour by hour with God and only speaking and acting out of a new living experience of Christ. So we are told that he looked upon Jesus and then spoke.
Jesus had not repeated His approach of the previous day. Then he had actually come to him, which was wonderful, whereas this day it says that John looked on Him "as he walked". This was a new way, yet John was not disappointed with the Lord for passing by, but only took a fresh look at Him as He did so and then drew attention to Him. He made no demands on the Lord; he did not try to tell Him how to walk; he just took a fresh look at Him and then was able to speak of Him with effective power. What is preaching but this, looking afresh on the Lord and then speaking fresh, warm words about Him? We may even say the same words about Him. It may appear to be only a repetition. We may have spoken about the Lord so often but, if before speaking we have been allowed to see Him in a new way, then there will be power in our words. This is the secret of preaching, to live every day so that the repetitions are ever new, to look afresh on the Lord Jesus, and then to speak. We need no more than that; but we cannot do with less.
This was why John had both a message and a testimony. He could say "Behold" because that was just what he himself had been doing. He called others to see what he could see. Everyone who really sees the Lord reacts either directly or indirectly with a cry, "Behold". We must concentrate on the Lord Jesus. In the midst of everyday life with all its repetitions, we must take a new look at the Lord, and the repetition becomes new life. Go into your room alone and behold the Lord. Come together with others for worship, and behold the Lord. Go and listen to His Word, not as a matter of routine but in order to meet Him in that Word. In this way every day and every experience can be unique.
It was not man who had taught John that Jesus was the Lamb of God. As he pursued his duty, lived with the repetitions of life always being prepared for God's surprises, light came to him from heaven. If you are prepared to be faithful in daily repetitions then God can meet you with new revelations, things which you would never discover if you were running round looking for novelties. Sometimes the Lord will come to [65/66] you in one way and then He will show Himself in some other way, but you will get to know Him and so you will have a vital testimony and so be able to point others to the Saviour.
On the previous day John had given his testimony, saying "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". Until then John had been preaching about people's sins. Sins were a problem and he knew that they could be forgiven. After this experience, though, he realised that the real problem was deeper than the remission of sins, for it consists not only in what the world does but what the world is. This brought home to John that his own ministry was insufficient and that the ministry of Christ was more profound, getting to the heart of the matter. To take away sins is not really to solve the problem if sin itself remains. So John learned something which no human reasoning could have taught him, that the Lamb of God had come to take away the sin of the world, to take away the satanic element in humanity, the self-dependence, the self-sufficiency and the pride.
THAT was yesterday, but this day he had another emphasis, not this time on the work of the Lamb but on His person. "Behold the Lamb of God!" he dared not say more. He did not multiply words, he did not try to give explanations; he had seen something which no human words could explain, even the wonderful person of our adorable Lord. Whenever you see Christ in this way, you feel the need to keep quiet in case you spoil what you have seen by too many words. The Lamb is too great for words -- you only want to point to Him. Such an experience so dominates your whole being, your thoughts, ideas, emotions, will, conscious life, subconscious life, the depth of your personality in an overwhelming manner which seems to make talk impossible. You can talk about His work of bearing away sin, but the greatness of His Person is such that it leaves you speechless. You marvel at the grace of God which has given you such a glimpse of God's Lamb.
Like John, you will be so thankful that you went back again to the same place, doing the same duty, for it was there that you had this new vision of Him. Yesterday was wonderful, but today is unique. You live. You enjoy fresh life, right up-to-date. You have found such fullness in His presence that you do more than make a sermon, you are left with a testimony. You do not have to live in the past; you do not have to wait for the future; you see Him today and you see Him as you repeat what you have done times without number, just return to the place of duty and stand there for the Lord. Such a stand is what makes a man, a real man or a real woman. We cannot do without our duties. We cannot do without our responsibilities. We cannot do without our repetitions. If we can rightly grasp the significance of this word "again", we will find that we are enabled to see the Son of God in a new way, day by day.
I think that this daily life of routine and repetition is a wonderful gift of God. We miss opportunities for surprises when we run around looking for novelties. We need to gather our inner powers to stand steadily in our daily duties, for so we may expect to find the Lord in new ways. The Bible is the same book, and yet to us it becomes a new book. Prayer is the same exercise and yet it becomes something quite new. Fellowship may seem to call for mere repetition, but it becomes totally new. Words may be the same, and yet they can be the means of a totally new experience of the divine freshness of God's grace.
The Germans have a saying: "Happiness is where you are not!" This is not true. Happiness is just where you are -- in your kitchen, in your office, at your hospital -- if you are there with God. Today you can behold the Lamb of God. Today others can be inspired to follow Christ by the testimony which emerges from your enrichment as you persevere in life's repetitions.
"And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. "
THESE two men were involved in the repetitions of life too. They were not in the foreground like John, being rather overshadowed by this great master of theirs, but that was how it all began for them also. No doubt these two had done many small things in their daily service for John, and now they stood there again with him, and it was thus that a great opportunity came their way. Why did it come? Because they were steadily carrying on where they ought to be. Great opportunities arise in the repetitions of life when people are found in their God-appointed place in daily faithfulness.
It says that these two men heard John speak. They had heard him speak hundreds of times in all probability. They may have woken up rather [66/67] tired that morning and wondered whether it was really necessary for them to go to be with John again. They may have thought: "Cannot we take a day off today? Must we listen to him again? We have heard him so often." Happily they rejected ideas of a change and as it happened, though they may have heard him speak often before, they had never heard that inspiring cry: "Behold the Lamb of God." What they would have missed if they had not been ready to be in their place once again!
Those few words revolutionised their whole lives and it all happened because they were willing to go on with daily repetition. The verse says that they heard John speak, but we know that what they really heard was the voice of God, calling their attention to His Lamb. They were there, and so they heard. And what is more, they followed. "Following", a keynote of John's Gospel, involves leaving everything. It is a total break with one's own ways, a total farewell to one's own conception of life, a total renunciation of personal ideas and interests. It means giving up the right to direct one's own ways; and this is what they did.
Following, however, means more than this; it means serving, as Jesus said: "If any man serve me, let him follow me" (John 12:26). Indeed following is essential if we are to serve, since service means more than general activity for Him. Our conception of service can be quite mistaken, as though it were some special task reserved for Sundays. That would mean that the rest of the time is not service, and we serve the Lord for certain hours and perhaps for certain days, and the rest is time off from service. Such a conception is quite wrong.
These two followers became servants, members of the very inner circle of those whom the Lord Jesus appointed to be with Him. We must be impressed at the tremendous result which came from John the Baptist's faithfulness in daily repetition, with his wonderful testimony and simple message. He did not urge these two disciples of his to make a decision. He did not even tell them to follow the Lamb. He simply said, "Behold the Lamb of God". Such a message, coming from vital experience and vision is enough. When Christ is truly revealed that revelation constitutes a call; yes, and more than a call, for something happened inside those two as they saw the Lord. Life and power touched their spirits and they became new men. I am not sure that they said, "let us follow the Lamb". I am not sure that they made a decision so much as just doing it. The Scripture does not tell us that they decided to follow Jesus or that they started to do so. Human decisions can so easily break down and human actions peter out. Drawn on by divine power, they followed, and they kept on following; they never stopped because the initiative had not come from them but was a gift from above.
We may ask what John felt about this. He had lost his two disciples. That is true, but it is not the whole truth, for really we keep what we lose for the Lord. The only way of keeping is by letting go to Him. We are not told that the two said, "Goodbye" or that John wished them to do so. When we see the Lord Jesus we do not want to keep our possessions, our disciples or our ambitions; we find fullness in Him alone. So far as John was concerned, this happy result of his being there that day "again" filled his heart with pure joy.
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