Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
The total number of the disciples of Jesus Christ before the day of Pentecost was one hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15). The figure rose to three thousand on the day of Pentecost (ActsZ: 41). And barely ten years into the establishment of the church, “the number of the disciples was multiplied”(Acts 6:1).
Do you know that the multitude that are in the church today started by one person telling another one about Jesus Christ? Let us see how the register progresses in the gospel of John:
Two of John's disciples heard him (John) speak and they followed Jesus (v.36).
Andrew found his own brother Simeon and brought him to Jesus (v. 40-42).
Jesus found Philip “and said unto him, Follow me”(v.43)
Philip found Nathaniel and “said unto him, Come and see”(v.46). '
The miracles of Jesus Christ, no doubt, drew many people to him while he was on the earth (John 6: 1, and 20: 30-31). Jesus said that his own followers would do greater works than these (John 14:12).
For greater works to happen, Jesus followers must bring more people to the kingdom of God (the church). And this they can do by preaching the gospel to the lost world.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We were able to see how the church grew from the two initial members to a multitude of disciples in the gospel of John and the Acts of Apostles.
After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, he charged his disciples to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (v.19). This is the Great Commission.
For greater works, which Jesus said his disciples would do, to happen; Christians must bring more people into the vineyard (the church). The only way to go about this is by preaching the gospel of Christ to our friends, relatives, co-,workers neighbors and even our enemies.
The gospel is the power of God to save mankind (Rom 1: 16). The death, burial and resurrection of Christ are the facts of the gospel which men believe for then to be saved (1 Cor. 15:14 ). Tell the good news (glad tidings) to someone today. His own salvation will not deprive you of your own. Don't be shellfish!
Individuals as well as churches can send a preacher (or preachers) to break new grounds. Let us pity millions that are dying without the knowledge of the true gospel.
