John 1:35-51
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Mark 8:27-30
Who Do You Say I AM
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
When Jesus first called His Disciples they did not know who He was because they had never met Him...But He made an impression on them when they talked to Him...They followed Him not out of reason or logic, but what He said and how He presented Himself in their first meeting and talks...After all, this was the first time they had met Him, so to follow Him they had to hear of feel something about Him...Yet, Andrew believes immediately that Jesus is the Messiah, and Nathanael believes He is the King of Israel...So their first impression of Him is that they know He is Someone Special, and Someone they should follow...They surely were guessing that He was the Messiah, and the King of Israel, after all this was the first time they spoke to Him...Only later after getting to know Him personally did they reason it out that He was the One to come from the Old Testament prophecy and the One to fulfill the Old Testament Mosaic Laws...And later when Jesus asks His Disciples "who do people say I AM?", Peter answers that He is the Messiah...
The gospel we study and the teachings of Jesus are not a doctrine necessarily a dogma a theologian or scholar has written, but is to be the gospel of our lives...Jesus wants us to be like Him...Sheer academia does not reveal to us the Grace of God...But the Grace of God possesses the whole soul and penetrates one's heart...Jesus is to be known personally...We need a relationship with Him...We need a conviction to follow Him...And the Disciples did just this and learned about the good news and that He was the One to come and is the Messiah...