Q.
Today we’ll study verses 35, 36, “Again, the next day John stood with two of
his disciples, and looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, behold the Lamb of
God”. I was attracted by the words, ‘John stood with two of his disciples’,
specially the word ‘stood’. What does
this word indicate?
A. In fact this verse
is indeed significant in the Spiritual lives of both, John son of Zechariahs,
and the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name). The scene here, as depicted
by
Q. Dr Nagi, this is the third time
that John, son of Zechariahs, speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), testifying that he is the Lamb of God: he
takes away the sins of the world, in verse 29.
He is the Son of God, or God revealed in human flesh. In verse 34, man again in verse 63, John
reiterates that he is the Lamb of God it is quite clear that John, son of
Zechariahs, let no chance slip by without testifying to the glorious Lord Jesus
Christ (Glory be to His Name)?
A. This is the reason why John the Baptist came to earth. He came to
bear witness to the light, who is the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name).
He therefore could not afford to let a chance slip by without bearing witness
to the Glorious Lord.
Q. In John 1:37 the Holy Scripture reflects on the witness of
John son of Zechariahs about our Lord being the lamb God. The verse states that
the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus, my question is why
did those disciples leave their teacher, John the Baptist, and followed Jesus?
A. It is quite clear that John, son of Zechariahs was after speaking
been with his disciples, about the unique personality of the Lord Jesus Christ
(Glory be to His Name). He ceased every opportunity to tell of his glory and
magnificence on one occasion he speaks of the Lord’s grandeur being greater
than himself, on another he or says the Lord Christ (Glory be to His Name) must
increase but I must decrease? John 3:30 and on a third occasion he referred to
the Lord as being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He we
see that John son of Zechariahs encourages his disciples and followers to abide
close to the Lord Christ (Glory be to His Name), this was his call, the one he
came to announce to the world. Hence the Holy Scripture says, when the two
disciples heard aim speak on that day they followed the Lord.
Q. Is it enough for those two disciples, or any other person, to
hear about the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), and leave all to
become his disciple?
A. In my opinion, those two disciples did what every person ought to
do, particularly every person who hears those words, and this study: follow the
Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) from all your heart. What else would a
genuine searcher of the truth need, a person thirsty to know the Almighty, keen
to receive his forgiveness and pardon, in order to escape torture of the gave
and fire of hell? What more would such a person need more than a gesture from
another person, indicating and leading him to the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be
to His Name). All this person needs is someone, much like you and me who says,
‘we’ve experienced following the Lord Jesus Christ; and we’ve experienced
living with Him. He is the only Redeemer
and Savior to from sins and trespasses; He is the One who abolishes our sins
and transgressions. He said of himself, that He is the only way, truth and life,
‘nor is there salvation in any other’, Acts 4:12 and ‘to Him all the Prophets
witness that, through His name whoever believes in him will receive remission
of sins’, Acts 10:43, and escape eternal death. He is capable of all things,
for he is forever living to make intercession for us to God Almighty. We are
but witnesses to all this. Whosoever listens and follows the Lord Christ (Glory
be to His Name), as did those two disciples; he will escape the torture of the
grave and fire, and will guarantee eternal life, and joy away the successful believers. Meanwhile those who listen yet hold fast to
where they are, not following the Lord, they will find out on the great Day of
Judgments - where no child or money can do any good that they are but losers.
Q. Dr Nagi, isn’t it weird that the
two disciples left their teacher, and followed the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be
to His Name) without saying a word, or even ask Him anything, ‘they followed
Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “what do you
seek?”
A. In fact this is not in the least weird, either it is to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), nor it is not to ask him or even say
anything. It is only normal that all in silent in the presence of the great
Lord. The two disciples could have been contemplating the attributes of the
Lord, his magnificence, his teaching, and all those around him. Of course they
had to talk to Him. But His greatness
lies in that, as awesome, fearful, and great as He is - the One who is feared
in heaven and earth - He was the One who turned to them and initiated a
conversation. This is in fact not the
first time that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) initiates a
conversation with someone who needs Him, or aspires to see Him. This does not
undermine or belittle the Lord; it rather adds to His greatness.
Q. Dr Nagi, is it possible to mention
some other incidence where the Lord Jesus initiated conversation with a person
who aspired to see him?
A. Indeed, the Holy Scripture tells us of a person called Zacchaeus, and was of short stature. He sought to see Jesus
walking on earth among the crowd. Due to his shortness, it was kind of hard for
him to see the Lord; he therefore ran ahead and climbed up into a Sycamore tree
to see Him as He passed by the tree. Yet
the All Knowledgeable Lord, as the Holy Scripture in the Gospel according to
St. Luke says, ‘looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus
make haste and came down, for today I must stay at your house.” The glorious
Lord Christ (Glory be to His Name) not only initiates conversation with His
seekers, but also stays with them. This is similarly true with what happened
with Adam & eve.
Q. Would you please give us an idea about what happened with
Adam & Eve?
A. The Holy Scripture says in the very first
book of the Bible Genesis that when our initial parents, Adam & eve sinned
and ate from the forbidden tree, they realized their sin and hid from God
Almighty among the trees of the garden. The Almighty came to them, and said
unto Adam, where as you? He initiated conversation with
Q. Dr Nagi, do you believe that God
speaks to people new days?
A. Definitely! He is not a silent God. The Holy Scripture confirms
this truth that God Almighty spoke with his Prophets, spoke with us in the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), and speaks to us
individually in our consciences, hearts and minds.
Q. Why would God Almighty speak to Man, being the awesome,
fearful - ever established on His throne? He does not need Man, and is
separated from his creatures. The very
idea that He speaks to Man is but a challenge to His Divine Person. God forbids, it may even belittle or
undermines Him.
A. Well I do not agree with you. Even
though He is the fearful, magnificent, ever
established on His throne, and ever existing in Himself; yet, He created Man to
glorify, worship and talk with Him. He is able to fulfill what He wants with
Q. Would this perception of God speaking to His creatures limit
the Almighty or undermine Him?
A. On the contrary, for the creator to talk with His creatures does
not limit Him accordingly. Indeed He speaks with them, but is never as limited.
I would like illustrate my point through a hypothetical example. Assuming that an Astrology or Atomic
scientist is speaking to a little child of 4 or 5 years old; this does not
limit the competence of the scientist, nor does it belittle him. As for the
Almighty, the situation is more significant, since speaking to His creatures
reveals more of the supremacy, magnificence, and awe of His meekness; He
bumbles Himself to level with the needy weak creatures.
Q. Dr Nagi, do you recall any recent
examples of peoples, who are still living, that are able to truly testify that
God Almighty spoke to them?
A. In fact I have many examples
of people from different countries, backgrounds and religions that the Lord God
spoke to. I truly and honestly say, giving all the glory to the Lord Christ
(Glory be to His Name), that I have experienced this on many occasions.
Q. Would you please mention a couple of examples? We’d like to hear of an incident which
happened with you personally and another with somebody else?
A. I was visiting this great country, and met a
pious lady who belonged to a non-Christian background. She said that ever since
she was 15 years of age, she longed to know who the Almighty was. She longed to
know if He spoke to His creatures, listened when she called upon Him, and cared
for her. She read many religious books,
fulfilled all her religion’s obligations: prayer and fasting etc., and called
upon the Almighty to speak to her in any way He chooses. She went to consult
with one of the religious leaders, but he told her that she was only a little
girl, and that all she needed to do was obey her parents, fulfill her
religion’s obligations, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong and
abominable. He also advised her to
disregard all such ideas saying, ‘the Almighty is forever established on His
throne and is separated from us poor slaves’.
This well esteemed lady told me that his words did not satisfy her,
neither did they convince her. She cried
out to the Almighty saying, ‘If You are up there in
heaven, I long to know You’. She kept on
calling unto the Almighty - prayer after prayer and night after night. One
night, as she was seeking the Almighty, she saw as if the heaven was opening up
before her, and rays of light writing before her very eyes, ‘I am the way, the
truth, and the life’. She ran to tell a
friend of hers, but then the scene had vanished.
Q. Dr Nagi was she asleep dreaming, or
was she awake?
A. She assured me that she was awake, calling the Almighty to show her
Himself and speak to her.
Q. What happened then?
A. This lady told me, I have known since that day that God Almighty
listens to me in heaven, cares for me, and could speak to me. She told me those
years later; a Christian lady gave her a copy of the Holy Bible. She read
through the Gospels according to St. Matthew, St. marc, and St. Luke
evangelists; as she read through the Gospel according to St. John the
evangelist, she came across chapter 14, verse 6, and read about the Lord Christ
(Glory be to His Name) saying about Himself, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the
life.’ She turned her entire life over to Him, and has since ministered to His
Glorious Name.
Q. Would you please tell us your own experience in this issue?
A. Infact before I speak of my personal experience in
listening to the voice of the Almighty, I would like to say that it a privilege
granted to all humans regardless of their race, colour,
or religious denomination. Everyone who
seeks that God Almighty reveals Himself to him, guides him to the truth, and
comforts his chest with faith in the Glorious Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to
His Name), as the one and only savior and redeemer; to him does the Almighty
reveal Himself, one way or the other. God Almighty is not prejudiced, and does
not confine Himself to one way of communication with His people, but I daree say that the clearest and most particular way through
which the Lord God Almighty speaks to Mankind is through the Holy Scripture.
Q. Well, I would like to thank you for clarifying these points.
Some people believe that God Almighty is silent, and dos not address his
creatures. Others believe that it would limit His existence. Even some, who
adopt the mystical doctrine for example, go as far as believe that the Almighty
speaks to some of His creatures only, and that it is a privilege, only granted
to those good followers who remember Him whether seated, standing, or
sleeping. Thanks again for this
clarification. Now if you will please tell us of your experience.
A. In fact I have tens of incidents of which I can testify that the
Lord God Almighty has definitely spoken to me. For example, once as I was
preaching at a Christian university in
Q. What happened to her that week?
A. Right on the very next day, it was the Monday following the Sunday
meeting; her husband was trying to escape from the police, and went home to
hide. I would like to note that he had been separated from his wife and
children for some time, but that morning, this wicked husband went home and
knocked the door. His little girl of six years old opened up for him. As soon as she saw him, she said, ‘Father,
enough all what you’ve been doing. Pray
to God Almighty, submit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His
Name), and admit to Him your sins, so that you would inherit eternal
life.’ In this very moment, he prayed
with his daughter, and asked for pardon and forgiveness from the Lord Christ
(Glory be to His Name). His life
transformed radically into a preacher and evangelist, spreading the good news,
and evangelizing the name of the Lord Christ (Glory be to His Name) to the
severest criminals who had resembled him in his sin.
Q. Would you like to say anything else about the issue of God
Almighty conversing with people?
A. In the end, I would like to
tell every person, do not believe that God Almighty is seated in heaven in
separation from you. He is much closer
to you than the artery is from the heart; He answers your prayers if you call
upon Him genuinely. Do not believe that searching through the person of God is
atheism; also do not believe that we cannot hear His voice. Read the Holy Scripture in humbleness and
love. Seek Him with all you heart in
order to reveal Himself to you. I assure you that no
matter what is your background, or denomination, you will hear His voice
calling you to repent and return to Him.
He will give you access to eternal life; thus you become one of the
successful believers.