Does Jesus Ask You, "What do you want?" - John 1:38 REALLY? — Vol 3, Ch 1

John 1:38 NLT
And Jesus turned and saw them following Him and asked them, "What do you want?"

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 Wonderful question, right? Jesus asked them, "What do you want?"

But, REALLY?

Now mind you, this is not the verse referring to the times that Jesus asked an ill person, "What do you want me to do for you?"  Matthew 20:32, Mark 10:51, Luke 18:41
That is a different question.
"What do you want?" vs. "What do you want me to do for you?"
And I encourage you to investigate the second question in your time with Him. It is a wonderful place of intimacy when we can actually get alone long enough to ask this thoughtful and soul seeking question. What do I want Jesus to do for me? Argh!

I digress: Another blog post for another time.

Back to the question of the hour: Jesus asked them,"What do you want?"

The first time this verse came to my recognition was in a devotional. It was a good devotional and it made me question what I would tell Jesus if He asked me that question. "What do I want?"

The question used in this particular devotional came from the New International Version. Not a bad version of the bible and one that many find helpful in today's world. I use it often to better equip me to share His word.

The New International Version is considered to be a translation that tries to put the bible in a more understandable language. That is the point of a translation, right!

However, the NIV, the NLT, the Berean Study Bible, and the Contemporary English Bible all use the same wording. (and those are only 4 of the hundreds of translations out there. I didn't check all translations, just a lot of them - 28 to be exact.)
And it isn't wrong, and it makes us understand what Jesus was saying.

But is it complete?

Unfortunately, with this particular verse and because often people pull verses out of context, in my opinion, it falls a tiny bit short. Bear with me here.

 

• In the first chapter of The Book of John we find the first paragraph expressing the deity of Jesus Christ.
  
• Then we are introduced to John the Baptizer and why he came. Why? He was the one who would prepare the way for the True Light, Jesus.
  
• John the Baptizer makes it clear that he, himself is not the Light, instead he came to testify about the True Light.
  
• And the next paragraph tries to explain the inexplicable.
  

Yes, it does a pretty good job! And with the Holy Spirit living within us, we have ears to hear what it is saying, but we all must admit John 1:14-18 is a BIG paragraph to understand.

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• In the next section of The Book of John, John the Baptizer testifies as to who he is and who Jesus is.
  

He [John the Baptizer] said, "I AM A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said."
...
And the next day he [John the Baptizer] saw Jesus coming to him [John the Baptizer] and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is He on behalf of whom I [John the Baptizer] said, 'After me comes a man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' ...

• And John the Baptizer goes on to testify of Jesus' baptism and the Spirit descending upon Him in the form of a dove and John the Baptizer hearing from God that the one who had this happen was the one he was preparing for.
  

• And then we find John the Baptizer sharing the same with two of his own disciples.
  
• And John the Baptizer's own disciples started following Jesus.
  

So, get the picture?
John the Baptizer had been collecting a following for a long time. His life and his words were transforming people from those that were walking around without relationship with God, to people who were once again beginning to look for the Messiah and get excited about His coming.
And here John the Baptizer is with two of his loyal disciples and he points out Jesus and says:
"Behold the Lamb of God!"

Would you go to find out who John the Baptizer is talking about? I would.
And Andrew did the same.
He went and Jesus asked this question:
"What do you want?"(NLT)

Or in other translations which I find much more in the line of this context:
"What are you looking for?"
"What do you seek?

Now do you see my problem with the translation of this sentence - standing alone - not in context?

Yes, when kept in context the question lets us all know that Jesus wasn't asking John the Baptizer's two disciples, "What do you want? i,e, a new bicycle, a fixed marriage, a better job, a happier life, a husband/wife, me or my kid free of sickness or addiction. "

No, in context Jesus clearly is asking these two disciples, "What do you want? Why are you here? What are you looking for? What do you seek?"

See the difference? Pretty big one, right? See why context is so important?
Pretty big, right?

• And Andrew spent the rest of the day with Jesus. He became convinced Jesus was the Messiah. So much so that Andrew went and got his own brother Simon and told about the Messiah and took Simon, his brother, to meet Jesus.
  

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• And upon seeing Simon, Andrew's brother: "Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon, the son of John, you shall be called Cephas." which is translated to Peter.
  

Jesus asked these men: "What are you looking for?" or "What are you seeking?" not "What do you want?"

Oh my friend. They were seeking the Messiah. They were seeking for a Redeemer, a Savior, a King.

And they found HIM.

What are you seeking? A deeper relationship with the Great God who IS?
Search His words. Read the Bible.
Begin to enter into ALL of the bible.
Devotionals are great as the milk of the word.
But is it time for you to grow up and begin to eat Solid Food?

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May you seek and find the wonderful words of wisdom Jesus set down for us to know Him better from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The Bible testifies to the True Light.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Because He is the I AM,
i am
Robyn Rochelle Cox

and Biff and I are thankful you are here.

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