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For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

John’s Disciples Follow Jesus 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[a]). Read full chapter Footnotes John 1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock. New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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The Greek word that translates as ‘disciple’ means learner—which may bring to mind students at work in classrooms or in university lecture halls. But the Rabbi-disciple relationship of biblical times was more like the ancient guru-shishya (master-disciple) tradition of India and Sri Lanka, where the shishya (disciple) was a live-in learner in the home of the guru (master). A disciple did not merely learn a trade or craft but also a whole way of life. The Master-disciple relationship was central to this learning process, where knowledge and skills were assimilated not by attending a series of lectures, but by attending closely to the Master’s whole lifestyle. Learning involved listening, observing, interacting, and imitating.

When Jesus asked two would-be disciples, ‘What do you want?’, they responded, ‘… where are you staying?’ (v. 38). The disciples spent quality time with Jesus, not just that day but over many months—listening to him teach, questioning and being questioned, seeing signs and discussing their significance, and observing his interactions with all types of people. Jesus’ call, to ‘Come’ (v. 39) and ‘Follow’ (v. 43) was never a command to pursue a curriculum but an invitation to ‘be with him’1 and deepen their relationship with him.

Modern educational institutions frequently focus on filling students with as much information as possible, even offering crash courses that accomplish this in as little time as possible! Formation, unlike filling, is a process that cannot be hurried. Formation that leads to transformation cannot be completed within the confines of the classroom but takes place in all the spaces we inhabit in our everyday lives.

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