The Days of the Quest

Andrew and Philip had Greek names; and Philip had a Greek persona; but John, with a Jewish name, had a Greek mind. His biography of Jesus has the vibrant quality of a mini epic complete with a mysterious Word of supra-cosmic proportions. A Word identified as three co-equal persons: a Sovereign Father who loves the cosmos he created, a Spirit who moves as the wind throughout the cosmos and especially among mankind, and a visible “Son” whom John and others discovered on the byways of Israel.

The narrative unfolds with the formation of a Fellowship of the Lamb which would accompany the Son in his quest to claim those whom the Father had promised to him – unqualified rebels inexplicably loved.

There are sub-plots. The Fellowship moves from its beginning on the banks of the Jordan River to the climax of the quest and the beginning of the age of called-out ones. Each member would appear again in the final days of the quest.

There is also symmetry. With specific faith in the Son as the recurring theme, the epic begins with a doubtful Nathaniel and ends with a doubtful Thomas; and each comes to an exclamation of unqualified trust.

Rabbi! You are the Son of God!

My Lord and my God!

Unlike other epics, the ending of this story is not left to the reader’s imagination. It insists on real time authenticity with an impact on all mankind. In this era of the called-out ones, approaching the age of the King, the Spirit seeks and draws those rebels the Father has given to the Son. Are you among them? You trust him if you find him; you find him if you seek him in the Scriptures; you seek him because the Spirit moves you toward him. He who comes to him will not be cast out.

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