John gazed upon Jesus as He was walking.

John 1:36

“We are designed for gazing, gazing, a lifestyle of intimacy beholding our God.

And the supreme excellence of His divinity exceeds the capacity of our customary speech for God is more truly contemplated than spoken of. And He is more real than our highest experience, greater than our greatest experience, exists more truly than He is contemplated, our God.”

Godfrey Birtill – Gazing.

John the Baptist’s gazing on Jesus led to revelation about Jesus – “Behold the Lamb of God” – and the loss of two of John’s most famous disciples to the One whose sandal he felt unworthy to untie.

To our western gentile minds at a remove of 2000 years John the Baptist doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Nevertheless John the Apostle opens the revelatory fourth gospel with a large chunk of words and actions by John the Baptist.

I think John likes John because he was like himself – self effacing. John the apostle mentions only one of the two of John the Baptist’s disciples that left him – Andrew – and we presume the other was John himself. Throughout John’s gospel he makes a lot of effort to not draw attention to himself. He is simply the disciple Jesus loved.

I want to be like John the Baptist, losing followers because they were so taken by my gazing at Jesus, and the revelation that produces, that they just wanted to follow Him instead.