Your House

John 1:³⁸ “Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), where are you staying?’”

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’ first words in the Book of John and how we would respond if Jesus asked us that exact question. We are confident that we would receive what we have asked for in Jesus Name. Today, we will be looking at how the men Jesus was addressing responded and learn from their response. Jesus asked, “What do you want?” and they replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”)…” Why did John the son of Salome, feel the need to define the word, Rabbi? The word Rabbi did not always mean teacher. During the Rabbinic movement going on at the time of John the Baptist, the root word Rabbi actually meant ‘the great one’ or ‘the good one’. Words change in meaning from generation to generation. For instance, gay meant happy many years ago but if you describe yourself as gay today, you would come under serious scrutiny at least in Nigeria where you can be sentenced to fourteen years in prison.

However, at the time when John was writing the Book of John, which was well over seventy years after the event, the word Rabbi had settled to mean teacher. These men knew who they were talking to because John the Baptist had told them, that is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, that is the Messiah, the Prophet, the Son of the Living God. They left John the Baptist to follow Jesus. When Jesus asked them, “What do you want”, this is what they said, “…They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” They did not ask for a political appointment, or for a business breakthrough or fame. Instead, they wanted to know where Jesus was staying. “Where are you staying?” means they were not just interested in a surface relationship with Jesus.

Similarly, you must deliberately ensure that you know the house of the person you get married to. You cannot afford to marry someone you do not know to the place of their habitation, that person will shock you. If you are interested in a lasting relationship, you have to know people to the place of their habitation. As we will read later on, Jesus says, “Come and see”. If someone is able to say to you, “Come to my house”, the person is saying to you, “I have accepted you.” It is huge. They said, “Where are you staying?” and they went there and actually stayed with Jesus. We want to be with you in your dwelling place, we just want to be in your air, we want to be in your space, we just want to be with you. It is called the priority of your habitation. In your walk with God, you have to make God’s habitation your priority. If your walk with God is going to be lasting, the presence of God must be priority to you. ‘Father, where are you staying? My heart, my life, my body is Your habitation.’ Ps.84:¹⁰ “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.” This was someone that knew the value of God’s habitation.

Prayer: Father, let my life, my heart, my body be Your habitation, in Jesus Name. Amen!