Last night, I asked the youth, “If you had an opportunity to interview Jesus, what would you ask him?” As you can imagine I heard questions ranging from mysteries about the world to questions about the future. When Andrew was given the opportunity, he asked Jesus, “Where do you live” (John 1:38)? Ravi Zacharias asserted, “In that serious encounter, I doubt any of us would have asked what Andrew did. Yet I’m convinced his question was truly wise, the start of his serious investigation of Jesus. The answer to that astounding question—'Where do you live?'—would tell Andrew all about Jesus’ beginnings" (24).

In the eastern part of the world, “whether in India or Israel,” where one is from tells a lot about a person. According to Zacharias, who is from India, “It determines who you are. It assigns your rank in the social order. It tells the whole world whether your future looks bright or dim. Figure out someone’s home, and you find out absolutely everything…Your home address gives the inquirer a wealth of information about you” (24-25).

Many of those in Scripture, disciples included, had a difficult time believing Jesus was the Messiah after learning about His earthly residence. Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1:46)? The answer that Jesus gives Nathanael reveals that he is infinitely more than a carpenter from Nazareth. He says, “You will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). John the Baptist, when questioned about Jesus’ authority, also told his disciples, “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31). According to Zacharias, “The words (about Jesus’) heavenly dwelling and angels ascending and descending to serve Him point to the fact that He is the Lord of heaven and earth” (25).

The New Testament authors also say quite a bit about Jesus’ eternal existence. John, for example, asserts, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). This verse puts Christ in the beginning eternally with God the Father making a distinction between the two and also affirms that Jesus is God demonstrating that the two persons are one in essence. John continues in v.3 stating, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Paul also affirms, “For by (Christ) all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth” (Colossians 1:16). If Christ created all things and nothing was created that he did not create, then one must logically affirm that He is eternal. According to Zacharias, “(Jesus) existed eternally. He had no beginning. To ask for the ‘where’ of Jesus’ home is the same as asking the ‘when’ of God’s beginning” (27).

The Bible clearly affirms that Christ is the eternal God of the universe who took on flesh and dwelt among men. During his earthly ministry, Jesus both made and accepted these claims about Himself. We must all come to the point where we either accept or reject these claims. There is no room for neutrality.
Zacharias, Ravi. Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 24-27.