John 1:38

‘And Jesus turned and saw them following, and says to them, “What are you looking for?” '

The question, apparently casual, goes in fact to the very depths. What do they really want? Do they know what they are committing themselves to?

‘And they said to him, “Rabbi, (which means, being interpreted, ‘Master'), where do you abide?”

It is probable that the writer, who has thought about it for many years, intends this too to have a deeper meaning. ‘Where are you staying', yes, but also ‘where do you continually dwell?' The answer to the latter is, of course, ‘with the Father, in His love (John 15:10) and in His presence'.

At this time the address ‘Rabbi' could be given to any respected teacher. Later it would become a technical term for official Jewish teachers. But it is very much a Jewish form of address.