Keep sharing good news without ads.
No description available
Well, I have a question for you this morning. How do you introduce people to Jesus. And I don't mean it's some kind of generic, you know, what are the four steps? What are the four fatal flaws for laws?
I don't mean God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. I don't mean Some generic question like that, but I mean, how do you personally introduce people to Jesus? How do you evangelize them?
I'll never forget being at the funeral of a good friend of mine Andy. Good friend of mine and Tony Miano's many of you read his email here a couple weeks ago. And back in those days, I would say that we were all pretty stupid we were we were Christians, but we didn't really know much and three deputies had gone to What's it called promise keepers promise breakers as we like to call them.
And they were all fired up they came back and they're like, you know, we need a fourth guy for this group and who are we gonna get and it was me and so. They invited me and I said sure and so we were reading this book and we all got together and we all pretty much decided.
The book was useless but we kept meeting together anyway, just in a Bible study and Really got to know Andy really well, but Eddie died young he was in his Probably late 30s and he got Lou Gehrig's disease and watching him over the last few years his body just not cooperating with his mind.
His smile never betraying the fact that he was undergoing a miserable transformation because as many of you know with ALS your Mind is functioning fine, but your body just step by step shuts down. And so we were there at his funeral.
And the place was packed. I mean much much bigger church than this and literally. Every seat was filled and almost all of them with police officers in uniform. As many of you know, I was a police officer in LA County.
So I like police officers mostly. There were cops in the parking lot. Listening, you know via speaker. This was a big service and the pastor gets up. After we've had all the testimonials about Andy and what a good father he was what a good Christian he was what a good husband he was.
Pastor gets up there and he's going to give what one would presume would be a gospel message. Then he said a few things and I don't even remember that part because it was basically nonsense, but then he got really serious.
He said now I want each one of you right where you are. To bow your head close your eyes every head bowed every eye closed then he said I know that you all have pain in your lives and I know that some of you have sought to kind of Soothe that pain with alcohol.
Some of you have sought to soothe it with drugs some of you have even sinned being involved in Sex and other things that you ought not to be involved but trying to fill that hole you have in your life.
This morning. I'm gonna ask you this. I want you to try Jesus. Would you just let Jesus in your heart for the next three months. That's what he said. And I can remember I was almost shaking in my seat.
I was so upset. I wrote him subsequently I wrote that pastor a letter and I said you made Jesus sound like laundry soap. That is disgraceful. That is absolutely disgraceful. That is not the gospel. That is not the Son of God whom we are called to proclaim and he wrote back and he said well I understand that you have some Very serious convictions on this and I don't think it would be profitable for us to continue discussing this.
If you've ever heard that sort of gospel message. You know how really hollow it rings, you know. If you've sat there and you've listened to this every eye closed every head bowed. Kind of thing and I'm not saying they're all bad.
In fact last Sunday, I the same we went through the same thing. But the gospel was actually preached and I was thankful for that. But I want you to think about this is Jesus Christ ever Presented like that in Scripture.
Do you ever read an account where Peter or Paul or the Lord himself says every head bowed every eye closed as the organist plays? Just as I am for the 573rd time. Close the doors. I want a man at every door.
Nobody leaves until everybody comes for it. We don't see that in Scripture. There is nothing that feeble in The Bible. I would invite you to open your Bibles to John chapter 1. What we're gonna see is not necessarily Evangelism per se but I think it is evangelism in a way certainly the good news is being spread.
And really of the four things or four aspects of this that we're gonna look at this morning. Only one really applies to us today, but I want us to see that. When we tell people about Jesus Christ, we don't have to be embarrassed about it.
We need to be focused on this. Now just to kind of review where we are. By the time John the Apostle wrote this gospel. It was between 80 and 90 AD before he wrote the book of Revelation. But after the other three Gospels Matthew Mark and Luke had been written.
So one of the things that we know about it is he would presume that his readers had some understanding of Matthew Mark and Luke and John wrote this gospel to kind of fill some gaps in to give some information that wasn't present in the other accounts and Primarily his purpose and we've talked about this before was and it's revealed in John chapter 20 verse 31 Was to convince readers of this gospel that Jesus is the Christ the anointed one the Messiah the fulfillment of the Old Testament the Son of God and that by believing in that in him you may have life in his name eternal life and everything in this book is Written to emphasize two simple truths one Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as I said and Secondly Jesus is the only way to obtain eternal life and as you think about the gospel of John What are some of the things you think about John 3 16 you think about John 14 6 that where Jesus said?
I am the way not a way the way and over and over and over again these two themes are put forth to us. Now as we worked our way through John chapter 1 we first saw the first about 18 verses where John just focuses on first of all the pre-incarnate Christ and Then him coming in the flesh, and he talks a little bit about John the Baptist.
But then he gets into this narrative where he talks about. You know on this day this happened, and then the next day and then the next day and so we're on day three but on day one John the Baptist was Investigated and I said that The Jewish leadership as it were they sent out a grand jury to find out by what authority was John the Baptist doing these things.
Who gives John the Baptist the right to baptize people by what authority is he calling for people to repent? On day two Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist who was told John the Baptist being the last Old Testament prophet, and he was given a Prophecy by which he would know who the Messiah was that he would see The Holy Spirit descending like a dove and remaining on the one whom was the Messiah.
And then John the Baptist says what he he sees this and he sees him and he says behold The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And so we come to day three of this in verse 35 of chapter 1 the next day.
Again John that is John the Baptist not John the Beloved Apostle. These are two separate individuals. The next day John was standing with two of his disciples. And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said for the second time behold the Lamb of God.
The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them. What are you seeking and They said to him rabbi, which means teacher. Where are you staying?
He said to them come and you will see. So they came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day for it was about the 10th hour. One of the two who heard John speak and follow Jesus was Andrew Simon Peter's brother.
He found his own brother Simon and said to him We have found the Messiah which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said you're Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas which means Peter.
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him we have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph.
Nathanael said to him Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.
Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered him before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree. I saw you. Nathanael answered him Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.
Jesus answered him because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe? You will see greater things than these and He said to him truly truly I say to you you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
Now that's a lot we have a lot to get through. But this morning I want to draw your attention to really what is a chain reaction? Set off when John the Baptist says behold the Lamb of God and then events are just set in motion.
And we're going to see four means of recruiting the disciples the men who would follow Jesus throughout his ministry. I think you will be both encouraged by the person of Jesus and Challenged in your thinking about how you present him.
These are the disciples are unsophisticated men. They have only The truth, I mean we could say all they had it was an old guitar three chords in the truth I mean all they had was this one note and yet they would turn the world upside down these unsophisticated uneducated men would Spread would be responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the known world to the glory of God.
John the evangelist presents Jesus as the Christ the Messiah as God in the flesh. Should we do anything less? Now the first means by which these men were recruited was by Deflection. I've put a TIO n on the end of each one of these points for no other reason than it's all I could come up With so it's by deflection to Jesus referral to Jesus.
The day after baptizing the Lord John the Baptist is with two of his disciples. Disciples being students or learners. He sees Jesus and he repeats again Behold the Lamb of God. Now what happens next is really a lesson in humility.
John the Baptist is humble. How do we know that? Not only does he point to Jesus but he points with a purpose. He wants his disciples to leave him and to go follow Jesus. Now imagine a church growth pastor a pastor today, you know, we're packing him in on the pews.
I don't know. Maybe he's got a 18 ,000 seat church in Houston or someplace like that. Just randomly picked that out. And he and he says to his congregant. I think you'd be better off at another church and it really was unthinkable then why because just like now, you know, if you say well, I've got Eighteen thousand people at my church you automatically have what?
You have status you have credibility if I say well, you know, we've got 150 people at the Second Service that that's not very impressive. 18 ,000 that's impressive. What do I know right? But it was really unthinkable then because as a teacher as a rabbi.
You got reputation and status the more disciples you had so for John the Baptist to point to Jesus and say That's the guy. It's pretty remarkable. But that was always his purpose. He was always pointing to Christ.
The verb follow or Disciple, you know when it says that they were following him. It means to go in the same direction as to walk to follow them to be in their path as it were and If they've been listening to John the Baptist these disciples of John They would have been looking for the one that John said what I'm unfit to untie his sandal.
Which was as low as you could go in the ancient world. So who were these two disciples of John the Baptist look at verse 40. One of the two who heard John speak and followed and followed Jesus In other words took off after him was Andrew Simon Peter's brother.
Now I've got a number of titles. I'm a father pastor retired Husband whatever, but if somebody says there's Steve the brother of Roger I'd be like What? How'd you like to be known that way, you know, you're the you're the brother or the sister of so-and-so, you know.
Probably would not be too Encouraging but again, we have to think back. Why would John even write it that way because he's looking back in time and Peter becomes what the most. One is certainly one of the most powerful Apostles if not the most powerful apostle and one of the great preachers and teachers ever to live.
Not many people could say that on one day. They saw thousands of people come to faith, right? Of course, it was by the work of the Holy Spirit, but Peter was the one who gave the sermon. So that's how Andrew is known Simon Peter's brother.
Now in Jesus inner circle of the disciples the top tier kind of is who the three? Peter James and John. They were the ones who John the beloved Apostle they were the three and James his brother. These were the three who accompanied Jesus when he went up to the Mount of Transfiguration.
These were the three that he invited to come with him when he raised the young girl from the dead. These were the three and only the three that he took with him when he went to go pray in the Garden of Gethsemane again in Retrospect looking back.
It's easy to see why John would say well you guys know he wants his readers to. Kind of put things in context and you say everybody's gonna know who Peter is so I'm gonna introduce Andrew by saying He's Simon Peter's brother.
Everybody's gonna go. I know who Simon Peter is. The other disciple because there are two right the other disciple who decided to follow Jesus was John the Beloved himself. Now, how do we know that I could go through a great big?
Exegetical explanation, but I'm gonna give you two easy ways to know number one. It's because it's the traditional understanding and usually the traditional understanding is right. But secondly, it's because it's in keeping with John's own failure to identify himself.
It his name never appears in his own gospel. It's always the Apostle whom Jesus loved the disciple whom Jesus loved. He never uses his own name and it's the same thing here. But John the Baptist in essence told his two followers to follow Jesus rather than himself.
That's what I mean by deflection. They'd been following him and he says nope. Go follow him. There's the Lamb of God you need to follow him. Second means is by direct invitation. Direct invitation. I find this Interesting mostly because my own background but also because you know, I'm a little bit picky about English and grammar and stuff like that.
You know, you never end a sentence in a preposition except for you can but it just sounds kind of funny sometimes, you know. What's another rule? Another rule is you don't answer a question with another question and you especially don't do that if you're talking to a police officer, but let's look at the Why'd you stop me?
Why do you want to know, you know? I. There's just some things you some things you all right, so Verse 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them. What are you seeking? There's a question, right?
And they said to him rabbi, which means teacher. Where are you staying question? See to my mind I'd go there's something wrong with that. But let's look at this. We have a very visual graphic picture here John the Baptist says follow him.
That's the Lamb of God. He says I mean, it's kind of inferred Lamb of God, so they go off and they follow him. He they're following him physically following Jesus walking along. Now it doesn't say that he was walking through town and he tried to ditch these guys.
I mean, this isn't some kind of you know, cop chase movie or anything like that. But after a while, we don't know how long he looks and he sees these two guys and he goes I'm gonna find out why they're following me.
It's kind of like he's saying. All right, it's obvious that they're following me. Can I help you what do you guys want? But is that all that Jesus is really asking? Several commentators write this and I think this is really true if you're reading through the gospel of John and you see those words What are you seeking and you've been reading through this book and you get to this point and you just say well Why would somebody be following Jesus?
Why would they want to be his disciple? What are you seeking? That's something that each and every one of us need to contemplate as we read through this gospel. It is a moment where I think we need to just pause and think why am I following Jesus?
What is it that I'm seeking? What is it that I hope to gain? Are you a genuine disciple one who really wants to learn. I Think it's fascinating when you ask people what they believe about the Bible what they believe Christianity is and then they give you some Answer that you would never come up with on your own.
You just go. Where do you get that? Well, it's just what I believe. You're not a genuine disciple unless you are following Christ unless you heed what he says. In fact, there's a group of people now, it's become kind of fashionable it Christian is not a cool word.
Well, I'm a follower of Christ. Because Christians that's a religion. I'm not a part of Christianity. I'm a Christ follower. I wrote this down. I mean, this will be a book someday, but I'm like, you know, I wonder if Jesus knows that you are following him.
You know if he looked behind him like we see Andrew and John doing here. Would he go? What are those guys doing or would he say? Where are those guys? Where are they? If they're supposed to be in front of my followers, where are they?
Because they're sure not walking the same direction I am. But look at their response. The response of the disciples is twofold. First they say rabbi and you say well, so what of course they say rabbi.
Well, no not of course. Because it is a mean or it is a word that expresses a lot of respect. They acknowledge. Just as all four gospel writers do they these disciples acknowledge that he was a religious teacher that he was worthy of respect and honor.
So they address him as rabbi. They don't say hey, bub. They don't even just ignore the issue and go. Excuse me. Could you point me? It's rabbi and rabbi originally meant Great one. It was it was a title used to show respect and it gradually just became Applied to any religious instructor so they but they do accord him some respect of giving him that title now look what they do then.
They answer that question as I said with a question Where are you staying and it's almost like we almost think it's a Peter like response Where are you staying? But it's not like that. What are you seeking is answered with where are you staying and it's with a purpose?
They're seeking discipleship and that's implied in their answer because that word staying means it's often Translated to remain or to abide and the idea is wherever you're going. We want to go with you.
We want to spend time with you. We want to get to know you. We want to talk about deep things. We want to be instructed by you. These days sometimes, you know discipleship can mean what? You know. We talk on the phone once in a while we exchange a few emails.
Once a month we get together and read a few verses or we challenge each other on memory verses, whatever. But in those days discipleship was literally life on life. It meant where you were your disciples would be and when we understand this That's what they were asking and then they what they spent some time with them.
They and we're gonna see that. It makes it easier for us to understand How when we get to Another gospel don't turn there. I'm just gonna read this Matthew chapter 4. I mean, it really is kind of shocking to see how quickly the disciples respond.
But we need to understand that what we're reading this morning. John chapter 1 occurs before this in Matthew chapter 4 listen. While walking by the Sea of Galilee he being Jesus saw two brothers Simon who was called Peter and Andrew his brother Casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen and he said to them follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him and going on from there. He saw two other brothers James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in the boat was Zebedee their father mending their nets and he called them.
Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. So in the Gospel of John here what we have is a preliminary meaning one that makes the account in Matthew easier to understand. They knew who Jesus was.
They knew what he was about and when he came to them while they were fishing they knew it was time to leave earthly pursuits behind and to Put their lives in subjection to his life. So the nature of the question, where are you staying?
Was to seek a place where they could spend time with him. Clearly the Lord understood this he understood the nature of their question. Look at his response. He said to them come and you will see. It's an intriguing construction.
One commentator says this he says it Conveys the sense of if you come and I want you to come. You will see. So it seems conditional, but it's really not as conditional as it seems. This was kind of a I Mean think about it this way did The disciples choose Jesus.
Or did he choose them? Could they have refused to come to him? John would later say this in John 15 16 you did not choose me. He's talking to his disciples, but I chose you. Right, so it wasn't a matter of they were going to say no.
They were chosen before the foundation of the earth. They were going to come. None of this is random. None of this is unplanned. When the sovereign Lord of the universe bids you come you come. Andrew and John did go and they did get to know Jesus look at verse 39 again.
So they came and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day for it was about the 10th hour and listen. They weren't having tea and crumpets. This wasn't finding out whether Jesus was a good host.
This was being instructed by him and again. We don't have all this but we understand what discipleship was and what their eventual response would be. Now there's some controversy between different commentators or what the 10th hour is and I'm gonna tell you the truth for our purposes this morning.
I mean if you really want to grapple with it knock yourself out. I don't usually say that but it's it's immaterial. Here's what we know. They spent some time together and that's all that matters. We don't have a record of what was said, but we know its impact because we see what happens down the road.
They did not hesitate when their master commanded them to leave their nets and follow him. Now, there's another Example of direct invitation by Jesus in verses 43 and 45. Or 43 and 44 the next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
He found Philip and said to him follow me. Now, that's a command. Now Philip was from Bethsaida the city of Andrew and Peter the two brothers. And I only mentioned this because it is another example of Jesus directly inviting someone but I thought it was also interesting Bethlehem.
We know what Bethlehem means, right? This is Bethlehem Bible Church. We all know what that means. We should have as our symbol a loaf of bread, I suppose. Because that's what it means house of bread. Bethsaida house Beth or bait and.
And Then say to fish house of fish. So that's what it means and if you're looking for fishermen. Where are you gonna go? You're gonna go to Bethsaida a place where it's called the house of fish. That's where you find the fishermen but and That's where they were.
That's where they were from. So we've seen by deflection to Jesus by direct invitation. By Jesus and now we're gonna look at our third means which is by communication of Jesus. We've already established that Andrew was better known as Peter's brother, but it is Andrews testimony to Peter that moves Peter.
Look at verse 41 back to 41. He being Andrew first found his own brother Simon and said to him we have found the Messiah which means Christ. He brought him to Jesus. Andrew brought Peter to Jesus now was Andrew and John.
Our author who were the first disciples to follow Jesus and he testifies. For the two of them Andrew does that they have found the Messiah? Only John of the four gospel writers uses this Greek word for Messiah.
And he does it twice and on both occasions. He explains that it's synonymous with Christ. Messiah is Christ. Fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies is the anointed one is the Christ. So if John and Andrew quickly grasp that Jesus is the Christ the Messiah.
Why is it that the disciples including John and Andrew seem to struggle with it all during Jesus ministry what they don't really get. What it is that Jesus is saying in fact, you know Peter says when Jesus says that he's gonna go and he's gonna be persecutor.
He's gonna die, you know a horrible death. Peter says, you know forbid it. I Forbid it. I'm not having that and Jesus says get behind me Satan. I mean there are all kinds of times where the disciples are just like clueless and you go.
Why is that? Because they didn't fully understand Who Jesus was they had a lot of bad teaching that Jesus had to kind of unwind? The Jewish leadership taught that the Messiah was going to be one who threw off the yoke of Roman oppression.
And that's not what Jesus was there to do. But look what Andrew did once he knew. For whatever it was worth once he understood that Jesus was the Messiah. He went looking for his brother. How do we know he went looking well because he found him and you don't just find him if you're not looking.
He went looking for someone he was close to he wanted to share Jesus. He wanted he wanted to just give him some of the excitement that he had. Said you've got to come meet him. That's the reaction every believer should have.
Matthew chapter 10 Verses 32 and 33 so everyone who acknowledges me before men I will also acknowledge before my father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men I will also deny before my father who is in heaven.
Christianity isn't a matter of you know, I'm saved and and I'm just gonna keep that secret remember one of the first people I I was kind of I Was just such a dope. But but I remember this one this one person I'd actually got her to sign up for the fundamentals of the faith class and We got to this point in the in the material where you're supposed to indicate well, these are all the things that Jesus did for you and How are you gonna respond you you know, and I thought I thought this was kind of not so great.
It says, you know, do you accept Jesus? Yes or no kind of thing, you know, and I thought I don't know about that. But I was worried. I didn't know how she was gonna respond to that because she was anything but Someone that I would have thought would be a Christian and so when I Finally worked up the nerve to ask her what you know, I said hey, I mean, this is how brave I was, right?
I said I said hey, did you do this week's FOF homework? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I said, okay silence. Hey, you know that question at the end, you know, what do you have to check? Did you receive Jesus? Yes or no?
Yeah, what'd you put for that? Said well, yes, and I go and when were you gonna tell me this, you know, well, it's kind of personal. I think that's how Way too many people are but Andrew wasn't that way at all.
He was like I found the Messiah. I'm gonna go tell someone and I think I think it really can be difficult for us. I've certainly experienced this and I was so thankful. I Don't want to talk much about it at length because I'll probably just get a little weepy here but I'm so thankful for last week because The time I got to spend in California, I think really There's a certain amount of and you'll understand this if you have unsafe family.
There's a certain amount of discrediting they do because they know you before you were saved and You know, so I might hear things like well, you know, we're glad that you finally have your life together or work.
You know that that works for you or we're glad for this or we're glad for that. But this was the you know, maybe one of the first times where it was like we're glad you're here. We're glad you know, we like who you are.
You know, this is okay. We're receiving what you're telling us and this was good. But we never want someone to kind of base their opinion of Christ on us because it's not about us. I Mean certainly they can look at my life and go.
Well, this is what he was. This is what he is what happened. But they can come up with all kinds of excuses and they will. But what we want to do is we want to point them to Jesus Christ. We want to point them to the truth and we can only do that.
We communicate Christ. I mean back then Andrew could communicate Christ personally because that was the main way he could do it he went and he said look we found the Messiah, but Messiah was loaded. It meant, you know, we found the man who fulfills Old Testament prophecy.
We can't say that. We can't say we have found in Scripture the man the God man. The way of salvation we can say those things and we constantly have to go back to the word because our opinion Really ultimately is of little value.
What matters is what does the Bible say? What does God say about these things if we have some kind of canned? Process or if we introduce ourselves with God loves you and has a wonderful plan with your life.
People will discount that one commentator noted that Every time Andrew's name comes up in the Gospel of John. He's bringing somebody to Jesus to meet Jesus. He's not a great reputation. Would you like somebody to be able to save you every time that someone meets you that you bring them to Jesus that you bring?
Them to the scripture. Now we're not told how Peter responded other than that he went with Andrew. But he was at least interested because he went with him, right? And what happens next look at verse 42, it's pretty pretty frightening.
Lisa I think it would have been if I was Peter. I wouldn't have been reassured when this happened. Jesus looked at him and said I mean just looks right at Peter and says You are Simon the son of John you shall be called Cephas which means Peter and you say well.
So what his name was Peter? No, it wasn't. It was Simon bar. Jonah. It was Simon son of John. To Give us an idea of what I it's hard to even imagine. It would be like somebody coming up to me and completely changed my name and we knew we just don't do that.
My name means Stephen means either Prince or crowned one depending on what you you know. What resource you used to look it up and my mom used to say she was gonna crown me, but that's not what it meant.
But the importance of a name in antiquity was that you were identified with your name. So Simon son of John that was who that was his identity. Think about this bigger picture. God said you shall not take my name in vain.
Why? Because name mattered. Don't don't call yourself one of my people and do it in such a way that you bring shame upon my name. Listen to Psalm 138 to I bowed down the psalmist writes I bowed down toward your Holy Temple and give thanks to your name.
For your steadfast love and your faithfulness for you have exalted above all things your name and your word name mattered. Only a king only an absolute monarch even have the right to change someone's name so Jesus is exercising Authority and look at what he does.
He says I'm gonna rename you Cephas or Peter which means of course rock. Now we know that Peter's gonna stumble fumble mumble his way all through the New Testament right until after the crucifixion. So after the resurrection really when we see him on the Day of Pentecost all of a sudden.
Maybe he is the rock, but he certainly was not. I mean This is like you know looking at a 98-pound weakling and saying Schwarzenegger. It makes no sense at all. Because it wasn't about Peter it was about what Jesus was going to do through Peter.
So we've seen by deflection or referral. We've seen by direct invitation of the Lord. We've seen by communication and you're telling Peter. Now we see by demonstration. Our fourth means is by demonstration.
Look at verse 45. Philip found Nathanael and said to him we have found him of whom Moses and the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him can anything good come out of Nazareth.
Philip said to him come and see. Check it out. Find out for yourself, and this is communication. Obviously because Philip went to Nathanael he found him. But what happens next? It's really kind of stunning.
Nathanael by the way is almost certainly the possible we know as Bartholomew and When Philip testifies to him Nathanael is to say the least a bit skeptical. His question is not really necessarily a put down of Nazareth.
It wasn't like some gang infested area where you know bullets were flying. Is that an anachronism. I think it is. It's not necessarily anything against Nazareth. It's just to say look. This is a place of insignificance.
It'd be like somebody saying you know the hub of the Christian world is West Boylston, Massachusetts. People would go, huh? Really it's true, but I digress. It really is a statement of amazement that the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecy could come out of a little insignificant place like Nazareth but supernaturally Jesus tells Nathanael of something that Nathanael is quite certain Jesus Listen cannot know it is impossible for him to know it and listen to Nathanael's response.
I'm going to read these verses again, and we'll get it. Nathanael's response says it all. Jesus in verse 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.
I I like the translations that say there's no guile. I think one translation says there's no Jacob because of his nature but Nathanael said to him how do you know me in other words? How can you know that I'm this guy without deceit?
How can you know that that's who I am? Jesus answered him before Philip called you before Philip found you and brought you here when you were under the fig tree I saw you listen to the response Nathanael answered him rabbi.
You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. What does that all mean? Because Nathanael when he was by this fig tree and their arguments about what the fig tree was and it really is not Germaine to what we're talking about.
Here's what we know is That whatever Nathanael whatever that fig tree was and it was probably a literal fig tree where it was we don't know. But wherever it was Nathanael knew Without question in his mind that no one could see him.
Impossible to be seen it was a place of complete seclusion where he knew. No one could see him and yet Jesus knew where he was. So his response explains a lot to us. Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.
He knew. Look at verse 50 Jesus answered him because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe you will see greater things than these. You think it's great that I knew that that was you.
Where I couldn't see you just wait. Verse 51 and he said to him truly I say to you you will see heaven opened and the angels of God Ascending and descending on the Son of Man. With no sense of mocking Jesus says essentially this is just the beginning you think this is great.
Just wait. That's nothing compared to what you are going to see. Well think about what Nathanael saw as he followed Jesus. Miracle after miracle wonder after wonder the power of God displayed in greater ways.
Than even Jacob dreamed in this dream that he that Jesus alludes to in Genesis chapter 28 verses 12 to 17 Jacob's ladder, I'm not gonna read it all. But it's greater than that he says you're gonna see greater things than that you're gonna see the literal fulfillment of What was said?
Excuse me in Genesis 28 Jesus is not boasting. He's not making wild predictions. How do we know that. Because he starts out by saying truly truly or amen amen or verily verily which he only does. When he's going to emphasize the reliability of what he's saying.
This is a kind of a side note. He applies title to himself son of man. Which emphasizes his humanity. But it also emphasizes his deity because this is a title used back in Daniel that just would indicate massive or all-consuming power.
Son of man is a title that he applies to himself and he is not Minimizing the claim he has on deity or the things that he would do on earth, but he's boldly proclaiming them. Listen. We see these four different means and the only one that really applies to us is that we need to communicate Jesus to other people.
But when we look at this when we see this is like the fulfillment of God choosing the base things of the world. This is the fulfillment of God choosing elementary things that the foolish things of the world to Stump as it were the sages.
He chooses fishermen from beseda. He picks men who are not the scholars. They're not the world-renowned theologians sitting around in ivory towers. He takes these men who are willing to follow them. To follow him and he changes the world with them.
He spreads his gospel with them. Why so that God gets the glory so that he receives the praise. When I was in California I mentioned I went to this service it was in a park and they did some things like an altar call.
They did a congregational sinners prayer, which is something I don't really know that I've done after these guys came forward. You know, then the whole congregation I guess it was made to make the people who come forward not feel like they were Isolated or that they really had to give their own testimony, you know, we all gave their testimony for them.
But I was thankful because I thought the gospel was preached. Jesus Christ was preached it was entirely possible for a sinful person which we all are a sinful person to recognize the fact that a holy God Is separate from us and that we cannot reconcile ourselves to him on our own efforts.
But that only by faith in Jesus Christ the person and work of Jesus Christ his perfect life. He obeyed perfectly the law. Then he died on behalf of sinners like you and like me and then God raised him on the third day that only by faith and that can we have eternal life.
And I recognize that even though I might not have agreed with everything that happened that day that people may well have been saved and I'm thankful for that. What do we do? How do we respond to this?
We invite people to come and see. And we don't just mean to come and check it out. We want them to check it out. But we want them to abide to remain in Christ. To see that the Lord is good and to desire that for them for their own lives to look at their own lives and Understand that they stand condemned before a holy God apart from Jesus Christ.
Let's pray Father in heaven. We are thankful for Your word. For the fact that you would even send your son Jesus Eternally God the second person of the Trinity to come to earth. To take on a human body to remain fully God and become fully man.
To walk on this earth to suffer even as we suffer through the sinful atmosphere the sinful World that we live in. To be tempted to be tried and yet he never sinned. This innocent Jesus Put to death on a cross by your plan and by the hands of men Whom you raised on the third day that he might be declared the Son of God.
He might be proven to be the Son of God Father for each one here who does not know him. I pray that today would be the day of their salvation. That you would so convict them of their need for a Savior that they would flee to the cross Lord for those who are here who know you.
I pray that today would be a day of encouragement that we would see how God works through flawed sinful people. People who are not sophisticated who are not super educated. But who have simply chosen.
By virtue of your drawing them by virtue of you regenerating them to follow Jesus. Would you make us those who testify quickly and joyfully of Eternal life in Jesus Christ. We pray in his name. Amen.