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Alright, let's turn in our Bibles please to John chapter 1. And I think we are going to complete our consideration of John 1 this morning.
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Lord willing. Verses 19 -51 of John 1 is what we've called the prelude to the public ministry of Jesus.
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And this last section of John 1 that we're dealing with today tells of our
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Lord gaining two more disciples. They being
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Philip and Nathaniel. And through this account, the evangelist, that would be
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John the Apostle who wrote this gospel, obviously the Holy Spirit through him, conveys to the readers the need for and the sense of immediate full surrender and commitment of disciples to Jesus as their
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Lord and Savior. And of course I trust that we all understand that a disciple of Jesus Christ is a true
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Christian, not a special kind of Christian. The disciples are called
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Christians first at Antioch. A true disciple is a true Christian. And a true disciple is one who is wholly surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
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You have the outline before you that we've been using. And we're at the last point, of course, where we read of Philip and Nathaniel.
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Our Lord had received unto himself three disciples the day before this episode that we'll be reading.
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These three included Andrew, an unnamed man whom we suggested last week to be
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John the Apostle himself. And then Simon, whom Jesus renames
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Cephas, who is of course Peter. We then read of two more disciples that join his ranks,
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Philip and Nathaniel. And so just as one of the three from the day before had been sought out and brought to Jesus, so here also one disciple sought out another and brought him to Jesus.
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And so Andrew sought out his brother Peter, and here we read of Philip seeking
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Nathaniel. And so here is John 1, 43 through 51.
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The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, follow me.
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Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found
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Nathaniel and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote,
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Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel said to him, can any good thing or can any good come out of Nazareth?
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Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw
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Nathaniel coming toward him and said of him, behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit.
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Nathaniel said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered, said to him, before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree,
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I saw you. Nathaniel answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the son of God.
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You are the king of Israel. And Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you,
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I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe? You will see greater things than these.
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And he said to him, most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man.
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Let's work through this passage and attempt to understand its implications and application for ourselves.
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First, of course, we read that Jesus found Philip. Verses 43 and 44.
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The following day, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee and he found Philip and said to him, follow me.
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The expression of time the following day signifies that this is the fourth day in which the evangelist records our
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Lord's ministry. On the first day, John the Baptist had engaged the representatives of the
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Jews from Jerusalem. On the second day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and he made the announcement, behold, the
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Lamb of God. On the third day, Jesus called Andrew and an unnamed man to become his disciples.
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And Andrew went and found and then brought his brother Simon to Jesus. And now here is the fourth day.
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Our Lord's disciples become five in number as they are about to leave Judea and travel to Galilee some 90 miles to the north.
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The evangelist recorded that Jesus wanted to go to Galilee. One of the unique aspects of this fourth gospel, in contrast to the three synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, is the nature and extent of Jesus's ministry in Judea.
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This is recorded in John's gospel, not in the synoptics. The synoptic gospels record
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Jesus having been baptized in the Judean wilderness by John the Baptist. And now
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Jesus was then tempted of the devil in the Judean wilderness for a period of 40 days. But then
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Jesus traveled to Galilee, where he ministered for three years, before he finally traveled to Jerusalem, where he was arrested, crucified and then raised from the dead.
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And so the synoptics record the ministry of Jesus to have been largely in the region of Galilee.
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But John records a number of trips of our Lord to Judea and Jerusalem and the events that occurred there.
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And this is why John's gospel is largely unique and not numbered among the synoptics, because of the unique information that is found.
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I forget what the early church father was toward the end of the second century, but he actually said that John the apostle attempted to write a gospel of details that were not already written down in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
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I think that's probably the case. But this is why the contents of John's gospel are quite distinct from those recorded in the synoptics.
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In fact, the only event recorded in common in all four gospels was Jesus feeding the 5 ,000.
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There are no other episodes or parables found in common to all four gospel.
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The trips to Judea and our Lord's ministry that took place in Judea included these.
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Here in John chapter one, we read that Jesus was initially in Judea, but desired to go to Galilee.
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And then secondly, in John two, verse 13, we read that Jesus went again to Jerusalem and Judea in order to keep the
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Passover there. And it was on that occasion John's gospel records
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Jesus cleansing the temple of the money changers. We read that Jesus again left
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Judea for Galilee in John four, verses one through three, which read, Therefore, when the
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Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples, he left
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Judea and departed again to Galilee. It was on this journey from Judea to Galilee that he passed through Samaria, and Jesus spoke to the
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Samaritan woman there beside the well of Jacob. And then thirdly, in John five, verse one and following, we read that Jesus again traveled to Jerusalem from Galilee because there was a feast of the
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Jews taking place. We then find him again in Galilee in chapter six, verse one.
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And then fourthly, the fourth occasion that Jesus traveled to Judea is recorded in John seven, verse one and following.
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He went up to Jerusalem secretly on this occasion because of the hostility of the rulers of the
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Jews toward him. And John's gospel records that he remained in the region of Judea until his arrest after some time had passed.
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And so John's gospel records Jesus really going back and forth between Galilee and Judea.
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But primarily his works and ministry in Judea are the points of interest or the points of emphasis of John's gospel.
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Now we read in verse 43, and he found Philip and said to him, follow me.
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The first three disciples followed Jesus after John the Baptist pointed to Jesus saying, behold, the
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Lamb of God. And so two, of course, left John the Baptist, became disciples of Jesus.
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And then, of course, Andrew found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus. But in contrast to those three, basically becoming disciples of Jesus, largely because of John the
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Baptist witness or testimony, we read here in verse 43 that Jesus found
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Philip. You don't read that Jesus found those other three, but he went and he found
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Philip. And he said to him, follow me. Here we read of Jesus taking the initiative.
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And so it was that Christ sought us and found us before we made any inquiries after him.
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And this is commonly how the Lord saves people. He comes to us. The shepherd finds lost sheep.
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Sheep don't find the shepherd. The shepherd finds his sheep. This account of Jesus calling
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Philip is the only account in this gospel of Jesus directly calling a man to become one of his disciples.
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As one wrote, the scene hides as much as it reveals. We are told that Jesus desired to go to Galilee and yet no reason is given.
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Nor is any explanation provided regarding the place where Jesus met Philip or whether Jesus had any previous knowledge of Philip.
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One thing is clear. Jesus is inviting Philip to become his disciple.
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I would probably change the word inviting to commanding. Jesus had gone from more generic questions.
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What do you see to a specific and focused command? And Philip was now a follower of Jesus.
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John's gospel alone recounts interaction between our Lord and Philip. And there are several places
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I listed them. In fact, whenever we read of Philip and of the questions that he posed to Jesus as recorded in John's gospel, we may conclude that there was really nothing extraordinary about this man
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Philip. Some of the early disciples who later Jesus appointed to be his apostles were men of great ability and capability, although they were all lowly men in a sense.
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But it would seem that Philip was not one of these greatly endowed men. As one wrote, the synoptics, that would be
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Matthew, Mark, and Luke, mentioned Philip in lists of the apostles but give us no further information about him.
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John brings him before us on a number of occasions. And each time he seemed somewhat out of his depth.
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It is probable that he was of limited ability. His contribution to feeding the multitude is the information that they could not be fed with 200 shillings worth of bread.
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When the Greeks came to him asking to see Jesus, he did not know what to do. He had to consult with Andrew before the men were brought to Jesus.
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And it was Philip who requested Jesus in the upper room to show them the Father. That's all they ask.
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The fact that on this occasion he did not seek Jesus, but Jesus went to find him, may indicate some lack of initiative.
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That's no doubt reading in, I think, more information that's there. But if so, it is encouraging to reflect that Jesus went out of his way to find this perfectly ordinary
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Philip and to enlist him in the apostolic band. Some of the apostles were undoubtedly men of great ability.
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But Philip compels us to reflect that others were perfectly ordinary people. Christ had and has use for such followers.
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And I thought that was encouraging. So that's why I wanted to include that. And so if our
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Lord can make good use of Philip, he can make good use of you and me for the furthering of his kingdom.
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The Lord Jesus simply said to Philip, follow me. The verb follow is in the imperative mood.
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Every verb has a mood. And this is imperative. And this is the verb of a command, an imperative.
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Our Lord issued a command to Philip to follow him. And this verb in the imperative mood is also in the present tense.
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Every verb has tense as well as mood as well as voice. But the tense here is present.
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And the present tense often carries the idea of a continuous force.
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And so he wasn't just commanding Philip to follow him for a short distance. But he was to begin to follow him and continue to follow him.
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This is a call of Jesus to this man to become one of his disciples. And so he was to immediately begin and then to continue to follow him, as Matthew Henry wrote.
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And the longer I'm around and the more I read of Matthew Henry, the more I appreciate him. See the nature of true
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Christianity. It is following Christ, devoting ourselves to his converse.
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That would be his words, conversation. And conduct, attending his movements and treading his steps.
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See the efficacy of the grace of Christ, making the call of his word to prevail. It is the rod of his strength.
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The account seemed to be rather abrupt. Jesus sought Philip, found him and said, then issued the decree, follow me.
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When we sense the Lord calling us to follow him, we must not hesitate, force stall, harbor conditions or reservations.
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We are to respond, wherever you lead me, I will follow. Jesus issues the command, follow me.
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And we'd better do it. We should say to him, basically, wherever you lead me,
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I will follow. I will not hesitate or procrastinate. You've made known to me your will.
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I purpose to obey as you enable me to do so. Do not call Jesus Lord, if he refused to obey his call and his command, that he's made very clear to your soul.
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If he's made it clear to your soul, you have a responsibility and the privilege to obey.
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And this, of course, is a manifestation of faith. You believe that he's the Lord. He has the authority to command.
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He's commanded you. And therefore, out of faith in that, you obey him. Faith is always manifested in obedience.
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Very little is said or suggested regarding Philip. It's difficult to determine exactly when and where our
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Lord found Philip. Did he find him in Judea before he went to Galilee? Did he find him as he was en route to Galilee?
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Or did he find him in Galilee? Really, the language itself is not clear.
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The exact details are not provided for us. As one said, no reason is given for this, nor any explanation of how he knew
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Philip. It's not even said where he found him. There's nothing to determine whether it was in the same general area as the preceding to somewhere on the way to Galilee or even in Philip's city of Bethsaida.
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We're not told whether Philip was a disciple of John the Baptist, though it seems likely.
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The point of emphasis is on Jesus seeking out and calling Philip to follow him as one of his disciples.
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Follow me. We read in verse 44, Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
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The name of this town, Bethsaida, means House of Fishermen, or as F .F.
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Bruce described it, Fishertown. I read Bruce's quote in several of the commentaries
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I refer to every week, and several commentators really liked F .F. Bruce's description of that town,
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Fishertown. It was a town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee where the
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Jordan River fed into the lake. The Jordan feeds the Lake of Galilee, and it flows out of the
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Lake of Galilee. And it was very likely, therefore, that Andrew and Peter, also from that town, knew
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Philip before they became disciples of Jesus. There is a great deal of connection between those disciples, it would seem, or at least some of them.
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Well, after Jesus found Philip, we read that Philip found Nathanael. Verses 45 -46.
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We read in verse 45, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom
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Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
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And so after Jesus found Philip, Philip found Nathanael. We often speak of sinners finding
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Jesus, and this is not wrong. Sometimes I try to avoid that kind of language.
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More often, it's another who found us and brought us through their witness to Jesus Christ. And I could name persons that the
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Lord used to help bring me to Christ. God desires to see people bring other people to the
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Savior. It's not that common that Christians become Christians in isolation.
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God sent Peter to the house of Cornelius in order for him and his household to be converted.
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You recall a vision was given to Peter. That vision could have been given directly to Cornelius.
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But God wanted Cornelius to be converted through the witness of Peter. Similarly, an angel appeared to Philip the deacon, not this
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Philip, but Philip the deacon to go and meet up with the
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Ethiopian eunuch. And he witnessed to this man in his chariot and he was converted.
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The angel could have gone directly to the Ethiopian eunuch. But God chose to send
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Philip to witness to the eunuch, and the eunuch became a Christian. This is generally the way people come to Christ.
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They are brought to Christ by another, sometimes a friend, sometimes a stranger.
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But God uses people to bring people to Jesus Christ. Of course, in reality, it's always
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Jesus that finds us. And even if he uses an intermediatory individual to do so,
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Jesus called each and every Christian to salvation in just as real a manner as he found
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Philip. He comes to us and calls us by name. We hear his voice and we begin to follow him.
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You might have been sitting in a pew one time and it just seemed like the Lord opened it up to you.
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And you knew the Lord was summoning you. Somebody next to you is completely oblivious of what you knew was taking place.
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The Lord was calling you, that effectual call. And God is always successful in calling his people to salvation.
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There is an irresistible call when God never fails in saving people, that he puts forth his power to save from their sin.
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We might consider our Lord's own words in this matter, recorded in Luke 15. And all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him.
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And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. So he spoke this parable to them, saying,
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What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
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And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them,
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Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance.
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Jesus is a good shepherd. He seeks his sheep and he finds them. He sought for Philip and found him.
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And if you're a Christian, it's because the shepherd sought you and found you. You were lost and he found you.
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Philip said to Nathaniel, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote,
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Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He declared that they had found the long -anticipated
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Messiah, whose coming had been foretold by the Hebrew scriptures, our
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Old Testament. Philip here referred to Jesus as the son of Joseph.
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Legally, this was so. Biologically, of course, it was not so. This is not a contradiction of God being
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Jesus' father and Jesus having been born of the Virgin Mary. But that was not an issue in Philip's mind, of course.
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Probably the doctrine of the virgin birth was not a major matter in those early days.
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Nathaniel's response to Philip is recorded in verse 46a. And then Daniel said to him,
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Can any good come out of Nazareth? This was not a put down of Nazareth.
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Rather, it was a legitimate question. Is it possible that the Messiah could be from Nazareth?
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Nathaniel's expostulation at the idea that the Messiah could come from Nazareth is comprehensible, for Nazareth was utterly insignificant.
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It has no mention in the Old Testament, the Jewish writings of the Talmud or Midrash, or in any contemporary pagan writings.
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The residence of Jesus in Nazareth is akin to his birth in a stable. It's part of the offense of the
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Incarnation. Philip, therefore, can only reply, Come and see. And the answer to the offense of the
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Incarnation is Jesus himself.
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Come and see. Again, Matthew Henry gave a qualified approval of Nathaniel's challenge.
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Can any good come out of Nazareth? The objection which Nathaniel made against this,
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Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Here first, his caution was commendable, that he did not lightly assent to everything that was said, but took it into examination.
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Our rule is to prove all things. He didn't just accept, you know, what was told him.
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However, but his objection arose from ignorance. If he meant that no good thing could come out of Nazareth, it was owing to his ignorance of divine grace.
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As if that were less affected to one place than another, or tied itself to men's foolish and ill -natured observations.
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If he meant that the Messiah, that great good thing, could not come out of Nazareth so far, he was right.
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Moses, in the law, said that he should come out of Judah, and the prophets assigned Bethlehem for the place of his nativity.
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But then he was ignorant of the matter of fact, that this Jesus was born at Bethlehem, so that the blunder
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Philip made in calling Jesus of Nazareth occasioned this objection. Note, the mistakes of preachers often give rise to the prejudice of hearers.
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And that's absolutely the case. Philip's response to Nathaniel's inquiry was simple, come and see for yourself.
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So we read in 46b, Philip said to him, come and see. I want to again quote
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Matthew Henry, in his words of application for us. The short reply which
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Philip gave to this objection, come and see. It was his weakness that he could not give a satisfactory answer to it.
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You know, no good thing. How can the Messiah come out of Nazareth? He had no answer for that. Yet it is the common case of young beginners in religion.
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In other words, young Christians. We may know enough to satisfy ourselves, and yet not be able to say enough to silence the cabals of a subtle adversary.
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It was his wisdom and zeal that when he could not answer the objection himself, he would have him go to one that could come and see.
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Let us not stand arguing here, raising difficulties to ourselves, which we cannot get over.
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Let us go and converse with Christ himself. And these difficulties will all vanish presently.
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I remember back in my atheist days, the one big objection I had, the idea of the virgin birth of Christ was absolutely ludicrous and unscientific.
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And that was my objection I always threw out against my Christian friends. Then I went through two months of terrible conviction,
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I guess glorious conviction, if it probably ought to be described, converted. And it was three or four months after being a
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Christian, the idea first came to my mind about the virgin birth. It was no longer a problem.
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It didn't even occur to me that it was an issue. It was really my unconverted darkened heart that led me to that conclusion.
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These difficulties will all vanish away if you come to Christ. Note, it is folly to spend that time in doubtful disputation, which might be better spent and to much better purpose in the exercises of piety and devotion.
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Come and see. Note, not go and see, but come and I will go along with thee.
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From this parley between Philip and Nathaniel, we may observe first that many people are kept from the ways of religion, that is
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Christianity, by the unreasonable prejudices they have conceived against religion.
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Upon the account of some foreign circumstances which do not at all touch the merits of the case.
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And secondly, the best way to remove the prejudices they have entertained against religion, that is
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Christianity, is to prove themselves, that is try themselves, and make trial of it.
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Let us not answer this matter before we hear it. We read that Jesus engages
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Nathaniel, whom Philip had found. When Philip escorted Nathaniel to Jesus, the
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Lord first spoke to him, commending his righteous character. We read in verse 47,
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Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him, and said of him, Behold, an
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Israelite, indeed, in whom is no deceit. Or as the King James says, Guile.
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This is quite a commendation pronounced upon this man, Nathaniel. First, Jesus declared that he was a true
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Israelite. Nathaniel was a member of the true covenant people of God, a true
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Israelite. He was more than an Israelite by birth, he was more than merely a physical
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Jew. He was a true Israelite, not by physical birth, but by supernatural birth, the new birth.
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After all, the Holy Scriptures plainly teach, they are not all Israel who are of Israel.
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There's two Israels set forth in that short statement, aren't there? There's a spiritual Israel and a physical
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Israel, and not everybody that is a physically born Jew is a part of the true
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Israel of God. The statement of our Lord was probably designed to compare and contrast the character of Nathaniel with that of Jacob, whom
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God had renamed Israel. Jacob means the planter, or one full of guile or deceit.
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One who's characterized as deceitful. But God changed Jacob's name to Israel, declaring him to be one that he would bless with the promises that he had given to Abraham.
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As one wrote, whatever the etymology of the name Jacob may be, it was traditionally associated with deceit.
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When Isaac said to Esau, your brother, that would be Jacob, came with deceit, and he has taken away your blessing,
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Esau replied, is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has supplanted me?
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These two times, the very name Jacob means the planter or deceitful.
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But on Jacob's return to the land of Israel from a self -imposed exile of many years, several decades,
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God met with Jacob and transformed him, renaming him Israel. And so Jacob had this engagement with God, this struggle.
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We read of this in Genesis 32. And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.
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He's coming back into the land of promise. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
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And then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
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Now, when he saw he did not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
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And he said, let me go, for the day breaks. But he said, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
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So he said to him, what is your name? He said, Jacob. And he said, your name shall no longer be called
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Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed. And Jacob asked, saying, tell me your name,
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I pray. And he said, why is it that you ask about my name? And he blessed him there.
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So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
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And that last concluding statement, oftentimes in a little episode, they call it a pericope.
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If you look at that last concluding descriptive statement, your summary statement, that's the whole point of the episode.
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That's the point of emphasis. I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
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Well, the manner in which the evangelist, John the Apostle, records Philip telling Nathanael, come and see, and then the manner in which our
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Lord addressed Nathanael as a true Israelite, suggests that Nathanael could expect a similar face -to -face encounter with God, just as Jacob, or Israel, had done so long before.
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And so when Nathanael saw and heard Jesus, and then exclaimed, Rabbi, you're the Son of God, you are the
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King of Israel, we can see that this vision of God was experienced by Nathanael, the same vision that Jacob had that transformed him utterly, and he was renamed
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Israel. We too, as Christians, are to see this vision of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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And just as Jacob was transformed, and as Nathanael was transformed, we may be transformed as we look to Jesus Christ.
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As the Holy Spirit enables us to see the glory of God in the face or the presence of Jesus Christ.
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We read Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 3, 17 and 18. Now the
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Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
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Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the
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Spirit of the Lord. And then a few verses later, Paul expresses this truth.
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For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, referring back to that first creation, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.
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That's the new creation in Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
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What is the treasure? The treasure is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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And you and I as Christians need to see that glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ. And to the degree that the
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Holy Spirit enables us to see that, behold that, and continually reflect and behold and embrace that, the
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Spirit of God will make us more like Jesus Christ. That is ultimately the way of sanctification, not by keeping a set of laws, but rather looking at the authority of Jesus Christ who directs us in God's law, and he transforms us by the power of the
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Holy Spirit. And so may we have the same experience that Jacob encountered and that Nathaniel encountered, even as the
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Holy Spirit enables us to see God's glory. It is his infinite holiness and authority in the person of the risen and glorified
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Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will transform us more fully into ones who are like Jesus Christ and holy character as we believe on him and follow him as our
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Lord. This is what happens when you become a disciple and you follow him. Now, after our
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Lord made this pronouncement to Nathaniel, we read of his reaction in verse 48. Nathaniel said to him,
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How do you know me? And the Lord responded to him. We read, Jesus answered, said to him,
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Before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. And then we read of Nathaniel's reaction in verse 49.
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Nathaniel answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel.
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Nathaniel saw that his, this ability that Jesus displayed and having seen him under the fig tree was proof that he was the son of God, even the promised king of Israel.
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Here we see that Jesus foreknew Nathaniel before he knew Jesus, before Nathaniel knew
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Jesus Christ. Before Philip found you, I saw you under the fig tree. And this, of course, is true of all
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God's elect. God foreknows them. You came to know Jesus Christ when you were converted, but he knew you from eternity.
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He foreknew you. Peter wrote of this in 1 Peter 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims of the dispersion.
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He describes Christians, Gentile Christians as those who are scattered. Jewish people elect in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
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Father. Foreknowledge should not be understood as simply God knowing ahead of time, as omniscience, but it's speaking about God having a loving design and desire for his people.
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He foreknew you even before creation. And so our election unto salvation comes to us because God had foreknown us.
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That is, he knew us lovingly and knowingly even before creation. This is a mystery.
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It's a glorious aspect of God's grace. Paul wrote about in Romans 8, 29. For whom
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I foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn, that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brethren.
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And moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified.
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And whom he justified, these he also glorified. But again, it began with foreknowledge.
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His foreknowledge is again linked up with his election he chose. And therefore he predestined those whom he foreknew that they would be like Christ.
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Now, before we believe the gospel, we were in our sins and we were under God's wrath. There is a false doctrine that emerges once in a while in church history.
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It's a false doctrine. It's a doctrine of eternal justification.
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That there never was a time that Christians weren't really justified by God. After all, he was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.
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But the doctrine of eternal justification is not biblical. Before you and I believed on Jesus, we were not justified.
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We were in our sins, we were unrighteous, and we were under the wrath of God. But even when we were damned in our sins, as one of his elect,
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God had a love for us. A covenant love that was evident in his pity toward us, and his desire and purpose to save us from our sin, rather than damn us in our sin, as he is purposed to do for all others.
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He had pity upon us, even in our sinful rebellion against him. Even when we lived in gross iniquity.
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This is a mystery of his grace. He foreknew us, having loved us with an everlasting love, and therefore he drew us unto himself.
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Our Savior had his eye on Nathanael when he sat under a tree, and so he superintended by grace to send
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Philip that way, to find him and bring him to Jesus. Nathanael confesses
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Jesus to be the promised Messiah. He said, Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.
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Now Nathanael did not have the knowledge of these two titles of the Messiah, that John the Apostle, the
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Evangelist, sets forth in his Gospel. Nathanael would have regarded Jesus as the promised
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Son of David, who would restore the Kingdom of Israel as in the former days of King David.
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Both these Messianic titles are found in Psalm 2. A song sung when a son of David was inaugurated as the
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King over Israel. But after the demise and destruction of Israel in the 8th century
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BC, Judah, Jerusalem, the temple in 586 BC, these promises began to be viewed as the days of the one promised son of David, whom
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God would raise up to fulfill his promises. F .F. Bruce wrote what must have been
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Nathanael's understanding when he voiced these words. Whatever doubts that Nathanael may have had vanished instantaneously.
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The one who manifested such intimate knowledge of his movements and his thoughts was certainly the one to whom the ancient scriptures pointed forward.
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He addresses Jesus by the courtesy title Rabbi, but proceeds to give him far loftier designations than that.
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In effect, he acclaims him as Messiah, using two Messianic titles conjoined in the 2nd
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Psalm, where God says to the anointed King of Israel enthroned on the holy hill of Zion, You are my son, today
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I have begotten you. To the evangelist, that is John the Apostle, as he wrote, the
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Son of God had a much greater depth of meaning than this. What he's saying is that Nathanael had a more limited understanding of the title
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Son of God. But John the Apostle, writing John's Gospel, had a much loftier understanding of the
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Son of God that he fills out in his Gospel. He had a much greater depth of meaning than this.
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But we need not suppose that at such an early stage in his career as a disciple, Nathanael meant much more of it than he meant by King of Israel.
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They were alternative ways of denoting the Messiah. And in the context of the Gospel record, however, both titles convey to the reader a fuller significance than Nathanael could have given them.
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In other words, what's recorded for us by Nathanael, as we read in the
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Gospel, of course, has a greater and fuller meaning than even Nathanael himself knew when he voiced these words.
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Donald Carson, who is an excellent commentator, provides a more full understanding of this expression,
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Son of God. In the Old Testament, Israel is God's son. And certainly
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Jesus is presented in the fourth Gospel as the successor of Israel, or better, the true
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Israel. In later Jewish literature, the righteous are spoken of as God's sons.
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But use of Son of God to designate the Messiah ultimately depends on passages such as 1 Samuel 26, 2
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Samuel 7, Psalm 2. The link is retained in Jewish literature, some of it pre -Christian.
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That appears to be how Nathanael used it. But readers of John's Gospel will quickly learn that the category
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Son and Son of God are used to depict the unique relation of oneness and intimacy between Jesus and his
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Father. Jesus' sonship to God, however functionally described, involves a metaphysical, not merely a messianic, relationship.
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Nathanael spoke better than he knew. And that's absolutely right. The second title, the
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King of the Jews, was also a common title for the promised Messiah. This title is also applied by John, only in one other place, that's in John 12, 23.
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So they took branches of palm trees, went out to meet Jesus, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the
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Lord, even the King of Israel. Although these titles are ascribed to Jesus here,
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Jesus actually did not adopt these titles for himself, as both expressions were in the popular mind largely tied to expectations of political liberator.
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And that's why Jesus did not describe himself in these terms. Rather, he used the term
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Son of Man, in which he could fill out to his disciples a true understanding of the nature of the
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Messiah. Our Lord expressed surprise that it seemed to take such little evidence to produce
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Nathanael, in Nathanael, this degree of faith. So we read in verse 50, Because I said to you,
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I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe you'll see greater things than these? And with this word, the evangelist first records the witness of Jesus to himself.
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After all the testimonies and confessions concerning Jesus' Messiahship from others that we've had in John 1 already,
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Jesus for the first time speaks about himself. Although Jesus seemed to be surprised, certainly he was pleased with Nathanael's response.
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Note, it is much for the honor of Christ and his grace when the heart is surrendered to him at the first summons.
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Amen. Of course, it reveals that God had prepared Nathanael's heart by grace, that he responded so quickly, so easily, and so completely.
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God's grace subdues the stubborn and resistant soul, moving it to desire and delight in following Jesus.
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The Lord promised that Nathanael would see greater things than these. If viewed in the context of John's Gospel, there are recorded seven signs, seven miracles, that reveal
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Jesus as the promised Messiah. And the first of these, Jesus changing water to wine, would occur shortly in the narrative.
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In fact, it's in chapter 2, it's the very next paragraph that we'll be addressing next week.
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You'll see greater things than these, Nathanael, and he is very soon to do so.
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Our Lord identified one of the greater things that Nathanael would one day witness. We read in verse 51.
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And there's probably the most difficult verse in the passage. He said to him, Most assuredly,
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I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. We might first just say a word about the
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English translation. And we've been using the New King James Version. The New King James Version reads,
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Most assuredly, I say to you. The English Standard Version recovered somewhat the language of the
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King James Version, as well as the Greek text, by the way. And so the English Standard Version reads, and he said to him,
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Truly, truly, I say to you. There's a duplication of the adverb there. Truly, truly,
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I say to you. The Greek text used the commonly translated amen.
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That's the Greek word. It reads, kai lege. I didn't convey in my notes.
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It's basically, amine, amine. Commonly translated in the English as amen, amen.
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I prefer the English translation of this verse in the ESV. Truly, truly, I say to you.
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This is John's usage of this double worded expression, verily, verily, as it's found in the
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King James Version. In fact, this duplication of this word, amen, amen, or truly, truly, verily, verily, occurs in John's Gospel 25 times.
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And I really think that the New King James translators did a little disservice in taking away that double pronouncement that seems to show evidence.
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Again, D. A. Carson spoke of this. In introducing this promise, Jesus employs for the first time the double amen, amen expression, variously rendered verily, verily, in the
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AV, and what he means by that is authorized version, which is the same thing as the King James.
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Truly, truly, in the Revised Standard Version, or in truth and very truth, the
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New English Bible, the NIV adapts the entire construction, amen, amen, I say to you, making it,
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I tell you the truth. The original Hebrew word for amen comes from a root denoting certainty or steadfastness.
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It was sometimes appended to the end of prayers, to voice hearty agreement and solemn wish that the prayer be fulfilled.
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Jesus uses it before an utterance to confirm and emphasize its trustworthiness and importance.
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In the Synoptics, the expression always occurs singly. In other words, just one word, verily.
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In John, always doubled, verily, verily. And again, 25 times.
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And that's only in John's Gospel. So there's a significant point also made in the
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Greek text. It's not easily transferred into English. We read in our English translation that Jesus of course was speaking directly to Nathanael.
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It was said to him it was to Nathanael that Jesus said, most assuredly
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I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. But actually the pronoun you in that statement, I say to you, hereafter you, those pronouns you are not singular.
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He wasn't speaking to just Nathanael, but they are plural in the Greek. In other words, this is a promise to all disciples of Jesus, not just Nathanael.
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And that's a very important point that isn't necessarily conveyed in our English translation.
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Jesus is saying to you and me as his disciples, hereafter you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
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Son of Man. What did Jesus mean by this statement? Well, just as in verse 47 our
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Lord referred to Jacob and that Nathanael was a man in whom was no deceit. So Jacob was renamed
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Israel. So here in verse 51, our Lord again refers to an event in the life of Jacob.
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But whereas verse 47 refers to the experience of Jacob when he was returning after many years from the region of Padam Aram, verse 51 refers to the experience of Jacob when he first left
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Canaan to travel to that far off place at the border of the promised land,
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Jacob laid down to sleep and resting his head upon a rock. And here's the account in Genesis 28.
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Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And so he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set.
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He took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head and he laid down in that place of sleep.
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That was a stone of scone for those of you who are familiar with that superstitious tradition that is a
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British -Israelism heresy that this stone was basically belonged to the ten tribes of Israel.
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And somehow it worked its way over to England and Scotland. And it's a symbol of the throne of England and Scotland.
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And so the stone of scone that supposedly is this stone that Jacob slept on is under the throne of the king of Scotland or England.
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And it goes back and forth. And it's regarded with great superstition. Obviously that's a, you know, it's a mythical thing.
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But this is a, there's quite a bit of heritage to this whole idea.
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But he laid down to a place to sleep. And then he drained and behold a ladder was set up on earth.
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And its top reached to heaven and there the ages of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold the
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Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie
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I will give to you and your descendants. He's about ready to leave that land. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south.
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And in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.
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Will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you until I've done what I've spoken to you.
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And then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place. And I did not know it.
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And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.
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God had shown Jacob and promised Jacob that he would preserve and protect him in his journey. Even though he was departing from the land of promise where God manifested his presence and power mostly to his people.
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Jacob had this vision of a ladder that connected earth with heaven and God would send and receive his angels to assist and encourage and bless
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Jacob wherever he went. And so this assured Jacob that his God would be with him to help and preserve him wherever he went.
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Our Lord indicated to Nathaniel in John 1 that Jacob's ladder was a prophecy of himself.
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It was a prophecy of Jesus. He would be the true bridge between heaven and earth by which the people of God would receive
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God's blessing and God would receive their prayers. Jesus is the one mediator between God and man.
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As one wrote, William Hendrickson, a solid reformed commentator,
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Jacob's ladder finds its anti -type or fulfillment in Christ. Jacob's ladder was a type.
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The anti -type is Christ to which it pointed. That is the meaning of the words of the Lord to Nathaniel.
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You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man.
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The ladder is here represented as the link between heaven and earth. The bond union between God and man.
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The one who by means of his sacrifice reconciles God to man. With the eye of faith the disciples will be able to see him in that light.
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They will be able to see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man. And so our
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Lord was assuring Nathaniel and all disciples, I say unto you, plural, that God's care and blessing would be brought to them through Jesus Christ.
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He is the fulfillment of that Jacob's ladder image. I appreciate what
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John Calvin, and by the way, there are so many different interpretations of verse 51,
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I didn't even want to take the time to recount them. Some argue, well this is all the references to the angels that are seen in the
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Gospels, and the book of Acts, and elsewhere. You know, and no, no, it's just talking about a
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God, our God, with whom we are connected through Jesus Christ. And he helps us and supports us by sending his angels to strengthen us, to assist us, to deliver us wherever we are and whatever we need.
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God's going to take care of us. Well I appreciate what John Calvin wrote regarding this statement of our
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Lord. He made comments on two phrases in verse 15, that's not verse 15, 51.
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This was, you shall see heaven opened, and the second was ascending and descending on the son of man.
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First, you shall see heaven opened. They are greatly mistaken, in my opinion, who anxiously inquire to the place where and the time when
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Nathanael and others saw heaven opened. For he rather points out something perpetual, which was always to exist in his kingdom.
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I acknowledge indeed that the disciples sometimes saw angels who are not seen in the present day, and I acknowledge also that the manifestation of the heavenly glory when
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Christ ascended to heaven was different from what we now behold. But if we duly consider what took place at that time, it is a perpetual duration for the kingdom of God which was formerly closed against us is actually opened in Christ.
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A visible instance of this was shown to Stephen, when he was stoned, to the three disciples on the mountain, transfiguration, and to the other disciples at Christ's ascension.
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But all the signs by which God chose himself present with us depend on this opening of heaven, more especially when
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God communicates himself to us to be our life. And so you shall see heaven opened.
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And then ascending and descending on the son of man. This second clause refers to angels.
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They are said to ascend and descend so as to be ministers of God's kindness toward us.
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And therefore this mode of expression points out the mutual intercourse which exists between God and men.
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Now we must acknowledge that this benefit was received through Christ, because without him the angels have a rather deadly enmity against us than a friendly care to help us.
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They are said to ascend and descend on the son of man, not because they minister to him, but because, in reference to him and for his honor, they include the whole body of the church in their kindly regard, nor have
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I any doubt that he alludes to the letter which was exhibited to the patriarch Jacob in a dream, for what was prefigured by that vision is actually fulfilled in Christ.
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In short, this passage teaches us that though the whole human race was banished from the kingdom of God, the gate of heaven is now open to us, so that we are fellow citizens of the saints and companions of the angels, and that they, having been appointed to be guardians of our salvation, descend from the blessed rest of the heavenly glory to relieve our distresses.
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It was a promise to Jacob that he would be preserved wherever he went, and it's a promise to Nathanael and all disciples that the
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Lord is going to be with us, watch over us, provide for us, preserve us, and protect us.
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May our Lord bring to each true disciple of Jesus Christ that's here this morning a sense of our
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Lord's readiness and ability to come to our aid and defense, because that's what he promises here. Wherever the
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Lord may lead us in this life, he is with us, and he is for us, and he'll enable us to live triumphantly with a sense of great peace and security.
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Amen? Let's pray. Thank you, our Father, for the glorious promises that we have in Jesus Christ, and we pray that the blessed
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Holy Spirit would enable us to see the reality, Lord, and the present blessedness of these spiritual truths.
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We pray, our God, that you would enable us to see the glory of you, our
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Father, in the face of your Son, Jesus Christ, and help us, Lord, always be mindful that the portal to heaven has been opened to us so that your blessings come to us and that we are able to come to you through the mediator of our