John 1:43-51

John 1:43–51 ESV

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 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.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 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.” 51 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.”

John 20:31 “31 these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

BELIEF: Jesus is Christ, Son of God: LIFE

We are in the middle of Jesus calling his first disciples

And with Andrew and the other disciple we saw that truly believing is to hear the word preached and respond by following Jesus. And to desire to be around the teaching of Jesus for an extended period.

And we saw the life that came forth from their belief in that they spent the day and evening fellowshipping with Jesus and they leave the encounter excited and desiring to tell their loved ones about the Christ.

And with Andrew telling his brother Simon in this excitement, Simon meets Jesus and has his name changed to Peter...and we noticed that believing upon Jesus comes with an identity change that suits are new life in him.

And now, the next day we get two more disciples called by Jesus and we learn more things about what true belief is:

Being found and finding Jesus

How to find Jesus

How Jesus finds us

Why Jesus finds us

I. True belief is one of being found and to find.

John 1:43 “43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.””

John 1:44 “44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.”

John 1:45 “45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.””

Decided:

Jesus didn’t act at random but was in constant communication with his Father to carry out the mission he had for him.

Mark 1:35–39 “35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”

Luke 19:10 “10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

Ezekiel 34:11–16 “11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will bind up the inured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice

To go to Galilee

If you are trying to build a brand or image, you don’t go to Galilee...you go to Jerusalem. That’s like trying to start a business and setting up shop in LaRue instead of Columbus.

John 7:1–5 “1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.”

But Jesus wasn’t interested in starting a movement, he was interested in finding and saving his sheep.

And so he spent a lot of time in Galilee for that was where the Father had his sheep...especially the first disciples.

A major theme in the gospel of John is the covenant between the Father and the Son. The Father would give the Son a people and the Son would die and rise again for this people.

The Father had sheep in Galilee for Jesus to collect....so he goes to Galilee.

He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”

Notice Jesus does not ask Philip to follow...he tells him to.

You will never see Jesus or his apostles ask people to follow Jesus.

Romans 1:1–6 “1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,”

Romans 16:25–27 “25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”

The gospel call is not another viable option for someone to choose...so therefore you ask people nicely to choose your product...the gospel is the only remedy to man’s greatest problem.

Imagine a patient requiring a doctor to ask nicely to take the only medication to heal their life threatening illness (I wonder why the government had to as nicely for people to get the covid shot)

Or imagine a person lost at sea requiring the fishing boat captain to ask nicely for him to come aboard.

The command of the gospel is to believe upon Jesus Christ for salvation. And since Jesus has a chosen flock, they will hear the command and be enabled to respond.

John 10:27–28 “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

When Jesus finds his sheep, he gives the command to believe and he gives them ears to hear it and a will to respond.

How does Philip respond?

We get the answer in an implicit way with how he then finds another disciple of Jesus:

John 1:45 “45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.””

Philip reveals he answers the call of Jesus by finding another one of Jesus’ sheep.

Jesus found Philip personally, and now he is going to use Philip to find another one of his sheep Nathanael.

And it is this latter way that the church age has operated with Jesus collecting his sheep.

He found some himself while on earth, but has left it to his disciples to be his hands and feet to find the rest of the disciples including you and me.

We are all found by Jesus today because someone else who was found by Jesus found us.

Jesus found Philip, and Philip found Nathaniel.

What a delight it is for us who have been found by Jesus...that he would use me and you to find his other sheep that the Father has given him.

And what an encouragement to be a greater gospel light...that the way i carry myself can be used by God for his sheep to be retrieved.

And an exhortation to us as well… or is my life one that is a hindrance or indifferent for others to come into the fold?

But Philip says something interesting about this whole finding business...he does not tell Nathaniel, “Jesus found me and now he wills it to find you too!” Instead:

John 1:45 “45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.””

Here we get an important Biblical truth that although Jesus is on a mission starting here at the beginning of his ministry that will continue until the end of the age to find and collect his sheep, when they are found they can just as truthfully say that they found the Shepherd.

Which is important in emphasizing our need to act in finding.

If you are playing hide and go seek, and you are the hider...then you will not burden yourself with seeking...you will be sitting in a corner somewhere passive and hiding.

You’re life is not a hide and go seek Game with Jesus though. You are not called to hide somewhere being passive and wait...instead you are told to find Jesus with all that you have within you.

It’s a common theme in Scripture that God calls on us to act...and the ability to do so is found in his power.

He finds us, and just as true, we find him.

Since our actions matter so much in finding Jesus, it is important to see how Nathaniel acts in finding Jesus: without deceit!

(If you want to find Jesus you must search for him without deceit)

II. Finding Jesus happens without deceit (craftiness)

John 1:45 “45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth (not Bethlehem), the son of Joseph (Not David).””

John 1:46 “46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.””

John 1:47 “47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!””

Philip tells Nathanael that the promised one from all the Old Testament scriptures is of Nazareth, not Bethlehem, and the son of Joseph not David.

This does not make for a good argumentation that they had actually found the promised one of old that would be David’s son and from David’s town.

And not to mention, the town that Philip does say, Nazareth, was not considered a place where powerful people come from.

Jesus was raised there but was born in Bethlehem.

Later on in John, the idea that Jesus is from Nazareth is a stumbling block to believe:

John 7:25–27 “25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.””

And so this explains Nathaniel's response:

John 1:46 “46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Especially the promised Messiah?!?

Philip does not enter into argumentation but simply encourages Nathanael to taste and see.

Many things are mysteries to us, to object to Christ because of our limitation of understanding all the facts is folly...thus once we taste and see that the Lord is good, such limited knowledge is easily excused.

Romans 16:17–18 “17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

Different greek word for deceit but the same principle. We don’t come to Christ when we have motives for the flesh which are lies. But when we desire true righteousness we will allow no argumentation to rise up against following him.

1 Peter 2:25 “25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

III. Jesus never fails at finding

John 1:47 “47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!””

John 1:48 “48 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.””

John 1:49 “49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!””

Jesus saw Nathaniel even before he was under the fig tree...even in eternity past in the election of his bride that he was finding.

Christ saw him before he was before his eyes, and Christ saw his heart condition...both supernatural abilities.

Christ does not say that this man is sinless, but guileless - free and full in his confession, knowing himself, and sheltering himself under no devices or seeming shows. The publican (it has been well said) was without guile when he cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" The Pharisee was steeped in self-deception and guile when he said, "God, I thank thee that I am not as other men." Sincerity, openness of eye, simplicity of speech, no wish to appear other than what he is before God and man, affirms his guilelessness. Alas! the so called Israelite has widely departed from the fundamental idea of such a character, though not more so than Christians have become unlike the ideal disciples of Jesus. Pulpit commentary

Matthew 9:13 “13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””

After such display of Jesus’ omniscience Nathanael believes since he came without deceit. But that is not true for everyone:

John 12:36–43 “36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”

Luke 6:6–11 “6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

Matthew 9:1–8 “1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

IV. Jesus finds to give life

John 1:50 “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.””

John 1:51 “51 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.””

The work of providing God’s presence to his people is greater work than revealing his omniscience

Angels carry the work of Jesus:

Hebrews 1:14 “14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?”