You Will See Greater Things
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles, please turn to John 1:43
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
This week we are going to look at the calling of a couple of the disciples as well as Jesus's first miracle. And we begin with the calling of Philip. These words “Follow me" are the words that Jesus still uses to this very day , and those words are what we are going to examine for a few minutes.
This is the first call given, remember the other three disciples last sermon came to Jesus themselves. Here we have the call of Philip, Follow me is more than just a call to accompany Jesus. When Jesus says to Philip or He says to us to follow Him, he is speaking in the form of a teacher-pupil relationship We are to subordinate ourselves to the our Lord. We are to learn from Jesus and serve with Jesus. Now Jesus did not wait for voluntary followers in the Gospel. Jesus is calling people with the divine authority of God. When Jesus called on your life , Jesus was calling on you with the authority of God.
When we meet here on Sundays or throughout the week, we do so under the authority of the Lord. This is a truly special calling when Jesus says follow me. We will continue to see what happens to the disciples as we move through the Gospel but do not miss how truly special the calling is. The Lord is calling on your life.
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Now just like Andrew, Philip has to immediately go to Nathanael and tell him that we have found the one, and His Name is Jesus, the name above all other names. How many people do we tell about Jesus, look how fast Andrew and Philip go to tell people about Jesus.
Philip by the way would go on to spread the Gospel into Asia, Polycrates, the bishop Of Ephesus would describe Philip as the great light of Asia.
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
What good can come out of Nazareth? Bethlehem was the messiah’s predicated birthplace. Nazareth however was a place of zero repute, Nazareth had a poor reputation. Surely the Messiah would have to come from one of the great cities , such as Jerusalem. The Messiah couldn’t possibly come from a place as poor as Nazareth.
The Lord works in ways that are far above our preconceived notions of power. Someone as powerful as the Messiah must come from a powerful city. When King David was anointed King, Samuel went through his older, stronger brothers before getting to David.
We look at ourselves and let me tell you that true strength comes from the Lord. It does not matter where you are from, or what you have done or how strong you are. If you want to see true strength and victory in this world, then you follow Jesus and you watch Him go forth in to battle.
Philip does the right thing, here , you come and see. This is what we need to show people, we can teach people about Jesus and the Lord. But when you experience Jesus , you are never the same. Come and See for yourself. You make your own decision. Invite people to church or small group. Come and See what following Jesus is all about because once you see the power of the Lord working, you cannot go back. When you come worship at a church where the people meet under the Authority of the Lord and people are giving all glory to God then you will see
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
Jesus knows who you are. You are laid bare before the King of Kings and all He asks is for your faith. we get to that more in a minute, let’s continue the conversation
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
How do you know me? Because He is the Son of God. Philip went to Nathanael and said come and see for yourself. Look at Psalm 139
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
The Psalm continues like this but the Lord knows who you are, there are no secrets between you and the Lord. He knows that we are sinners and He has provided a way out for us, and His name is Jesus. Just as He knew Nathanael, He knows us. This is grace, that we can always go to Him, no matter what it is and find repentance and peace.
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”
Jesus is telling Nathanael, if you thought that was a miracle, just wait until you see. This is who the Lord is, all of us have seen great miracles, this congregation has seen great miracles. And the next line from Jesus is very important. Jesus is referring to
He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Jacob saw the angels coming up and down from Heaven but now Jesus is changing that as well. Jesus is replacing the ladder, Jesus is now the divine communication from heaven to earth. Jesus is the link between the earth and the Lord. If you want to speak to the Lord you must go through the Son. This is a subtle indication of what Jesus would later explain further into the Gospel but Jesus is already planting the seeds of one of the fundamental Christian beliefs. There is but one way to the Father and that is through the Son.
The greater things the disciples were going to see begins with Jesus’s first miracle
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
The first miracle of Jesus was a private miracle. This is why you will only see this in John’s Gospel. The only people present were His disciples, some of the servants and his mother. We also have to understand a Jewish weddings, typically these lasted seven days and everyone in the entire town would be invited to them. Any wedding was a big deal. and for a wedding to run out of wine was equally a big deal as that could be dishonor for the family.
So in this moment Mary turns to her son Jesus. Jesus had not preformed any miracles as of yet. Yet Mary expects something.
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
Very quickly, this was the language of the day to say Woman, it was not disrespect from Jesus. Now the rest of it, is a gentle rebuke to his mother. Jesus is about His Father’s business as we are to be about His business. Jesus is telling His mother that His time has not come yet, which again points to why this is a private miracle and not a public one. Everything that Jesus is about to do with the water into wine has a much greater impact than we think, when we break it all down. He is going to help this family but in helping this family He is showing all of us who He is.
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
For Mary this was a gentle submission to her son. She did not fully understand what Jesus meant but she knew that she had to fully trust Jesus. This is why there was no back and forth between the 2 but a gentle rebuke and a gentle submission.
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
These 6 stones water jars are very important. There were used for the Jewish purification rites , ceremonial washings after such feasts , like the wedding that they are at. Now notice that Jesus also does not touch anything Himself. He is directing all of the action here.
Now there are always big God moments going on. It should not surprise us that Jesus chose these water jars. Jesus is showing us that He has come to transform the old ways. That there is a New way evident.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
There will be new wine poured and the Old ways will not be needed any longer. Jesus will usher in a new covenant, a new wineskin. Jesus builds off the old. That is why he chose the water jugs and transformed that water into wine. Everything in the New Testament is built upon the Old Testament but Jesus will usher in that new Covenant.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
The water turned to wine and that wine was brought before the master of the banquet. It is a miracle that saves this family but it is a miracle that foreshadows so many things in Jesus’s ministry. The actual transformation of water into wine was a foreshadow but what He does in our lives. No one can transform water into wine and just like no one can transform our lives except our Lord Jesus Christ.
this is what the master of the banquet said:
and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
Even what the master of ceremonies says is important. Yes , the family will be looked upon with great joy. But more importantly what he said, you have saved the best for now. God has kept the best gift His Son until now. Everything is significant and Everything is under the Sovereignty of the Lord.
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
The disciples, the servants, and his mother, that day at the wedding saw the true glory of Jesus. Their faith was cemented that day.
His first miracle was one of grace to a family, and it points to His power in our lives. Jesus has a transforming ministry.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
This is the power of Jesus Christ. As we go through this Gospel but I pray that all of us take from it , is the power of Jesus and why we need Jesus.
“Learn the lesson that you cannot have gone too far from Christ! Believe that your extremities are only extremities to you and not to Him! The highest sin and the deepest despair, together, cannot baffle the power of Jesus! If you were between the very jaws of Hell, Christ could snatch you forth.” Charles Spurgeon 1868
Your faith will be tested, the disciples faith was tested. The world will test you. Satan will come to you telling you that you aren’t good enough or that your sin is to much. But remember we follow the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. He that gives grace to all and when we come to him in humble faith and submissions to Him , we find ourselves in the Kingdom of God.
Let us pray
