John 1- The Call of Christ
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The Call of Christ
The Call of Christ
Introduction:
The Gospel of John begins and ends with the same themes. First is Christ Revealing Himself. John 1:9 Jesus is “the true light, which gives light to everyone..” Jesus is also referred to as the “Word”- John says (Jn 1:18) “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made Him known.” Jesus reveals God the Father. Just as our words reveal our hearts.
John 21 Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples while they are fishing. When they are on the beach eating with Him He gives this call “Follow Me”
Here the text that we are looking at today, we see this same call to, “Come and you will see” (John 1:39).
And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John Points to Jesus
John Points to Jesus
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Is repeated in again at the very beginning of our text, “Behold the Lamb of God.” This is the Gospel message. Christ had to come as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” revealing God in order for us to know.
We see the pattern Christ came God revealed to John (Jn 1:32)
“ John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
John borne witness to what God had revealed to Him. Christ came as light to those in darkness revealing God the Father to sinners who were lost.
In John Chapter 1 we see Christ revealed as
The Word
The Lamb of God
The Son of God
Rabbi “Teacher”
Messiah “The Lord’s Anointed”
King of Israel
Son of Man
It Is because Jesus was revealed that here in John 1:35-42 Jesus gains his first disciples. The first two we see attach themselves to Christ because of the witness of John the baptist.
What was this Testimony? The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
This is important because the people wanted a savior that would free them from the Roman control and establish a new kingdom here, and sit on a thrown here on earth. But Christ is first revealed as the Lamb of God. This is the true Gospel.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Charles Spurgeon said, “ You all know the old, old story. The world was lost; God must punish sin; he sent his Son to take our sin upon him that he might honour the law of God, and establish God’s government by being obedient to the law, and yielding himself up to the death-penalty. He whom Jehovah loves beyond all else came to earth, became a man, and, as a man, was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It is he who is called in our text “the Lamb of God”, the one Sacrifice for man’s sin.
There is no putting away of sin without sacrifice, and there is only one Sacrifice that can put sin away, and that is Jesus Christ, “the Just for the unjust,” the sinless for the sinful, “that he might bring us to God,” and reconcile us to the Father.
This is the testimony that John gives pointing to Christ the perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world, When he says, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
This is our ministry to our friends, family, co-workers. Behold the Lamb of God. The who died in our place for we could have redemption of sins. We don’t sell a cheap gospel “come to Jesus and get everything you want”, “having hardships come to Jesus and He will just take it away,” “hurting come to Christ and you will get healed.”
No it is “Behold the Lamb of God who died so that we who are unworthy, can now be washed clean.”
Eph 2:1,5 We were dead in our trespasses and sin, but God being rich in mercy made us alive- hallelujah for the Cross
Jesus Invites Them to Come and See
Jesus Invites Them to Come and See
This is an amazing invitation that Jesus offers these two men who had just heard John’s witness and started to follow Him. This is the begging of their intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, An Invitation.
Jesus calls to come can be seen in Matthew 11:27-28, “and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
After staying with what happens? Andrew brings his brother Peter to Jesus. This message of the Messiah organically begins to spread. First John, then Andrew and the other disciple, and now to Peter. All through testimony
He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
It was a simple message that we see again later in the text with Nathaniel “Come with me and see.” Bringing others to Christ, the only one who can save, the only one who can restore, the only one who can give forgiveness of Sins.
This is our message, Christ has revealed Himself as our savior, and now we say to others come with me and see the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Jesus Changes Simon’s Name
Jesus Changes Simon’s Name
When Simon comes to Christ he is assigned a new name. John 1:42, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (Which means Peter)”
This is a declaration of what Peter will become. This is not so much a merely predictive utterance as a declaration of what Jesus will make of him.
There is a pattern that is taking place here. In John 1, the focus is much less on what this name change means for Peter, than on the Jesus who knows people thoroughly (cf. vv. 43–51), and not only ‘sees into’ them (cf. 47–48) but so calls them that he makes them what he calls them to be.
God Saw Nathanael long before He saw Jesus.
God Saw Nathanael long before He saw Jesus.
Philip is called by God to “follow Him” (John 1:43) Nathanael. John 1:45, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
The term “the Law and the Prophets” commonly referred to the entire Old Testament. This is the stance of the entire Gospel of John: Jesus fulfills the Old Testament scriptures. Everything was pointing to Jesus.
Jesus says John 3:14-15, “ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”
Philip is saying “all of the writings have pointed to this Jesus,” which John the baptist has already shown, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” This Lamb that God provides is far better then any passover lamb, because God in not just passing over their sins with His sacrifice, but He is removing them.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Nathanael is so honest in his response, John 1:46, “Can anything Good come out of Nazareth?” “how can this even be?”
“Come and see” This response is both a challenge to Nathanael as it is an invitation to us the readers. Philip brings Nathanael along with him to Jesus. Philip didn’t have to have all the answers but he brought Nathanael to the one who was the answer. What do we see? Nathanael was willing to examine for himself the claims being made about Jesus.
For us we don’t have to have all the answer but we say “come with me, and we will see.”
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to John 4. Jesus Gains Two More Disciples, Philip and Nathaniel (1:43–51)
Philip found Nathanael and witnessed to him. That has been the foundational principle of truly Christian expansion ever since: new followers of Jesus bear witness of him to others, who in turn become disciples and repeat the process
What we see is that God is sovereign over Salvation. Christ had to reveal, had to come as the Lamb of God, and had to call us in order for us to “follow Him.”
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
There is this tension that happens salvation and that tension lies between God’s Sovereignty an our responsibility. Not is our ability. For we were dead before God made us alive (Eph 2:1-5)
Jesus would later go one in John 3 and speak of being born again- All of us had no control in our birth. Happened and here we are, so it is with our spiritual birth, it is and act of God, not by our ability.
Jesus sought Nathanael way before Nathanael ever confessed Jesus to be “The Son of God” and “the King of Israel”
What we need to understand is the purpose of the Gospel of John and that is found in John 20:31, “ but 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.”
In this text we saw four men come and believe that Jesus is the messiah. This invitation is extended to you and me today, to come to this Christ and believe upon Him.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
No one who comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance will ever be turned away! Their is only one savior of sinners and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The gospel is presented to everyone
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
He Called everyone. The Gospel is not limited to finding your name listed in the bible. “anyone” “everyone” the gospel is present ed to everyone.
Yet there are two tracks that go through out this gospel and they are Human responsibility and God’s sovereignty that we see in the that we just looked at. Three example of God’s sovereignty
John the Baptist declaring the “Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world.”
Simon coming and Jesus changing his name to Cephas (Peter) the rock, showing the work that God would do in his life.
Nathanael. Jesus saw Nathanael way before he was ever introduce to Jesus
God is always previous, even in our own salvation. 1 John 3:16, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
The Love of God preceded our love for Him. God had acted long before we ever responded to that Love
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
It is God who made us alive even when we were dead. Not us who made ourselves alive in order that we could be saved. It has always been God first in Salvation.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Notice the we were:
Still weak
unGodly
still sinners
enemies of God
It was at this time that Christ came, and the word of God says it is “at just the right time.”
Christ gives access to God that is far greater then a heavenly ladder
Christ gives access to God that is far greater then a heavenly ladder
In Christ being fully God, something far greater then angles had come down to Earth. Nathanael and the rest of the Disciple would see Jesus as the divine Communication form heaven to earth. The Son of Man has replaced the ladder, and is the link between God and man.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
We have access to God the Father because of the “Lamb of God” made away.
Jesus says:“I Am the Door ”- John 10:9 “I Am the Way” John 14:6.
Christ has made a way by the His own blood shed on the cross so we could have access to the Father. Christ also sent the Holy Spirit (The Helper) John 16:7, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
We don’t need a ladder we have God’s Spirit at work in our lives. Those who follow Christ have direct access to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. When Christ died the veil that separated man from God’s presence was torn.
This also means for us we don’t to pray to anyone other that God Himself.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We have because of the work of Christ. Because he was lifted high, because the savior died for sinners.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”