Untitled Sermon

John 1:35–51 ESV

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 1:35-51

Intro

Intro: slide show of conference retreat. There were people there with tattoos, men with long hair, women with short heair, dreadlocks, gauges in their ears, wearing skinny jeans, and leather jackets…. They called themselves Christians. As we spent time with these people, talked with them, watched them worship, we began to see their faith was genuine, We began to see.  TEXT

Jesus is introduced in our scripture as the Lamb of God and John the baptizer instructing his disciples to Look, to behold, to gaze upon, discern clearly.. The Lamb of God. John is saying “Look guys, you don’t wanna miss this.” So Andrew and the un-named disciple, as good learners, they begin to follow Jesus. A quick note about this disciple that is not named. Whatever conclusion we may come to concerning who this may be is spectulation. I tend to leave it hanging, perhaps it’s the beloved disciple that takes a prominate role in Johns Gospel. …and maybe its you. Un-named so you can fill in the blank with your witness? Whatever the case Jesus question to them is an important question, it’s a question we all must answer at some point. Jesus ask, What do you want? Perhaps Jesus thought the disciples may have a question? Maybe they were in need and Jesus could be of assistance? Or maybe the question Jesus asked has a deeper meaning. Perhaps it is an existential question, a question concerning their very existence. What is it church, that you want? What is it that you want with life? Surely it is more than questions answered or a need that you would like to have met. What these two disciples wanted was to know where Jesus was staying, where was it that Jesus found his abode. Notice Jesus offers no geographical location. But says Come, and you will see.

Church to me Jesus has just summed up the experience of every disciple. Come and you will see. It is when we “Go with” Jesus that we begin to behold and discern clearly just who He is. It is one thing to say Jesus is the Christ it another to experience the Anointed one’s presence in your life. Its when we follow that we truly begin to see Jesus abode, …is with us. When Jesus says Come and you will see. What we need to realize is Jesus is on the move. Jesus offers the disciples no geographical location because the Lamb of God is not confined within walls. We must go, follow, watch Jesus live and its then that we begin to see him. As we read through the gospel of John we see where Jesus abode. He abode at a wedding in Cana, he was available to a questioning religious leader who found Jesus in the darkness, Jesus abode with a woman full of shame at a well and forever changed her life, set her free. Jesus abode among the sick and the hungry. We find Jesus in the temple teaching, we find him defending an adulterous woman, we find Jesus abiding among people full of grief and pain. The list goes on and on. Andrew and this un-named disciple spent that 1st day with Jesus and they were convinced. They were convinced that Jesus was something very special and they had to go and tell someone.

Andrew goes to tell his brother, Simon, that they had found the messiah That is the Christ (41). And then Andrew takes his brother to Jesus. Church what an example set before us. Andrew knew that he had encountered the messiah, the anointed one of God and what else could he do but take the one he loved to meet him. Church we not only have the good news, the best news in all the world, as a follower of Christ we have a relationship with the creator of the heavens and the earth. Isnt that a relationship we want to share. We share other relationships don’t we? I have a great friend who is an excellent accountant, I tell people who need an accountant about him. You may have a relationship with a doctor or lawyer, when someone you know needs a doctor or lawyer what do you do? You tell them about your friend who can help them. With Jesus Christ we have a relationship with one who offers not only help, but he offers life/identity in his name. When Simon met with Jesus, you see what Jesus did? He gave him a new name. Not a new name, but the name Christ had given him before the foundation of the world was established. It was only with Jesus that Simon would step into his true identity, A Rock. A rock in the early church. The reality is…. Jesus didn’t just offer Simon a new name, He called Simon out to be who he was created to be. Folks it is the same for all of us, when we meet Jesus Christ and follow him, abide with him, truly see him, we are forever transformed.

In this text we see Peter as an example of how we hope all our efforts in evangelism goes. Peter seemed to be an easy convert. But Nathaniel, no so much. Phillip after being called by Jesus to follow, went and found Nathaniel and told him We have found the one moses wrote about in the law and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazerath, the son of Joseph 45. Nathaniel responds,  Can anything good come from there? I don’t know why Nathaniel felt this way? Perhaps it was a football rivalry? Some Cana versus Nazareth fued? Maybe Nazareth was viewed as the poor side of town? Whatever the case Nathaniel did not seemed convinced the messiah would come from Nazareth. Maybe his skepticism is warranted. In the bible Nathaniel read, there was not much talk of such events. So how should an evangelist deal with such doubt? Would Phillip turn and walk away seeing his friend as a hopeless skeptic? He didn’t, he said Come and see. An appropriate answer, it was the instructions Jesus offered when he was questioned about where he would abide. Come and see.

Folks hear me out this morning. This is important. Keisha and I just spent four days worshiping with millennials. Gen Y, Gen Z, the I generation, Centennials, they have a lot of names. Snap chat, instagram generation? Facebook is too old for these people. I left that conference retreat with a lot that I will be mentally un packing for a while. But the message I heard from the young people there was they want to SEE, perceive, behold, to discern clearly what Jesus is all about. They want to see it, in the faith of the generations that have gone before them… We can say what is right and good, we have volumes of books of Christian apologetics, what is right, defending our faith with arguments. We have volumes of books on Christian ethics, what is good. Those things are not what are reaching our younger generations. I believe those things are very important but they are not what is grabbing the attention of millions of young people. They want beauty, they want to see what our faith is all about. If we are following Jesus, surely they will have a lot to see.

Phillip followed Jesus and he had confidence Nathaniel would see as well, that Jesus was the one the old testament had spoke of. The information that Phillip provided may have been a bit confusing, but only if Nathaniel could encounter Jesus for himself, he would see, and Nathaniel did see. But not before Jesus saw him. Jesus knew deep things of Nathaniel. Jesus said A true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit. Nathaniel an Israelite, a follower of Yahweh, waiting for the messiah. How did Jesus know him? Church, Jesus saw Nathaniel under the fig tree before phillip ever called him 48. Jesus knows Nathaniel so well, because he sees him so well. Church what we see about people is important. What if we could see like Jesus? Nathaniel insulted Jesus, What good could possibly come from Nazerath? How did Jesus fire back at the insult? Did Jesus say “shut your mouth, What could come from Nazareth? How about the King of Kings comin from the other side of the tracks?” No, Jesus says to Nathaniel, “I saw you. I beheld you, I perceived who you were, I discerned clearly about you.” Only if we could see like Jesus, through eyes of compassion and not prejudice and bias.  

What if we could see like Jesus. What if we could look past the sins of humanity and see people, individuals created in the image of God. I am not saying excuse a persons sin, justify it or pretend it is not there. I am saying what if we could see people.. as people, not what they do. We are after all, Human beings, not human doings. Part of what I see in this text is that Jesus is different, he is Holy and we are not. Jesus has a way of seeing past the clutter of life and getting down to the heart of a matter. Nathaniels offensive behavior / words did not stop Jesus from approaching him. Nathaniel encounters Jesus and he too believes, Nathaniel declares Jesus is the son of God, king of Israel. Jesus says you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree, you will see greater things than that. Church Jesus is right and Jesus is good. And I believe Jesus has the ability to prove that to people. His words are powerful, his vision unlike any others, But we will see greater things than those. There is something more beautiful about Jesus than what he says and sees. It is what he does. What he does is the most beautiful.

Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man. It’s a version of Jacobs story, Jacob had dream he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on a ladder, with the Lord above it. Jesus here claims he is that ladder. The lord no longer above the ladder, but is the ladder. It’s beautiful, what Jesus does. He meets people in right where they are. Romans 5:8 says God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ Jesus died for us. Its beautiful what Jesus does. He saves, He forgives, He heals, He touches, He sees, He listens, He loves.    Only if we…. Could be more like Jesus.