Sermon for 1/17/21 - 16 Minutes

Sermon for 1/17/21 - 16 Minutes

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 1 verses 43 through 51.

And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

John 1:43-51

In these verses,,, Jesus has decided to leave for Galilee and Jesus found Philip and told him to,,, "follow Me". Then Philip found his friend,,, Nathanael,,, and told him that they had found the One Moses wrote about,,, from Nazareth. Nathanael ask,,, "can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

John 1:43–51

43 The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, “Follow Me!” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets ): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered. 47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite; no deceit is in him.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered. 49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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As we continue to deal with all of the division in this country today,,, we need to continue to reassure others that God is in control,,, even though we can't see what He is doing at this time.

As Christians,,, we must be sure that our faith is in God,,, not our elected officials,,, even though we must be sure that we are praying for all of our elected officials,,, as we are told to do in scripture.

And as I read the scripture for today,,, there are three parts in these verses that got my attention when I read through it earlier in the week.

They will hopefully help us to better understand and work with others today as we deal with all of our problems going forward.

So lets look at these verses this morning and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

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Verse 43 says: 43 The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, “Follow Me!”

Did you catch the part that said,,, Jesus found Philip ?

Jesus was apparently searching for Philip,,, but we aren't told why.

John Wesley's Commentary says that maybe Andrew and Peter told Philip about Jesus since they were from the same city,,, but that doesn't explain why Jesus was searching for him.

The main thing it wanted us to remember was,,, that just as a shepherd is searching for his sheep,,, Jesus is searching for us today,,, just as He was searching for Philip.

I also want you to notice the two words that Jesus issued to Philip that day,,, “Follow Me!”

These are great words,,, because of the One who spoke them,,, and,,, because of the privilege they offered.

What a blessing it was to know that Jesus has told Philip and the others,,, to “Follow Me!”

Also know that those two words,,, “Follow Me!” are still being issued today.

Jesus is still calling out to each of us,,, to “Follow Me!”

But,,, like Philip and the others,,, we must each answer that call,,, no one can do it for us.

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Verse 44 says: 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

Bethsaida was a city on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Few cities in the world have ever been so honored.

The Lord performed some of His mighty miracles there (Luke 10:13).

Yet it rejected the Savior,,, and as a result it was destroyed so completely that now we cannot tell the exact spot where it was located.

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Verse 45 says: 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets ): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”

In this verse,,, we see where Philip has gone looking for Nathanael just like Jesus was looking for him.

When we have found something remarkable,,, we want to share it,,, and who better to share it with,,, than a good friend!

We must share the "good news" with others also.

Nathanael is also apparently the disciple known as Bartholomew.

We are never told that in scripture,,, but it was a part of the early church tradition that thought so,,, and Philip and Bartholomew are usually listed together in the list of disciples,,, so that it does appear to be him.

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Verse 46 says: 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. “Come and see,” Philip answered.

Nathanael asked this question because during this time,,, Nazareth was a despised city of Galilee.

It seemed impossible to him that the Messiah would live in such a poor neighborhood.

And so he voiced the question that was in his mind.

And if you notice,,, Philip did not argue.

He felt that the best way to meet objections was to introduce him directly to the Lord Jesus—a valuable lesson for all who are seeking to win others to Christ.

Don’t argue.

Don’t engage in prolonged discussions.

Just do as Philip does here,,, and,,, ask them to come and see.

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Verse 47 says: 47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite; no deceit is in him.”

Verse 47 shows that Jesus knew all things.

Without any previous acquaintance with Nathanael,,, He declared him to be an Israelite,,, in whom there was no trickery or deceit.

My Believer's Bible Commentary says that,,, Jacob had gained a reputation for using business methods that were not entirely honest,,, but Nathanael was an “Israelite” in whom there was no “Jacob.”

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Verse 48 says: 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.

Now,,, my Bible Knowledge Commentary says,,, this expression,,, under the fig tree,,, often meant to have safety and leisure (see 1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4; Zech. 3:10 as examples).

And maybe here the fig tree was a place used for meditation.

Then you can look at Psalm 139 because it talks about the theme of God’s knowledge of a person’s life in every detail.

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Verses 49 and 50 say: 49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

Jesus’ supernatural knowledge moved Nathanael to confess Him as the Son of God and the King of Israel.

But,,, this doesn't mean that Nathanael fully understood the Trinity or the Incarnation,,, at least not this early.

He understood Jesus to be the Son of God as the promised Messiah (cf. Ps. 2:6–7).

This future Davidic King that they had been looking for,,, would have God’s Spirit on Him (Isa. 11:1–2) and therefore He would have supernatural knowledge.

This understanding of Christ,,, marvelous as far as it went,,, was only the beginning because Jesus tells him that he will “see greater things than this.”

Continuing on,,,

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Verse 51 says: 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In referring to Himself as the Son of man,,, Jesus was focusing attention upon His visible self and not upon His essential being.

The purpose of this was so that the disciples might not fail to observe what He,,, the Incarnate One,,, would accomplish in His human form.

And all of this,,, was a reference to Jacob's ladder seen in Genesis 28:10–17.

According to Hebrews,,, angels were God’s messengers of revelation in the times of the prophets.

Jesus spoke of Himself as the ladder upon which angels of God descend and ascend.

The method of Jesus at that time,,, was to start with earthly things,,, and then turn the disciples’ minds,,, to heavenly or spiritual things.

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The three things that I wanted to mention that these verses brought to my attention were the words,,, found,,, follow me,,, and can anything good come out of this place.

1st - "found" - to find someone,,, you must be looking for them,,,

God said that He found Philip so He was trying to find him,,, and Jesus is searching for all of us today,,,

How great a blessing to know that God is searching for us,,, even while we are ourselves unworthy,,, He is still looking,,, and He is wanting to find us and get an answer from us.

We also need to find others,,, when we accept Jesus as our Savior,,, we must search out others so that they can answer,,, because,,, just like Philip,,, we've found something great and we need to share this "good news" with others.

2nd - follow me - what greater words can you ever expect to hear

Philip heard these words and they changed his life forever.

Jesus is waiting to give you this same message,,, "follow me",,, but you are expected to answer His call,,, no one can do it for you.

3rd - can anything good come out of this place - Nathanael almost let his prejudice get in the way of a great blessing.

We must be careful of our own feelings and be sure that they don't get in the way today as well.

It's possible that we can let our prejudice of others that are in office,,, steal our joy,,, if we don't put our trust in God and allow Him the chance to work things out.

God is still in control,,, no matter what happens in our elections,,, that won't change.

Even when it appears that God isn't doing anything,,, we just can't see and know everything that is going on like He can.

So be sure that we give Him the chance,,, and trust in the One that will never let us down!

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It's these things that will help us to have a great year and a future that will bring us joy,,, because if we continue to put our faith in humans to bring us that joy,,, we will always be left waiting!

So hopefully we can remember these verses as we go about our week and they will help us to remember that we must be found by God,,, and once found,,, we must find others so that they can be found as well.

That way we can all experience the joy of hearing the words that Philip heard,,, of follow me!

And last,,, be sure that we don't let our prejudice steal our joy,,, because we put our trust in man,,, instead of God,,, where it should always be!

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