THE SKEPTICAL STUDENT

Good Morning, It’s great to be with you again this morning. For those who don’t know me, my name is Dave. I have been on a placement here at Trendlewood for two years as an Ordinand, training to be a vicar in the Church of England. I’ve been away on a smaller summer placement at another church and it is great to back with you for the next few weeks and then again in September. we are slowly easing the restrictions, this morning we can be singing which is great news. But we ask that you would wear your masks whilst singing and at all times in the building.

As I said earlier, the heart behind this series is that we as we look at moments people in the Bible encountered Jesus, we might encounter Jesus. Whether that be for the first time or afresh. We are going to be jumping into Johns gospel and right at the start in chapter 1. If you have your Bible with you do open it to John 1:43-51.

I wonder if you ever looked down on anyone, I realise for being failry small that might be a no but that isn’t what I mean. I wonder if you have looked down on anyone or any place or any group of people, thinking that they aren’t good enough or are below you. I think it might be more common and deep than we may think. Maybe as a sports fan? Maybe you’ve had a rival? Maybe its a colleague or a neighbour. Maybe there are places that you think, we are better than that. I grew up in Winchester and it was known for people from Winchester to think negatively of southampton. When I was at school I grew up in Winchester and Winchester is large enough that it has a number of schools, but small enough that each school was very well known to the other. I went to a school known as Kings and there was one down the road called Westgate. These guys were our rivals and the feeling was we were better than them, in academics, in sport, in the arts in all facets. I used to captain the school cricket team and we lost once and it was like ‘you lost to westgate.’

But then there was this other school, Henry Beufort. We didn’t see them as our rivals, they were just Henry Beaufort. How could anything good come from Henry Beufort? Now all three schools are very good schools ironically they have had roughly the same exam grades for the past 20 years. But the point is we always thought, how could anything good come from there. I wonder if you have had any experience like that.

Well this is our experience today with our first encounter Nathaniel. Jesus calls Phillip and Phillips life is suddnely changed. He comes running to Nathanael and says this is the guy. This is the messiah we have been waiting for. This is the person all our scriptures and Jewish hope is looking towards. Nathanels response, is you what? How anything, let alone the messiah come from Nazareth? Before we get into the actual encounter between Nathanael and Jesus. I want to raise two points, two questions.

Firstly, How do we come to Jesus. What is our attitude? Notice how Nathanael comes to Jesus, what is his preconception. Some believe that Jesus’s first remark to Nathanael in verse 47… ‘here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit’ suggest that he is a student of the law. Perhaps Nathanael is well versed in the law, we know from Phillip’s comment that Nathanael certainly knows the law and the scriptures.

He comes thinking he knows it all. He knows about the Messiah and he think he knows that the Messiah won’t come from Nazareth. How can anything good come from Nazaereth? He immediately dismisses Jesus. Of course we read on and see this incredible encounter that Nathanael has. Where Jesus intimately knows Nathanael. But before we get to that point its a good chance for us to stop and ask the question.

How do I come to Jesus? How do I come to this summer sermon series? Do you come as a pro Christian somewhat closed because you have heard it all before. I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, I’m training to be a vicar. Do I fall into this? I do, I’ve gone through the motions where I turn up to Church because it’s what I do. I think I know alot and I come with a subconscious closed heart like Nathanael. So my prayer for us this summer sermon series is that we would come to this series and that it would flow into our lives of a heart that is open to hear what Jesus might be saying to us, even if it’s different or new. So my first point is come with an open heart. Come with an open heart.

Secondly before we move on to the encounter I think this is a great chance to reiterate some good news. Jesus was from Nazareth. Jesus was from the place that was looked down upon. If you are here today and you feel like you are looked down upon, you feel like you don’t fit in or that you aren’t religious enough. The good news is that Jesus was from Nazareth. He knows what it is like to feel looked down upon and as we shall discover in the coming weeks he had a special place for those who weren’t good enough for the religious elite. I love the Bible because story after story in both the gospels and the rest of scripture sees God reaching out for those who are on the fringes.

When I was younger I felt on the fringes. I didn’t think too much of myself. I felt I was pretty average. But I wanted to lead worship, I had this heart to lead people to God in the same way that I had been led into worship. Amazingly as I stepped out in faith, with some pretty average singing and guitar playing God seemed to use the times of worship that I led to help people encounter God. I learnt that God wanted to use me, someone on the fringes. That message is true. Jesus is from Nazareth. He wants to use Nazareth like people in his kingdom. Sometimes more so. So that is my second point. Jesus is from the fringes.

So Come with an open heart

Jesus is from the fringes

You know what is funny now. As I grew in worship leading I started to become less in the fringes, to the point where I now am training to be a vicar. In some ways thats a really cool story. It’s funnt, when I started on my faith journey and particularly serving I had to rely on God. As I started to gravitate away from the fringes I noticed that I became more reliant on myself and on my knowledge of how to be a Christian. I still struggle with that today at times. It’s easy to become skeptical like Nathanael.

But Finally we come to this amazing interaction. Nathanael the skeptic approaches Jesus and Jesus addresses him with this ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no decit’ One commentator said if this

Jesus stunned a future disciple with his first words. He affirmed Nathanael as a genuine student of the Torah—a righteous Jew taught to live in accordance with all the light he had.

It’s not bad to be knowledgeable in the scriptures and to be an experienced Christian. But Jesus wants to get past that.

Whether this is Jesus putting him at ease. This puts Nathanael on the backfoot. His skepticism starts to shift. If someone told me I was great I would poke my head up and listen. He asks the question, How do you know me. This has gone from skepticism of the theological to something personal. How do you know me? Listen to the interaction, I saw you under the fig tree. No context is given.

Now if there was one fig tree in Israel you might understand. Perhaps Jesus saw him there. But if you go to Israel there are fig trees everywhere. What I believe happens here, is that Nathanael has an encounter or revalation, something really personal and private that only he knew about under a fig tree. When Jesus says I saw you under the fig tree its a personal encounter. This knowledge that Jesus has leaves Nathanel only one choice but to say this man is the son of God.

Jesus meets with Nathanael personally.

Here is the point.

Jesus doesn’t call us to sign up to set of rules or a belief system. He calls us to follow him personally. We don’t follow a religion we follow a person and that person is Jesus. Its a personal relationship. Jesus wants to meet with us personally.

Throughout this past year and a bit we have had to isolate ourselves from other people. But despite that physical isolation I imagine alot of us have kept up with those who we love the most. For us as a church we kept meeting together for Zoom coffee because we know these relationships count and they need time put into them. I have moved from alot of my friends to train to be a vicar but in the past year I have zoomed and driven to see them.

Why?

Because friendships need to be invested in. Same with my wife. If I stopped investing in our relationship as soon as I said my marriage vows, I am sure our marriage wouldn’t be healthy. It’s the same with Jesus. He wants to meet with us personally.

He knows our inner most thoughts in the same way he saw Nathanael under the fig tree. My prayer for us and myself this series is that we may encounter Jesus afresh. Maybe it is to dare to ask Jesus to reveal us something new in this time. To come with open hearts and to ask God to diminish any skepticism we might have. Anything that might be holding us back. The last bit of this passage sees Jesus saying if you believe because of the fig tree,

Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

He’s reffering to the image that Nathanael would have known well, that of Jacobs ladder. The image in Genesis where the ladder reprasented the connection between heaven and earth. Instead of a ladder the angels descend and ascend through the son of man. The whole entire connection between heaven and earth will be made through Jesus. It’s better than Jesus just knowing you intimately, he is the one who unites heaven and earth through his death and resurrection. Its so much bigger than just knowing Jesus personally. He is the one who unites heaven and earth, he is God.

So to recap, Come with an open heart. Jesus is from the fringes. Jesus wants to meet with us personally. Jesus is God. Amen

how do you come?

have you had any fig tree moments ?