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“The Disciples' Testimony" • 5.5.19
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- This is our third week in the Gospel of John
and I've proposed that this opening chapter is John's legal witness to the
person of Christ.
- He began with his own wonderful assertions
regarding the deity of Christ. John would testify that Jesus is the
"Word of God," in the beginning with and equal in character and
activity to God.
- From there, beginning in verse 15, the
Apostle calls the Baptist to the stand, who testifies regarding the mission
of Christ.
- John the Baptist defiantly declares that
Jesus is the "Lamb of God," indeed the very "Son of God"
who takes away the sin of the World.
- Today, in this final section of chapter, our
author calls upon the Lord's first disciples to round out the witness of the
Lord Jesus. They will detail the manner of Christ. Let's pick it up in
verse 35.
Text
• John 1:35-37 : "Again, the next day, John stood
with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of
God!' The two
disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus." : John had announced Christ's presence
the day before as the "Lamb of God." That next day, he continued to
work on his disciples.
- Generally, the picture of John the Baptist is
that of a lone wolf. He's direct and courageous, loud and outrageous for most
modern tastes. On this account, most believe him to be a loner.
- What may have turned us off, didn't turn men
away from wanting to learn from him and John wasn't averse to teaching them. He
sought to teach men the ways of God.
- His ministry was fairly short, but in that
time, he made time to disciple, to instruct, to teach others. This does not fit
our view of him at all! Even camel hair wearing, locust eating John discipled!
- I pray that that is a little bit of an
indictment to any that believe that the Christian life could or should be lived
in isolation. That kind of Christianity only exists in the mind of the carnal!
- God calls us to learn together from His Word
as well as from each other's experience. Consider this your reminder that
fellowship and discipleship are God's normal means of sanctification.
- As we mentioned last week, John lived with a
refreshing sense of perspective about himself and his ministry. In his own
estimation, he was lower than the lowest slave before Christ.
- That is what he said, but did he really
believe it? His actions speak clearly here.
- When Jesus walked out in front of where he
and his disciples were standing, John didn't shield their eyes or distract them
from looking in his direction.
- He did what every good teacher of the ways of
God should do. He pointed them to Jesus!
- "Behold the Lamb of God!" The tense
of the verb reflects a continual action. He kept telling them, "Look,
that's God's Lamb!" He repeated this as if to say, "What are you
still doing here?"
- John wanted them to follow Him, which is
consistent with his earlier statements. He was not trying to amass followers to
himself. He wanted them to transfer to the Lord's school!
- That was their best move and when they
understood what he was saying to them, they went out after the Lord. Verse 38.
• John 1:38,39 : "Then Jesus turned, and seeing them
following, said to them, 'What
do you seek?' They
said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), 'where are
You staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him
that day (now it was about the tenth hour)." : We will learn momentarily that one of
these disciples of John was Andrew, but who was the other? I'd suggest to you
that it was the author John himself!
- Andrew and John were cautiously following
after Jesus, not sure of how to approach Him or what to say when they did speak
to Him. "What do you say to the Messiah, the Son of God!?"
- Jesus makes it easy on them and asks them a
great question that resonates throughout all time: "What do you
seek?" What an excellent and probing question?
- You are following Jesus. What is it that you
seek? A better life? More happiness? If you are not following Christ for the
salvation, forgiveness and life that He offers, you will be disappointed!
- Andrew and John are respectful in their
response calling Jesus, "Rabbi," but their awkward "where are
You staying line" betrays any real idea of why they are following and
that's ok!
- Sometimes people are following Jesus just
because they have seen others follow Him or they have been told, as these two
were, to follow Him. That's good for a time, but not enough.
- What we hear in this passage is a soft,
affirming, gentle suggestion. "Come and see." That's not how it's
written! Jesus commands them to "come now and see."
- If you will know the answer to Christ's
question, it will only come about as you "come now and see" for
yourself! Jesus is not leaving this up to them by hoping that their feelings
will win out!
- In essence, though they had shown the first
interest, it was Christ who commanded them to come into a discipleship
relationship with Himself! He still commands you to do the same!
- That very day, these two men became the
Lord's first two disciples! They received His full attention and enjoyed the
benefit of having the first late afternoon, early evening with Jesus.
- One can only imagine what was said. What, if
anything, did Jesus teach them? What was it like to be in His presence?
- Whatever happened, it was enough to provoke
the action we follow from here. Verse 40.
• John 1:40-42 : "One of the two who heard John
speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother
Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the
Christ). And he
brought him to Jesus. Now
when Jesus looked at him, He said, 'You are Simon the
son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone)." : Look at how naturally Andrew takes to
this. He listened to John, he followed Jesus and he went to find his brother!
He has been with Jesus for an afternoon and this is his action!
- "He first found his own brother."
Most people believe by the listing of the disciples that Peter was the eldest
and would later become the vocal spokesman of the Lord's men.
- Andrew was his younger brother and maybe he
knew what Peter had in him.
- Maybe he was just excited to share the news
with him. Maybe he thought "If anyone can change him it's Jesus!"
Knowing Peter from his early statements, I'd guess it was the third reason!
- Whatever the motivation, Andrew was compelled
to serve the person that he likely admired the most with the simplest version
of the gospel that he had at that time.
- "We have found the Messiah!" Andrew
didn't have much information. History had not yet been revealed. What information
he did have, he enthusiastically shared!
- You and I cannot afford to wait until we have
all the answers to every conceiveable question! Take what you know now and find
your brother or sister! Look at how confident Andrew was.
- "We have found the Messiah!" That
is no small claim to make in Roman occupied Israel! Andrew had seen very
little, but he trusted what he had seen and heard.
- He trusted John the Baptist's testimony.
Whatever he witnessed of Jesus up close assured him that this was true!
- I would not have trusted Christ except that
the men that I admire most trusted him first! Now, I can say with them, "I
have found the Messiah!" You should be able to say the same!
- His zeal to share what he knew and his
confidence in what he knew led Peter to come to Jesus Himself! There is no
better ambassador to the one you love than you!
- You and I know Peter from the other gospel
accounts. Who else beside his brother would he have listened to regarding
Jesus!?
- Your family, your friends, your neighbors
need to hear about Jesus from trusted resources and that is you! "But I
don't know enough!" Friend, you have far more information than Andrew did!
- Perhaps it's not your confidence in Christ.
Maybe you are afraid of how your friends might appear to Jesus in their present
state. Andrew was not worried about that and you shouldn't be either!
- He brought his brother to the Lord and the
Lord rightly identified him as "Shifting Sand."
- You get the idea from the name and Peter's
early personality traits, that he might have been a little unstable. I believe
that I'm being charitable!
- Listen carefully to the Lord's promise:
"You are shifting sand. You will be known as the Rock!"
- Nobody comes to Jesus as a finished product,
but none who come to Jesus will leave this earth unfinished! The Lord is very
good at smoothing out rough edges!
- How many have come to Jesus who were once one
thing and are now quite another? That's all of us! He's been doing this from
the very first days of His ministry! Verse 43.
• John 1:43-45 : "The following day Jesus wanted to
go to Galilee, and 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.'" : Verse 43
speaks to us of the regular movements of the Disciples. Jesus wanted to go
somewhere and they went! That is how discipleship takes place!
- As they came to the Galilee region, the Lord
went and found Phillip. You'll note that Phillip was from the same city as
Andrew and Peter.
- I'd suggest that the Lord responded to Peter
and Andrew's recommendation of Phillip and that this was not necessarily a
mystical experience.
- These men had a history with Phillip, which
made him a natural candidate. When the Lord called him to follow Him, it
doesn't SAY that he did, but his action afterward SHOWS that he did!
- Phillip, like Andrew, directly went out after
Nathanael with as much zeal and confidence as Andrew had shown! I love how
personal he makes it! "WE have found Him."
- Technically, the others had found Him, but
Phillip relays the information from a first hand perspective and that is
Christianity! When you come into Christ, you are a part of the "we!"
- Christianity cannot be some one else's faith,
experience or knowledge. It must be your understanding, your belief for it to
have any impact upon yourself or on any other!
- You will never desire to reach a person much
less convince them of Christ's reality until He is real in and to you! Phillip
is the least experienced disciple, but he is just as convinced as Andrew!
- Notice the pieces that convinced him. Phillip
is well acquainted with what Moses and the Prophets wrote. These are not
entirely ignorant men or "blank slates."
- He might not have been from Jerusalem or
another cosmopolitan town, but Phillip was a man of God's Word! He had already
been reading and studying the Bible.
- No wonder Peter and Andrew recommended him to
Jesus! They knew of the zeal that he had for the Word of God and how he sought
to know about the Messiah through the Word.
- We mentioned last week that Moses anticipated
the Messiah's presence when he instructed Israel to be ready for another
teacher such as himself in Deuteronomy 18:18.
- Additionally, there are "pictures"
or "types" within the Pentateuch which beg for fulfillment. The
sacrificial system, the Temple, the Priesthood, all anticipate substance to
their shadow.
- Jesus is the greater sacrifice, the greater
Temple and the Great High Priest! It's not likely that Phillip had all of this
figured out at this point in time, but he knew Jesus checked the boxes he knew!
- Additionally, Phillip knew about the passages
written by the prophets, whose writings are replete with references to the
Messiah's mission, life and death.
- The fact that he leads with this let's us know
that he and Nathanael were often students together, sharing in the expectation
and desire for the Messiah!
- What a thrill this had to be for Nathanael,
who most scholars believe to be the disciple "Bartholomew," to
actually discover the object of their study! That excitement was short lived
though.
- Phillip finished with what had to be a
"record scratch" moment. The Messiah that he had found was Jesus of
Nazareth, the son of Joseph! What was wrong with that? Verse 46.
• John 1:46 : "And Nathanael said to him, 'Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" : Forget Phillip's enthusiasm. Forget
the Messianic details that were present with Jesus. He came from Nazareth!?
- Nathanael is almost completely ready to
dismiss the idea out of hand! His mind cannot conceive of this being possible!
He is stumbled by His home before he even meets Him!
- How many do you know that have a similar
reaction? "Can anything good come out of going to church?" or
"What about those televangelists!?" To Nathanael's point, Nazareth
was a tough sell!
- The Lord was born in Bethlehem, but some time
after, His parents moved to Nazareth, which was about as small a town as one
could imagine.
- One Pastor noted that the small town was akin
to a shady truck stop area, in terms of the people that might try to stop by
and the accomodations that were available.
- For a little bit of context, the city that we
are currently studying in boasts a population of 54,200 people. We sit next to
Riverside, which registers a population of 321,570.
- That is good enough to get it in the top 15
of California cities. By comparison, according to Archeologists, Nazareth
claimed a whopping 150 people, total!
- For your information, there are 15 cities in
California that would equal Nazareth's average population! Nazareth is what
nowhere towns called "Nowhere!"
- Nazareth is nowhere near any trade route and
being a farming community meant that it's native population was a little behind
the times of other more famous cities.
- It's no wonder that Nathanael's response was
so direct. Humanly speaking, it would be difficult to believe that a man of
Messiah's station would come from such a backwater village.
- Phillip though isn't dissuaded in the least.
He has no reservations. His enthusiasm is untouched. He can't convince
Nathanael, so he doesn't even try.
- He just asks him to come and see for himself!
That would be all that he needed to disarm his doubt. "Just come and see
what I've seen and you'll see what I mean!"
- I would love one million more just like
Phillip! Instead of crumbling under the pressure that comes from rejection, he
has the confidence in Jesus to demand that his friend come and prove it!
- Come and see for yourself! Come and see if
you can't find forgiveness and life! Come and see if He won't meet your needs
and heal your soul!
- People like Phillip are confident that if
Jesus is simply given a chance, He will do the work of convincing and changing
a person's life!
˚ "It's not our business to make the message acceptable but to make it
available. We are not to see that they like it, but that they get it!" Vance Havner
- Notice that Phillip doesn't say, "Go and
find out." The word "come" implies a willingness to accompany.
Phillip was going to be there and Nathanael could come and join him.
- If someone was willing to check something
that you recommended out, it'd be wise of you to be sure that you were there
when they did!
- On the strength of Phillip's recommendation,
Nathanael decided to give it a try. Phillip won't have to say another word!
Jesus will take it from here! Verse 47.
• John 1:47-49 : "Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward
Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!' Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You
know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw
you.' Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi,
You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'" : Phillip's passion convinced Nathanael
to come and before he could utter a word, the Lord spoke right at him.
- The NLT's translation hits the tone of
Christ's words very well: "Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity." What a statement for the Messiah to
make!
- Even better, the LXX translates this verse in
a much more evocative way: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there
is no Jacob!"
- Genesis 32 will provide a full
explanation, but suffice it to say, the passage in question revolves around
Jacob wrestling with God.
- Predictably, God won, but not before breaking
something in Jacob's hip. He had spent most of his adult life running from
someone or another, depending to a degree, upon his guile.
- When God touched his hip, Jacob held onto
him, insisting upon a blessing. God obliged him by telling him that he would no
longer be known as "Heel Catcher," but "Governed by God!"
Israel!
- I believe that Nathanael had just finished
reading the life of Jacob underneath that fig tree! That is where Jesus first
saw him and where He begins to minister to his doubts!
- This astounded Nathanael and it was enough
for him to make this very bold assessement: "Rabbi, You are the Son of
God! You are the King of Israel!"
- All of these men seem very ready to embrace
the Messiah, though we will see over the course of this book, that they were
not clear as to what He meant when He said Messiah!
- The fact that Nathanael calls Jesus the
"King of Israel" may betray that political hope. Jesus isn't
concerned about what he does or does not know. He promises that he will see
more! Verse 50.
• John 1:50,51 : "Jesus answered and said to 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, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man.'" : If
you have the "Frank" translation, Jesus says here, "You ain't
seen nothing yet!"
- The specificity which Jesus employs does add
an eeriness to Nathanael's experience.
- He must have been thinking what we would all
think: "What else did He hear or see!?" The Lord isn't concerned with
his feelings, but He does want him to raise his standards.
- Instead of Jesus talking about what He had
seen, Nathanael would soon be talking about what he would see! "You will
see heaven open and God's angels going up and down upon Me!"
- We have already shared from Genesis 32,
but Nathanael had begun at Genesis 28 and the story of Jacob's first
night out in the wilderness! Really, they are quite interesting book ends.
- Jacob is out there in chapter 28
because he deceived his family. In chapter 32, he's out there with the
prospect of having to face his family, specifically Esau, aka. Good Ol Dirty
Harry!
- If you've read the story, you'll recall to
mind the distaste that everyone feels by deception. Nathanael was no doubt insulted
by the guile that Jacob showed!
- But even there, to that Heel Catcher, God
revealed Himself in a wonderful vision! Right there in the wilderness, Jacob
saw a ladder, complete with angels going up and down upon it!
• Genesis 28:17 : "And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place!
This is none other than the house of God, and
this is
the gate of heaven!'"
- That gate of heaven was accessed through that
ladder! Unlike Jacob, who saw the shadow, Nathanael was about to see the
substance! Jesus is the ladder that comes from heaven to earth!
- Nathanael would see the same spiritual
activity in living color as God carried out His mission to save souls upon this
Earth!
- Before we move on, please keep in mind that
all of these men were 1 or 2 days into their walk with the Lord. They
demonstrate much to us that the Spirit of God would have you remember!
- Remember their compassion for their
loved ones. Andrew made it his first priority to bring Peter, his brother.
- Remember their conviction. Phillip
telling Nathanael, his study partner, to lay aside his preconceived notions and
prejudices, and simply come and see the Messiah for himself!
- As you read the rest of the story and indeed
if you are wise, the record of the rest of their lives, you'll see men that
were committed, even unto their own grisly end!
- Their eyewitness testimony is one thing, but
their life and death testimony is THE thing! They lived for and died in Jesus!
Conclusion
- When you look
back over the totality of John chapter 1,
you'll see a consistent and powerful witness regarding the Lord Jesus Christ.
- If you ask
the author, John the Apostle, he'll tell you definitively that Jesus is the
"Word Of God." He is the logical centerpiece of all of Creation! He
is the "point" and all history is pointed at Him!
- If you ask
John the Baptist, he'll tell you that Jesus is the "Lamb of God" who
takes away the sins of the World and the "Son of God" who leads all
who trust in Him into familial relationship!
- If you ask
the disciples, they'll tell you the Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the King
Of Israel! That is the testimony that is presented to us here.
- Jesus is the
Light that has come into the World (v.9),
the Lord Almighty that Isaiah spoke of, (v.23)
the Lamb of God who takes away sin (v.29
and 36) and the Ladder where heaven
meets Earth!
- "Behold
the Lamb of God! Follow Him! Trust Him with your life!
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