Deo Gloria
Sermon for January 14, 2024
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: John 1:43-51
Theme: Come and See!
- The one who fulfills the writings of Moses and the Prophets
- The one who knows us inside and out
- The one who bridges the gap between God and mankind
He wanted to say something. It seemed like such a perfect opportunity. Of all things, he and his friend had gotten into a discussion about spiritual matters—about God, about life after death, about being right with God; but his friend had some tough questions. He was a skeptic, one who questioned everything and anything. Why should he believe the Bible? What made it any different than the Koran or the Book of Mormon? Why should he believe the words of Jesus? What made his teachings superior to those of Mohammed, for example, or Krishna? Don’t all religions basically teach the same thing? Yes, those were some tough questions and Bill wasn’t exactly sure how to answer them. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. He didn’t want to misrepresent what the Bible had to say. Right about now he really wished he had paid better attention in confirmation class when his pastor had talked about stuff like this. “Maybe it would be better not to say anything,” he thought to himself. But then, how would his friend get to know Jesus as his Savior?
Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever found yourself talking to a friend or relative or maybe someone at work about Jesus and the Bible; and they kind of had you stumped? You weren’t really sure how to answer their questions. Or maybe you were starting to get frustrated because it seemed like no matter what you said, your friend always seemed to have some sort of objection. Maybe the best thing you can do in a situation like that is to do what Philip did. Instead to trying the win the argument or trying to answer their question in ignorance, maybe the best thing to do is simply to say what Philip said, “Come and see.” “You know, Jim, I don’t have an answer for all of your questions. But why don’t you just come and see?” Come and see the one who fulfills the writings of Moses and the prophets. Come and see the one who knows us inside and out. Come and see the one who bridges the gap between God and mankind.
The story we have before us took place several days after Jesus’ baptism. Apparently Jesus had decided to stay around a few days in the vicinity of Bethany before heading back to Galilee. Naturally, this provided an opportunity for John to do what he had been sent to do: to prepare the way for the promised Savior. And John did precisely that. “Look,” he told the people as he pointed to Jesus. “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(1:29). Again referring to Jesus, he said:
I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God. (1:32-34)
During this time we are told that Jesus also began calling his first disciples. The day before he called Andrew and Peter and John. Today it was Philip and Nathanael. John tells us how it happened: “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me’”(v. 43). Like Andrew and Peter and John, Philip followed. Like them, Philip believed that Jesus was the Savior they had been waiting for, the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sin of the world. And when Jesus called him to be one of his disciples, Philip went.
But there was someone else on Philip’s mind as well, someone whom Philip also wanted to know about Jesus. That’s a natural desire that God puts in our hearts, isn’t it? Once we come to know Jesus as our Savior, we want others to come to know him too, especially our friends and the members of our family. So Philip went and found his friend Nathanael and told him. “Guess what, Nate? We found the Messiah, the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and the one the prophets wrote about too. His name is Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
And how did Nathanael respond? “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Typical, isn’t it? Here you are, all excited to tell someone about your Savior and you finally get up the courage to do so; and they respond with an objection. “Bible, schmible–why should I believe the Bible?” “From what I’ve read about Jesus, he never really claimed to be the Son of God. That’s just what his followers said about him.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Nazareth was a small, quiet, little village—sort of like Cologne or Green Isle. No one important ever came from Nazareth. Besides, the Savior was supposed to come from Bethlehem, not Nazareth. “Philip, I think you got the wrong guy,” Nathanael might have said.
And Philip didn’t have an answer. He couldn’t explain why Jesus hailed from Nazareth instead of Bethlehem. He didn’t know. All he could say was “Come and see.” “I don’t know, Nate. I don’t have an answer, but I’ll bet he does. Come and see, won’t you? Come and meet this guy. Talk to him yourself. You’ll be amazed. This is the one Moses wrote about, and the prophets wrote about too. Come and see.”
Jesus was, indeed, the one whom Moses wrote about, the great prophet whom God would raise up in the midst of his people. Jesus is the one whom Isaiah wrote about as well, the child who was born of a virgin, the one who was called Immanuel. Jesus is the one whom Micah wrote about, the ruler who would come from the small, little town of Bethlehem. Yes, Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies—what Moses said and Malachi, what Micah said and Daniel. Jesus fulfilled what all the Old Testament prophets said, which is something we can share with our skeptical friends.
“Come and see,” we can say. “Don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. Read the Old Testament prophecies about the promised Savior. Read the things that Moses wrote and Samuel and David and Daniel and Isaiah and Malachi. Does Jesus fulfill those prophecies? Does he fit the description? If so, then who does that tell you he is?” Frankly, the evidence is overwhelming. Scholars tell us that there are some 270 prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the promised Savior. And Jesus fulfills every single one. So don’t even hesitate. Invite your friends to come and see. Come and see the one who fulfills the Old Testament prophecies.
Undoubtedly, Nathanael may have still had his reservations, but he went along with Philip anyway. And as they approached Jesus, Jesus made a rather striking remark, a remark that certainly caught Nathanael’s attention. “Here is a true Israelite,” Jesus said, “in whom there is nothing false”(v. 47). Can you imagine the look on Nathanael’s face, the look of sheer astonishment?
“How—how do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“I saw you,” came Jesus’ answer, “saw you while you were sitting under that fig tree before Philip called you.”
Nathanael stood speechless. He could hardly believe his ears. Here was someone he had never met before, someone he didn’t know from Adam, and yet someone who seemed to know everything about him, someone who knew him inside and out. That could only be one person. “Rabbi,” he said, “you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel”(v. 49).
This was not an isolated incident either. There are numerous instances recorded in the Gospels where Jesus demonstrated that he knows everything about other people. Remember Thomas, doubting Thomas? “Unless I stick my finger in the nail prints,” he said, “and put my hand in Jesus’ side, I won’t believe that he is alive.” So the following Sunday, Jesus once again appeared to the disciples. And what did he say to Thomas? “Thomas, come here. You know, I heard something, Thomas. I heard you needed to stick your finger in the nail prints. All right, go ahead. I heard you also needed to put your hand into my side. Well, here’s the wound. Go ahead.” You see, there’s no way Jesus could have known those things. He wasn’t there when Thomas said them—unless, he’s God.
Here is another truth we can share with our skeptical friends. When you read the story of Jesus’ life, when you read about some of the remarkable things that happened, stories like the one in our text, stories like the one about Thomas, stories like the one about the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well—when you read stories like that, it becomes rather obvious that Jesus is no ordinary human being. He knows too much. In fact, he knows everything. He knows about the things in people’s past. He knows the things they did and the things they said, even though he wasn’t there. He even knows their thoughts. Who else could he be? He must be the Son of God. Come and see.
You know what that means, don’t you? It means that Jesus knows. He knows about the things that have happened in your past too, the things you’d like to forget about, things you wish had never happened, the skeletons that rattle around your closet. He knows about them all. He knows what you said at work the other day. He saw you while you were sitting there behind your desk or sitting there in the break room with the rest of the guys. He heard every word. Jesus knows about what happened the other night too. He saw you when you were out with your friends. He heard what you said. He saw what you did. And he knows your thoughts as well—the jealous thoughts, the hateful thoughts, the selfish thoughts, the lustful thoughts. They aren’t hidden from him. David says it so clearly in Psalm 139:
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. (vv. 1-4)
Man, am I in trouble; and so are you. We all are. You see, I can fool other people. I can make them think that I’m a pretty decent guy, because they don’t know everything I’ve done in the past. And they can’t look into my heart either; but Jesus can. And he knows everything. And you know, sometimes I can fool myself too. Sometimes I can convince myself that I’m a pretty decent guy, at least in comparison to others. The problem, though, is that I can’t fool Jesus. He can see into my heart, and he knows everything. He knows what a sinner I am. And he knows the punishment I deserve on account of my sins. He knows I don’t deserve to live with God in heaven. He knows I deserve to be separated from God forever in hell.
Thank God that isn’t all we know about Jesus! Thank God there’s more to this story! Come and see. It’s right here at the end of our text:
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. Well, Nathanael, you shall see greater things than that. I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”(vv. 50+51).
Remember the story of Jacob? Remember the time he fled from home and went to Uncle Laban’s house? Along the way he stopped for the night and fell asleep with his head resting on a rock. And he had a dream. He saw a ladder that stretched from heaven all the way down to earth. And he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on that ladder. The vision was meant to comfort him, to assure him that God had not abandoned him, that God had heard his prayers, that God would be with him and would continue to watch over him and bless him.
Now think about what Jesus was telling Nathanael. The picture is a little bit different. Instead of a ladder there is a person; but the message is essentially the same. God has not forsaken us either. In spite of our sinful past, in spite of our sinful thoughts and words and actions, the God of heaven has not abandoned us. He has not left us to suffer the consequences of our sins. No, he still is with us. He still hears our prayers. He still is watching over us and will continue to bless and keep us as his children, because someone has bridged the gap, that enormous gap between heaven and earth, between a holy God and sinful people. Someone has come and offered a sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Someone has come and brokered a peace accord, restoring peace between God and mankind.
Yes, that someone is Jesus. He did what no human being could ever do. As the Lamb of God, Jesus did take away the sins of the world. He took away your sins and mine. And by his death and resurrection Jesus restored peace. He bridged the gap between God and mankind and set us at one with God.
Would you like to be at peace with God? Would you like to be sure, absolutely sure that when you die, you will go to heaven? Would you like the assurance of God’s presence in your life? Would you like to know that God is with you day by day and that he will continue to bless and keep you? Come and see. Let me tell you about this guy named Jesus, the one who has bridged the gap between God and mankind.
Do you always know what to say when you get into a discussion about religion, when your friends ask you some tough questions about the Bible or about Jesus Christ? I don’t either; but maybe that’s where Philip can help us out. Instead of trying so hard to come up with just the right answer, maybe the best thing we can do is simply invite them to come and see. And let Jesus take it from there. Amen.