John 1:35-51 - Come, See, Hear, Find, Bring, Follow, Believe (Rev. Erik Veerman)

Please turn in your Bibles to John 1:35-51.Last week John the Baptist was absolutely clear that he, himself, was not the Christ. Then when he saw Jesus, he directed our attention to him. John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This morning, we’ll see the Lamb of God title referenced again. I mentioned last week that every single title for Jesus used throughout the book is introduced in chapter 1. So, as I read, listen for those various titles.

Also, listen for all the action verbs and commands… like come and see, follow, and find. There are quite a few.

Reading of John 1:35-51

Prayer

A few months ago, Amy and I went to hear Atlanta Symphony. They were performing Rapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. You may or may not be familiar with it, but United Airlines has used it for several decades as their theme song, so you would probably recognize it. It starts with a free-flowing jazzy clarinet solo, which is really its main melody. Then after various instrumental and piano versions of it, the full orchestra adds another melody, a more rhythmic melody – it’s been called the train theme because it keeps a consistent tempo. Then there’s also the romantic theme, which is different from the other two. It has a more of a moving lyrical feel that draws you in.

The beauty of Rapsody in Blue is how the musical themes overlap and come up in different ways with different instruments including piano and strings and brass.

In many ways, the Gospel of John is similar. Different themes come up and overlap as Jesus’ life and ministry is revealed. One of those is the basic narrative of what is happening. It centers around Jesus’ interactions with his disciples and his teaching and miracles and what was happening in Jerusalem. Throughout the book, Jesus instructs his disciples, confronts the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, and ministers to sinners and suffers.

Another layer includes the deep theological truths about God and salvation. For example, we learn about Jesus’ identity, and about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus and God the Father will send, and we learn about being grafted into Christ – how he abides in us and us in him.

And then finally there’s a third layer – a third musical theme. It focuses on how to follow Jesus. We are given positive and negative examples – examples of believing and following Jesus and examples of rejecting him and not following him. Last week, John the Baptist modelled humility and what it means to direct others to Christ.

Well, our text this morning has the full display of how these themes interact and overlap, you know, kind of like an orchestra…. So, what I want to do this morning is make three passes through the verses.

First, we’ll begin with the narrative – what was actually happening as Jesus called his disciples. By the way, it is through the story that God teaches us about who Jesus is and what it means to follow him. So, we ‘ll consider that first.

Second, we’ll consider how this text furthers our understanding of Jesus’ identity and purpose – that theme is all throughout.

And then the third pass will be the practical. We are each called to bring others to follow him.

So, three points.

#1 - The observational: Come and See

#2 - The theological: Find and Believe

#3 – The practical: Bring and Follow

1. Come and See (the observational)

So, #1 – the observational. The first thing to observe is how quickly these events have been happening. Remember from verses 19-28 that a delegation had been sent from Jerusalem. They asked John the Baptist about his identity and why he was baptizing. Now look at verse 29. It begins, “the next day.” The very next day, John saw Jesus and testified to who he is as the Lamb of God… on whom the Spirit of God had descended.

Now look at verse 35. Same thing. “The next day.” And jump down to verse 43. Again, “the next day.” All this activity was happening pretty quickly and in different locations near and around the Sea of Galilee. Furthermore, as we sensed from the reading, there are exciting things happening.

In verse 36, John the Baptist reiterates that Jesus is the Lamb of God. And then the handoff. Two of John’s disciples begin to follow Jesus. They immediately recognized him. And they call him Rabbi, you know, Teacher.

We’re told that one of John the Baptist’s disciples was Andrew, who is Peter’s brother. It’s very interesting that we’re not told the other disciple’s name. All the others in this chapter are named.

I believe the unnamed disciples is very likely the apostle John. I mentioned a few weeks ago that the apostle never names himself. That was a common practice for narrative writing at the time. In fact, in the book of Acts, written by Luke, he similarly never names himself. Except, we are given glimpses of his involvement. A couple of passages in Acts use the first-person plural pronouns “us” and “we.” Luke was there.

In these verses in John 1, it makes sense that this unnamed new disciples is John, himself. I already mentioned him not being named as a clue. But let me give you two more reasons.

·      First, the events from verse 19 to the end of the chapter are unique to this Gospel account – they are not referenced in the other three. John was likely an eyewitness.

·      Second, we’re given a lot of detail about John the Baptist – and it’s not just here in chapter 1, but also in chapter 3 and 4 and 5. Remember, this unnamed disciple had originally been a disciple of John the Baptist. If this is the apostle John, it would make sense why he knew so much about John the Baptist’s ministry.

Now, we don’t know for sure, but it certainly fits the situation.

Well, after Jesus' brief dialog with them, he invites Andrew and this other disciple to come with him and stay. Verse 29 mentions it’s about the 10th hour – that means it was about 4pm.

And the very first thing that Andrew did was to find his brother Simon Peter. And he tells Peter, “We have found the Messiah.” I mean, can you imagine the excitement. These guys were likely in their mid to late 20s. They had studied about the Messiah since they were boys. John the Baptist had directed them to Jesus, and now they met him in person.

At the very outset they recognized Jesus as the Christ. It’s then that Jesus gives Simon his new name – Peter which means rock in Greek. Or Cephas in Aramaic. By the way, many of John’s readers would have likely known of Peter – he was prominent at the time. He was one of Jesus inner three disciples and therefore has an important role throughout the Gospel of John – so this is like an introduction.

Well, we come to the next day, and Jesus has travelled north to Bethsaida. He then found Philip and called him to follow. Did you notice that Philip didn’t even question it. No, instead, he went and he found Nathaniel. And with an excitement similar to Andrew, Philip told Nathaniel, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth…”

And Nathaniel said, “can anything good come out of Mississippi?” Just kidding about Mississippi. Amy’s family is from Mississippi, and it’s a great place. But you know, for some reason, Mississippi tends to be the butt of jokes.

Nazareth was a small, poor town. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had moved there after fleeing to Egypt for a time. Nazareth was therefore where Jesus grew up. It wasn’t in Judea. It didn’t have the sophistication of a larger metropolitan area. So, Nathaniel was skeptical. Philip responded, “come and see.”

Nathaniel had never met Jesus, but when Nathaniel approached him, Jesus noted that Nathaniel was an upstanding Israelite. Which, of course, took Nathaniel off guard. And so he asked, “how do you know me?” And Jesus said, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

We don’t know why Jesus seeing him under the fig tree was so significant, but whatever it was, Nathaniel’s initial skepticism turned into belief. And he’s exclaimed, “Rabbi… Son of God… King of Israel.” Jesus then said to him, you believe because I said I saw you? … well, you will see greater things than these.

We’ll come back to the angels descending and ascending in a few minutes.

But let me note two important things. #1 Yes, God used his disciples to bring other disciples to him, but it was all under his sovereign purview and plan. Did you notice that before Philip even got to Nathaniel, Jesus had already seen Nathaniel? All of this was orchestrated by Jesus before any of it had come to pass.

#2 - The other thing is that the disciples’ immediate response was to recognize Jesus and follow him. They didn’t yet fully understand Jesus’ identity nor what it meant for him to be the Messiah. That would come over time… and wouldn’t really come to a full realization until after his resurrection. But at the outset, Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathniel, and likely the apostle John were drawn to Jesus through the testimony, excitement, and invitation to come and see him… and when they did, they recognized him as the Messiah.

2. Find and Believe (the theological)

Which brings us to the second layer. #2. The theological melody which has been playing this whole chapter. I’m calling this point “Find and Believe” because we’re given an unfolding revelation of who Jesus is as the Word of God and the promised Messiah.

Really, this melody will run throughout the whole book. But in this first chapter, John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has given us different categories of Jesus’ nature and purpose. He’s given us the wholistic picture of Christ, which he will then work out in the rest of the book.

Have you ever watched an old Bob Ross video? You know, the painter. He begins by telling his audience what he’s going to paint. Then he takes his brush and his palette. He starts painting different colors on the canvas. At first, you can’t really see where it’s all going. But then the scene starts to emerge. Pine trees and lakes and mountains.

It’s like that here.

John has been telling us who Jesus is… and he’ll be filling in those details throughout the book. We’ve learned already that he is God. He is the one, through whom God create all things. He is the light which shines in the darkness of evil and sin. He furthermore is the Lamb of God. As we considered last week, his very purpose in coming, in dwelling among us, is to take away sin. That sin is the rebellion in our hearts which works its way out in our words and actions… and inactions which has separated us from God. Jesus is the one through whom God is redeeming and restoring people to himself.

As we get to our verses this morning, Jesus’ identity is further elaborated.

And did you notice that there’s a progression here? As Jesus new disciples acknowledge him, each acknowledgement is a deeper revelation of Jesus’ identity.

John the Baptist first reiterates that he is the Lamb of God. A little bit later, Andrew and the unnamed disciple call Jesus Rabbi. John mentions it’s meaning as teacher, but in the word Rabbi, there is also an implied submission to his authority. They were submitting to him.

A couple verses later, Andrew identified Jesus as the Messiah, which means, the Christ. This is actually the first time in the chapter that Jesus is explicitly called the Messiah, the Christ. He’s the anointed one whom God had promised through the prophets of old.

Philip then elaborates on that. Verse 45. Jesus not only is the one of whom the prophets spoke, but he’s also the one to whom Moses and the Law testify. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law’s call to holiness and its revelation of God’s character.

Do you see the expanding recognition of who Jesus is?

A few verses later in 49 – Nathaniel gives us more. Like before, he calls Jesus “Rabbi,” but then explicitly names him as the “Son of God” and “King of Israel.” He’s the promised eternal King – God the Son who has come in the flesh.

And then look at the end of verse 51. This is the climax of Jesus identification. Jesus calls himself the “Son of Man.” To you that may or may not carry much significance. But John’s original Jewish audience would have known its direct reference to Daniel 7. In that chapter, the Son of Man is revealed with all dominion and authority, and power – that chapter prophesies that all the peoples and nations and languages will serve him and his kingdom will have no end. Jesus was saying to them, I am that one.

Also, Jesus said to Nathaniel that he will see see greater things than have already been revealed. He will even see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, as Jesus says in Verse 51. That’s an allusion to Jacob’s ladder. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, was given a vision of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending.

Jacob’s vision is being fulfilled in Jesus. He is the mediator between heaven and earth. He is the ladder through whom God communicates with mankind, and through whom the gates of heaven are open for his people.

There are great things that we cannot yet see, you and I. But one day we will see them and rejoice.

Do you see the great revelation we’re given of Jesus. It is no wonder they believed and followed him.

AND, it’s no wonder that they brought the others to come and see him.

3. Bring and Follow (the practical)

Speaking of bringing, this brings us to point #3 about bringing others to Jesus. This is the practical layer.

If this is who Jesus is in all his glory and divinity and dominion and ministry, we should bring others to him with the same passion and excitement that Andrew and Philip had.

It’s kind of overwhelming all the verbs here. Come and see three times. Follow four times. Found four times. “you will see” twice. There’s also hear and brought and believe. We didn’t talk about this word, but the word stayed is used twice. It’s the same Greek word as the word abide. Later Jesus will call us to abide in him for he abides in us.

What I am saying is that while yes, this passage tells us about Jesus sovereignly gathering his people and yes, it tells us about who Jesus is, we cannot overlook the abundant emphasis on seeking others and bringing them to him.

In fact, this is the ordinary way through which God calls his people. I bet that if we surveyed every single one of you here, we would find that at some point in your life, someone introduced you to Jesus. Probably for at least half of you, your parents discipled you and shared their hope in Christ… and then their faith became your faith. For others, maybe you were invited to church… or maybe a friend or a family member shared the Gospel with you and then invited you. I suspect that only a small number of you either (1) stumbled across something that you read or heard through which God revealed himself, or (2) you were in a crisis and sought out life’s meaning and truth and you found Jesus. Certainly, God uses those means but the usual way through which God works is for his people to bring others to come and see him. Maybe you are here today because someone invited you to “come and see” him.

You know, sometimes we are shy about sharing the hope of Christ with others. I’m talking now about conveying the Gospel. There are many reasons why we can be afraid to do that. One reason is what we would say if friend or co-worker or neighbor or family member responds with skepticism.

Well, consider again Philip and Nathaniel’s interaction. After Nathaniel dismissed Philip by saying, “can anything good come out of Nazareth?” What did Philip say? Did he say, “you know, in the past, there have been important people who came from small towns.” Or “let me give you 5 reasons that Jesus is the one of whom the prophets spoke” No, Philip didn’t say that. He said, “Come and see.” See for yourself! Philip then brought him to Jesus.

Maybe you say, I know you are skeptical, but why don’t you come to one of our home groups? Or here’s a Bible. Can I suggest you read the Gospel of John? Or invite them to church. Tell them you’ll find our church family friendly and welcoming.

Over the last 20-30 years there have been several studies about the reasons people will visit a church for the first time. There’s one reason that far surpasses all the other reasons. This one reason is always at the top. It’s not even close. The most common reason that people will visit church for the first time is because… someone they know invites them. Some of you are here because of that very reason.

In fact, Lifeway Research did a survey a few years ago of people who are not Christians. They found that 96% of them would be somewhat likely or very likely to visit a church… if they were personally invited. That’s a tremendously encouraging number.

If each one of us invited a friend or neighbor… and if only a quarter or half of them came, it would be tremendous. They’d hear and see Jesus. Now, we’d have to find more chairs and we’d have to accelerate our property search… but we would be fulfilling this call. Who can you bring to come and see?

That is the practical message being conveyed… we’re to bring people to come and see Jesus… so that they may also find and follow him.

Beloved, There’s none greater. There is no one more worthy to call Rabbi. No one else is the Lamb of God. No one else can atone for sin and restore man back to God. Why? Because Jesus is God. He’s the very Word of God, the Author of life, who became flesh. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel – king over all his people and over all of his creation. He’s the great Teacher, the one to whom all the prophets and Moses have testified would come.. and he has come. He’s the infinite ladder that has bridged the chasm between heaven and earth, between God and man. As he saw Nathaniel, so he sees you and me.

He bids each of us to follow him, and he bids each of us to find others to come and see.

May we each see Jesus for who he is. If we haven’t already, may we follow him by faith. And may we each bring others to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Amen