MILK John 1.end
July 21st 2013
Welcome welcome.
And thank you for taking the time to come and rejoice in the Lord, pray, and consider His word.
Let’s pray.
Scripture says (in Hebrews 4:12)
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Yet another reason we’ve put it to music – to cause us reflection, and to divide and pierce our soul from our spirit, and to help us discern where we are in our lives relative to Him.
So let’s take some time in His Word put to song, some time in silent prayer, and then when we come back, we will pick our study back up of John at verse 35 . . . and I think we’ll wrap the chapter up today!
CORPORATE REFLECTION
CORPORATE PRAYER
So, from last week we realize that Jesus submitted to John the Baptists baptism for a number of reasons and John the Beloved now takes us directly out of John the Baptists ministry and brings us directly into the Lords – where we will remain until the end of His Gospel.
So let’s begin at verse 35 and read through to the end. Ready?
John 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
Back to verse 35
35 Again the next day after (there should be a comma here after the word after – repeat)
“And the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples;
So the day after John the Baptist bore witness that Jesus was the Lamb of God he is standing there with two of his disciples.
Two men who were drawn out to the desert by the preparatory work of the Baptist.
Now we know one of them was Andrew (verse forty tells us this) who would become one of Jesus apostles (as we will see) and it is possible the other one with him was John the Beloved, the author of this gospel.
Maybe not, but we are about to read how Jesus called several of His twelve and since John the Beloved would never mention himself in his narratives by name it is possible he was there with Andrew.
And so as they are standing there talking or whatever, Jesus comes into view of the Baptist.
Verse 36
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
Just like we have a number of words to describe seeing –
Glance, see, stare, glare, look, view, ogle, there are a few words in the Greek for looked to which mean different things – eido, emblepo, anablepo, blepo, prosdokaho . . . etc.
Prior to Jesus passion, he warned Peter that he was going to betray Him. While Jesus was being beaten, and Peter denied Him the third time, and the cock crowed, the scripture says Jesus emblepo’d him – fixed his eyes, bloody and swollen, upon Peter – which caused Peter to run out of the hall of Judgment in shame.
We’ll this is how John the Baptist was looking upon Jesus as He walked toward him and the two men with him – with his eyes and attention completely fixed upon Him and Him alone.
Scripture doesn’t always give us insight into how things were said – the volume or emphasis of words – but taking the intensity of the word emplepo I would suggest that John, while staring hard upon the King, made the pronouncement in low, reserved tones:
“Behold, the Lamb of God.”
Isn’t this the duty of all men and women in every Christian ministry – to keep our eyes fixed on the King and point Him out and confess Him at every opportunity and teaching?
Bring all people humanly possible to Him?
I love this about the Baptist. He had two disciples that were following him are standing there with him and He did what all people ought to constantly do – redirect all attention and focus onto the King alone.
His will, His person, His ways, His teachings – and to refuse to try and keep people for ourselves and our own objectives.
Love the heart of the Baptist. What was the result? (verse 37)
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
What a picture of conversion, huh?
They were influenced and certainly guided by centuries of tradition and law. They were brought closer to the truth by the work and ministry of John the Baptist, but when they got a witness of the Messiah firsthand – a view – they followed Him . . . and Him alone.
Not mother or father.
Not husband or wife.
Not family or community.
Not employer or neighbor.
And certainly not the one who lead you to seeing or recognizing Him.
Certainly no philosophy, or church, or tradition.
Him.
(beat)
If two people are walking in different directions, if five people are doing the same, it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow more than one.
When it becomes clear that one of those people is Jesus, follow Him and Him alone. And never another.
How do you know you are following Him? His word. It is a manual that describes Him and His ways.
Hear something different – follow Him.
There are a lot of people – in and out of the church, in and out of Christian leadership – who will attempt (in His name) to get people to follow their own interests or agendas.
But we Follow Him.
The world will supply a thousand alternative “leaders” –
Family
Church
Drugs
Hobbies
Sports
Business
Self-help gurus
Miracle works
Mammon
Pastors
Sin
Self
Security . . .?
Follow Him.
In my opinion, there are two factors that make this advice tougher and tougher as time passes for the Christian.
First, we all start getting older in this physical frame. Things start breaking down. Money starts running out. Friends become scarce. Fear and uncertainty can loom.
And secondly, the pruning of the Lord gets more and more intense with Christian maturity. Leaving the warmth of being babes in Christ, mature Christians face pruning that can be quite taxing and will stretch our faith out so thin we sometimes wonder just where God is?
To those who have been long in the faith, the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 12 beginning at verse five:
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
I think that more often than not Christians do realize that Following Him is, in a way, quite beguiling.
I suppose it is set up this way as a means for God to get otherwise selfish and fearful human beings to receive Him.
It’s kind of like sexual activity – the attraction and desires can be super alluring, and God uses it to bring forth children, who come into their world through extreme pain and often remain pains their entire lives.
So it is with Christianity. So it was with these men who are going to leave John the Baptist’s side and become Jesus part of Jesus chosen 12.
Little did they know what awaited them – if they fixed their eyes upon Him and did not look to the right or to the left.
I liken becoming Christian (in most cases and if it the Christian walk is done right) to a person standing out in a dry deserted place – like Patagonia, where the wind is cold and bitter.
Receiving Christ is like stepping from Patagonia and into a lush green field with grasses and plants so high you can’t see what lies ahead.
And we walk forward as babes through the lush garden of Christian infancy, only to at some point in time come out into a clearing and to be standing at the base of our mature Christian walk –Mount Everest – the tallest mountain in the world.
This is our first crisis of faith – it is that my moment when maybe we don’t like He is with us, or we get insulted by another Christian, or maybe we discover that our pastor is human.
Will we follow Him?
And we do. And we start up the gentle rolling slopes at the base of Everest. And we might think, I can handle this.
But you come to your first major obstacle – a deep crevasse. Do you follow Him, or turn back.
Following His, you find yourself delivered. And you grow in faith and trust in His ability to deliver you.
But Everest does NOT get easier the higher you climb, it gets tougher and tougher.
Steep inclines
Super steep inclines.
Snow.
Deeper snow.
Wind.
Fierce wind.
Little oxygen.
Less oxygen.
Of course this is all physical imagery to illustrate spiritual warfare and Christian struggles that increase with time and our determination to follow the King at all costs.
(verse 38)
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
We know from the Greek and other passages in Matthew that this was an inviting approach Jesus used with them.
In this day and age we might read this as Jesus turning and saying to them:
“Whata you want?”
But it was more a friendly greeting.
Andrew and/or (whomever was with him) referred to Jesus as Rabbi.
This was a Jewish title conferred upon a man the way we would confer degrees on learned and educated people today.
It literally means “a great one,” and was applied to a teacher or master in the Jewish schools. We might liken it to the title doctor. It was certainly an appropriate title for the Lord, but not for any Christian.
Speaking of the Pharisses, Jesus said in Matthew 23:4
4 . . . they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, “Rabbi, Rabbi.” (READY)
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Be cautious of titles . . . they have an innate ability to puff us up, distinguish us from and often above others. Jesus knew this which is why He told the twelve to shun the title and added, “but you are all brethren.”
Now, again, in American culture, what is said next sounds funny or presumptuous.
Jesus asks them what they would like and they say, “Rabbi, where do you live?”
What they asked was, “Where do you dwell,” but what they meant by this was, “You are out here amidst men and we would really like to learn from you – to truly hear all you have to say as the Messiah , you know, in an intimate setting. Is there a time we could come to you and do this very thing? (verse 39)
39 He saith unto them, “Come and see.”
And the ministry of Jesus among men has been launched.
In answering the direct question, “where do you live,” Jesus said, “come and see,” but what he was also saying to them in this response was, “I am willing now to begin to make you my disciples.”
And they came and saw where he dwelt
(can you imagine what Jesus home was like at the time)? Strange thought huh? I mean, what kind of décor did He chose?
What kind of furniture, paintings, art did He use (if any)?
Was He fastidious in keeping house or was He a little sloppy as men (especially bachelors) tend to be?
Fascinating stuff. Unfortunately, this was probably not Jesus home as He was from other parts – a Nazarene, remember?
Anyway these two “abode with him,” either at a place that was His or in the home of a friend or relative, and they stayed with Him until “the tenth hour.
Remember, the Jews divided their day into twelve equal parts, beginning at sun-rise.
If John used their mode of computation, this was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
The Romans divided time as we do, beginning at midnight. If John used their mode, it was about ten o’clock in the morning.
It is not certain which he used.
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
We don’t know that much about the Apostle named Andrew.
His is a Greek name that means “manliness.”
He was of Bethsaida in Galilee and of course the brother of Simon Peter.
He was a good brother because one of the first things he did was contact Simon Peter and tell him they have found the Messiah.
Now, according to Matthew’s accounts it appears that Andrew and Peter continued to work as fishermen and did not become His full time apostles until after John the Baptist was imprisoned – even though the narrative here makes it seem like the whole thing was immediate.
While very little is said about Andrew one thing we know is he loved introducing people to the Lord, including Peter; a lad with the loaves of bread; and some seeking Greeks.
I think these incidents give us a look into his character. (verse 41)
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, “We have found the Messias,” which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
It seems Andrew and friend were swayed by the witness of John the Baptist and after sitting with the Lord until the tenth hour became convinced of His identity.
So they came to Peter and said, “We have found the Messiah.”
They had learned from the testimony of John, and now had been more fully convinced from conversation with Jesus, that he was the Messiah.
It seems from the pronouncement they had been both looking for Him and talking about the search with each other.
The word Messiah, (or Messias) is Hebrew and it means the same as the Greek word for Messiah (which is Christ) “anointed” or the “anointed one.”
So what does Andrew do? (verse 42)
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Kephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
Now, Simon is renamed by the Lord using a Syriac word, Kay-fus) which is, by interpretation into the Greek, petras (or Peter) which means a piece of a stone – not a large boulder or rock.
The Lord was being quite prophetic here in renaming Simon as a stone or piece of rock is symbolic of strength, stability, and great character – something that would come in time to Simon Kayfus or Peter.
Prior to being converted Petras was headstrong, a blockhead as it were.
But over time and training by the Lord and Holy Spirit, Petras truly became resolute, immoveable, steadfast for the King.
It just might be that Jesus was speaking of Petras in both stages of his life, saying:
“While you now bear a name emblematic of being dull and thick-headed you will, in time, be known for being immeasurably brave, and strong and constant.”
43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, “Follow me.”
We have been in Judea where Jesus was baptized by John. He was now about to return to his native country.
While there we read that He “findeth Philip.”
All of these introductions – to Andrew, and Peter and Philip and as we will see, Nathaniel, does not refer to his calling theme to be His apostles – this took place (according to Matthew 4:18) at the Sea of Tiberias or Galilee.
What we are reading is these men being convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.
This seems to be the object of John’s narrative.
I used to think Jesus walked along the sea, saw these guys for the first time ever and said follow me . . . and they did right there and blindly.
John suggests otherwise – at least in the case of Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel, and possibly John the Beloved (if that is who the other guy was with Andrew at the start).
SO the Lord bids Philip to Follow Him.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (verse 45)
There are four Philips in the New Testament narrative. Philip the (soon to be apostle) is thought of being different from the Philip who met with the Ethiopian along the road and baptized him.
We don’t know all that much about this Philip – other than his name means lover of horses, he was involved in five or six things by name in his ministry with Jesus, and it is believed he preached in Phrygia, and was put to death at Hierapolis.
One of the first things Philip does is introduce Jesus to a man named Nathaniel (verse 45).
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
From these words I think we can assume that Philip (and these other men) were studiously seeking the promised one.
They were aware that Moses had written in the Law (Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18) and the prophets (Isaiah 53:1-12; 9:6,7; Daniel 9:24-27; Jeremiah 13:5,6; Micah, etc)
Had all written of the promised Messiah.
They called Him “Jesus of Nazareth,” as this is where he lived and they said he was the “Son of Joseph” because legally, this was true.
Now we come to Nathaniel.
Nathanael, whose name means “gift of God,” was from “Cana in Galilee.”
Now this name (Nathaniel) only occurs in the Gospel of John (but the name Bartholomew does not). And the name Bartholomew occurs in the synoptic gospels but nowhere in John so it is believed they are one in the same person.
Upon hearing that the Messiah came from Nazareth, he says something interesting (verse 46)
46 And Nathanael said unto him (Philip), Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Couple of things – obviously, Nazareth was not the best place to live or originate. Galilee the same.
Might be like the “South Central” of LA or the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Dead Sea area. Obviously places of low repute.
Now, remember:
Jesus was not born in Nazareth (but in Bethleham) and to be from Nazareth does not make a person a nazarite (this is a vow men would take) but instead a Nazarene.
Now, instead of trying to convince Nathaniel through reasoning or discussion Philip does something I think we can all learn from.
Nathaniel asks if anything good could possibly come out of Nazareth and Philip simply says:
Come and see.
I kind of like that – for a number of reasons.
He makes the introduction. A question is asked and the response is come and see for yourself.
No pressure. No sales presentation. “Hey, I have found the Messiah,” says Philip.
“Is there such a being?” Come and see.
“How do you know?” Come and se.
“Has it benefited you?” Come and see.
When a person has their own personal experience the onus on us to convince them or maintain them is lost.
It is really the only way for a person to be truly convinced . . . through their own personal witness. (so, verse 47)
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”
Either Jesus read this man’s soul, knew Him from by his reputation or possibly knew of him personally. We don’t know.
But He assigned some pretty amazing characteristics to the man, calling him-
An Israelite indeed and describing him as not having any guile.
I want the Lord to look on me someday and say,
“Shawn McCraney, a Christian in deed, in whom there is only love.”
To be called an Israelite indeed is like saying this man is not identified as a Jew by birth only but one who possesses the spirit and the integrity of a man who feared God and sought to obey his law.
The Lord adds that in him is no guile.
This does not mean no guilt. The best way to understand guile is to consider the word beguiling.
A beguiling person is a deceiver, a fraud, a person full of hypocrisy. As an “Israelite indeed” he was what he professed himself to be – a true descendant of the patriarch Jacob, fearing and serving God.
Unlike the Pharisees Nathanael makes no profession which he does not live up to. His religious presentations were true to his heart.
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
I love this interaction. Nathanael is questioning the Christ.
Jesus makes a declarative statement and Nathanael wants to know how He arrived at this assessment of His character.
We are seeing a example of sound spiritual inquiry here. Questioning is good. Seeking for information is respectable – here we have a man without guile taking these very steps of inquiry.
Now when Jesus says I saw you under the fig tree I think (could be wrong) but think that Jesus saw Nathanael doing something under the fig tree – maybe praying, maybe worshipping God, maybe involved in a discussion about a religious matter.
I think whatever he observed or discerned in Nathanael allowed Him his assessment of Nathanael’s character – and Nathanael realized that the Lord had just read his honest heart. Leading us to his response (verse 49)
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”
Jesus had searched Nathanael’s heart and Nathanael was sold.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
With wisdom that was beyond compare, Jesus, I’m sure knowing that a man without guile meant exactly what He said, knew that there were things to come that would more fully serve to convert the man.
The situation is kind of like getting an extreme compliment that someone delivers without having all the evidences before them.
Suppose you are a really devoted gardener and you create a thousand acres of glorious fauna and flora and surround the place with a high brick wall.
Outside the wall by an entrance is a single potted plant and someone walks up, looks at the planted plant and exclaims, “You are the greatest gardner in the world.”
You would probably say, you think so? Before we’re done your will have this opinion more than proven . . . and you open the door into the garden.
This is why I think Jesus says (verse 51)
51” Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
In the Greek, verily verily is “amen, amen,” and it best means, “truly, truly.”
“Truly, truly Nathanael,what you say is true. And let me tell you this, (and Jesus speaks in some methaphorical language here, saying)
“Hereafter, (as my apostle) you will see heaven open (in other words, God is going to do work from on high) and you will see “the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
I say this is figurative language because the only time in Jesus ministry where the phrase “the Heaven open,” was at His baptism, which has already taken place.
Additionally, it appears that Jesus, speaking to this devout Jew, appeals to the Old Testament story of Jacob where in a dream he saw angels ascending and descending upon it.
I would suggest that Jesus is telling Nathanael that when Jesus was baptized, and the heaven opened, that from that point forward angels began ascending and descending between heaven and earth, actively engaged in the work of Jesus.
Nathanael would personally see the effects of their labors in and through the short ministry of the Lord.
A finaly thought – we know from scripture that angels played a tremendous part in the live and ministry of Jesus.
They are represented as strengthening the Lord Jesus, and ministering unto him.
They aided him in the wilderness (Mark 1:13), and in the garden (Luke 22:43), and they were present when he rose from the dead, Matthew 28:2-4; John 20:12,13.
Since His overcoming sin and death, they continue to ascend and descend . . . for those who labor in His behalf.
Questions ? (about anything)
PRAYER
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