Discuss: How did you come to know Jesus as the Christ? Did someone introduce you to Jesus? Who was it? How did it happen?
Think of your friends and relatives who have come to know Jesus Christ. Can you trace the human messengers, evangelists, and helpers who had a significant role in bringing them to Jesus?
1. How did Andrew find out about Jesus? (v. 40)
2. How did Simon find out about Jesus? (v. 41)
3. What is the significance of Jesus changing Simon’s name? (v. 42)
4. How did Phillip find out about Jesus? (v. 43)
5. How did Nathaniel find out about Jesus? (vv. 44-46)
6. How does each of these men make their assessment of Jesus?
7. What is the assessment that these men come to about Jesus?
8. What does Jesus promise that Nathaniel will see? (v. 51)
9. What is the significance of what Nathaniel will see? (Gen 28:12; Dan 7:13-14)
Do you investigate family trees? Are you the family genealogist? I am told that ancestory.com is pretty addictive. People really get into researching their family trees.
Do you know your Christian family tree? What do I mean by this? I mean, can you tell me who told you about Jesus? Who led you to Jesus Christ? Christians have two sorts of genealogies. They were born, so they have biological genealogies. They have fathers and mothers in the flesh whose DNA they receive. But Christians are also born again. They also have Christian genealogies. They have fathers and mothers in the faith, whose faith they imitate.
But here is the other thing: very often, a person’s biological family tree and their Christian family tree overlap. It is not the case with me, at least, not fully[1]. But it is most often the case in churches. Usually, those who lead us to faith are our families and friends. Think about your own situation. Who introduced you to Christian faith? Who brought you to Jesus?
Timothy was taught the faith by his mother Lois and grandmother Eunice. The baptism of households in Acts tells us the same thing. It wasn’t just the Philippian jailer who came to believe: it was his whole household. It wasn’t just Lydia that came to faith, but her household.
Like a surging flash flood, God’s powerful gospel flows with speed and strength along the well worn channels carved by the natural ties of love and affection. Yes, there are Damascus Road experiences, crisis experiences that suddenly and spectacularly bring some to faith. But they are the exception, not the rule. The usual way people become Christians is through the consistent witness and prayers of family and friends.
Think of family. Our deepest desire for our families is that faith in Christ as Lord and Saviour will take root and grow in them. And we work and pray to that end. Think of friends. We want the friendship of our friends forever, not just for now: in the new heaven and earth, and not just on this earth.
In his book, The Rise of Christianity, sociologist Rodney Stark answers the question ‘How the Obscure Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World?’ How did Christianity go from 120 believers in AD 30 to 33 million members by 350? In 300 years, Christianity took over the Roman Empire. The question is, Why? The answer is, Family and friends. There were other reasons, but the primary reason Christianity flourished was because of family and friends. The gospel spread along social networks. Let me give you some quotes.
Above all we should give weight to the presence and influence of friends. It is a force which so often escapes the record, but it gives shape to everyone’s personal life. One friend might bring another to the faith […] [2]
Again:
Ties of family, marriages, and loyalties to heads of households had been the most effective means of recruiting members of the church […] [3]
Family and friend relationships are the natural networks along which God’s powerful gospel flows. Through families and friends, Jesus changes the world.
In our previous passage, we allowed John the Baptist to become our friend and teacher. John the Baptist gave his three-fold testimony. First, Jesus is the pre-existent Son of God. Second, Jesus is the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Third, Jesus is the Spirit-filled Spirit baptizer.
And one who learns from John the Baptist must leave John the Baptist. We saw that with the two followers of John the Baptist. Andrew, and probably John the Evangelist, forsook John the Baptist to follow Jesus.
But leaving John the Baptist is not enough. Christ can’t be the best-kept secret. He’s not your PIN number, or mum's hidden stash of bikkies and chocolate, or a special fishing spot or parking spot. "Keep it secret, keep it safe." No, good news must be shared. Andrew finds his family. He brings his brother. Phillip finds his friend. And both say, ‘Come and see’. We’ve found the Messiah, the Son of God, the king of Israel!
First, Andrew finds his family and brings his brother. Verses 40 to 42:
1:40Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 1:41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated ‘Christ’). 1:42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called ‘Cephas’” (which is translated ‘Peter’).
In 'Monsters Inc', Mike Wizowski says to James P Sullivan about the ‘toxic’ human child that has entered their world, "Once you name it, you start getting attached to it. Now put that thing back where it came from or so help me!" Jesus names and claims Simon. Jesus renames Simon as Peter, more literally, ‘Rocky’. For that is what Peter and Cephas mean: rock, or stone. And Jesus says to Peter, "you’re mine, you now belong to me".
Notice that all Andrew does is bring Simon Peter to the Messiah. And Jesus does the rest. And that’s the same with us. Our job is to bring the message of Jesus to our loved ones. (And of course, live consistently with it.) And Jesus does the rest. It is not our job to remake and rename people. That is Jesus’ job. It is Jesus’ job to name and claim our loved ones, in his way and in his time.
Simon Peter now has a relationship with Jesus Christ. And as a result, Simon Peter’s relationship with Andrew is changed. It is still a brotherly relationship, but it’s placed on a different plane. Now, Simon Peter was Andrew’s brother both ways. First, they were brothers in the flesh: Simon, son of my mother. Second, they were brother in the faith: Peter, son with me of Our Father in Heaven. Jesus transforms every relationship, because every relationship involves three: you, me, and the Lord Jesus. Every relationship for the Christian is a love triangle. And Jesus is king over each of our relationships
Do you have a Christian sibling, a Christian brother or sister? You are wonderfully blessed. God has placed that natural relationship on a higher plane. You know the joy of a natural relationship placed on a supernatural plan.
Do you have a sibling not yet a Christian? Don’t give up. Keep praying. Have a respectful answers ready. Jesus has put you where you are for this reason. To show your siblings the difference Jesus makes.
Andrew finds his family and brings his brother. But Philip phones a friend. Philip finds his friend under a fig tree. But Philip’s friend Nathanael has a prejudice against Nazareth. That backwater! Nothing good can come from there. Who knows, maybe Nazareth kids bullied Nathanael at school. Maybe Nazareth and Cana [for Nathanael was from Cana: John 21:2] were fierce NRL rivals.
I’m sure you know people with those sorts of prejudices. Warragamba! Can anything good come from there! Dunheved, Shalvey, Macquarie Fields: nothing good can come from there.
Nathanael’s prejudices might have put Philip off. "Oh well, Nathanael won’t be interested." But naming and claiming is Jesus’ job, not mine or yours. So Philip gives the best possible response. Three simple words. The end of verse 46, “Come and see”. It’s Jesus’ job to impress. And it’s Philip’s job to invite to Jesus. Confidence in Christ means we say, “come and see”. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
And how do we say, “come and see”? We say “take and read”. The way we say “come and see” is “take and read”. Come to church, because we take and read. And when we talk and read, we come and see. Read the Bible with me. If the bible is too big and scary, we’ll help you.
Of course, there are some who come and see. They take and read. And they don’t like what they see in Jesus? They walk away. Why? Because they don’t want king Jesus over them. You see, no one is neutral about Jesus. After all, Jesus is “Messiah, Son of God, King of Israel”. No one can sit as a judge and say, “I am without prejudice, impartial and unbiased about Jesus. I can sit as a disinterested judge over Him.” No one on earth can say that.
Atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel is quite candid when he says:
It isn’t that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God: I don’t want the universe to be like that. [4]
A Christian wants God and Jesus to be exactly what the Bible says. And an atheist wants God and Jesus not to exist. On that Q&A program, Richard Dawkins said that if a 900 foot high Jesus with a voice like Paul Robeson suddenly strode in and said “I exist. Here I am”, Dawkins wouldn’t believe it. Dawkins would prefer to believe he was hallucinating. But he wouldn’t believe that Jesus was real and existed.[5] Damascus Road would never suffice for Dawkins. No evidence would suffice. And indeed, Dawkins and Jesus agree at this point. Jesus said, “if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, that is, the Old Testament, they will not listen even if someone rises from the dead”. Dawkins doesn’t listen to Scripture, so he wouldn’t listen even if the risen Christ appeared to him. We have enough information to make the right decision about Jesus. We have the Bible. Take and read. And by taking and reading you “come and see”. And so do our family and friends.
Nathanael comes and sees, and Jesus does the rest. Jesus shows he has knowledge no mere man can have. And Nathanael is convinced. Something good has come from Nazareth. Verse 49 to 51:
1:49Nathaniel answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel”. 1:50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you underneath the fig tree, you believe? You will see greater things than these. 1:51And he said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man”.
Jesus gives the promise of greater evidence to come. To him who has, much more will be given. Nathanael sees rightly who Jesus is. He will see greater things. He will see that Jesus is the stairway to heaven. Jesus’ words in verse 51 pick up the story of Jacob in Genesis 28.
He [Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12 NIV)
Jesus takes that story and says, "Do you know who that 'stairway to heaven' is? That’s me." The Son of Man is a name for the divine-human Messiah who will judge the world and be worshipped by all people (Dan 7:13-14). Jesus used it to refer to himself. So Christ Jesus says that he is the stairway to heaven. He is the way his disciples will get to heaven.
And how does John’s Gospel show that Jesus is the stairway to heaven? By telling the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. By faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, the one who takes and reads John’s Gospel and believes in the Son has eternal life.
So what should we then do? Come and see Jesus. You do that by taking and reading John’s Gospel. Find your family, phone a friend, bring your brother. Tell them about the Christ we find in John’s Gospel. We’ve got them here. Give them a copy. Read it with them. Bring them to church. And beg Jesus the Son of God to name and claim them.
Let’s pray.
[1] I did receive good things from my Roman Catholic upbringing: a belief in God the Trinity, the practise of praying (though unfortunately with 'Ave Marias' thrown in), knowledge that Jesus had the truth, an awareness of sin (though often misguided and with little or no knowledge how to deal with it biblically), knowledge of the historical facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and an understanding of Christian morality.
[2] Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 1996), 20, quoting Robin Lane Fox.
[3] Stark, op cit, 20, quoting Peter Brown.
[4] Quoted in Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Scepticism (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008), 119
[5] ABC, Q&A, Monday 9 April 2012. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3469101.htm. In this, Dawkins follows the extreme skepticism of David Hume.
NA28
1:40Ἦν Ἀνδρέας ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σίμωνος Πέτρου εἷς ἐκ τῶν δύο τῶν ἀκουσάντων παρὰἸωάννου καὶ ἀκολουθησάντων αὐτῷ· 1:41εὑρίσκει οὗτος πρῶτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἴδιον Σίμωνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· εὑρήκαμεν τὸν Μεσσίαν, ὅἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον χριστός. 1:42ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου, σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος.
1:43Τῇ ἐπαύριον ἠθέλησεν ἐξελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ εὑρίσκει Φίλιππον. καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἀκολούθει μοι. 1:44ἦν δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος ἀπὸ Βηθσαϊδά, ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Ἀνδρέου καὶ Πέτρου. 1:45εὑρίσκει Φίλιππος τὸν Ναθαναὴλ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· ὃν ἔγραψεν Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ καὶ οἱ προφῆται εὑρήκαμεν, Ἰησοῦν υἱὸν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέτ. 1:46καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ· ἐκ Ναζαρὲτ δύναταί τι ἀγαθὸν εἶναι; λέγει αὐτῷ [ὁ] Φίλιππος· ἔρχου καὶἴδε.
1:47Εἶδεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Ναθαναὴλ ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ· ἴδε ἀληθῶς Ἰσραηλίτης ἐν ᾧ δόλος οὐκ ἔστιν. 1:48λέγει αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ· πόθεν με γινώσκεις; ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· πρὸ τοῦ σε Φίλιππον φωνῆσαι ὄντα ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν εἶδόν σε. 1:49ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Ναθαναήλ· ῥαββί, σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, σὺ βασιλεὺς εἶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. 1:50ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὅτι εἶπόν σοι ὅτι εἶδόν σε ὑποκάτω τῆς συκῆς, πιστεύεις; μείζω τούτων ὄψῃ. 1:51καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὄψεσθε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεῳγότα καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναβαίνοντας καὶ καταβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
My Translation
1:40Andrew the brother of Simon Peter was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 1:41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated ‘Christ’). 1:42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called ‘Cephas’ (which is translated ‘Peter’).
1:43The next day he wanted to go out into Galilee and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow me”. 1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, from the town of Andrew and Peter. 1:45Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, “We have found he whom Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets [also wrote about]: Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth. 1:46And Nathaniel said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see!”
1:47Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him and said to him, “Look, here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 1:48And Nathaniel said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you while you were under the fig tree, I saw you”. 1:49Nathaniel answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel”. 1:50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you underneath the fig tree, you believe? You will see greater things than these. 1:51And he said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man [Allusion to Gen 28:12; Dan 7:13-14]
In verse 47, Jesus comments about Nathaniel, “Look, here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” The word is δόλος, ‘deceit, treachery’. Israel has shown itself full of guile: consider Jacob, for example.
In verse 48 (cf. v 50), the reference to the ‘fig tree’ is an image of the Messianic times with rich biblical precedents. One way of expressing Israel’s continual pursuit of contentment was each person sitting under his own vine and fig tree. The Deuteronomic promise was that Israel in the promised land would eat and be satisfied (Deut 8:10-16), but that this would bring with it the temptation of forgetting Yahweh. It was only during the reign of King Solomon that Israel seemed to reach a measure of contentment where “Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon” (1 Kgs 4:25-26). But such idyllic life was short lived in the historic united monarchy. Because of national disobedience, God didn’t bless the land. So they might have fig tree and vine, but as Habakkuk says, “Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food[…] Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-19). By the time of King Hezekiah, the good land God promised Israel was a ruin such that an opposing pagan king offered peace with the promise, “Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree” (2 Kgs 18:31). Yahweh your God hasn’t given you rest, so the Assyrian King offers to provide vine and fig tree. God’s people in exile didn’t find contentment, and eventually when they returned to Jerusalem and the land God promised them, there was still no rest. But God promised them a time in the future when, “I am bringing forth my servant the branch […] and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day”, says the LORD of hosts, “Everyone will invite his neighbour under his vine and under his fig tree” (Zech 3:8-10). Thus, the vine and fig tree begins to have Messianic connotations.
In verse 50, the background to the images of the angels ascending and descending the Son of Man is Jacobs vision of the stairway to heaven ‘resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it’ (Gen 28:12). Carson argues that on it may be ‘on him’ in Hebrew. Jesus is paralleled with Jacob on whom the angels ascended and descended (1991: 163-4). There is a new bridge between heaven and earth. Heaven comes down in the person of the Son of Man, and so Nathanael will see that Jesus is more than the king of Israel but also the Son of Man (Dan 7:13-14).