GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
AND FROM OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.
The text is from the Gospel Lesson, John 1:43-51, and I’ll quote it as I go.
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Let’s set the stage for today’s text. Today, we meet Philip and his friend
Nathaniel, two Jews from Galilee who would become two of Jesus’ apostles.
Earlier, we had encountered Jesus, baptized in the Jordan River 60 miles south in
Judea. And THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED, AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD
DESCENDED LIKE A DOVE, AND IT REMAINED ON HIM; and then that great
voice rang out from the Father Himself; ‘YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON; WITH
YOU I AM WELL PLEASED.’ After this miraculous display by the Holy Trinity at
His Baptism (and His subsequent temptation in the wilderness), Jesus traveled back
to Galilee, to call Philip, and Nathaniel. V.43b] HE FOUND PHILIP AND SAID
TO HIM, “FOLLOW ME.” Soon after, PHILIP went out and FOUND
NATHANAEL. I imagine Philip as excited as a schoolboy at the start of summer
vacation; calling out when HE FOUND NATHANIEL, V.45] "Hey, the Promised
One—THE ONE MOSES WROTE ABOUT - AND THE PROPHETS TOO—The
Messiah! WE'VE FOUND HIM: IT'S JESUS... FROM NAZARETH!"
But Nathaniel was like …from where? From Nazareth?!? You see, in Galilee,
the connotation of ‘a man from Nazareth’ was like saying, ‘a man from nowhere.’ It
would be like one of us saying, ‘WE'VE FOUND HIM: IT'S JESUS...
FROM…Athol,’ or ‘Jesus from Winchendon,’ or maybe even, ‘IT'S JESUS...
FROM…Westminster.’ You get the picture. Coming from Nazareth was nothing
special at all to the locals, except that it had to fulfill what the prophets of old had
said; that “HE (the Messiah) WOULD BE A NAZARENE.”
V.47] JESUS SAW NATHANAEL COMING TO HIM, AND SAID OF
HIM, “BEHOLD AN ISREALITE IN WHOM THERE IS NO (JACOB)… excuse
me, I mean, IN WHOM THERE IS NO DECEIT!” The Greek word for “deceit” in
this passage is “DOLOS” (δόλος) which comes to the Greek from the Hebrew word
Yakov, or Jacob (‫—)יעקב‬which in Hebrew also means, Deceiver. Think of the
twins, Esau and Jacob who were born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was born first,
right, then afterward his brother came out with his hand clasping Esau's heel,
so they named him, Jacob. Why? Because in Hebrew “Jacob” is a play on words,
which means, “He catches you by the heel,” which was a Hebrew colloquialism at
the time, meaning ‘he pulls your leg,’ or a he’s a deceiver.’
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But Jesus knows that Nathaniel isn’t a cheater —He says, "LOOK! AN
ISRAELITE IN WHOM THERE IS NO DECEIT. As in, “Well look here! An
Israelite who’s honest, straightforward, not a trickster, not a Jacob.” The kind of
guy, who if he heard the Messiah had come from Nazareth, would say something
honest, like, “CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF NAZARETH?" So when
NATHANAEL meets Jesus, he asks, “HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?"
Which is a heck of a thing to say to God, but Nathanael had a good excuse. He
didn't know what John the Baptist had said about Jesus, to prepare those who would
later hear Him…as we do. Nathaniel didn't know yet that Jesus got baptized down
south in Judea to wash away his sins, and ours…as we know.
Philip said, "COME AND SEE" and Nathanael followed him, and then heard
what might have seemed like a crafty compliment paid by a religious fanatic. It
might have seemed to him as if Christ said, "Nathaniel, I’ve seen you and I perceive
that you're an honest Israelite, not like Jacob.” And Nathaniel’s thinking ‘Who are
you?’ So he asks, HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?" V.48b] JESUS ANSWERED
HIM, “BEFORE PHILIP CALLED YOU, WHEN YOU WERE UNDER THE FIG
TREE…I SAW YOU.”
It’s important to note here that in first century Israel, the fig tree was
considered a common place for study and prayer, a place to have devotions. So
Jesus' seemingly mundane response sets off nothing less than an explosion of faith.
Jesus, the Eternal Word knew in that moment what words would wake Nathaniel
from his afternoon reverie to wide-awake clarity about just Who it was…that was
speaking to him. Jesus, the Word made flesh, knew what words would open
Nathaniel’s eyes to see Him...the Messiah; Simple words, yet they pierced
Nathanial’s heart. And so he confessed, V.49] “RABBI, YOU ARE THE SON OF
GOD! YOU ARE THE KING OF ISRAEL!” Now we ask “How? How did he
know?” What could Nathaniel possibly have done to be able to perceive the truth
about the God-Man in peasant clothes standing in front of him? It’s sort of like
Peter when Jesus asked him; “BUT WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?” And Peter
testified, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD;” and
Jesus replied, “FLESH AND BLOOD HAS NOT REVEALED THIS TO YOU
BUT MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN.” Jesus tells us; we…like Peter, like
Nathaniel…recognize the Lord THROUGH THE SPIRIT AND IN THE WORD;
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and only by God’s Grace can we finally see Him…THE SON OF GOD! THE
KING OF ISRAEL!
Then, V.50] JESUS ANSWERED Nathaniel, “BECAUSE I SAID TO YOU,
‘I SAW YOU, UNDER THE FIG TREE,’ DO YOU BELIEVE? YOU WILL SEE
GREATER THINGS THAN THESE.” V.51] AND HE SAID TO HIM, “AMEN
AND AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, YOU WILL SEE HEAVEN OPENED, AND THE
ANGELS OF GOD ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ON THE SON OF
MAN.”
Here Jesus reminds Nathaniel of someone else who had encountered the
Living God, while he was asleep; Jacob, an Israelite in whom there was plenty of
deceit. Tricky Jacob, fleeing for his life after cheating his older brother out of his
birthright and blessing. Jacob the ‘heel catcher,’ who was given a vision of a Ladder
stretching from earth to Heaven, with angels ascending and descending – the only
Ladder which can mend the breach between God and Man – God Himself, Christ
Jesus, Who is Jacob’s Ladder, Nathaniel’s Ladder, your Ladder and my Ladder;
Jesus, the WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.
When Jesus Christ calls you, like today, right here, and pierces your heart
through his Spirit and His Word, what will your excuse be for not letting go of your
suspicions? When He tells you in His own words, in black and white, what is true
and what is not– what you really need and what you really don’t need for your own
good, what will your excuse be for answering – “HOW DO YOU KNOW? And
HOW DO YOU KNOW ME, Jesus?”
We ought to be like young Samuel in the Temple, whom we just read about.
The Lord calls, “SAMUEL! SAMUEL!” And the little guy responds, SPEAK,
LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING! But in fact the Lord can give us a
straight commandment, in black and white—right smack out of the Bible: Do this;
don’t do that. “FLEE FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY! And we’ll talk back to
Him, “Come on, Lord, that’s so out of date! Times have changed and you’re so out
of touch with the way we live down here now! He can say to someone, DON'T BE
AFRAID. I'VE CALLED YOU BY NAME. YOU ARE MINE, and hear back from
them, “Really? I wish I could believe that.” Mercy! Someone else can be in terrible
need of His forgiveness, which is their most desperate need, and He can say to
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them, I HAVE ERASED YOUR SINS LIKE A CLOUD! And He can hear back
from them, "Excuse me, Lord, but You don't know the whole story, "Just sayin’!"
But Christian, what you’re “sayin’” doesn’t matter – what I’m saying doesn’t matter
at all, either. All that matters is what Jesus Christ says.
But this wasn’t Nathaniel. No. He, AN ISRAELITE IN WHOM THERE IS
NO DECEIT was waiting for THE SALVATION PREPARED BEFORE THE
FACE OF ALL PEOPLE...THE GLORY…OF ISRAEL. What do you suppose
Nathaniel was doing under the fig tree? Could Jesus have seen him meditating on
the Scriptures under that tree – perhaps even reading about Jacob’s dream in
Genesis…about the Ladder, with angels ascending and descending on it, from earth
to heaven? We don’t know. What we do know is this ISRAELITE WITHOUT
DECEIT was waiting for the true Word from God. He was, much to his own
surprise, waiting for a young Jewish carpenter from, of all places, Nazareth; Jesus,
the Last Great Prophet written about by Moses when he said, THE LORD GOD
WILL RAISE UP A PROPHET FOR YOU – WHOEVER DOES NOT LISTEN
TO HIM, WILL BE CUT OFF. But Jesus is way more than any other prophet. He is
God the PROPHET; God Incarnate, God Divine! This “PROPHET” is always right
about you, about me, about life, about death, about earth, about Hell and about
Heaven. He’s always there in HIS WORD. So LISTEN TO HIM!
The bottom line is this: only Jesus HAS THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
But if I reject the Word and I go on ‘tooting my own horn,’ and ‘proving my own
case,’ and ‘doing my own thing,’ I'll never hear a Word He says. At best, I might
be like those Christians who say they are “close to God” but know nothing about
what God actually says in his Word; they’re lukewarm, at best. And, with lukewarm
Christians, it is so sad. They have the living Word available to them, yet they
refuse to read it, or learn about it. They’re not prepared. Not like Nathaniel who
confessed Jesus was the Christ, the first time he met Him. They’re not like
Nathanael, looking at Somebody with no scars in His hands—yet! They’re not like
Nathanael, who actually said to Jesus, "HOW DO YOU KNOW ME?" And Jesus
answered, "Well, since you ask, BEFORE PHILIP CALLED YOU - WHILE YOU
WERE UNDER THE FIG TREE - I SAW YOU." Nathanael got it. He said,
"RABBI, YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD. YOU ARE THE KING OF ISRAEL.”
He’s like young Samuel who said, “SPEAK, LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS
LISTENING!”
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It’s as simple as that. He took it in. And by the Grace of God,
he believed! Because when PHILIP FOUND NATHANAEL it was Christ that had
been watching and calling him already for a long, long time. And He’s been
watching and calling you, and me for a long, long time, too.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, when you were lost, Who was it that found you?
When you were called, Who was it that was calling you? Who’s been pursuing you
your whole life? LORD, YOU HAVE SEEN ME AND KNOWN ME; YOU
KNOW WHEN I SIT DOWN AND WHEN I RISE UP...EVEN BEFORE A
WORD IS ON MY TONGUE, BEHOLD, YOU KNOW IT ALTOGETHER. YOU
HEM ME IN, BEHIND AND BEFORE, AND LAY YOUR (Righteous Right)
HAND UPON ME…Beloved in Christ, He can’t leave you alone! He won’t!
Can anything really big COME OUT OF NAZARETH? JESUS OF
NAZARETH is the Tower raising to Heaven, that actually reaches all the way up.
He’s Jacob’s Ladder alright, Who touched down at Nazareth, when a virgin said,
“LET IT BE UNTO ME.” By Him the angels MOVE AND HAVE THEIR BEING.
He's the Man who rules Heaven…with His feet planted firmly on the ground. And
when He says, I LOVE YOU! the ground shakes. When He says, I FORGIVE
YOU! Heaven shakes. You just say, "Amen, Lord." Then when He says,
FOLLOW ME! You say, “How high?”
Because He is Jacob's LADDER from the earth’s surface to outside space and
time: Heaven opened at His baptism in the Jordan when He, assumed our debt.
He’s the Living Ladder, the way out of the demolition down here. There’s an old
Christian song entitled: “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.” Only, we really don’t
climb up – he climbs down to grab hold of us; and actually it’s not a ladder – it’s
Jacob’s rocket ship– because while we sing about how we’re climbing… He is
lifting us up, He is carrying us up, He is raising us up in Him. He’s like this huge
ray of morning sun from out of Heaven where we get to soar up and into the light,
towards Him! He’s the warmth of the sun too, the blazing light, beaming with
righteousness and tender mercy—bright with His own holiness, the Lamp that lights
the way, leading us home. But all of these are just images. Heaven actually is going
to open up again, and we’re all going to see Him with our own eyes.
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He knows what we need and He is it, above everything else. He’s the only
One that ever said, I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
NOONE COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH ME. Christian…you are
going to travel along the Way, and see the Truth, and live Life Everlasting, which is
far too good to be true, just sayin’. I know…but who cares what I say? THE
MOUTH OF JESUS CHRIST HAS already SAID IT.
He said, “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH. ALL OF YOU ARE GOING TO SEE
HEAVEN OPEN, AND GOD’S ANGELS ASCENDING AND DESCENDING
ON THE SON OF MAN.” And like young Samuel, we answer; “SPEAK, LORD,
YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING.” Whatever You say, Lord.
Amen and Amen.
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