Sermon by Pastor Robert Green, Second Sunday after Epiphany, 1/18/09, No. 724, Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church, Harrisburg, PA, W.E.L.S., based on John 1:43-51
This is the second Sunday after Epiphany. Remember the word “epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning, when it refers to a person, “to become clearly known, to show oneself.” Today we consider the epiphany of God, that is, his showing himself to be God, from the account of Jesus calling two of his disciples, Philip and Bartholomew. In this account we taste the deep joy of the Epiphany of Christ by seeing him for ourselves; and by inviting others to “Come and See”!
The Apostle John wrote his Gospel long after the other gospels had been published. He filled in some areas of the life and ministry of our Savior and to present some of the profound and deep truths of Jesus, true God and true Man. John began his gospel, his good news about Jesus, with the wonderful explanation that Jesus is God and so was with God in the beginning before anything had been created. John explained how Jesus came as the Light and Savior of the world, but how the world rejected him, for it knew him not.
To help you and me believe that Jesus is our Savior, John showed how he came according to the Scriptures with John the Baptist first appearing to prepare the way of the Lord. The Apostle then spokeabout how the Jewish leaders were puzzled by whom the Baptist was. It is interesting to note that the people of Israel knew the time was right for the appearance of the long awaited Messiah and so the religious leaders asked the Baptist if he were the Christ. The Baptist of course said no, but that he was one sent to prepare the way.
The Apostle records how Jesus arrived on the scene, which would have been when Jesus came to be baptized by the Apostle. The next day after the religious leaders had come to speak with the Baptist, the Baptist was with two of his disciples, one of whom was Peter’s brother Andrew. The Baptist said to his disciples, “Look, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples followed Jesus to find out more about him. After spending the day with Jesus, we are told, the first thing Andrew was to find his brother, Peter, and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).”
This is where the reading comes in for today. Hear now the words of our God from John 1:43-51 “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Taste the deep joy of the Epiphany of Christ
- by seeing him for yourself;
The command “follow me” is used by Christ meaning, “Believe in me and then conduct your life according to faith.” We see this more clearly in John 8:12 (NIV) where Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” And in Mark 8:34-35 (NIV)“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
The only reason Philip or any disciple would have to follow Jesus, to be his disciple, is if Jesus were the Christ. Philip believed this about Jesus, which is why he told Nathaniel, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Philip based his faith on not on the mere words of men, but on the prophecies of Scriptures. Yet, there is a profound thought expressed in Jesus finding Philip. God finds us, we do not find him. After the completion of the Scriptures, God finds us through the Word.
Phillip told Bartholomew who came and saw for himself. The Apostle tells us, “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” A clearer translation would be, “Behold, truly here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” The idea of having no deceit in him or nothing false is the idea of having a true faith. Nathaniel did not allow falsehoods, or false doctrines, or the reason of men, or myths or any such foolishness corrupt his faith. God had already found Nathaniel.
Jesus’ statement took Nathaniel by surprise, for when did Jesus ever meet Nathaniel to make such a statement. Hence, Nathaniel asked Jesus, “How do you know me?” The word to know means to know personally. “Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”Apparently, when he sat under the fig tree, no one was around. For Jesus to know him personally, to know there was no deceit in his faith, and to have seen him under the fig tree, gave Bartholomew reason to place his faith in Jesus as the Son of God. After, only God can see a person without being present and only God can know the human heart.
Thus, Nathaniel saw, believed, and made a simple statement of faith, saying, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”The word “rabbi” simply means “teacher.” But Nathaniel knows Jesus is far more than a teacher, he is the long awaited King, the Messiah. This Jesus had to be like no other king for he was the Son of God, the divine king to come.
Jesus told Nathaniel, “Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51 I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” It is as if Jesus said, “Nathaniel don’t rest your faith on one miracle (of Jesus seeing him under the fig tree) but grow in faith to see greater things,” When Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open…” Jesus was speaking to all who believe, for he more literally said, “you all shall see.”The thought of see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man reminds us of Jacob’s dream of the stair way to heaven in which he saw the angels ascending and descending the stairway with the LORD at the top. Jesus assures us that all who believe will see the Savior in heaven.
Jesus calls himself the Son of Man to show the fulfillment of prophecy from the Book of Daniel 7:13-14 (NIV), in which Daniel had a vision of the LORD. Daniel tells us, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”This is the prophecy of the Savior to come as a true human being.
What does all this mean for you and me? God wants us to each personally see and believe Christ for who he is, the Son of God and the Son of Man, the one who came in fulfillment of Scripture to be our Savior. We are not change who he is by denying his divinity or humanity, we are not to change he is by changing his office as the Savior or by changing why he came. We are to see him and follow him believing in him as our Savior.
- By inviting others to “Come and See”!
We see Philip do something that is only natural, something you and I do often in life. There are some things in life that are so exciting and so joyful that we can not keep them to ourselves. Years ago I knew a man named Merlin. Merlin was a very nice, soft-spoken man, but he was not a Christian. One night we were talking about religion and Merlin said there was one thing he could not understand about Christians. Why was it, he asked, that Christians had this incredible need to talk to him about Jesus. Why did they just keep whatever they believed to themselves? What would you have told Merlin had he said this to you? How can we keep the good news of our Savior to ourselves? Philip could not and so he went to find his friend and tell him about Jesus.
Do you see how Philip’s witness was not based on some great presentation or some deep argument of about Jesus? All Philip did was to say that he and the others had found the one spoken about in the Old Testament. Of course, Philip was dealing with a believer who knew his Bible. Knowing that there was nothing about the Savior coming from Nazareth, Nathaniel said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” It was if Nathaniel said, “Silly man, why do you say this, can anything good come from Nazareth? Certainly the Messiah could not come from there. You do not know what you are talking about!” A put down like you and I probably have experienced far more than we care to think about.
But Philip would not put off so easily. He said to Nathaniel, “Come and see.” What a simple way to invite others to hear the good news about Jesus. It is saying, “Don’t believe me, but come and see for yourself.” What bother to say such a thing? We have the greatest news in the world, why wouldn’t we want to share it with all others, our friends and neighbors. The best evangelism is friendship evangelism which naturally occurs as a Christian speaks to his friends, neighbors, fellow workers and loved ones about Jesus.
Why is friendship evangelism so natural? Do you not sense the joy and urgency in Philips invitation to Bartholomew to come and see about the Savior? Was not Andrew determined to tell his brother Peter about the Lord so that he could see for himself? This sense of urgency and joy of sharing the Savior with those we love, with those we barely know, is ours. All we have to do is say, “Come and see.”
Remember you are inviting your friends, neighbors, loved ones to come and see Jesus as the Christ the Savior, the Son of God and the Son of Man.Is there anything in life more important to invite someone to than this? You are inviting to come and hear the Word of God so that they can base their faith not on the whims of men, but on the message of God. Dear Christian, taste the deep joy of the Epiphany of Christ by seeing him for yourself; inviting others to “Come and See” To God be all glory, amen!