The Gospel of John. Meet and Greet ~ Part 2 John 1:35-51

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1 The Gospel of John Meet and Greet ~ Part 2 John 1:35-51 O NE WINTRY DAWN Esau returned from a long and unsuccessful hunt. He hadn t eaten for several days, and he had just traveled an entire night afoot. He was starving. As he approached the tents of his father he smelled a morning stew on the air. It tightened his stomach and made him mad for food. He followed the scent directly to the tent of his brother. There sat Jacob, stirring a bubbling red pottage. Esau could scarcely form the words. Please, he groaned, pointing toward the clay pot. Please, Jacob, I am dying Jacob said nothing for a moment. Then he looked up and smiled. I think we can make a bargain, he said. Esau wiped a big hand across his mouth. A bargain? Jacob grinned and uttered his next words with such swift articulation that Esau felt at first confused, then angry, and then just hungry, careless of anything else. Can a dead man inherit his father s wealth, Jacob said, even if that man happens to be the elder of two brothers only? No, of course not. Dead men inherit nothing at all. If you die, brother, you ve got nothing here and can get nothing hereafter. But if I give you food, I give you life now. In return for your life, then, you must give me that which, without your life, can mean nothing at all to you. Your birthright. So then here is the bargain, Esau: I give you life, you give me your birthright, and we are even. Jacob always talked like this, too fast for common folk to follow. Esau could only think of food. Yes, he said, reaching for the pot. But Jacob pulled it back and with eyes suddenly steadfast said, Swear it to me, Esau. Esau yelled, I swear, snatched the pot by main strength and carried it away in order to eat without the noise of his brother s voice to annoy him. 1 VI The Introduced to Christ Verses B. The Following Two Verses The Passage 2. An Old Testament Backdrop? 3. Phillip 4. Nathanael Introduction: Over the last weeks the camera has focused on John the Immerser. We have followed his ministry. We have seen him point out Jesus and identify Him as the Messiah. We have even seen a glimpse of Jesus baptism. This is all we ve seen from the author s perspective. Of course we had to go to the Synoptic Gospels for the details of the baptism and the temptation in the wilderness. This morning I will again provide some background on another couple of individuals who would later join the disciples. Returning to John, we see him direct the camera off John the forerunner of the Messiah and onto Jesus Himself. John dollies in for a close up and instead of Jesus reacting 1 Wangerin Jr., Walter; The Book of God, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 2010, p. 36

2 B. The Following Two: 1. The Passage: we see Him become more deliberate. First we re told Jesus decides to go to Galilee. And, based on the language it appears as if He was deliberately seeking Phillip. Here is the first time we see Him call somebody to Follow me. This follow is different that the usage for Andrew and the unnamed disciple. Here Jesus is asking Phillip to become His disciple, that is, to imitate Him. And, as with Andrew, Phillip s first act as a disciple was to go and find someone else to share his discovery. Phillip found Nathanael. So I guess you could say that Phillip became the first missionary. He wanted to introduce Nathanael to Jesus. Let s listen to how he describes Jesus. He describes Jesus as being identified in both the Law, as presented by Moses, and the Prophets. With the former Phillip may have been referring to Deuteronomy 18:18. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. I have no idea how Phillip could have come so quickly to his profound understanding of who Jesus was, other than through the Holy Spirit. His description of Jesus would be expanded throughout the writings of the New Testament. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 16:16; 24:27 ESV). With his next statements, it appears Phillip must have received some information regarding Jesus from somewhere, possibly from John the Immerser. He went on to tell Nathanael that Jesus was the son of Joseph and come from Nazareth. Of course we re all familiar with Nathanael s response. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? This can be understood in two ways. Generally it is perceived as a snide remark about the town, a lot like what we might say about Rio Linda. Nazareth was a back water village with no more than 2,000 residents. Of course this would be a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, since he came from the small village of Cana in Galilee. Then again, Nazareth apparently had a negative reputation. Theodore of Mopsuestia stated among the Jews the name of that village was much despised, because a great number of its inhabitants were pagans, and it seemed impossible that anything good might come out from there. Therefore also the Pharisees said to Nicodemus, Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee. And so it is only right that Philip says to Nathanael, Come and see. Since there is now a contrast to that old opinion, [he seems to be saying], I promise to show you the real facts. This was superfluous, otherwise, for someone who had once believed in the truth. 2 However, there is one other possibility. Nathanael may have been referring to the prophecy regarding the town from which the Messiah was expected: Bethlehem. 2 Elowsky, Joel. C. ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, John 1-10, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2006, p ) 54 (

3 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days (Micah 5:2 ESV). We have no way of knowing which of these is the correct explanation. I suspect, since it isn't vital to know, we can decide for ourselves. Anyway, since seeing is believing, Phillip instructed Nathanael to come with him and meet Jesus. This meeting is fraught with supernatural overtones. Earlier we saw Jesus apparently reading Simon s character. Now He reads Nathanael s. And it almost seems as if He is contrasting Nathanael with Jacob. But hold off on this analysis for a moment. It seems that Jesus is contrasting Nathanael to the hypocrites among the Jewish leadership, those whom He would soon confront. Or as Paul put it For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God (Romans 2:28 29 ESV). Nathanael is a bit nonplused at Jesus analysis of who he is. What is interesting is we don t see what might be a humble response, That s kind, but. Apparently, he s surprised that Jesus has described him so accurately. How d you know that? It isn t really clear what s happening here. Jesus tells Nathanael that He saw him under a fig tree prior to Andrew seeking him out. The fig tree could be a symbol of prosperity. But tradition also says it was a place where a man could sit in the shade and study God s word. This would seem to be the case with Nathanael. Remember, Phillip came to him speaking of Jesus in relationship to the Law and the Prophets, a way of describing the Old Testament. And it seems that something happened to Nathanael under that fig tree that caused a significant impact on him, so much so that Jesus being aware of it led to this response. Nathanael calls Jesus Rabbi, my master, and then describes in a way that can only be understood as the ruling Messiah, the one who is to sit on the throne of David, Son of God, Messiah, and King of Israel, the heir of David. As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten you (Psalms 2:6 7 ESV). This is a radical proclamation. So much so that Jesus seems to be taken aback. How could something as little as Jesus seeing Nathanael lead to this extreme response? He expresses his ) 55 (

4 surprise? to Nathanael, reassuring him that this is nothing compared to what he would see as he followed Jesus. The day was coming, Nathanael, when you will see angels ascending and descending from heaven on the Son of Man. This is a strange response. What is Jesus referring to here? I think this can best be understood if we consider the question: is there 2. An Old Testament Backdrop?: I want to expand on a couple of points I ve already made. I think we can probably understand this whole interaction between Jesus and Nathanael if we see this as having Old Testament Messianic overtones. The focus seems in some way to tie to the Messiah s relationship to the nation Israel. Two passages appear to relate to Jacob and the third of Messianic passages in the Old Testament. The first example of this is when Jesus calls Nathanael a true Israelite, one without guile or deceit. This can be seen as a contrast with Jacob, who received the name Israel and was a deceiver. And as I already noted, Nathanael s bluntness and truthfulness stands in sharp contrast with the Jewish leadership. But, back to Jacob, remember this? Esau said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. Then he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? (Genesis 27:36 ESV) So Nathanael is an upright individual, one who is in the word and who recognizes Jesus as Messiah from his study of the Old Testament. And in that scripture the fig tree often represents the prosperity and rest one will find in the Millennial kingdom under the rule of Messiah, in that day. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree (Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10 ESV). Finally, Jesus speaks of angels descending and ascending on the Son of Man. This is a strange statement and doesn t seem to relate to any event we see in the gospels. But if He is using an Old Testament example of His role as Messiah it does makes sense. Does the imagery seem familiar? It should. Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am ) 56 (

5 with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:10-17). Back when we were in Genesis we saw this ladder was a picture of the Messiah in that it served as intercession between God in heaven and man on earth. Now Jesus identifies Himself with Jacob s dream. He is the mediator between God and man. He is the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5 ESV). Kruse summarizes this by noting When Jesus, alluding to this incident, said to his disciples, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man, he was implying that the place where people encounter God was now in the person of his Son, Jesus, and that it was through him that God was now revealing his truth. The greater things people were to see, then, would be the revelation of God in the life, ministry, death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Phillip: Now I want to take our last few minutes to touch on these two men. First, who is Phillip? Well, first we know he was from Bethsaida. A large fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee just east of the Jordan river. According to Josephus (Antiq ), Herod Philip advanced Bethsaida to the status of a city and renamed it Julias. Bethsaida was the home of Philip, Peter, and Andrew (John 1:44; 12:21). Jesus healed a blind man there (Mark 8:22), and he fed the five thousand in a solitary place nearby (Luke 9:10-17). Bethsaida was among the Galilean towns which Jesus condemned for their failure to repent (Matthew 11:31; Luke 10:13). 4 But beyond that Philip the Apostle and Evangelist. In the Synoptic Gospels the name Philip for a follower of Jesus occurs only in the lists of the names of the twelve disciples. In each instance Philip is presented in fifth position. In John, however, Philip plays a narrative role in He is said to be from Bethsaida, is connected with Greeks seeking Jesus, and serves as a foil for the Johannine Jesus. It is tempting to conclude that the figure of Philip was known by both the author and the readers of the Fourth Gospel. 5 Some of the early church fathers identified the Apostle Phillip with the Phillip of Acts who ministered to the Ethiopian Eunuch, but that can t be proven, so regarding his death we only have tradition to refer to. We are told that he actively spread the gospel, but it is unclear as to 3 Kruse, Colin, G. Tyndale Commentary, John: An Introduction and Commentary, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2003, p Lang, David, The Accordance Dictionary of Place Names, OakTree Software, Inc., Altamonte Springs, FL, Tucker, Jeffrey, T., Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Andrew, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, 2000 ) 57 (

6 where. We are also told he was stoned to death at Heliopolis in Phrygia (Asia Minor), approximately eight years after the death of James. 4. Nathanael: Again, what is surprising is how little we actually know of the some of the twelve disciples. [Nathanael s] presence with other disciples at the Sea of Galilee after Jesus resurrection suggests that he was one of the Twelve (John 21:2). Some have identified him with Bartholomew, in part because Bartholomew means son of Ptolemy, which would imply that he had another name. Also, Nathanael does not appear in the Synoptic accounts nor is Bartholomew mentioned in John. 6 Since we have seen all we actually know of Nathanael, and I m not inclined to speculate on his personality from the few verses we have, let me quote MacArthur regarding the tradition of his end. Early church records suggest that he ministered in Persia and India and took the gospel as far as Armenia. There is no reliable record of how he died. One tradition says he was tied up in a sack and cast into the sea. Another tradition says he was crucified. By all accounts, he was martyred like all the apostles except John. 7 Conclusion: As with our last lesson, once again we see the response to Jesus wasn t just to turn to Him, but to become an evangelist/missionary. Just as Andrew immediately went to tell Simon about Jesus, Phillip went to Nathanael. Here we are again reminded what our response is to be from our own relationship to Christ. Is there someone you need to introduce to the Lord? Let us be able to say with Paul For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16 ESV). And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42 ESV). 6 Ibid, Andrew 7 MacArthur, John, Twelve Ordinary Men, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN, 2002, p ) 58 (

7 The Gospel of John Meet and Greet ~ Part 2 John 1:35-51 VI The Introduced to Christ Verses B. The Following Two Verses The Passage 2. An Old Testament Backdrop? 3. Phillip 4. Nathanael Introduction: B. The Following Two: 1. The Passage: (Deuteronomy 18:18; Luke 16:16; 24:27; Micah 5:2; Romans 2:28 29; Psalms 2:6 7) 2. An Old Testament Backdrop?: (Genesis 27:36; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10; Genesis 28:10-17; 1 Timothy 2:5)

8 3. Phillip: 4. Nathanael: Conclusion: (Romans 1:16; Acts 10:42) Personal Application: This week pray the Lord will help you to be aware of those He places in your path, those who need to be introduced to Christ. Prayer for the Week: Lord, thank You that I am allowed to participate in the advancement of Your kingdom. In Jesus name, amen.