Rev. David Holwick Y Encountering Jesus in John
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 9, 2015
John 1:45-51
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I. How perceptive are you?
A. NPR episode about two young girls in a bike shelter.
1) They meet a young man who claims he can read people
instantly.
2) That is intriguing, but then he says he sometimes dreams
about hurting people.
3) The young man is apparently schizophrenic and needs serious
mental health intervention.
B. Most of us see much less than we realize.
1) We feel we have a decent grasp of our current situation,
but do we, really?
2) Perhaps we are confident of our assessment of our family,
our friends, or our status at work.
3) But life is much more than these things.
a) There is a supernatural side that most people never
really encounter.
b) Have you?
II. A man named Nathanael.
A. The gospel of John contains vignettes of Jesus meeting people.
1) John tends to give much more depth to these episodes than
the other gospels do.
2) This sermon series will focus on some of these people.
3) By studying them, we can gain insight into how Jesus can
encounter us.
B. Nathanael is an otherwise unknown disciple.
1) None of the other gospels or letters mention him.
2) He may have been a regular disciple instead of an
apostle.
3) If he was an apostle, he may have had a secondary name.
a) Bartholomew is the most popular identification.
b) Nathanael is not in Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke),
and Bartholomew is not mentioned in John.
c) Both are associated with Philip.
C. Philip introduces Nathanael to Jesus.
1) All of these men had grown up in the same general area.
2) Since Philip identifies Jesus as the son of Joseph, all
of them may have been acquainted with Jesus.
a) Calling him the "son of Joseph" doesn't go against
the Virgin Birth.
b) Jesus grew up in Joseph's home and that is who he would
have been identified with.
D. Philip's description of Jesus is pretty fantastic.
1) Jesus is not just a local guy, but the Messiah.
2) The "one Moses wrote about" comes from Deuteronomy 18:15:
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet
like me from among your own brothers.
You must listen to him."
a) Moses tells the nation of Israel that in the future,
God will raise up a special leader.
b) He will be a Jew, just like Moses,
c) He will also be a true prophet, speaking the very words
of God. (Deuteronomy 18:18)
1> The rest of the passage talks about how you can
identify a true, or false, prophet.
2> The key element is accuracy about predicting the
future.
III. He's from New Jersey???!! 1:46
A. We like to label people.
1) Many of our labels (like race) break down under scrutiny.
2) But we get comfort in pigeon-holing people.
Celeste and I were watching a movie this week that
mentioned our state.
The main character was staying in a hotel in Bergen county,
and his buddy says to him, "This had better be
important because I have had to come to New Jersey
twice in one week!"
There was a distinct impression that this is something
a normal person doesn't want to do.
Apparently, we believe this, too.
A new poll shows that most New Jerseyans aren't sure this
is such a good place to live.
3) In Nathanael's case, he questions Jesus' credentials
because of where he is from.
a) Can anything good come from Nazareth? 1:46
b) It is a very snarky question.
1> Maybe he looked down on anyone from such a backward
area.
2> Or, he is aware that the Old Testament prophecies
put the Messiah in major places like Jerusalem.
3> Both of these concerns are brought up by others in
the New Testament.
4> As Jesus himself said, prophets don't get much
respect in their own families or hometowns.
Matt 13:57
B. Come and see!
1) Philip doesn't argue with Nathanael, but invites him to
meet Jesus, to see for himself.
2) Few get saved by arguments - meeting Jesus works better.
William Barclay tells a story about how, at the turn of the
century, Thomas Huxley, the great agnostic, was attending
a party at a country mansion.
Rich people do parties different than us - the guests stayed
for several days.
Sunday came around, and most of the guests prepared to go to
church.
Very naturally, Huxley did not get ready.
Instead, he approached a man known to have a simple and
radiant Christian faith.
Huxley said to him, "Suppose you don't go to church today.
"Suppose you stay at home and you tell me quite simply what your
Christian faith means to you and why you are a Christian."
"But," said the man, "you could demolish my arguments in an
instant.
"I'm not clever enough to argue with you."
Huxley said gently: "I don't want to argue with you. I just
want you to tell me simply what this Christ means to you."
The man stayed at home and told Huxley most simply of his faith.
When he had finished there were tears in the great agnostic's
eyes.
"I would give my right hand if only I could believe that."
It was not clever argument that touched Huxley's heart, but
the simple story of a man's faith.
The best argument is to say to people, "Come and see!"
#3039
IV. How Jesus dealt with Nathanael.
A. Jesus calls him a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false.
1) Is Jesus being the snarky one now?
2) He sometimes used sarcasm to bring people down to size.
3) But this time, he seems to be sincere.
a) Nathanael has his prejudices, but he also has an honest
approach to life.
b) Not many do.
B. There may be an allusion to Jacob here.
1) Jacob was a conniving kind of guy.
2) He cheated many people and even tried to get the best
of God.
3) God turned the tables on him, but he also gave Jacob a
great vision, which the end of our passage alludes to.
a) In the end, Jacob became a real believer, and the
founder of the nation of Israel.
C. How does Jesus know a person's character?
1) Nathanael doesn't accept the compliment, but digs deeper.
2) Jesus says he saw him under a fig tree.
a) This is rather obscure.
1> Some wonder if it has symbolic significance.
2> I think it was just the supernatural insight Jesus
possessed.
b) It was enough to convince Nathanael.
1> He gives a wonderful statement of faith, saying
that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel.
2> Some wonder how Jesus' statement turned Nathanael
around.
A> All we can say is that it was enough for him.
B> Nathanael is one of first to believe in Jesus.
V. Stairway to heaven. 1:51
A. Jesus can do more than read minds. He can open heaven.
1) Nathanael's amazement was too limited.
a) Jesus can do a lot more for him than tell him where
Nathanael had been.
b) Jacob's vision of a ladder to heaven. Gen 28:10-22
1> It signified the two-way contact between heaven
and earth.
2> It is all around us, but few truly sense it.
3> If you could sense it, you would see that Jesus
is the focus.
2) Only Jesus can open heaven to us.
a) We go to Father through him. John 14:6
B. We yearn for a deeper spiritual experience.
1) Religious seeking is popular.
a) Charismatic movement. Much genuine, some questionable.
b) New Age mysticism.
c) Emotional excitement grabs us, but is not the key.
2) Knowing Jesus.
a) Having a daily relationship with him gives us deeper
meaning in life.
b) Not everyone knows Jesus, even in a church.
c) Don't stop seeking the deeper life.
1> Too many stay superficial.
2> Jesus tells us "greater things" are available.
C. You will see what you want to see.
1) Many reject even the possibility of the supernatural.
This view is reflected in the Humanist Manifesto (II),
which was written in 1973.
The first paragraph of the Manifesto states:
"We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence
of the supernatural;
it is either meaningless or irrelevant..."
It continues:
"We can discover no divine purpose or plan for human species.
While there is much that we do not know, humans are
responsible for what we are or will become.
No deity will save us - we must save ourselves."
Literally thousand of scientists, educators and political
leaders have put their signatures on this document.
#2478
2) Others realize there is a Divine purpose, but we ignore it.
Dr. Paul Pearsall and his wife were attending a meeting in Rome,
Italy.
Their first stop was a tour of Vatican City, where Michelangelo's
work in the Sistine Chapel had just been renovated.
Dr. Pearsall and his wife waited for hours in line for a glimpse
of this remarkable feat.
At a distance the paintings did not look all that impressive.
People chattered and joked about a paint-by-number replica of
Michelangelo's work for their own ceilings.
When they drew closer, however, they were overwhelmed.
The paintings seemed to engulf them.
Everyone became quiet.
Necks ached with the effort to keep looking up.
Now they were seeing the paintings as Michelangelo intended for
them to be seen.
The impact was unforgettable.
Then Dr. Pearsall noticed a fly crawling across the paintings.
He thought, "What a shame.
"That fly is right up there where I would love to be.
He's right on top of it...but he just can't see it."
Then Dr. Pearsall remembered reading the words of philosopher
William Thompson:
"We are like flies crawling across the ceiling of the Sistine
Chapel.
We cannot see what angels and gods lie underneath the threshold
of our perceptions...."
#2300
1) How deep is your perception?
2) How many of you genuinely catch glimpses of the Divine?
3) Perhaps you need to encounter Jesus is a new way.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#2300 “Flies On the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,” Dynamic Preaching
(www.sermons.com) Winter 1992 "A", March 1, 1992.
#2478 “Does the Supernatural Exist?” adapted from an illustration in a
sermon by me on November 18, 1984; original source unknown.
#3039 “The Best Argument For Atheists,” William Barclay, The Gospel of
John, 1975, Vol. 1, page 92.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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