{"id":890,"date":"2019-04-16T20:53:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T19:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/?page_id=890"},"modified":"2019-04-16T20:59:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T19:59:24","slug":"john-147-51-the-call-to-follow-jesus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/?page_id=890","title":{"rendered":"John 1:47-51 The call to follow Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What chance is\nthere of a devout orthodox Jew coming to faith in Jesus as his lord and\nmessiah? In particular, one who was committed to his faith and settled in his\nconvictions? For Nathanael then, and Saul of Tarsus later, it would have been a\nsource of amusement to them if anyone had suggested that they would become\nfollowers of Jesus of Nazareth. Nathanael was pictured being in the place\nrecommended for study of his faith under a shady tree in the garden near his\nhome. He was not looking to make any changes in his life. Now we can make\nassumptions that we know other people well and can estimate that they would\nhave no interest in our faith so it is hardly worth sharing our faith with them\nor inviting them to some form of outreach event. Yet who knows what is going on\nin someone\u2019s heart and mind? Only God does for certain! Although we can\nacknowledge that some people might appear closer to our faith and apparently\nmore likely to respond to invitations we cannot assume on the one hand or give\nup on the other with the people that appear to have no interest. Philip, who\nwas a natural evangelist had invited Nathanael but was given a clear negative\nresponse. Yet that was not the final outcome. \nFor the people you and I have contact with today let us continue to pray\nfor them and trust that God will be at work in their lives. It is vital to\nretain a sense of expectancy \u2013 even though we will have disappointments\nsometimes when invitations are turned down. \nNathaniel was to become a disciple of Jesus \u2013 this is the point of this\nvery short account of his meeting with Jesus. Who are you praying for this\nyear? Make a note for yourself and bring them to God regularly in your prayers.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Preparation for\ndiscipleship<\/strong> (John 1:45)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philip found Nathanael and told him, \u2018We have found the one\nMoses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote \u2013\nJesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.\u2019<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(a)His\ndevotion<\/strong> The impression is given that Philip and Nathanael were good\nfriends and that they probably had spent time studying the Old Testament and\nthe commentaries on the text produced by the Rabbis. It is good that they had\ngained this knowledge spending time in God\u2019s Word and probably prayer as well,\nbut you can have a good head-knowledge without having a personal relationship\nwith God. However, knowing about God is not the same as inviting Him to be the\nLord and Saviour of your life. \nNathaniel, though, had a great start in knowing so much about his faith\nand being aware of the promised Messiah in the Bible and in the sermons of the\nPharisees in the local synagogues. So, for example, Nathaniel would know that\nthe Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Therefore, in an age where people only\ntravelled for essential work matters or religious festivals in Jerusalem it was\nsafe to assume that people would be born, live and die in the same local\ncommunity. This was the default position that would have been assumed. It was\nentirely logical for Nathanael to assume that if his friend had got it right – Jesus of Nazareth <\/em>\u2013\nthen this man might be a good rabbi, but He could not be the Messiah because\nMicah 5:2 declared that this person would be born in the little community of\nBethlehem south of Jerusalem, at the other end of the country! Not only\nNathanael but the vast majority of the Pharisees would have taken a similar view. In\nJohn chapter seven there is an account of a lively discussion by attendees at\nthe Feat of the Tabernacles (Tents) in Jerusalem. The big debate on this\nparticular day amongst some of those present was the identity of Jesus. There\nwere different opinions held. 40 <\/sup><\/strong>On hearing his words, some of the people said, \u2018Surely this man is\nthe Prophet.\u2019<\/em> 41 <\/sup><\/strong>Others\nsaid, \u2018He is the Messiah.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still others asked, \u2018How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 <\/sup><\/strong>Does\nnot Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David\u2019s descendants and from\nBethlehem, the town where David lived?\u2019 <\/em>(John 7:40-42). Yet this was not the only opinion offered that day.\nAnother viewpoint was expressed by local people from Jerusalem in John 7:27:But we know\nwhere this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is\nfrom.\u2019 <\/em>Clearly the\ninfluence of the Sadducees who dominated the Jewish religious leadership in the\ncapital city was being felt here. They did not accept the majority of the Old\nTestament as Scripture, only the first five books of Moses \u2013 so no wonder they\nhad no clear guide to the identity of the Messiah. By contrast the Pharisees\naccepted the whole Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi as Scripture.\nNathaniel clearly stood with the majority Pharisee position that the Messiah\nwas born in Bethlehem. What do we learn from this disagreement? People filter\nwhat we say through the grid of their own beliefs and convictions. So, although\na proportion of people have enough background knowledge to understand the\nChristian message when we present it, other most certainly won\u2019t have that\nblessing. What you and I may say to them may be \u2018translated\u2019 to mean something\nquite different. It is not an intentional misrepresentation of the message at\nall. On the contrary the person is trying to make sense of what you or I are\nsaying within their own religious or philosophical context, which for Nathanael\nwas most probably a Pharisaic one. What philosophical or religious views\nunderlie the world view of the people you are praying for? A Hindu believes in\na vast multitudes of gods; a Muslim believes very strongly that there is only\none God; and an atheist can be equally dogmatic in saying there is no God.   We don\u2019t need to have all the answers before\nwe witness, but it is worth taking a little time to find out their core\nconvictions \u2013 if we can have that conversation with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(b) His\nspirituality<\/strong> Jesus was very complementary of Nathanael commending his\ncharacter. He was not a Jew in name or heritage only, but one who lived out his\nfaith in practice. In every religious community there are people who\nself-identify as professing that creed, but they may never attend a church or\nmosque or temple; or may profess non-belief whether of the agnostic or\natheistic kind. However, the vast majority of the latter group have a moral\ncode that sets boundaries for their lives. Nathanael was a seeker after God. He\ndid not pretend to be something he wasn\u2019t but quite genuinely and openly lived\nwhat he professed with his lips. We must not pretend to be something different\nto what we declare with our lips or we risk not being taken seriously.\nNathanael was the sort of person who would happily have a chat to you about\nmatters of faith, but he would have been very careful not to commit to anything\ndifferent without first giving it the most serious consideration. Praise God\nfor the genuine people like Nathanael who are willing to explore faith\nquestions because they really do want to know the truth about the subject under\nconsideration.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Prejudice against discipleship<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(a)The place where Jesus was alleged to\ncome from <\/strong>(John 1:46) \u2018Nazareth! Can anything good\ncome from there?\u2019 Nathanael asked. \u2018Come and see,\u2019 said Philip. <\/em> New Testament\nscholars inform us that there was rivalry between the neighbouring communities\nof Nazareth and Nathanael\u2019s home town of Cana in Galilee. It was not serious\nbut there was the local banter like residents of Glasgow and Edinburgh\ndescribing the people of \u2018the other place\u2019! it was probably a light-hearted\ncomment, but Nazareth was not a significant place even in Galilee at that time.\nWhat is more important is that there was no biblical hint of any connection\nbetween the expected Messiah and Nazareth. The irony is that although Jesus was\nborn in Bethlehem the time the family spent there was so limited that there\nwould probably be only the vaguest memories at best of living outside Nazareth.\nNow like Nathanael when we make judgements about things we can do so with the\nbest of intentions, but if we don\u2019t have all the facts needed for an accurate\njudgement we can make mistakes as well. We need to understand as well that many\npeople who appear disinterested in an invitation to follow Jesus today do so\nwithout any serious knowledge of who Jesus is or why He came. Fifty years ago,\nfor example, there were a proportion of the population who rejected the\nChristian faith and values but who had some connection to a church or Sunday\nSchool. By contrast, the majority of people today have never spent any\nmeaningful time considering the possibility of following Jesus. Therefore, with\nthe exception of some earnest atheists who propagate their faith with the zeal\nof a committed believer in God, the majority of our fellow citizens are not\nconsciously opposed to our faith. The challenge is to pray that God will open\ntheir minds to be willing to spend the time exploring the Christian faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(b)\nThe person who came from that place <\/strong>People\ntend to be associated with a particular place although their direct links to it\nmay be quite limited. Bruce Milne, a well-known Baptist minister who was\nbrought up in this city of Dundee revealed in one of his books that due to the\nwartime evacuations during World War Two he was actually born in Forfar, Angus.\nSo although to many older Scottish Baptists who knew him he was thought of as\nfrom Dundee, the wider Christian community would more readily think of him as\nthe Spurgeon\u2019s College, London lecturer in Christian doctrine who wrote the\nbest-selling Christian discipleship book Know\nthe Truth<\/em>. Canadian Baptists are most likely to think of him as the\nminister for many years until his retirement at First Baptist Church,\nVancouver. Unfortunately association with a particular place can affect your\nlife chances. Residents of Easterhouse, the housing estate on the edge of\nGlasgow, have long complained that their chances of success at job interviews\nhave diminished when their postal address is known. This is not fair \u2013if true-\nbut as human beings we can all consciously or unconsciously judge people in\nways that are not entirely accurate. Thankfully, Philip was able to persuade\nhis friend to look beyond his prior misconceptions and investigate more closely\nthe identity of Jesus.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The means of initiating discipleship <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(a)The wise testimony of a friend<\/strong>\nThe reality today is that although many people are searching for meaning and\npurpose in their lives in our country there is no automatic assumption that\nthey would consider attending a church as part of their spiritual search or\njourney. It simply does not occur to some people that a church could contribute\nto that. Although there are many different reasons why this might be the case,\nin the past few decades  it has taken the\ninvitation of a family member, friend or other human individual we respect who\nhas invited us to consider Jesus that has been the catalyst in most journeys to\nfaith in Jesus. It is important to be encouraged and realise that other people\nare observing how we live and some of them are genuinely hoping we may have the\nanswer to their spiritual search, but they are quite reluctant to commit\nthemselves to it as they have no prior connection with a church. But as we have\nseen in recent years there has been real encouragement when we have had growing\nconnections with people who have felt welcomed in our church when they have\nvisited us not just at Christmas but on other occasions as well throughout the\nyear.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(b)\nAn invitation to see for himself<\/strong>\n(John 1:46b) Philip did what he could with his invitation.  <\/sup><\/strong>\u2018Nazareth!\nCan anything good come from there?\u2019 Nathanael asked. \u2018Come and see,\u2019 said\nPhilip.<\/em> We\nare often only a link in a chain. I have observed in a number of examples of\npeople who have come to faith that have had input from a number of different\nChristians that has been a part of the spiritual journey. This releases\npressure on us as we learn more to be both open to God giving us opportunities\nto contribute to someone\u2019s search for faith or assisting them with a next step\nto faith. We are a small part of something much bigger that God is doing. Am I\nor are you willing to ask the Lord each day -this is what I have planned and I\nexpect to do \u2013if you want me to speak to someone about You or share something\nof my story please allow me an opportunity to do that.  When we give the day to God with a sense of\nexpectancy we can enter into it with confidence that we are available and leave\nthe rest to Him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(c)\nJesus\u2019 insight into human character <\/strong>(John\n1:47) When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said\nof him, <\/em>\u2018Here truly is an Israelite\nin whom there is no deceit.\u2019 <\/em> We may want to ask questions about the words\nJesus chooses for His first conversation with Nathanael. This is as unlikely to\nhave been a normal conversation starter in New Testament as in conversations\ntoday. There is an extraordinarily revelatory point here. Jesus knew the kind\nof man who stood before Him. This assessment is confirmed by the response to\nJesus from Nathanael. \u2018How do you know me?\u2019\nNathanael asked <\/em>(John 1:48). The individual\nwho mostly likely had come to meet Jesus with low expectations of accepting His\nidentity or agreeing with what Hew might say, but was now quite curious about\nthe man he had come to meet. Nathanael would know and possibly think of the\nwords of the familiar Psalm 32 from synagogue services that began in this way: Blessed is the one<\/em> whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.\n2 <\/sup><\/strong>Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not\ncount against them and\nin whose spirit is no deceit<\/strong> <\/em>(Psalm 32:1-2). Why does Jesus highlight\nthis aspect of Nathanael\u2019s character? It is likely that prior to meeting him\nJesus was reflecting on the call of Jacob the Old Testament figure whose story\nis found in the book of Genesis. Jacob was a character who was less than honest\nin his dealings with other people. In fact his name Jacob means \u2018he grasps the\nheel\u2019 or as a figure of speech \u2018he deceives\u2019. What a name to give a child! He\nlived up to it conning his brother out of his special inheritance from his\nparents and then having to flee to save his life. It was in that context that\nGod met with this fugitive and challenged him about the direction of his life.\nGenesis 28 records his dream as he slept in the open-air on his way to visit\nhis uncle and aunt in Syria. Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 <\/sup><\/strong>When\nhe reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set.\nTaking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to\nsleep. 12 <\/sup><\/strong>He\nhad a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top\nreaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.<\/strong> 13 <\/sup><\/strong>There\nabove it stood the Lord, and He said: \u2018I am the Lord, the God of your\nfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the\nland on which you are lying. 14 <\/sup><\/strong>Your descendants\nwill be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to\nthe east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed\nthrough you and your offspring.[d<\/a>]<\/sup> 15 <\/sup><\/strong>I\nam with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back\nto this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you\u2019<\/em> (Genesis 28:10-15). Jesus was in effect\nsaying to Nathanael you are a man of integrity openness and honesty the exact\nopposite of Jacob. I respect you for the kind of person you are. We may never\nknow other people as Jesus did but if we make time for others we do get to know\nthem quite well and can earn the right to speak with them about topics more\ndeeply than would be possible in casual conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(d) Jesus\u2019\nrevelation into his spiritual state<\/strong> (John 1:48b) Jesus answered, <\/em>\u2018I\nsaw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.\u2019<\/em>  Some people\nhave experiences when their whole life appears to flash before them. These\nevents can be life-changing for certain people. For Nathanael there was\nsomething special that happened when he heard Jesus utter these words. We have\nto assume that Jesus had not seen Nathanael by any ordinary means open to any\nother person standing nearby, but by supernatural means was aware of his\nlocation prior to his guest coming to speak with him alongside his friend\nPhilip. We do need to know that Nathanael was not sunbathing or chilling out in\nthe garden reading the ancient equivalent of a beach novel. To be \u2018under the fig-tree<\/em>\u2019 in that\ncultural context would be understood as taking time out for Bible study,\nmeditation and prayer. Some Bible commentators have suggested that the time of\nyear this meeting took place was in March which would potentially have been a\npleasant time of year to be outdoors in Israel. If we assume that Nathanael was\nstudying a passage or passages of the Old Testament relating to the coming of\nthe Messiah and wondering if he would come in his lifetime \u2013 then we can sense\nhow this occasion could have been much more dramatic than it appears on the\nprinted page of John chapter one. My suggestion is that he had come to the\nconclusion that only an extraordinary individual like the Messiah could know\nwhat I was doing when in another location earlier today! For the Christian to\ngrasp that God knows me better than I know myself \u2013 and still loves me\nunconditionally through Jesus is wonderfully reassuring. Therefore, I want to\nbe the best I can be for One who loves me like that.  Yet for other people it appears quite\nfrightening that you cannot keep your thoughts, words and actions hidden from\nGod! How do you feel about God knowing you completely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Acceptance of\ndiscipleship <\/strong>(John 1:49)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an extraordinary revelatory moment as this devout\nJew probably falls on his knees and utters some amazing words recorded in John\n1:49: Then Nathanael declared, \u2018Rabbi, you are\nthe Son of God; you are the king of Israel.\u2019<\/em> Nathanael used three key words or phrases to describe\nJesus in this verse. It was a declaration of his acknowledgement of Jesus\u2019\nclaims over his life. I think it probable that he had only a limited\nunderstanding of what he was saying, but that can be true for all of us in so\nmany situations. As long as the statement was made with absolute sincerity then\nJesus would have accepted them. How does Nathanael describe Jesus? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(a)Rabbi<\/strong> It\nis a title of respect to a Jewish religious teacher. If your greeting to a\nreligious teacher was simply the ancient equivalent of good morning or hello \u2013\nwords we would happily utter to anyone then rab <\/strong>would have done. To go a step further as he did is to\ndemonstrate personal respect to the individual in question. I may not be your\nfollower as such or worship in your synagogue, but I totally acknowledge you\nfor who you are as a fellow Jew and as a religious leader who is entitled to be\nrespected because you are \u2018walking the talk\u2019 of your faith. It is likely that\nNathanael became a follower of Jesus that day, but he was deeply conscious that\nthis journey had a long way to go before completion as a fully mature follower\nof Jesus. There is another term used in the New Testament towards a religious\nteacher and that is Rabboni <\/strong>it means\nsomeone to whom you are totally 100% committed. It was used by Mary Magdalene\nwhen she recognised that Jesus was alive after His resurrection.  <\/sup><\/strong>Jesus\nsaid to her, <\/em>\u2018Mary.\u2019<\/em> She turned towards Him and cried out in Aramaic, \u2018Rabboni!\u2019<\/strong> (which means \u2018Teacher\u2019).\n17 <\/sup><\/strong>Jesus said, \u2018Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go\ninstead to My brothers and tell them, \u201cI am ascending to My Father and your\nFather, to My God and your God.\u201d\u201918 <\/sup><\/strong>Mary\nMagdalene went to the disciples with the news: \u2018I have seen the Lord!\u2019 And she\ntold them that He had said these things to her. <\/em>What term would signify your level of\ntrust in or attitude towards Jesus of these three? Respect in general terms\nbeing polite; recognising Him as a great religious leader or as someone to whom\nyou have committed your life?      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(b) Son of God  <\/strong> John\nhas already made clear earlier in the chapter: No one has ever seen God, but the one\nand only Son, who is Himself God<\/strong>\nand is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known<\/em> (John 1:18). Now there is another witness to the fact\nthat Jesus is not just a good man; not just a good or great religious teacher;\nnot even just the traditional Jewish understanding of the Messiah \u2013 but more\nthan that. For a traditional theologically conservative Jew to make such a\nstatement is truly astonishing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(c)King of Israel <\/strong>To us in 2019 this seems an anti-climax. We\nwould have put this declaration before Son\nof God. <\/em>What does Nathanael mean by this phrase? It is not that Jesus\nshould be the King of the Jews in the legal sense of replacing a human king or\nRoman governor. It is so much more than that. It is in the light of the\nMessianic Psalms, Psalm 2 and Psalm 110. So Psalm 2 begins with these words: Why do the nations conspireand the\npeoples plot in vain?<\/em> 2 <\/sup><\/strong>The\nkings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His\nanointed <\/strong><\/em>(Christ<\/em> or Messiah<\/em>), saying\u2026<\/em>  <\/sup><\/strong>I\nwill proclaim the Lord\u2019s decree: He said to Me, \u2018You are My son;<\/strong><\/em> today I have become Your father. 8 <\/sup>Ask\nMe, and I will\nmake the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.<\/em><\/strong> (Psalm 2:1-2, 7-8). No earthly ruler\ncould be sufficient for such terminology. This title is rarely found in the\nBible. It was used by people who mocked Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:42 and\nMark 15:32); it was also used of the crowds celebrating Jesus\u2019 entry into\nJerusalem on Palm Sunday (John 12:13); two usages of ridicule the vocal speakers\nstrongly opposed such a conviction. Yet on Palm Sunday there were others who\ntook a different view of Jesus\u2019 identity \u2013 also acknowledged here by Nathanael.\nJesus asks you and me- who do you say I am? What response would you give? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The rewards of\ndiscipleship <\/strong>(John 1:50-51)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

50\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Jesus said,\u00a0\u2018You believe <\/sup><\/em>because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.\u2019\u00a051\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>He then added,\u00a0\u2018Very truly I tell you,\u00a0you <\/sup><\/em>will see \u201cheaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on\u201d\u00a0the Son of Man.\u2019<\/em> What a moment of joy for Jesus at the remarkable testimony of Nathanael! You are so impressed because I told you exactly what you were doing at home before I met you? You have seen nothing yet! What God has in store for those who love and trust Him is so much greater that we have yet seen or imagined. Do you need to hear that encouragement today? God\u2019s intervention in his life will be so different to His work in your life and mine, but may we love Him and entrust our future into His hands, for Jesus\u2019 sake, Amen.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction What chance is there of a devout orthodox Jew coming to faith in Jesus as his lord and messiah? In particular, one who was committed to his faith and settled in his convictions? For Nathanael then, and Saul of Tarsus later, it would have been a source of amusement to them if anyone had … Continue reading John 1:47-51 The call to follow Jesus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-890","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893,"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/890\/revisions\/893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/broughtybaptist.org\/wpsite\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}