What are you looking for this morning? What is the reason you got up and came to church this morning? Did you expect anything when you walked in this door this morning? Expectations are amazing things, aren’t they? It seems like many times, our expectations lead to disappointments. They hype movies so much that when you finally get to see it, it really disappoints. Unfulfilled expectations happen all the time with movies. But with the Lord, that’s never the case. When we are truly seeking the Lord for who He is and not just what He does, He always will exceed our expectations. If you came in this church door this morning expecting to be entertained—you will probably leave here disappointed. If you came here expecting to be made to feel good and be noticed and coddled—you’ll probably leave here disappointed. If you came here expecting to have all of your felt needs met and have your self-esteem boosted—you’ll probably leave here disappointed. But if you came in here this morning fully expecting to seek Jesus, you’re going to leave here changed. You’re going to leave here changed just like the five men in our passage did. Each one of these four encounters that these five men had with Jesus was marked by one thing. Each encounter was marked by their expectations of who they thought Jesus was. So many times, when we enter into the Lord’s house to worship Him, our expectations are way too low. So many times, when we enter into prayer, our expectations are way too low. So many times, when we enter into our time in the Word of God, our expectations are way too low. These five men had extremely high expectations for their encounter with Jesus. But, do you know what? They were still too low. Because, according to Ephesians 3:20, Jesus is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even think. So I’m going to ask you again—what are you looking for this morning? Are you looking for a teacher? John and Andrew were. Look in verses 38-39:
JOHN 1:38-39
I love the pictures that the words in Scripture paint. John the Baptist just got finished hollering out—“Look! There He is! The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” He had just finished shouting that out and sent John and Andrew to follow Him. And when John and Andrew ran up behind Jesus, what did He do? He casually turned and said, “What’re y’all looking for?” He didn’t give them some sales pitch about all the things He could do for them. He didn’t give them all the benefits of being His disciple. He didn’t even ask them to follow Him. His first words to them were, “What seek ye?” But they didn’t tell Him, did they? They fired back another question. They asked Him, “Where are you staying.” Now, they did that to let Jesus know that they weren’t interested in just a brief conversation. They were really wanting to know more about Him. But how they addressed Him revealed their expectations. They addressed Jesus as “Rabbi.” A Jewish Rabbi was a religious teacher. Sometimes the scribes and the Pharisees were called rabbis, but more than that, it was a term of profound scholarly respect. It would be very similar to the way that we would refer to a college or seminary professor as Doctor so-and-so. The Rabbi was the answer man. He was the person you could seek out to give you all of the answers to life’s questions. If something was going wrong in your life and you needed counseling, you’d go see the Rabbi. If you had a deep theological question, you’d go see the Rabbi. If you even had a philosophical question about the origin or purpose of man or the nature of evil, you’d go see the Rabbi. The Rabbi was a teacher and counselor who was thought to have all the answers. And that’s how John and Andrew addressed Jesus. That was their expectation of who He was. And Jesus didn’t disappoint them. He said, “Come and see.” And they did. If John was telling time the Roman way, which makes sense, it was only about 10:00 in the morning. But when verse 39 says that they abode with Him that day, it means that they stayed with Jesus until about that time the next day. In other words, Jesus told them to come and see. They were looking for a teacher, so Jesus brought them in and taught them all day and all night. They were expectantly looking for a teacher. Jesus said, come and see. And they did. And they weren’t disappointed. Are you looking for a teacher this morning? Do you have questions that you just can’t figure out on your own? Questions about life and death, good and evil, heaven and hell? Questions about purpose and direction and meaning and hope? Jesus is telling you, “Come and see.” But maybe you’re not looking for a teacher. Maybe you’re looking for a liberator. Simon Peter was. Look at verses 40-42:
JOHN 1:40-42
After John and Andrew spent the night soaking up all the teaching of Jesus they could handle, they weren’t tired. They were excited. They were so excited, they went and told Peter. And what Andrew told Peter tells us a lot about what Peter was looking for. It tells us about his expectations. Andrew told Peter that he had found the Messiah. Once again, Messiah was a Jewish term. John knew that the people he was writing to wouldn’t understand it, so he translated Messiah as Christ. That’s great, except we need a translation as well. Because most people today think that Christ is Jesus’ last name. It’s not. It’s His title. Our English word Christ is taken straight from the Greek word. Just like our English word Messiah is taken straight from the Old Testament Hebrew word. They mean the exact same thing. They’re just two translations of the same word. The question is, what does it mean? Literally, the word means, “Anointed One.” It’s the word that’s used to describe all of the Old Testament kings. Before one of the kings would take the throne, a prophet or priest would ceremoniously anoint his head with oil. That meant that he was set aside specifically for that purpose. He was the Lord’s anointed, called out specifically to rule over His people. But it had been years since Israel had a king. As a nation, they had been so rebellious that God sent them into exile. He allowed them to be viciously conquered by other nations and carried off and dispersed throughout the Middle East. God did allow them to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. But they were still under the rule of a pagan nation. And that continued all the way up until Jesus’ day. The Jews were allowed to practice their religion, but they were ruled by the Roman Empire. They paid taxes to the Roman Empire. And many times they were oppressed by the Roman Empire. And they didn’t like it one bit. Aggressive, quick-tempered people like Peter especially didn’t like it. So they were looking for a new king. As they looked through the Old Testament, they read it from that perspective. They saw all the future promises of God as political promises. And they expected God to renew the kingdom. And in order to renew the kingdom, they knew He would send them a new king. What kind of a king was Peter expecting? What kind of Messiah was he expecting? One who would liberate him from his captivity and bondage. That’s what he was expecting. And Jesus said, “Come and see.” And Peter did. And Jesus didn’t disappoint him. He didn’t come to liberate the Jews from political bondage the first time. But He did come to liberate from a much more oppressive and devastating bondage. He came to liberate from the bondage of sin. He came to liberate from the captivity of death and the grave and hell. Are you looking for a liberator this morning? Are you in bondage to a lifestyle you can’t seem to overcome? Are you being held captive by habits and patterns and addictions that you just can’t break? If you are, then Jesus is telling you, “Come and see.” But maybe it’s not a liberator that you’re looking for this morning. Maybe you’re looking for a mystery revealer. Phillip was. Look at verses 43-49:
JOHN 1:43-49
One more day passes and John just states a bare fact. Jesus found Phillip and told him to follow Him. And Phillip did. Phillip and Andrew and Peter probably grew up together. As a matter of fact, there are some indications in the structure of the passage that Andrew was the one who found Phillip and took Jesus to him. Have you ever noticed that every time we see Andrew in Scripture, he’s leading someone to Jesus? And when he led Phillip to Jesus then Phillip turned right around and led Nathaniel to Jesus. And what Phillip told Nathaniel tells us a lot about what Nathaniel was looking for. It tells us about his expectations. Phillip told Nathaniel that they had found the One who fulfilled all the prophesies of the Old Testament. The One who Moses and the prophets wrote about. Have you ever noticed how a church will fill up for a prophesy study? I know some people got all excited when I started preaching in Revelation a few months ago. Of course I’m sure they got disappointed when I quit at chapter 3 before all the “good stuff.” I’ve seen churches go from just a handful of people on Wednesday night to dozens. Just because the pastor started preaching on future prophesy. Why is that? Because everybody wants to know a secret. Everybody loves a mystery. And if you can solve the mystery, that makes you just a little bit smarter than the guy who doesn’t have the answer. Is that why God gave us prophesy in the Bible? No. If it was, it was a huge failure in the Old Testament. Because the vast majority of people got it wrong. As a matter of fact, there were only a handful of people who understood Old Testament prophesy enough to recognize who Jesus was when He got here. It makes me wonder about those of us who think we’ve got all the future prophesy in Daniel and Ezekiel and Joel and Revelation figured out. How surprised are we going to be if all the prophetic charts and the Left Behind books aren’t exactly right? But the fact is, we love those things. We love to have it all figured out. We love to have the solution to the mystery. Just like Nathaniel did. Nathaniel was looking for a mystery revealer. And Jesus didn’t disappoint him. This time Jesus didn’t say, “Come and see.” This time He said, “Come and listen to what I saw.” And He revealed a little mystery to him. He told him how He saw him under the fig tree when Phillip first came to him. That told Nathaniel that Jesus knows the mysteries of life. He knows the end from the beginning. Nothing surprises Him. Are you looking for someone to reveal the mysteries of life to you this morning? Are you worried about what the future holds and just wish you knew what was around the corner for you? Oh Lord, am I going to be able to pay that bill? Am I going to be able to get that treatment? Is my child going to turn back to you? Jesus is telling you, “Come and see.” He knows what your future holds. He’s probably not going to tell you. But He will tell you that He holds the future. There is no mystery to Him. And when Jesus revealed just a little tiny mystery to Nathaniel, look what his reaction was in verse 49. He was so blown away that he put all the titles together. He called Jesus Rabbi. He called Him the Son of God. And He called Him the King of Israel. Hey Jesus—you are the great teacher. You are the liberator we’ve been looking for. You are the One who reveals mysteries. You’ve got it all. You can fill all those needs. The problem is, none of those guys including Nathaniel had really seen what their greatest need was. That’s why Jesus answered the way that He did. Look at verses 50-51:
JOHN 1:50-51
Is Jesus a teacher? Yes—He is the greatest teacher. The Bible says that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It doesn’t say that He knows the truth. It says that He is the very essence of truth. He is the answer to all of life’s questions. He is the answer to questions about life and death, good and evil, heaven and hell. He is the answer to questions about purpose and direction and meaning and hope. Jesus is the teacher. Is He a liberator? Yes—He is the only true liberator. Jesus is the only One who fulfills Isaiah’s prophesy He read before the synagogue in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Jesus is the only liberator from the bondage of sin. He is the only liberator from strife. He is the only liberator from anguish and fear and hopelessness. Jesus is the liberator. Is He a revealer of mysteries? Yes—He’s the only true mystery revealer. And He’s revealed all you need to know in His Word. Any time you seek to know any more than He’s clearly revealed in His Word, you’re looking for trouble. Paul said as much in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” The Lord knows when He’s coming back. There’s no mystery to Him. And He’s revealed enough of the mystery to let you know that you need to be right with Him when He returns. Because when He reveals the rest of the mystery to you, it’s going to be too late. Jesus is the mystery revealer. But guess what? None of those things are the answer to our biggest problem. Because our biggest problem can’t be answered by a teacher. We can’t be liberated from our biggest problem. Our biggest problem isn’t a mystery that’s waiting to be revealed. Our biggest problem isn’t a lack of knowledge. It isn’t a lack of liberty. It isn’t a lack of secret knowledge. Our biggest problem is the same as John and Andrew and Peter and Phillip and Nathaniel’s problem. Our problem is sin. Our problem is that God is perfect and we aren’t. And the fact that we aren’t is a stench in His holy nostrils. A stench that is only deserving of complete and total eternal separation from Him in a place called Hell. Can a teacher get rid of sin? No. Can a liberator get rid of sin? No. Can a mystery revealer get rid of sin? No. The fact is, sin cannot be gotten rid of. It can only be paid for. That’s why you needed someone greater than a teacher. You needed someone greater than a liberator. You needed someone greater than a mystery revealer. You needed a Savior. You needed a Savior who would stand in the vast gulf between a holy God and you. And pay for your sin by covering it with His blood. Each of these men in our passage this morning came to Jesus looking for something. What are you looking for this morning? If you come to Jesus as your teacher or liberator or mystery revealer this morning, He’ll show you He’s so much more. He holds all knowledge and wisdom—He can teach you something. He has the keys that will unlock all your bondage—he can free you. He knows the end from the beginning—he can give you hope in the mystery. But He wants to do so much more. He wants to save you. Will you let Him save you this morning? Will you seek Him for who He is and not just what He can do for you this morning? Will you commit your life to Him this morning? His invitation is the same for you this morning as it was for the men in our passage. His invitation for you this morning is simply, “Come and see.”
