John 1:43-51
How can a person use their God given talents to bless others?
Talents are as varied as the appearance of individual snowflakes. Sometime we struggle to see talents in each other let alone understand how the other’s talents could be a blessing.
Talents can be expressed in many ways. Consider the closing scene in one of my favorite movies. US Military helicopters are returning from a dangerous mission. As soon as each copter lands a child runs from copter to copter looking for the face of an American soldier named Petersen, who had befriended him. The panicked child, can see it in the actions of each solider who noticed him. They lower their head. Captain Kirby steps out of a copter heads to this child and places the fallen soldier’s hat on the child’s head and with his words confirms the child’s fears. His friend an American soldier named Petersen did not survive the mission. The crying child mouths those weighty words “What will happen to me now”? Captain Kirby quickly takes the child’s hand and leading him off speaks words of reassurance, “You let me worry about that. Why you’re what this thing is about”. What was portrayed was talents being used to bless another.
Consider the finality death brings and the guilt your soul will face for the sins against God. The words you would hear yourself saying would be “What will happen to me now”. Instead the hand of Jesus Christ will be on you. His words will be “You let me worry about this judgment for sin. After all you are what this is about.”
The call from John the Baptist was for Israel to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God. An exodus occurred as Jew after Jew stepped into the waters of the Jordan confessing their sins. There was a large quantity of Jews coming because neighbor invited neighbor to experience the call of John. Also coming to the Jordan for baptism was Jesus Christ, he came because it was right.
The next day John acknowledged in the presence of two disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God. These two decided to follow Jesus and when they questioned where he was staying. He responded to “Come and See”. One of these disciples was Andrew and he brought his brother “Simon Peter” to come and see the promised Messiah, Jesus.
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus is selecting his beginning followers. You might not understand why these would leave everything behind and walk with Jesus. Can you imagine the hopes oppressed farmers and common people have when the in the Western movies a white hat wearing cowboy arrives on the scene? People appreciate the ones who live life by the code of conduct that seeks goodness. The common folk among the Jewish community sought a relationship with God as their ancestor had experienced. God had promised to send his chosen leader for them, John the Baptist has said this is the one.
Good brotherly love calls you to share the Good News with your brothers and neighbors. But they must come and be as accepting on their own. Nathanael was right to question Phillip’s news about Jesus being the Messiah. It is evident that Nathanael had some basic knowledge about Jesus, for he knew exactly who Phillip was speaking about. And Nathaniel had doubts about the community from which Jesus lived; “can anything good come from Nazareth? Nathanael responded with action on his own when Phillip said “Come and See”.
You have experienced this when you invite someone who is not attending church to “Come and See”. The family member, your neighbor, your co-worker must decide for their own self to actually “Come and See”. You honored the prompting of the Holy Spirit by sharing the invitation. If you are not inviting anyone, you need to ask yourself has the Holy Spirit not encouraged you to make such an invitation, or are you not responding to his prompting?
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Jesus upon seeing Nathanael makes a heart piercing statement. Jesus said that Nathanael was the kind of person who seeks by study of God’s Word and prayer an experience with God. Nathanael was genuine in his devotion to God. Jesus reply about seeing Nathanael under the fig tree was a spiritual statement striking at the heart of every Jew who looked forward in their heart to the coming of the Messiah. It was written in the scriptures.
About 520 years before the birth of Jesus Christ the prophet Zechariah preached to the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile. God sent two prophets who stirred the hearts of the Jews back to work, rebuilding the temple of God. Because their homeland had been desecrated by the sins of their ancestors and by the invaders, it caused economic hardship on the common Jew. The Jewish community was eager and urgency was in their response to the prophet’s call to complete the temple’s rebuilding. In Zechariah 3:8-10 you can read about God’s chosen servant being called the branch and how every believer will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree. Another reference by an earlier prophet’s words is recorded in Micah 4:4. Isaiah was a favorite prophet and God had revealed this invitation to sit under the fig tree in Isaiah 36:16. Solomon’s God given wisdom is said to have allowed for safe living under the fig tree 1 Kings 4:25. There is more to say about the fig tree and our Holy Bible but let’s not chase rabbits when we have Nathanael’s profession of faith to look at.
49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
What Old Testament story do we think of when we consider angels ascending and descending? Most likely you thought about the time Jacob was running for his life and when he stopped to sleep, in his dream it was portrayed how available God is for us. That image is referenced in Jacob’s Dream found in Genesis 28:10-19. In that dream Jacob saw a ladder filled with the angels of God moving up and down under the guidance of the Lord.
Jesus is telling Nathanael he will see the days that are greater, not the transfiguration, and not his ascension. But something greater, Nathanael knows that Jesus has looked into the very heart of his individual soul.
With our knowledge of this personal relationship we can use our talents to be a blessing for someone else, a family member, a neighbor, or a friend asking them to “Come and see”.
