DRAWN TO JESUS—V—John 1:35-51
John recalled the manner by which Jesus’ disciples first became convinced that He was Messiah.
Some will be drawn to follow Jesus as Messiah/Christ.
What draws/attracts disciples to Jesus Christ?
Why are disciples drawn/attracted to Jesus Christ?
Jn. 6:41-45—“The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” & they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father & mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus therefore answered & said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; & I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘& they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard & learned from the Father comes to Me.”
8 elements of a disciple’s draw/attraction to Christ Jesus.
We have already found that Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…
1. DIRECTION(:35-36)Discipleship
2. DISCOVERY(:37-39)
3. PRIORITY(:40-42a)
4. PROMISE(:42b)
5. INVITATION(:43-44)
6. SUPPOSITION(:45-46)
7—Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…
HONESTY(:47-49)
Explanation:(:47-49)Pretense
:47—“Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, & said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” ”
Jesus knew the heart of Nathanael. Nathanael was not “deceitful” as some of the Jews were who would not come to see Jesus(Gen. 27:35-36; 28:10ff.; 30:37-43; 32:24-30; 34; Ps.32:2) much less put their trust in Him as Messiah. Jacob=“One who takes by the heel”; one who supplants(Gen. 27:36). Jacob’s name changed to Israel(Gen. 32:28). Israel’s sons were “deceitful”(Gen. 34:13) & paid dearly for it(Gen. 49:5-7).
Though Nathanael held to certain prejudices, there was no duplicity on his part. Thus his prejudices could be changed/discarded thru true knowledge, rather than reliance upon presumption/assumption.
Rom. 2:28-29—“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; & circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”
Rom. 9:6-8—“But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.”
Gal. 6:15, 16—“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace & mercy be upon them, & upon the Israel of God.”
Rev. 2:8, 9—“& to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First & the Last, who was dead, & came to life: “I know your works, tribulation, & poverty (but you are rich); & I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews & are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
:48—“Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered & said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ”
Evidently Nathanael didn’t know Jesus personally, so that he was taken aback by Jesus’ introductory statement(:47). Jesus answered by telling Nathanael about him sitting under the “fig tree.”
We are not told prior to this revelation that Philip’s search had found Nathanael under a “fig tree.” Judging from Nathanael’s response to Jesus, the “fig tree” was obviously not known thru Philip & Nathanael’s arrival.
Also “under the fig tree” may be an allusion to rabbinical thought equating to, ‘meditation on the Law.”—EBC He had an obvious trust in the coming of Messiah & he would have at minimum received schooling in the rudiments of Torah & Pentateuch.
:49—“Nathanael answered & said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ”
“Nathanael” knew that no person outside of God could have seen that he was under the fig when Philip called him. Nathanael believed from that miracle, that Jesus was indeed “the Son of God” as well as “the King of Israel.”
These are very descriptive terms & messianic titles, bringing Nathanael on board as disciples with andrew, John, Peter & Philip.
Ps. 2:1-12—Why do the nations rage, & the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, & the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD & against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces & cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, & distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.” I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, & I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, & the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’” Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, & rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, & you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”[See Heb. 1:5]
Jn. 12:12-16—“The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees & went out to meet Him, & cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him & that they had done these things to Him.”
Isa. 9:6-7—“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; & the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government & peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David & over His kingdom, To order it & establish it with judgment & justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Argumentation:
Ezek. 36:22-28—“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; & the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, & bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, & you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness & from all your idols. I will give you a new heart & put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh & give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you & cause you to walk in My statutes, & you will keep My judgments & do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, & I will be your God.
Lk. 5:30-39—“& their scribes & the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat & drink with tax collectors & sinners?” Jesus answered & said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Then they said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often & make prayers, & likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat & drink?” & He said to them, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? “But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.” Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, & also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins & be spilled, & the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, & both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
2Corinthians 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Isa. 1:18-20—“Come now, & let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing & obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse & rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Openness to truth/reason/limitations/change
Illustration:
Home pool/I can choose to send the water either thru or to by-pass the Chlorinator—All the pool water should pass thru the chlorinator/Why?—It must be cleansed!/HONESTY
Potato chip Manufacturing QC/Only the best make it into the bag/But in order for that to happen, all the chips must run thru the gauntlet of specially programmed computerized sensors & people who are specially trained, to remove the undesirable chips as waste/Yes, some ‘bad’ chips get thru the line/HONESTY
An egg after insemination/Outer layer, which previously allowed entrance, is ‘changed’ so that no more can penetrate the egg/Closed off to any other/HONESTY
I had to have eye-glasses in order to get my driver’s license in high school/Had to be honest with myself that my sight wasn’t what it should be/I can still remember my first sight upon getting glasses—I remember looking at an oak tree & seeing individual leaves instead of an indistinct mass of green!/What a beautiful sight!/HONESTY
Human nature—To deny our fallibility(sinful nature) is ludicrous!/HONESTY
Initial questioning of someone regarding their spiritual status, Part of one evangelism tool(the name of which I have now forgotten) asks, ?“If what you believe right now was wrong, would you want to know it?”/This immediately approaches the honesty issue/Causes them to consider that their trust can possibly be faulty—empty, traditionalized, popularized, politicized, culturalized, etc./HONESTY
Application:
?Your HONESTY drawn you to(or away from) Jesus?
?You Drawn to discipleship with Jesus?
8—Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…
MULTIPLE PROOFs(:50-51)
Explanation:(:50-51)Conviction/Doubt removed
:50—“Jesus answered & said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ”
Jesus told Nathanael that the miracle that he witnessed in Jesus was only the beginning & that he would see many more & “greater” proofs of His deity.
“Believe”—pisteuw—1)To think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in—1a) of the thing believed—1a1) To credit, have confidence, 1b) in a moral or religious reference—1b1) used in the NT Of the conviction & trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner & higher prerogative & law of soul, 1b2) To trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith 1bc) Mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith; 2) To entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity—2a) To be entrusted with a thing.
“See”(See :51)—optanomai—1) To look at, behold; 2) To allow one's self to be seen, to appear. Strong—a (middle voice) prolonged form of the primary (middle voice) optomai; which is used for it in certain tenses; & both as alternate of oraw; to gaze (i.e. with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable; & thus differing from blepw, which denotes simply voluntary observation; & from eidw, which expresses merely mechanical, passive or casual vision; while yeaomai, & still more emphatically its intensive yewrew, signifies an earnest but more continued inspection; & skopew a watching from a distance).
“Greater”—meizwn—Adj. Comparative—1) Greater, larger, elder, stronger. Strong—irregular comparative of megav[big]; Larger(literally or figuratively, specifically in age).
“These”—toutwn—Pronoun—1) Of these. Strong—genitive case plural masculine or neuter of outov; Of(from or concerning) these(persons or things).
:51—“& He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, & the angels of God ascending & descending upon the Son of Man.”
‘Jacob’s ladder’ is alluded to here, which also informs us further of Jesus’ identity & nature.
Gen. 28:12-19—“Then he[Jacob] dreamed, & behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, & its top reached to heaven; & there the angels of God were ascending & descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it & said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father & the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you & your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west & the east, to the north & the south; & in you & in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you & will keep you wherever you go, & will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep & said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, & I did not know it.” & he was afraid & said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, & this is the gate of heaven!” Then Jacob rose early in the morning, & took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, & poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.”
The “you/ye/y’all” is plural & the promise is for all the disciples.
By means of “the Son of Man” & “the Son of God”(:49) “heaven” becomes “open,” whereas it had formerly been closed.
Jesus “is the personal embodiment of [Jacob’s] Bethel(“...house of God”)”—NAC
“Angels” both come & go by means of Jesus as they “ascend & descend” “upon” Him. Likewise:
Jn. 14:6—“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
1Tim. 2:5—“For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus,”
“Angels” being ministers from God ‘for’ man’s sake(Heb. 1:14), thus “descend” from & “ascend” to “heaven.”
Notice that the “angels” which are at Jesus’ beck & call are also “of God.”
We have only one means of bridging the gap between God & man, i.e., thru Jesus.
Jesus’ glory(God) is revealed in His suffering(Man) undertaken thru His taking on human flesh(Php. 2:5-8; Heb. 2:9-18).
Mk.13:26; 14:62—“& then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power & glory.”.....“& Jesus said, I am. And you will see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of the Power, & coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Thus the ‘Proof’ for our belief should minimally involve 4 things:
1)The unexplainable(not necessarily proof, but rather is a bolster to proof). Many things are unexplainable with the explanation incorrect. Faith grounded solely on miracles is insecure.—D. A. Carson. Jn. 4:48; Lk. 16:19-31;
Lk. 16:19-31—“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple & fine linen & fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came & licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, & was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died & was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes & saw Abraham afar off, & Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried & said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, & send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water & cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, & likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted & you are tormented. And besides all this, between us & you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses & the prophets; let them hear them.’ “& he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses & the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
Php. 4:6-7—“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer & supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; & the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.”
2)Heaven’s “opening.”—Is heaven “opened”? Why & How?
3)Ascent/Descent of (decidedly)God’s heavenly beings(“angels”)—Are these of God?
4)The “Son of Man”—His identity & actions? Are they biblical? Argumentation:
Deut. 13:1-5—“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, & he gives you a sign or a wonder, & the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’--which you have not known--‘& let us serve them,’ “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart & with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God & fear Him, & keep His commandments & obey His voice, & you shall serve Him & hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt & redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.”
Jn. 11:37-45—“& some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, & a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes & said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. “And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” & he who had died came out bound hand & foot with graveclothes, & his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, & let him go.” Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, & had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.”
Mat. 13:12—“For whoever has, to him more will be given, & he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
Lam. 3:22-24—“Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” ”
Ps. 145:17-19—“The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry & save them.”
Acts 1:3; 2:22—[the apostles]to whom He[Jesus] also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days & speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”.....“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, & signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--
Heb. 2:4—“God also bearing witness both with signs & wonders, with various miracles, & gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?”
Rom. 3:21-27—“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.”
All in accord with reality.
Jn. 14:2-18—“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, & the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, & how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, & the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; & from now on you know Him & have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, & it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, & yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, & the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father & the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; & greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you & will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
Illustration:
Guys, how were you first attracted to your girl-friend?/Much more(than looks) had to be there in order for you to commit to her as being your wife!/Her character is what brings commitment/MULTIPLE PROOFs
Attraction eventually becomes commitment/MULTIPLE PROOFs
Deer hunting/That looks like fun!/Try sitting in a stand for hour upon hour in the cold or heat attacked by bugs/If that’s your cup-of-tea, then deer hunting is for you—if not then do something else with your time & money/MULTIPLE PROOFs
As a kid—Electric ice-cream churn/I was fascinated with how you could make ice-cream by just rotating a cylinder of cream!/I was always drawn to sit around the churn/I helped add ice & keep the ice from stopping the rotation/MULTIPLE PROOFs
Application:
?Your MULTIPLE PROOFs drawn you to(or away from) Jesus?
?You Drawn to discipleship with Jesus?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Disciples are drawn to Jesus thru their…
7. HONESTY(:47-49)Pretense
8. MULTIPLE PROOFs(:50-51)Conviction
1. DIRECTION(:35-36)Discipleship
2. DISCOVERY(:37-39)
3. PRIORITY(:40-42a)
4. PROMISE(:42b)
5. INVITATION(:43-44)
6. PRESUMPTION(:45-46)
Presented 10/26/2014pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave(Ave A) SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
