Our Father, the Almighty One,
we thank You through Jesus Christ our Lord for the great mercy
which You have bestowed upon us through Thy Son, the Lord
Jesus. And we pray that Your grace will
be in our heart this evening, that we might understand the
things that are before us. We pray You'll open our heart
and our understanding We pray that these things might be a
blessing to us as we behold through the Scripture the One whom God
has sent into the world. For we ask it in the holy, blessed
name of Jesus. Amen. All right, in John chapter
1, verse 43 through verse 51, for our text of the evening,
please. Verse 43, the day following Jesus
would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith
unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida,
the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and
saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law
and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said unto him, Can
there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto
him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael beholding
him, and saith unto him, Behold an Israelite in whom is no guile. Nathanael saith unto him, knowest
thou me?" Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip
called thee, when thou was under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto
him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of
Israel. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree,
believest thou? thou shalt see greater things
than these. And he said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the heaven open,
and the Son of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
Man." Now, I'd like to take those verses back there in verse 45 We have found Him of whom Moses
in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the
son of Joseph. Now these events of which we
have read occurred early in the ministry of our Lord. In fact, He is here gathering
together that body of Apostle. The public ministry of the Lord
is just beginning. even in the beginning of their
unveiling of that One who has been sent down from God. And the One set forth in the
Old Testament oracle. The One all of the prophets spoke
about. All of them prophesied and said
that He was coming. This Jesus, they said, is the
One who is the subject of all of those prophecies. Basically,
that's the gist of our study today. But before we take that
up, let's take notice of two things that preceded the events
that are in our text, the verses we read. Number one, the first
is the view of Christ that John has set forth, establishing Him
beyond dispute as the deity, the one of God with deity. You
have that in verses 1 through 3 of the first chapter. John
actually opens his gospel with a declaration of the deity of
the Lord. John declares Him to be eternal
with the Father. He declares Him to be the co-existing
One. And as one expositor that I was
reading put it, John opens his gospel with a very clear and
a very strong declaration of our Lord's nature as God, and
even ascribing unto Him creation, declaring the eternal divinity
of the Son. And that includes the fact that
a. He was in the beginning, b. He was with God in the beginning,
and c. He that was in the beginning
was God, and therefore the deity of our Lord is set forth in the
first verses of this Gospel. And not only that, but He declares
the eternal Word has been incarnated in flesh in the first chapter
of the Gospel of John. He has become the God-man. He has assumed human nature. He is God and man in one person. He was always God, and yet He
assumed human nature in the fullness of time. And this is what John
means when he said that the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us, and in Him we beheld the glory of the Father. Not only
here in the beginning, But later also, John lays emphasis upon
the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. That this entire gospel is busy
declaring the deity of our Lord. Some good expositors are of the
opinion that the reason for John's very strong declaration concerning
the deity of our Lord was to combat some heresy that had already
arisen this early in the history of the church, and that heresy
pertained to the person of Christ. It is believed that John wrote
his gospel later than the others, and that some heresies regarding
the person of Christ had already popped up their head. And so
John writes this, defending the deity of our Lord and our Savior
against such heretics as those dead dogs, Serenthias and Ebean,
who early on denied the truth of our Lord. Now the second thing
which connects to the first, and it brings us up to our text
of the evening, is the account of a man of whom John says he
was sent from God, chapter 1 and verse 6. He means John the Baptist,
the herald and the forerunner of Christ, a man who was by God
uniquely qualified and uniquely prepared for a short ministry
as the forerunner of Jesus. who was more than a private witness
to our Lord, but was, as Calvin called him, the ambassador of
God as he came announcing and preparing the way for the Lord. John describes himself In chapter
1 and verse 23, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
make straight the way of God. And of course, he has in mind
that passage of Scripture in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 3
that spoke of one who would be a herald of our Lord. He was
to bear witness of the light. He was not that light, but was
to bear witness of that light. He exalted Christ and he abased
himself. He said, I only baptize you with
water, but there cometh one after me who is mightier than I, and
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Matthew 3 and verse 11. John did baptize Jesus in the
water, in the water of Bethsaida, and an amazing thing happened
when the Lord was baptized. That is, the Spirit of God descended
upon our Lord in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven
cried out, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased. Matthew 3, verses 16 and 17. A divine testimony to the person
of Christ at His baptism. Not only that, but this was a
confirming sign unto John the Baptist, John 1 and verse 33,
that the anointing of Jesus by the Holy Spirit of God was a
sign and a mark of the identity of Christ as the Messiah. And then before we move on, let's
remember the great way that John introduced Jesus to the people. Behold the Lamb of God, John
1.29 and 1.36. And once he adds, who takes away
or bears away the sin of the world. He, by dying, bearing
away the sins of the world, for the Lord God had made them to
lie upon Him. Now, let's take note of how John
does not portray the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not portray Him
to them as saying, behold, here is your earthly prince. Here
is your king to deliver you. Here is the one to break the
yoke of Roman subjection. But a sin-bearer, a lamb to be
slain. One bearing sin who would be
slain for the sins of his people. Now in chapter 1, John makes
the transition from John and his disciples, that is, John
the Baptist and his disciples, to Jesus, and his disciple. And as we note that when John
said the second time, Behold the Lamb of God to those that
stood by, two of his own disciples left him and went and followed
Jesus. From that time forward, the Lord
began to assemble together the apostolate, that band of men
that he would choose and call and teach and train and prepare
them for their ministry. These men who would guide the
churches and write the Scripture after the Master has ascended
back yonder into heaven and would be led of the Spirit of God to
write most of the New Testament has been given us by the apostles
of our Lord. Now, in our text we have some
recognizable names here to look at. Names such as Andrew, Simon
Peter we know about him, Philip, Nathaniel. All of these are brought
before us in this drama that unfolds. And in John 1 and verse
42, Jesus gives Peter a very strong hint. that he will be
an important instrument of the Lord, renaming him Peter or Cephas,
which actually means a stone. Now, let's focus on the development
of the apostolate as the Lord begins to assemble His servants
about Him. First, there are two of John
the Baptist's disciples that become disciples of the Lord.
One of them was Andrew. and another not named. And I
believe that's John, the author of this, because John seldom
ever used his name as he wrote about himself in the Gospel.
Now in verse 41 and verse 42, Andrew brings Simon to Jesus,
saying to him, We have found the Messiah. Then in verse 43
and verse 44, Philip is called by the Lord and put in that little
band of servants the Lord is gathering together. In verse
45 through verse 51, Nathanael is added to that number of men
who would follow and be instructed by the Lord. Nathanael, convinced
of his person by no ordinary means or manner. Now, some observation
on these things. such as these men were brought
before Jesus by others. Andrew brought by Simon Peter. Rather, he brought Simon Peter
in verse 41 and 42. Philip brought Nathanael, saying,
Come and see the one that we have found. And each one was
given a strong recommendation of Christ. We found a Messiah. We found Him written up in the
Old Testament Scripture. Look again as Andrew tells Simon
in verse 41, we have found Messiah. Philip tells Nathanael in verse
45, we have found Him that Moses and the prophets did write about
in the Scripture. It is most likely that each of
these men were of that small number of Jews who, based upon
the testimony of the Old Testament Scripture, lived in expectation
of a coming Messiah and Deliverer, such as Simeon, remember him,
in Luke chapter 2 and verse 25, quote, waited for the consolation
of Israel, unquote. Not everyone was an apostate. Not everyone was a self-righteous
pharisee among that nation. Here's a man who waited for the
consolation of Israel. Here's a man also who had been
given a special revelation that he would not die until he had
seen the Lord's Christ. In Luke 2 and 38, there were
others that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And a man named
Joseph that we meet with in Luke 23 and verse 51 is said to be
also himself waited for the kingdom of God. Paul speaks, Acts 24
and 6, of the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers. And in Acts 28 and verse 20,
he speaks of the hope of Israel that he was engaged in the ministry
toward. Of course it is true that many
such Jews erred and erred badly in their expectation of what
Messiah would be and also what He would do. Many held expectations
no further than Messiah would be a mighty temporal Prince that
would come and would deliver them from their present Roman
bondage. And not only that, but elevate
Israel again once more to be the head of the nation. They've
had thoughts of the coming Messiah that He would crush their enemies
before them. Some lived in expectation only
of a political liberty rather than a spiritual liberty through
Christ. Nevertheless, most in Israel
cherish the hope of a great one to come. Many of them had heard,
they had learned, they had read. A mighty one would come, they
knew, anointed by God, and would do great and mighty works. And
that expectation was kindled in them as they read over and
over Moses and the psalm and the prophet, and that the Scripture,
especially Moses, were read every Sabbath day in the synagogue,
Acts 15 and 21. Moses had them that preach him
every Sabbath in the synagogue. Here again, the early confession.
We have found the Messiah. We have found Him of whom Moses
and the prophets did write. Now, such confessions come not
after years and years of seeing the Lord performing one great
work after another, not after seeing many healing and all manner
of sickness and disease fall before our Savior, not after
seeing Him cast out many devils, putting sight in blind eyes,
and even upon occasion raising up the dead. This they had not
seen as yet, nor having been taught by their Lord as yet,
not being influenced at all by public opinion, nor having yet
seen Him resurrected from the dead. They had seen none of those
things. They believed upon the credit
of the testimony of John the Baptist and the testimony of
the inspired Scripture, the Word of God. Now, before we go further,
let's spend a little time here on this man named Nathan. When told by Philip in verse
45, that they had found the one written about in Moses and also
in the prophet, and that he was Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph the carpenter. Nathanael's reply, he wonders
aloud in verse 46, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? His reasoning was this, Nazareth
had no good reputation at all among her sister city. It was an obscure city sitting
there in the corner of the country. And as Gill notes, it was so
miserable a place that Nathaniel could hardly imagine that any
good thing could possibly come out of it, any good thing like
unto a Messiah. And so Nazareth and Galilee were
held in contempt by most of the Jews in that day. But compare
another passage found in John, this time, chapter 7. And the
uproar that followed when Jesus made that great proclamation
at the feast day, Behold, every one that thirsteth, he that believeth
on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. From that There was a division
among the people. Some heard it and said, you know,
I think this is the prophet. Others heard it and said, you
know, I think that this is the Christ, the Messiah. While others
said, in verse 41 and 42, John chapter 7, shall Christ come
out of Galilee? The Scripture declared that Christ
would be of the seed of David and of the city of Bethlehem. They remembered reading that
in the Scripture. Again, when Nicodemus urged that
none are condemned without justly hearing their case and getting
all the facts, some answered in John 7 and 52, search and
look, they said, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. In other words, they're saying
the prophets said nothing to connect Messiah to Nazareth or
to Galilee. Now, the mistake in both cases
was they stumbled at Christ because of the lowly place of His residence. Because He was a Nazarene. He
lived in Nazareth. He grew up there and lived there.
And because of the lowly reputation of that They therefore transcribed
or forwarded that unto the Lord Jesus. Just as Isaiah described
how the Jews would stumble because of the lowly family that Messiah
descended from. From His calmly appearance, and
from His being a man of sorrow. Isaiah 53, 1-4. All of those things the Jews
looked upon with contempt. He came out of the family of
David when it was at its lowest ebb and not in the days of its
glory. And then Christ upon the cross
they could not conceive of at all. The Son of God on a cross. Messiah crucified in weakness. The Savior of men nailed to a
cross. How can He save others? when
he cannot save himself. And so we read. Let's go back
to Nathanael. As he approached Jesus, without
any introduction whatsoever, the Lord saw Nathanael coming. He looked at him and he said
concerning Nathanael, Behold an Israelite in whom is no guile. And notice that Jesus calls him
a true son of Israel. with a sincere heart. He was a thoroughbred child of
Abraham. He had a heart toward the things
of God and was serious about the things of God. In verse 48,
this both impresses and amazes Nathanael who asks, how is it
that you know me? He'd never met the Lord before.
They'd never been together. His question is, how is it that
you know me and where I am from? For Christ had read his heart
and also read his character. He knew him in and out. So how
is it to have knowledge of me when we have never met? How do
you know me since we have never been together? Now the question
reminds us of that one in John 7 And verse 15, asked by some
Jews, how is it that this man knows letters having never learned? How is it that this man is instructed
in letters having never studied? Having never been in the school
of the rabbi? Having never been instructed
like Paul at the feet of Gamaliel? Studied under famous other men. How is it that he knows letters
and he's never studied? So the Lord displays a deeper
knowledge of this Israelite without guile, telling him in verse 48
and the last part of the verse, before Philip calls you, when
you were yonder under the fig tree, I saw you or I knew you. This settled it for the man Nathanael,
who in verse 49 confessed the Lord to be the Son of God and
the King of Israel. But it puts us in mind of the
Samaritan woman who said in John 4 and verse 29 to the men of
her city, Come, see a man who told me all things that ever
I did. Is not this, could not this be
the Christ? These revelations are impressive. as they recognize the Lord. But
to finish with Nathanael, in verse 50 and verse 51 of the
first chapter of John, and have you considered this? The thing
is, whether it is a question or a statement that we have in
verse 50 of a question, then the sense would be, have you
believed so quickly and having that one evidence? Well, you
haven't seen anything yet. But other expositors believe
that it is a decoration. You have heard, seen, and believed,
and greater things than these shall you do indeed. Returning
to the 45th verse, where the Lord Jesus is described as the
one who fits the description of Moses in the law and of the
writing of the prophet. Moses in the first five books,
the writings of the prophet, and we might throw in the psalm.
In Luke 24 and verse 44, the Lord said, there are things written
concerning Me in Moses, in the psalm, and in the prophet. In John 5.39, the Lord said,
The Scriptures testify of me. I am written about in them. I am the subject of the Scripture. They are they which are given
by inspiration. They speak of me. Search them,
for they speak of me. Jesus Himself did point out specifically
some Scriptures that were fulfilled in His actions while he ministered
upon the earth. He gave some examples. The first
one I'll mention is in Luke 4, verse 21. Remember the occasion
the Lord went to the synagogue as a visiting rabbi? They allowed
him the honor of standing to read or speak. And our Lord took
the book of Isaiah. And he read a passage from the
book of Isaiah found in chapter 61 and verse 1 and verse 2. Remember it said, Thou hast anointed
me to preach the gospel. And the Lord closed the book.
He sat down and He said to them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled
in your ears. What Isaiah said, you have seen
fulfilled here today. In John 13 and verse 18, of his
betrayal by Jesus, quoting Psalm 41 and verse 9, that the Scripture
may be fulfilled. The Son of God is betrayed that
the Scriptures might have their fulfillment. The Lord Jesus in
that parable in Luke chapter 16 of the rich man and Lazarus. And the rich man dies and opens
his eyes in hell. And he cries to Abraham that
Lazarus might come and bring a dip of water and touch his
tongue. Then he says, send someone to
my father's house, lest they come to this awful place. And
the Lord in the parable says this, no, they have Moses and
the prophet. Let them hear them. Let them rely upon the testimony
of the Scripture. If they hear not Moses, if they
hear not the prophet, neither will they be persuaded. even
though one rose again from the grave or from the dead. What
an emphasis is put, therefore, upon the holy oracles of God. Scripture alone, we cry out. Scripture above all else. Scripture above emotion. Scripture above feelings and
traditions and the opinions of men. Even Scripture above miracle,
above philosophy, above social more, Scripture above all else. On any matter, the question ought
to be, what says the Scripture? Romans 4 and verse 1. Paul used
that question to settle the question of Abraham's justification. What shall we say? What is written
in the Scripture concerning Abraham's justification? Also in Galatians
chapter 4 and verse 30. And how often we read in the
Scripture, it is written. Or it has been written. Or the
Scripture said. How often we read that a certain
thing fulfilled a certain portion of the Scripture. And in this
vein then, let's consider two things about the Apostle and
their use of Moses and the Prophet. Number one, in their oral preaching,
they reasoned and they alleged from the Scripture that Jesus
was the Christ, as seen in Acts chapter 2. As Peter preached
on Pentecost, if you read that, you'll see that he quoted from
the Psalm and from the prophet, using again and again the Old
Testament canon of the Scripture with those Jews at Pentecost.
So Paul, in Acts 26 and 22, he said, I continue unto this day,
witnessing both the small and great, saying none other things
than what those that were said by the prophet and Moses that
should come. Again, in Acts 28-23, Even while
in custody in Rome at the authority of Caesar, he testified concerning
Jesus both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets. So they use the Old Testament
Scripture in their preaching. How wonderful the discovery to
be in the presence of one that Moses and the prophets did say
should come. The prophecies are inspired and
therefore are infallible. And they are therefore a reliable
guide to the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah. He alone fit the description
of the prophecy. None other could stake a claim
to Messiahship based upon the prophecies that were fulfilled
in Him. Messiah would be like Moses.
and He would tell them all things. He would come out of the loin
of David. And when the once flourishing
house of David had fallen to a lowly estate, Isaiah 53, verses
1 and 2, He was to be the seed of the woman. He was to be born
of a virgin. The place of His birth would
be called Bethlehem. All of these the Scriptures tell
us about. And wonderful, too, He recognized
Him as that One. To have eyes to see and an understanding
heart to know, this is Him of whom Moses and the prophets did
speak. To discover that by the grace
of God, by the enlightening of our understanding, This is the
One beyond question that the Scriptures have written up and
that have been promised. This is He. Twice in our text,
we found the Messiah. We found the One that Moses and
the prophets did speak about. Now, should any require of us,
of you or me, an answer, why in the light of all the prophecies
that received their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ and
His many undeniable miracles, the works that He did of all
the expectation, why did so few Jews believe on Him? He exactly matches what the prophet
said. He is in every sense demonstrated
to be divine. His deity shines forth. Why then
were so few Jews believing on Him. Well, their eyes were blinded
and their hearts were darkened by God. Yes, by God. 1 Peter 2, verses 7 and 8. And as answered by Paul in Romans
11, 7 through 10, their eyes were blinded. They stumbled.
Their table had become a snare unto them. Well, for that matter,
in light of that question, Why does God send Moses to tell Pharaoh
to let the people go and then harden Pharaoh's heart that he
will not let the people go? Exodus 4 and verse 21 declares
it. Again, why do so many not see
sovereignty when it is so clearly proclaimed in the Scripture and
is one of the main thoughts of the Word of God? Why do some
not see the depravity of man? Why do they not see it when it
is again and again set forth in the Scripture? Why is it a
stumbling block unto so many? Why is our Lord upon the cross
a stumbling block? Ah, but out of the masses of
Israel there were some whose heart the Lord had touched, and
these godly read, they studied the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets,
and were ready for the coming of the Lord, living in expectation. And those versed in the Prophets
recognized Him from Moses and the writings of the Prophets.
This is Him. And this should give more importance
in our eyes to the Old Testament Scripture For Jesus is the pearl
of great price to be found in the Old Testament. He is the
spirit of prophecy. The prophets wrote of me. They spoke of me, he said concerning
them. And then I close by saying we
must ever put the emphasis upon the Scripture. We have erred
as soon as we get away from the Scripture. And the era will continue
and continue. Just an example, I thought of
this yesterday or the day before. I got a beautiful colored brochure
in the mail from some outfit here in Texas. And I opened it
up and what it was was churches were having wrestling matches.
They were wrestling and they were demonstrating we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities. And
so there they were. in the church, gymnasium, wrestling,
throwing one another around. And this is supposed to be part
of the worship of God and the training of the people. We have
the Scripture and Scripture only, and that is our eating. Only the Scripture. What does
the Scripture say? The Scripture says this, and
that settles it for the child of God.