PM John 1:29-51 The Nazarene

[0:00] Philip witnessed about having found him whom Moses and the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

[0:12] So Nathanael said, can anything good come out of Nazareth? And that led me to go on a search of references to Jesus of Nazareth to see what we can see.

[0:30] Can anything good come out of Nazareth? So by looking at various references to when that name is used, I think we can come to see what good did come out of Nazareth.

[0:43] But before we look at that, just a brief introduction about the one-to-one evangelism that's going on, that we read about here. Andrew, first of all, he heard the call to follow Jesus.

[0:57] As you know. And what's the first thing Andrew did when he found Christ? He went to his brother. Now I don't know if many of you have got brothers or sisters, but it is quite difficult, isn't it, to witness to a sibling who doesn't know Christ.

[1:18] But it's very challenging for me. I've actually got a brother, I've got Andrew. So to think, how can you bring somebody that you are relatives with the message of Christ.

[1:33] But that's what Andrew did. He heard the call to follow Christ, and then he sought out, it says, his brother Simon. He had a mission.

[1:43] To seek out just means he spent some time looking for Simon, Peter. And then once he found him, he brought him to Jesus.

[1:55] And we read after that, witness of Andrew bringing Peter to Jesus. The very next day we read that Jesus decides to go to Galilee.

[2:06] And he found Philip and said to him, come, follow me. And Philip was from Bethesda. He was from the same hometown as Andrew and Peter.

[2:17] So the new followers of Jesus were bearing witness of Jesus to others, who in turn became disciples and repeat the process.

[2:29] And isn't that a good method? That we bring someone to Christ and they bring someone to Christ. Imagine if that happened. Your church would double and quadruple.

[2:39] Is that right? That's what happened. Having come to Christ, they bring someone to Christ. They bring someone to Christ and so on.

[2:50] So it's an interesting way. The one-to-one evangelism that's found prior to this encounter with Nathaniel. So Philip was sought out by Jesus.

[3:01] Again, that's an interesting way. It's actually the text. There's a debate about this. He found Philip. Well, I'll just say it's Jesus that found Philip.

[3:14] There's a debate about who found Philip. Was it Andrew or Jesus? Anyway, I'll go with Jesus found Philip. That means that there was some effort.

[3:27] He sought him out. Now, you know yourself if you're seeking something. It means you're taking time. So Jesus actually took time to find Philip.

[3:39] Perhaps to come out of his way. We don't know. And that reminds us just that we, when we seek to find someone, might take us out of our way.

[3:52] And Jesus was willing to seek him out. And he just says, come, follow me. And so Philip was sought out by Jesus.

[4:04] And we're encouraged to take time as well to find someone for Christ. The tense is used here when Jesus calls Philip.

[4:17] Is will you continually follow me? Just reminding us that discipleship is an ongoing lifestyle. It's not just a, let's go and follow Christ today and next week.

[4:31] Continually follow me, Philip. The rest of your life. That's what I'm calling you for. And what did Philip do? He followed him. Continually throughout his life. A lifelong commitment.

[4:42] That's what the tense means here. When Jesus was calling Philip to his lifelong commitment. But the tense, the sort of force of the verb behind it is a command as well.

[5:00] It's commanding Philip. Follow me. Continue to follow me. And this is a command that Jesus still puts out. So to me it's not just a sort of suggestion.

[5:13] It's a command. You tonight have a lifestyle of continually following the Lord and commanding you to do this. And that's what Philip did.

[5:25] And that's what Philip did. He followed Christ as we know for the rest of his life. It might. Philip, like the early disciples, it might have even cost their lives.

[5:37] And we're reminded. It says, take up your cross daily and follow him. So once Philip came to Christ, what happened?

[5:49] He became a seeker. Just like I've been explaining. And he went and found this guy called Nathaniel. And so, as I said earlier, this is how one-to-one evangelism was working.

[6:02] And how the church grew. People kept finding other people for Christ. Because they had good news to share. And again, we're encouraged as disciples. I know it's not easy.

[6:14] But we're encouraged to have one-to-one evangelism. Now, we might not expect immediate results. Like Philip and Nathaniel. Just to suddenly follow him.

[6:25] But praying over time for someone. So, we pray that as they hear God's word, they will take up this call.

[6:37] Come and follow me. So, it's just encouraging as we look at these words of introduction. Just to look for opportunities.

[6:48] In other words, to share our faith with others. And find someone for Jesus. So, it teaches a lot about personal evangelism. Just these opening verses there.

[7:01] As we approach Nathaniel. Now, Nathaniel. Some of you might know. As you know the names of the 12 disciples. There's one called Bartholomew.

[7:13] If I can say that. Bartholomew. And some think Nathaniel and Bartholomew are the same people. If you look at John 21, verse 22. Philip's.

[7:26] The list of names sort of tells us. Philip and then Nathaniel. Who is from Galilee. Be from Cana. So, Philip and Nathaniel are often linked together.

[7:39] And when Philip comes to see Nathaniel. After coming to Christ. He realised something important. He realised we have found him.

[7:50] Of whom Moses and the law. And also the prophets wrote. And so, it seems as though Philip had some knowledge of the Old Testament. And he used that.

[8:00] To try to witness to Nathaniel. About Christ. And we're reminded. I haven't looked at it recently.

[8:11] But I used to use the Thompson Chain Reference Bible quite a lot. In my early days of preaching. I remember.

[8:22] I haven't checked this up. But I do remember. If you look at. If you've got. Maybe it's in concordances as well. But in the Thompson Chain Dictionary. At the end.

[8:32] As you look towards the end of the Bible. There's a whole lot of helps. And one of them is. Prophecies fulfilled. And there's a list. And it's quite a long list.

[8:44] I remember it. There in the Thompson Chain. And that's what Philip speaks about. How Jesus was fulfilling these prophecies.

[8:56] In the Old Testament. Remember the tour on the road to Emmaus. When they were walking. On the road to Emmaus. And interestingly enough. The two in the road to Emmaus.

[9:07] Identify. Jesus of Nazareth. He says. A man. Who was a prophet. Mighty indeed. And word. Before God. And all the people.

[9:18] So these two in the road to Emmaus. Call him Jesus of Nazareth. As well. And they recognize. Him as a prophet. And you remember what Jesus does. In Luke.

[9:29] I think it's Luke 24. Verse 27. That Jesus says. Do you not know the prophets? And he took them. From. What's it say?

[9:40] The. The Psalms. The prophets. He took them through. The Old Testament. In other words. To show them. How they were fulfilled. A wee book at home.

[9:51] It's quite a wee helpful book. It's a very good wee book. I think it's called. On the Road to Emmaus. And what this book does. It kind of speculates.

[10:02] In inverted commas. Which scriptures. Jesus opened from the Old Testament. It goes back. As you might imagine. To Genesis 3. 15. You know.

[10:12] The seed of the woman. How the serpent would come. And crush his heel. Although he would bruise the head. The serpents. How he would bruise Jesus' heel.

[10:24] The serpent's head. Would be crushed. And right through. The Old Testament. There's a very famous prophecy. Deuteronomy 18. 18. About. You are the prophet.

[10:34] Listen to him. And. Jesus fulfills that. He is the prophet. Listen to him. And right through the Old Testament. There's these prophecies.

[10:45] As you know. I think I mentioned one. This morning. Didn't I? About all the prophets. And this is what. Philip went to the Old Testament. And said. We found him.

[10:55] Of whom Moses in the law. And the prophets. Wrote. Jesus of Nazareth. The son of. Son of Joseph. And these two. And the road to Emmaus.

[11:07] Identifies. This. Jesus. As Jesus of Nazareth. They say. A man. Who was a prophet. Mighty indeed. And word. God.

[11:18] So that's. Their use of Jesus of Nazareth. Later on. In Luke's gospel. So can anything good. Come out of Nazareth. Well.

[11:28] The first thing that's good. Is that here. We have someone. Who fulfills. All these prophecies. In the Old Testament. If anybody ever wants to do a series. You could.

[11:39] Make up. A good series. By going. To the Old Testament. There's plenty. Helps. Would help you do that. And look at all. The prophets. And how they were fulfilled.

[11:51] In Jesus. It's an interesting study. And so. What good. Came out of Nazareth. You could have answered. Well. This chap. Actually fulfilled.

[12:01] All these Old Testament. Prophecies. I've been talking about. This Jesus of Nazareth. It's interesting. That. Philip.

[12:13] Uses. That reference. About Jesus of Nazareth. How he fulfilled. The prophets. And that might have. Confused.

[12:23] Nathaniel. A wee bit. Now. There is a prophecy. In. Matthew. 2. 23. And it says. When he went. And lived in a city. Called Nazareth. So that what was spoken.

[12:35] By the prophets. Might be fulfilled. And he would be called. A Nazarene. Now. If you do a biblical study. And if you look at the Old Testament. In detail.

[12:46] There is no specific reference. To that prophecy. Exactly. But the theme. Of him coming out of Nazareth. Is there.

[12:57] But it's hard to find. And that's what puzzles. I think. Nathaniel. And I think that. Alerts us. To using God's word. Wisely.

[13:07] As we speak to people. Matthew. Nathaniel. Was a bit confused. Because. He. Knew his scriptures. I think. He was under the fig tree. In the Old Testament.

[13:18] That's just a. Figure of someone. Meditating. As you might know. When they went under the fig tree. It was a picture of them. Meditating. And I think. Nathaniel was meditating. Under that fig tree. And.

[13:29] He would probably know. His Old Testament. If you look through. I think. There's that sense. In these verses. Nathaniel did have. A knowledge of the Old Testament.

[13:40] And so. He'd be puzzled. But there isn't a prophecy. Is there. About. This guy. Coming out of Nazareth. And so. He was a bit confused. Also.

[13:51] I think. What confused. Nathaniel. Was he was called. The son of Joseph. That's what. Philip called him. Now. Philip was just learning. In his evangelism. And.

[14:04] Sometimes. We learn. And. Calling him. The son of Joseph. Might not have been. The wisest thing. Because. What was expected. Was. A seed. Of the woman. What was expected.

[14:16] Was that. He was born. Of a virgin. So. Calling him. The son of Joseph. Was a bit. Maybe confusing. To somebody. That knew. These prophecies. And so. We learn.

[14:27] From this. From. Philip. Trying to witness. And he. Uses this example. Of. Of. Son of Joseph. And Jesus. Of Nazareth. And. How.

[14:39] That was fulfilled. In Moses. And Nathaniel. Is left a bit. Confused. And so. We mustn't confuse people. With God's word. When we witness for them.

[14:50] And. It's important to. Know our scriptures. And. And. Present it. And. And then.

[15:01] As we look further. Into this question. Can anything good. Come out of Nazareth. Well. Yes. He fulfilled these prophecies. Of the Old Testament. And.

[15:13] He fulfilled. These prophecies. Nazareth. Nazareth. After all. Was a very. Secluded place. In the geography.

[15:25] Of the region. So. And that added. To the confusion. Then. The next reference. To Jesus of Nazareth. One of the earliest references. Is in Luke.

[15:36] Chapter 1. From verse 26. The announcement. To Mary. By Gabriel. Took place. Place. In Nazareth. Interestingly enough.

[15:48] Something really important. Was happening. At that time. At the time of the year. We're thinking about. And there's a wee. Quote. I've stolen a line. I think. From a carol. The Virgin Mary.

[15:59] Had a baby boy. The Virgin Mary. Had a baby boy. And his name. And his name. Was Jesus. If I remember rightly. And that's what we're remembering. At this time of year.

[16:09] And that's what happened. In Luke chapter 1. There. And that announcement. Was made. In Nazareth. But interesting. Enough. As you study that prophecy. As that announcement.

[16:20] Rather. And how the Holy Spirit. Came upon Mary. Allowing her to conceive. It says. He will be great. And he will be called. The son of the most high.

[16:31] And the Lord God. Will give to him. The throne of his father. David. And he will reign. Over the house of Jacob. Forever. And of his kingdom. There will be no end. So the child.

[16:42] To be born. Will be the Messiah. Fulfilling. The prophecy. Of a famous prophecy. Amongst many. Is that of. You'll notice. 2 Samuel 7. Where.

[16:56] It says. I will raise up. For your offspring. After you. You shall come. Who will come. From your body. And I will establish. His kingdom. He shall build a house.

[17:07] For my name. And I will establish. The throne. Of his kingdom. Forever. And all these aspects. Of that prophecy. In Samuel. Were fulfilled. In.

[17:18] In. These words. Of Luke. That. He was. Going to be. A great name. He was going to have. A messiah throne. He was a divine. Sonship. He was the eternal kingdom.

[17:30] So the good. That came out of. Nathas. Was the one. Who was promised. Who fulfilled. As we've seen. The prophecies. But not only that. He was. The son. Of the most high.

[17:41] You remember. When. They came to hunt. For Jesus. At the end. Of his life. In the garden. Wasn't it. And they came. To ask him. Came to.

[17:52] Arrest him. And. Jesus says. Well. Who are you seeking. What was the answer. Jesus. Of Nazareth. And what did Jesus reply.

[18:03] I am he. Now. As you know. That reply. Is referring back. To. The name of God. I am. I think in the original. Just I am. If I remember rightly.

[18:14] I am. And that's why. They fell backwards. Because Christ was declaring. I am. I am. Yahweh. And so. The son of the most high.

[18:25] Was. I am. He was Yahweh. The one that was promised. At that birth. As I read. There. In the. Earlier.

[18:37] In that prophecy. Of. He will be called. The son of the most high. That son of the most high. Is the great. I am. But there is an interesting thing.

[18:49] About the son of the most high. There is an amazing thing. About that. Thing. And I will just. Draw that to your attention. Once we come to faith in him. And demonstrate.

[19:01] That by living out a life. Of love to others. We too. Are called. The sons of the most high. This is in Luke 6.35. But love your enemies.

[19:13] And do good. And mind. Expecting nothing. In return. And your reward. Will be great. And you. Will be called. Sons of the most high. For he is kind.

[19:24] To the ungrateful. So the Christian reward. Is to be understood. In terms of communion with God. An opportunity to serve. So the one who is. The most high.

[19:35] The one who is the great. I am. Who came out of Nazareth. Says to us. You. Now. Are the sons of the most high. What good came out of Nazareth. Well.

[19:45] He adopts us. And we are now called. The sons of the most high. Once we come to him. We are given that title. According to Luke 6. So that's what good came out of Nazareth.

[19:58] We are now. The sons of the most high. So. Let me jump now. To Luke. I told you. It was a kind of study.

[20:09] About this Nazareth. Nazareth. Theme. And. Jumping to Luke 2. You know. About Jesus. Now. Your children aren't quite 12 yet.

[20:20] But this. Jesus was just 12 years old. And. You remember the story. He was at the temple. And he was. Speaking. And people were. Looking. A 12 year old.

[20:31] Teaching them. With such wisdom. And at the end of that. At that account. It says. And the child grew. And became strong. Filled with wisdom. And you remember how.

[20:43] Jesus used this wisdom. He. He. Taught his disciples. People were completely confused. When he. Preached.

[20:53] Because he spoke with authority. Because he had that wisdom. And God's favour was upon him. And so. Another thing that came out of Nazareth.

[21:04] Was this wise. Jesus. The wisdom that he used. So. If you read through. The parables. For example. It's a. It's a. Remarkable way of communicating.

[21:15] Wasn't it. To the. Folk of his time. The truth of the gospel. They're just wonderful pictures. These parables. And. He teaches that way. And.

[21:26] The wisdom. When answering. At the drop of a hat. He came out with such wonderful answers. That astounded them. Didn't he? So. What came out of Nazareth.

[21:37] Was this. Wisdom. From a twelve year old. From. It might have been before that. But. From scripture. We know from a twelve year old. This. Boy that came out of Nazareth.

[21:48] Was a wise. And. Filled with wisdom. And that's the good. That came out of Nazareth. So. Continuing the study. In Luke 4.

[22:00] We read this. Jesus came to Nazareth. When he had. Been brought up. And as was his custom. He went to the synagogue. On the Sabbath day. And as he stood up.

[22:11] To read. The scroll. Of the prophet Isaiah. Was given to him. So there's another example. Of prophecies being fulfilled. As he opened that scroll. And you know these verses.

[22:22] And he quotes Isaiah. Isaiah 35 and 61. And he says. The spirit of the Lord. Is upon me. Because he has anointed me. To proclaim the good news. To the poor.

[22:33] Proclaim liberty. To the captives. Recovering sight. To the blind. To set out. At liberty. Those who are oppressed. To proclaim the year. Of the Lord's favour. And he rolled up the scroll.

[22:44] And gave it back. To folk. And. And. The eyes of the synagogue. Were fixed in him. And he began to say to them. Today. The scriptures have been fulfilled. In your hearing.

[22:55] So you use this wisdom. By expounding scripture. And not only that. By saying. They're fulfilled in me. So you see how. What came out of Nazareth.

[23:06] Was this man. Who was able to use scripture. Not only use it. But show how he was fulfilling. These prophecies. And. And. Going about.

[23:17] In that compassionate ministry. That he had. In reaching out. To those folk. In these different situations. Jesus saw.

[23:28] Then. Himself. As coming. With good news. For troubled people. Despite that. Interesting. Background. We read that.

[23:38] He was rejected. Actually. In Nazareth. And. All that we know. About Christ. That we've. And you've heard down. Through the years. That's something.

[23:50] That we must never do. Reject. Like these people. Nazareth did. Reject Jesus. So. The very name Jesus. As we said.

[24:00] I think already. This morning. Is. He'll save his people. From their sins. Remember when Pilate. Put this cross. The sign up on the cross.

[24:11] Much to the. Upset. Of everybody. And he put up the sign. What did he put? Jesus. Of. Nazareth. The king of the Jews. He put that.

[24:23] On the cross. Reminding us. That Jesus. Nazareth. Became a curse. For us. So. As we think about that. And we think about.

[24:33] Peter's preaching. In Acts. He went about. Doing good. Says Peter. Healing. All who were oppressed. By the devil. For God was with him. And we were witnesses. Of all he did.

[24:44] They put him to death. But God raised him. And made him. To appear to us. Who has been chosen. By God. As witnesses. And he commanded us. To preach to the people. And to testify. He is the one.

[24:55] Appointed by God. To judge. The living and the dead. To him. All the prophets. Bear witness. That everyone who believes in him. Will receive forgiveness. Of sins.

[25:05] Through his name. So the good. That comes out. Of Nazareth. Is that. This one. Would forgive. People. For their sins. Because Pilate. Unknowingly.

[25:16] Was declaring. That Jesus. Of Nazareth. Was there. The king. Of the Jews. And he. He brought this curse. Upon himself. So that we wouldn't be cursed.

[25:28] So. A good comrade of Nazareth. He fulfilled these prophecies. He brought the good news. He. Had this wisdom. And. He.

[25:38] Gave us this. Forgiveness. Of sins. That we read about. But then. As Peter. Goes on to preach elsewhere. In Acts. Peter often mentions about Jesus of Nazareth a man he says attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders raised him from the dead what good came out of Nazareth?

[26:03] the resurrection yes, like we read there he was nailed to that tree the curse of God fell upon him but then Jesus of Nazareth Peter calls him Jesus Christ of Nazareth he was raised from the dead he preaches there in Acts chapter 2 and then when Peter, remember that famous chorus silver and gold, have I none?

[26:28] what I have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk again the resurrection is mentioned under that name Jesus of Nazareth so what good came out of Nazareth was the one who died for us rose from the dead and is alive today he's one who can be encountered personally he's living I think I've told you before I used to say the creed as it was brought up in the Episcopal Church we said it I think every week if I remember rightly if not every second week it was a long time ago and one of the things in that creed says and on the third day he rose again how many times have I said that as a child growing up in that church until one day I realised he raised him from the dead he's alive that means I can meet him and encounter him isn't it funny how suddenly the light comes on and we're faced with that truth a risen saviour

[27:32] Jesus of Nazareth is risen indeed there's a in certain churches at Easter time the call goes out Jesus Christ is risen and the congregation all respond to think he's risen indeed and that's what came out of Nazareth the good news and as that sermon went on Peter calls him the cornerstone and he goes on to say salvation is found only in him there's no other name under earth that can provide salvation so what good came out of Nazareth is the good news that only in Jesus there is salvation what good came out of Nazareth only in Christ who was crucified and brought the curse upon himself for her sins but rose from the dead only in his name of Jesus of Nazareth can we experience salvation and another interesting thing was that when Saul was walking on that famous road to Damascus suddenly somebody appeared to him and Peter and Saul was astounded and

[29:01] Jesus we read that on the Damascus of road when Saul was so confused saying who are you what was the reply I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting reminding us that the risen Christ identifies with his people now Saul wasn't persecuting Jesus per se but he was persecuting those who bore the name of Jesus and that's what Jesus says I am Jesus and that's whom you are persecuting so Jesus identifies with us and we are encouraged that we are his sheep and he is our good shepherd remember there is one more incident I will draw to your mind in this study tonight about what good came out of Nazareth and it is a well known story of Jesus as he was walking around as he did and as we read in the prophecies there that were fulfilled in him as he rolled up the scroll healing the blind and here he was in Jericho one day and a blind man was sitting on the woodside begging and he heard the crowd he couldn't see but there was a bath around the crowd so he said what's happening they told him

[30:27] Jesus of Nazareth is passing by now if he hadn't acted there and then that would have happened nothing there was one opportunity that that man who was blind had Jesus of Christ is passing by oh I must act now Jesus of Nazareth is passing by I must act now people rebuked him be quiet he cried out of the more son of David have mercy upon you but I think that's like tonight it's as though Jesus is passing by and there's an urgency to call out to him and not to be cleaned to be cured of our blindness per se but cured of our spiritual blindness an opportunity might pass it was passing by I'm sure you've heard sermons about that that is

[31:30] Jesus of Nazareth don't let Jesus of Nazareth who fulfilled these prophecies who bore the curse of the cross so that we would be forgiven that rose from the dead that was so wise in his deliverance don't let him pass by now as Nathaniel was Philip answered him and talking to him what happened when he asked that question come and see there was lots of questions Nathaniel had a lot of debate could go on and on as you know but the best way is to say come and see for yourself he'll answer all your questions that you have as many of you know there's a famous book called who moved the stone by Frank Morrison he had lots of questions and he actually deliberately went out to disprove the resurrection of Jesus you know the story I'm sure and at the end of the day he became a Christian and you see it's we can have all sorts of questions but the simple answer is well come and see what

[32:43] Jesus can do for your life and in Nathaniel it says you are the son of God you are the king of Israel so can anything good come out of Nazareth well come and see for yourself there's a mighty prophet in word and deed he fulfilled the covenant he was anointed by the Holy Spirit he has brought us the good news he rose from the dead he provides forgiveness for our sins but not only that how does your life how does my life demonstrate that something good has come out of Nazareth do others see that I've been forgiven does my life reflect that I'm a son of the most high remember he's passing by and people who need to call out to him now now is the time of salvation may God bless these few thoughts to us tonight shall we conclude our worship by singing to his praise in psalm 116 verses 1 through