Well, good morning.
It was about a decade ago that we recognized that as a church,
But as a church, in our regular song repertoire, we didn't have very many songs for the suffering, for the brokenhearted on Sunday mornings.
And so we set out to find those songs and sing those songs more regularly together.
I'm grateful for the guys that lead our music and them leading us in songs like I ask the Lord that I might grow.
So our text for today is John chapter one, verses thirty five through fifty one.
So if you'll please join me there. John chapter one, verses thirty five through fifty one, which is the end of the chapter.
Last week, our attention was on verses nineteen through thirty seven, as we considered the faithful witness of John the Baptist.
We divide our thoughts into three points that followed John the Apostle's narrative arc through three consecutive days.
On the first day, John the Baptist is questioned and clarifies who he is.
I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.
Verse twenty three is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah.
The record of the second day begins in verse twenty nine.
There we read the next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
And then in verses thirty five and thirty six, the third day we see the same proclamation.
The next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,
behold, behold, the Lamb of God.
The remainder of this chapter and our text for today concludes this third day, speaks of a fourth day and perhaps the events of a fifth with a focus on the calling of Jesus' first disciples.
Jesus had twelve apostles during his earthly ministry.
I state the number in that way because it depends on whether or not you care to count Judas as an apostle and then add Matthias who replaced Judas and then Paul later on.
So the resurrected Christ in his heavenly ministry could be said to have twelve or thirteen apostles.
But I digress. Twelve apostles.
We'll stick with that number for today's purpose.
The five men we will see in our text today are the first of those twelve.
And before we read the text and begin to work through it, I want to make two observations worth noting.
So some some filters, just some things to notice before we read the text together.
Firstly, John never calls them apostles all throughout this gospel account.
He always uses the term disciple.
Now, I admit that I want to spend more time considering why this may be.
But I think just in a precursory fashion, I think that John is hoping that his readers will journey with Jesus and adhere to his teaching,
which is what a disciple is, is one who follows.
So that, chapter 20, verse 31,
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.
I think that John means for us to see the disciples following Jesus,
so that we will be disciples of Jesus.
I think he's trying not to put them in a different category,
but merely saying these were men that followed Christ.
Secondly, John doesn't mention the calling of any other disciples.
It's just today's text.
I don't think that means that he thinks these men to be of particular value.
I will highlight what I believe is his particular humility,
but I think he means for us to note a pattern in the ministry of Jesus' calling of disciples.
So let's work together to see if we can understand that pattern.
John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 35.
Beloved, this is God's word to us, written for his glory and for our good,
that we might believe its promises, obey its commands, and have affection for its author.
May we hear it and respond accordingly to it.
The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples,
and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,
Behold, the Lamb of God.
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them,
What are you seeking?
And they said to him,
Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying?
He said to them, Come, and you will see.
So they came and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and follow Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him,
We have found the Messiah, which means Christ.
He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
You are Simon, the son of John.
You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter.
The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
He found Philip and said to him, Follow me.
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
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.
Nathanael said to him,
Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Philip said to him,
Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
Behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.
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.
Nathanael answered him,
Rabbi, you are the son of God.
You are the king of Israel.
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.
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.
Now last week we had a pretty simple outline.
It was day one, day two, day three.
This week, similarly simple,
Number one, we'll follow the disciples calling Andrew,
And I'm going to add plus John.
Number two, Simon Peter.
Number three, Philip.
And number four, Nathanael.
So firstly, Andrew plus John.
So we're picking up,
We looked at this text in brief last week,
But we're picking up there again.
It's on this day in succession,
The third day that we see John the Baptist standing with two of his disciples.
And let's deal first with the names of these two disciples.
At this point in the narrative, we don't know who they are,
But we find out in verse 40 that one of them is Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
I believe that the second unnamed disciple is John himself, our author.
John the Apostle, our author.
When I introduced this book to you, I spent considerable time on its authorship.
This gospel nowhere mentions its author,
Neither does it mention the Apostle John.
But the case has been well made that this was an expression of humility on his part.
He doesn't entirely exclude himself from the narrative,
But just never mentions himself by name.
I'll godly speak more to this if you'd like to talk to me
At a later time about it.
Some have suggested that the unnamed disciple is Philip,
Which may be true,
But I find the evidence what little there is,
That this is John omitting his own name,
Just a more convincing argument.
These two disciples of John the Baptist,
Who would have been convicted of their sin,
Remember that John the Baptist was teaching of the need for repentance,
For both Gentiles and Jews to repent.
His baptism was a baptism of repentance.
This is the way he's preparing the way for the Messiah.
Teaching people that they need the Messiah to come and deliver them,
Not from Roman captivity,
But from captivity to their sin.
So these two disciples of John the Baptist,
Knew they needed a Savior.
So they respond in the most reasonable of ways,
To John's declaration,
Behold the Lamb of God.
They would have understood all the Lamb symbolism.
They would have known that they needed a sacrifice to be made for their sin.
And as John applies this title to Jesus,
They get who Jesus is,
The one who could take away their sin.
So what do they do?
They follow him.
Now we have to be careful at this point,
We don't want to suggest at this point,
That they are in fact disciples,
Just by the mere following.
They're walking down the road after him.
And we know that because Jesus in verse 38,
Turns and sees them,
And asks them a question.
The very first recorded word of Jesus in John's gospel,
Is an extraordinarily important question.
First time Jesus has spoken in the narrative so far.
And he asks this very important question,
What are you seeking?
Jesus knew that they were after something.
In fact, the embodied Jesus was omniscient.
So he already knew the answer to the question.
But the question is an extraordinarily important question
To be asked for their sake.
In their pursuit of Jesus, he asks them,
What do you want from me?
I know many of you,
And I know why you are here this morning.
But I don't know all of you half as much as I would like to.
You have gathered today with disciples of Jesus Christ.
I assume, for those of you that I don't know well,
That you are seeking something.
Why else would you spend this?
Why would you be doing this on a Sunday morning?
Of all the things that you could be doing,
What are you seeking?
What do you want from Jesus?
Not all the possible answers to this question
Are good, right answers.
Perhaps you are seeking Jesus
Because you want comfort or ease.
You think he will relieve your trouble in this world.
Coming to Jesus, obeying God,
Will somehow make life go smoother for you.
Maybe you are following,
You are seeking after Jesus
Because you are looking for some sense of community.
You are lonely,
And you have noticed
That communities of faith
Tend to be fairly devoted to one another.
They tend to love each other
As they are commanded to.
You think a church is the answer
To alleviate your relationship challenges.
As a side note,
I can tell you if that is why you are here,
You are going to be disappointed at times
Because we are not perfect people.
Perhaps you are seeking after Jesus
For the alleviation of your guilt.
You recognize that you are sinful
And you know that you need something
To come in and take care of your guilt
Before God.
And that is a good motivation.
But often we do that
And we don't expect it to cost us anything at all.
We don't want to take up our cross
And follow Jesus.
We want the guilt taken away.
But we want to live however we want to live after that.
And so we show up on Sundays
Thinking that we are somehow putting weight
On the scale of our iniquity.
If we just do the good things
God has asked us to do enough of
It will outweigh those bad things that we do.
We are not seeking the kind of forgiveness
Offered in the gospel.
We are seeking a forgiveness
That liberates us to live how we want to.
What are you seeking?
Now the two disciples' response
Seems to sidestep the question.
But I suggest to you that it doesn't.
They said to him
Rabbi
And you'll notice these
Parenthetical insertions
On the part of John
He's translating
For his Greek readers.
Here he's recording a Hebrew word
He's translating it into Greek.
Rabbi
Which means
Teacher
Where are you staying?
To call Jesus Rabbi
Was a term of great respect.
They were expressing
That they had much to learn from him
And I think so much to learn from him
That the question expresses a desire
To tarry with him.
They so respect him as teacher
They know they need to spend time
With Jesus.
It is getting late in the day
The next verse tells us.
And they want to stay with Jesus
And learn.
I think their answer to his question
What are you seeking?
Is
You.
I think that's what they say
In response.
Jesus says
What are you seeking?
And they say
You.
Teacher
Where are you staying?
We want to be where you are.
They knew that they needed
The forgiveness of their sins
To be sure.
They had been told by John the Baptist
That this man was the Lamb of God
Which they knew meant
He could take away their sins
Which is wonderful
And it is necessary.
But what they really desired
What they were really seeking
Was Christ himself.
In chapter 6
Just a few chapters
Into this narrative
After some teaching
That was difficult to understand
John records in verse 66
And following
After this
Many of Jesus' disciples
Turned back
And no longer
Walked with him
So Jesus said to the twelve
Do you want to go away
As well?
Simon Peter answered him
Lord
To whom shall we go?
You have the words
Of eternal life
And we have believed
And have come
To know
That you
Are the Holy One
Of God
Jesus
Himself
Where else would we
Go
If we can be
With you?
From time to time
We sing a song together
I think we sang it last week
Which is probably why
It was in my head
As I prepared these notes
Called
Come unto Jesus
And one of the verses
I think it's the third one
We read
Come
Taste the bread of life
Broken for sinners
Drink from the cup
Of his promise
Made sure
Feast at his table
As sons
And as daughters
Grace
Overwhelming
Is yours
Evermore
And then the chorus
Come unto Jesus
Lay down your burdens
He is enough
Come unto Jesus
Rest
In his love
And I think
That's their answer
I think that's what
They're
Looking for
And so in verse 39
Jesus says to them
Come
And you will see
He invites them
To come along with him
He doesn't even answer
The question
Where he's staying
He says come with me
And you will see
Where I am
Staying
And the rest of that verse
Says so they came
And saw where he was staying
And they stayed with him
That day
For it was about
The tenth
Hour
Now this is
Late in the day
It was a time
When preparations
Would be made
For a meal
For spending
The night
And so there's
Some conjecture
Perhaps
They stayed with him
Overnight
Or perhaps
They returned
And headed out
Late
After that
But we can see
Verse 40
One of the two
Who heard
John the Baptist
Speak
And follow Jesus
Was
Andrew
Simon Peter's
Brother
Right
We see him introduced
As Simon Peter's
Brother
Andrew doesn't seem
To be very significant
In the narrative
Certainly
Simon Peter
Plays a more
Significant
Role
Before we move on
To consider
Peter
I want to note
In the next verse
Verse 41
That Andrew
Through whatever
Conversation
Was had
With Jesus
Believed
That he
Is
Anointed
One
Which means
Christ
John
Inserts
For us
So the two
Disciples
Either left
Jesus at the end
Of the day
Or stayed
With him
And left
The following
Morning
Which is
Why you
May have
Noticed
My uncertainty
In my introduction
About the number
Of days
I said a fourth
Perhaps a fifth
I'm not sure
But either way
John doesn't leave us
Guessing what
Andrew does
Immediately
Upon leaving
The presence
Of Jesus Christ
Right
He has
Believed
He says in
Verse 41
This is our
Second point
Which is
Simon Peter
He first
Found
His own
Brother
Simon
It's the very
Next thing
That he does
He goes
And finds
His brother
Simon
And said to him
We have
Found
The Messiah
Which means
Christ
He brought
Him to Jesus
And there's no
Sense here
That it was a
Forceful bringing
But rather he
Led him
He showed him
Where Jesus
Was
Jesus
Looks at him
And says
You are
Simon
The son
Of John
You shall
Be called
Cephas
Which means
Peter
James having
Been brought
To Jesus
By the faithful
Witness of
John the Baptist
Now becomes
A faithful
Witness
To his
Brother
And what
Happens in
This text
Is
Important
Jesus
Gives
Simon
A nickname
Again he says
You are
Simon
The son
Of John
Or you might
Read in some
Places
Maybe your
Translation
Says
Or Simon
Barjona
Son of
Jonah
Or son
Of John
You are
Simon
The son
Of
John
You shall
Be called
Cephas
Which is
Aramaic
And then he
Inserts
Which means
Peter
Which is the
Greek
And this word
In either of
Those languages
Means
A rock
Or a
Stone
You might
Be familiar
Already with
This concept
You might
Have some
Idea of
This
Already
But do
You know
That it was
A nickname
Given to
Him
By
Christ
At their
Meeting
This is
What he
Says
To him
So I
Want to
Read to
You
Briefly
From
John
MacArthur's
Commentary
In which
He's
Quoting
A book
He wrote
Called
Twelve
Ordinary
Men
So
If you
Want to
Original
Source
This
It's
From
Twelve
Ordinary
!
Men
It's
Also
Quoted
In his
Commentary
On
This
Section
He
Says
Those
Were
Apparently
The
First
Words
Jesus
Ever
Said
To
Peter
And
From
Then
On
Rock
Was
His
Nickname
Sometimes
However
The
Lord
Continued
To
Refer
To
Him
As
Simon
Anyway
When
You
See
That
In
Scripture
It
Is
Often
A
Signal
That
Peter
Has
Done
Something
That
Needs
Rebuke
Or
Correction
The
Nickname
Was
Significant
And
The
Lord
Had
A
Specific
Reason
For
Choosing
It
By
Nature
Simon
Was
Brash
Vacillating
And
Undependable
He
Tended
To
Make
Great
Promises
He
Couldn't
Follow
Through
With
He
Was
One
Of
Those
People
Who
Appears
To
Lunge
Wholeheartedly
Into
Something
But
Then
Bails
Out
Before
Finishing
He
Was
Usually
The
First
One
In
And
Too
Often
He
Was
The
First
One
Out
When
Jesus
Met
Him
He
Fit
James
Description
Of
A
Double
Minded
Man
Unstable
In
All
His
Ways
Jesus
Changed
Simon's
Name
It
Appears
Because
He
Wanted
The
Nickname
To
Be
A
Perpetual
Reminder
To
Him
About
Who
He
Should
Be
And
From
That
Point
On
Whatever
Jesus
Called
Him
Sent
A
Subtle
Message
If
He
Called
Him
Simon
He
Was
Signaling
Him
That
He
Was
Acting
!
Like
His
Old
Self
If
This
Young
Man
Named
Simon
Who
Would
Become
Peter
Was
Impetuous
Impulsive
And
Overeaker
He
Needed
To
Become
Like
A
Rock
So
That
Is
What
Jesus
Named
Him
From
Then
On
The
Lord
Would
Gently
Chide
Or
Commend
Him
Just
By
Using
One
Name
Or
The
Other
Pretty
Phenomenal
The
Way
That
Happens
In
John's
Gospel
John
The
Apostle
Always
Refers
To
His
Dear
Friend
And
Fellow
Apostle
As
Simon
Peter
Notice
Denies
Christ
And
He
Speaks
Those
Restorative
Words
To
Him
And
He
Uses
Simon
In
All
Of
Those
Cases
But
Otherwise
John
When
Referring
To
Him
Calls
Him
Simon
Peter
I
Like
To
Imagine
That
Peter
Was
Very
Pleased
With
John
Consistently
Reminding
Readers
Of
His
Frailty
By
Referring
To
Him
As
Simon
Joined
With
His
Grace
Imbued
Contention
For
The
Truth
By
Referring
To
Him
As
Peter
So as
We
Read
Through
This
Narrative
And
See
That
Simon
Peter
We
See
Both
Some
Element
Of
His
Old
And
His
Grace
Imbued
New
Self
On
Display
Thirdly
We
See
Philip
Verse
43
We
Know
Now
At
Very
Least
This
Is
A
Next
Day
Verse
43
Says
The
Next
J
So
It's
Either
The
Fourth
Or
Perhaps
The
Fifth
Jesus
Decides
To
Go
To
Galilee
Where
He
Finds
Philip
And
Says
To
Him
Follow
Me
Of
All
Five
Disciples
Mentioned
In
Our
Text
I
Think
That
Philip
Is
My
Favorite
Very
Short
Little
Ink
Is
Used
To
Introduce
Philip
To
Us
Our
Disciples
To
This
Point
Have
Learned
Of
Jesus
Through
Someone
Else
This
Is
Often
Perhaps
Most
Often
The
Way
Our
Lord
Works
If
You
Have
Believed
In
Christ
It
Is
Probable
That
Someone
Shared
Him
With
You
A
Parent
A
Friend
A
Coworker
Maybe
You
Were
Invited
To
Church
Or
An
Event
Where
Someone
Preached
The
Good
News
And
You
Believed
Most
Of
Us
Owe
Much
Gratitude
To
Those
Who
Invested
The
Truth
Into
Our
Lives
John
Gives
Us
No
Record
Of
Anyone
But
Jesus
Himself
Seeking
Out
Philip
All
Of
Us
Ultimately
!
No
Matter
How
The
Truth
Was
First
Shared
With
Us
Ultimately
Our
Gratitude
Belongs
To
Christ
Fully
Belongs
To
Christ
Philip
Especially
Reminds
Me
Of
This
I
Am
Grateful
For
Believing
Parents
Who
Regularly
Shared
The
Gospel
With
Me
I
Am
Grateful
For
Believing
Parents
Who
Took
Me
To
A
Church
That
Gathered
Regularly
To
Hear
The
Gospel
Preached
These
Are
The
Means
By
Which
I
Came
To
Faith
In
Christ
But
Ultimately
I
Am
Grateful
For
And
To
A
God
Who
Used
Those
Means
To
Bring
Me
To
Himself
I
Would
Not
Have
Done
It
On
My
Own
Jesus
Will
Say
In
John
Chapter
6
Verse
44
No
One
Can
Come
To
Me
Unless
The
Father
Who
Sent
Me
Draws
Him
It
Was
After
This
Teaching
That
A
Of
His
Disciples
Abandoned
Him
By
The
Way
That
I
Read
To
You
Earlier
And
The
Jesus
Adds
Later
In
The
Narrative
John
15
Verse
16
You
Did
Not
Choose
Me
But
I
Chose
You
And
Appointed
You
That
You
Should
Go
And
Bear
Fruit
However
You
Construct
Your
Understanding
Of
God's
Saving
Work
It
Cannot
Be
Claimed
That
You
Have
Any
Power
To
Save
!
There's
Gosh
A
Decade
Ago
And
A
Dear
Friend
Named
Ash
Harris
Was
With
Us
On
This
Particular
Trip
And
Just
As a
Matter
Of
Curiosity
The
Man
Who
Was
Leading
The
Opening
Had
Us
Stand
Up
And
Just
Asked
Us
About
Means
How
Do
We
Come
To
Faith
In
Christ
And
So
The
First
Question
He
Asked
About
A
Room
10,000
People
Largely
Full
Of
Pastors
How
Many
Of
You
Came
To
Faith
Through
The
Means
Of
Your
Parents
Sharing
The
Gospel
With
You
And
I
Had
To
Have
Been
80%
Of
The
Room
Sat
Down
Praise
God
And
I
Hope
That's
An
Encouragement
To
You
Parents
Who
Are
Working
Day
In
And
Day
Out
To
Share
The
Gospel
With
Your
Kids
When
He
Went
Through
A
Litany
Of
Other
Of
Other
Possible
Means
Ways
That
People
Could
Have
Come
To
Faith
And
Our
Dear
Friend
Ash
Was
Still
Standing
He
Was
Getting
Rather
Lonely
In
This
Now
Seated
People
Standing
!
By
Himself
And
Finally
The
Person
Leading
The
Opening
And
He
Was
In
The
Military
And
He
Was
In
Iraq
And
A
Chaplain
Had
Handed
Him
A
Bible
And
He
Got
Back
From
A
Deployment
Saw
Some
Things
That
Were
Disturbing
To
Him
And
He
Was
Moved
To
Take
Up
That
Bible
And
Read
He
Sat
I
Sat
In
The
Shade
Leaning
Up
Against
A
Tire
The
Shade
Of
A
Humvee
And
I
Started
Reading
The
Gospel
Of
John
And
By
The
Time
I
Got
Done
I
Placed
My
Faith
In
Christ
Means
Praise
God
But
God
Saves
Asher
Did
Not
Go
To
Iraq
To
Find
Jesus
Came
And
He
Found
Him
This
Reality
Should
Cause
Great
Humility
And
Gratitude
To
Spring
Forth
In
Our
Hearts
And
It
Should
Bring
!
Out
A
Desire
To
Make
This
King
Verse
16
You
Do
not
Choose
Me
But
I
Chose
You
And
Appointed
You
That
You
Should
Go
And
Bear
Fruit
And
That's
Exactly
What
We
See
Happen
With
Philip
Just
This
Little
Tiny
Little
Bit
Of
The
Story
Jesus
Finds
Philip
And
He
Says
!
Follow
Me
And
We
Know
That
He
Does
Because
In
Verse
45
We
See
The
Calling
Of
Nathanael
Philip
Found
Nathanael
And
Said
To
Him
We
Have
Found
Him
Of
Whom
Moses
And
The
Law
And
Also
The
Prophets
Wrote
Jesus
Of
Nazareth
The
Son
Of
Joseph
And
Nathanael
Clearly
Had
Some
Understanding
Of
The
Scripture
Notice
How
Philip
Addresses
Him
Right
He
Says
To
Him
We
Found
The
One
That
The
Scripture
Speaks
About
So
You
May
Wonder
Why
Does
Nathanael
Respond
With
The
Question
Can
Anything
Good
Come
Out
Of
Nazareth
Now
Matthew
Chapter
2
In
Verse
23
After
Jesus'
Family
Returns
From
Egypt
We
Can
Read
And
He
Went
And
Lived
In
A
City
Called
Nazareth
So
They
Returned
So
They
Returned
From
Egypt
So
That
What
Was
Spoken
By
The
Prophets
Might
Be
Fulfilled
That
He
Would
Be
Called
A
Nazarene
It
Is
Debated
What
Matthew
Is
Referring
To
Here
There
Is
Much
That
Can
Be
Said
But
I
Spare
You
The
Details
At
This
Point
!
It's
A
Lot
Of
How
Is
It
That
Matthew
Is
Deriving
!
But
Matthew
Without
A
Doubt
Understood
The
Bible
To
Teach
That
Jesus
Would
Come
From
Nazareth
That
He
Would
Be
A
Nazarene
Nathanael
At
This
Point
Is
Unaware
Of
This
Which
Is
Why
He
Asks
The
Question
That
He
Asks
Nazareth
Was
A
Nothing
Town
How
Could
Anything
Significant
Come
From
Such
An
Insignificant
Place
But
Philip
Is
Unmoved
By
His
Question
He
Just
Simply
Replies
Come
And
See
Come
And
See
The
Good
Thing
That
Came
Out
Of
Nazareth
And
We
Read
That
As
Nathanael
Is
Coming
Toward
Him
He
Already
Knows
Him
Behold
An
Israelite
Indeed
In
Whom
There
Is
No
Deceit
And
Nathanael
Responds
How
Do
You
Know
Me
Nathanael
Must
Have
Been
Known
As
A
Man
Who
Was
Upright
Who
Didn't
Have
Deceit
In
Him
How
Do
You
Know
Me
And
Jesus
Answered
Him
Before
Philip
Called
You
When
You
Were
Under
The
Fig
Tree
I
Saw
You
He's
Omniscient
This
Is
Likely
A
Place
That
He
Would
Have
Sat
To
Study
The
Scripture
Philip
Knows
Where
To
Find
Him
He
Goes
And
Find
Him
And
Said
We
Found
The
One
That
The
Scripture
Speaks
Of
And
Jesus
Saw
Him
There
And
This
Is
Enough
To
Move
In
Nathanael
Rabbi
Then
Teacher
You
Are
The
Son
Of
God
You
Are
The
King
Of
Israel
That
Anointed
One
So
Moved
By
Jesus
Omniscience
That
He
Immediately
Believes
And
We
Know
That
Because
Jesus
Responds
To
Him
Because
I
Said
To
You
I
Saw
You
Under
!
The
Fig
Trees
Than
These
And
Jesus
Said
To
Him
Truly
I
Say
To
You
Will
See
Heaven
Opened
And
The
Angels
Of
God
Ascending
And
Descending
On
The
Son
Of
Man
It
Is
Likely
That
Jesus
Is
Alluding
To
Jacob's
Dream
Found
In
Genesis
Chapter
28
The
Emphasis
Of
This
Statement
Though
Is
That
Knowing
That
Philip
Was
Sitting
!
Under
A
Tree
Is
A
Minor
Thing
Compared
To
What
Philip
Would
Witness
Jesus
Is
The
Revealer
Of
Heavenly
Truth
To
Men
Chapter
1
And
Verse
17
Later
Chapter
14
And
Verse
6
Ephesians
Chapter
4
And
Verse
21
Jesus
Is
The
One
True
Mediator
Between
God
And
Men
1
Timothy
Chapter
2
Verse
5
Jesus
Is
The
Mediator
Of
A
New
And
Better
Covenant
Hebrews
8
6
And
9
14
And
12
24
All
Of
This
Would
Come
Into
Clearer
Focus
As
Nathaniel
Spends
More
Time
With
Jesus
I
Don't
Think
Jesus
Is
Calling
Into
Question
Whether
Or
Not
He
Believes
He
Is
Simply
Saying
You
Already
Believe
Oh
Wait
For
What
I
I'm
Going
To
Show
You
About
Myself
Now
I
Mentioned
In
My
Introduction
That
I
Think
John
Means
For
Us
To
Note
A
Pattern
In
The
Ministry
Of
Jesus
Calling
Of
Disciples
So
Let's
Look
At
That
Briefly
And
Then
We'll
Close
The
Idea
Of
Calling
Is
Presented
In
The
Bible
In
Only
Two
Ways
Unfortunately
We
Use
It
In
A
Lot
Of
Ways
There's
A
Particular
Phrase
If
You're
Ever
Around
Me
And
You
Tell
Me
That
You
Feel
Called
To
Do
Something
You're
Going
To
Hear
Me
Say
What
Does
That
Feel
Like
In
The
Bible
Two
Ways
Number
One
We
Are
Called
To
Be
Disciples
Of
Jesus
You
Can
See
This
Language
In
Our
Text
Itself
Right
Where
Jesus
Says
To
Him
Before
Philip
Called
You
Run
To
The
Fig
Tree
I
Saw
You
Also
Elsewhere
Second
Timothy
Chapter
One
And
Verse
Nine
God
Who
Saved
Us
And
Called
Us
To
A
Holy
Calling
Not
Because
Of
Our
Works
But
Because
Of
His
Own
Purpose
And
Grace
Which
He
Gave
Us
In
Christ
Jesus
Before
The
Ages
Began
Right
We're
Called
To
Be
Disciples
That
Calling
Goes
Out
To
Us
Respond
Repent
And
Believe
Respond
In
Faith
To
The
Gospel
Of
Jesus
Christ
Be
Christ
Followers
Disciples
Of
Jesus
And
So
It
Follows
As
Christ
Followers
We
Are
Called
To
Make
Disciples
To
Be
Disciples
Means
That
We're
Going
To
Make
Disciples
We
See
In
Our
Text
John
The
Baptist
A
Faithful
Witness
Andrew
And
John
Andrew
A
Faithful
Witness
To
Simon
Peter
Philip
A
Faithful
Witness
To
Nathaniel
Paul
Writes
In
2
Timothy
Chapter
2
Verse
2
What
You
Have
Heard
From
Me
In
The
Presence
Of
Many
Witnesses
Entrust
To
Faithful
Men
Who
Will
Be
Able
To
Teach
Others
Also
Four
Generations
In
2
Timothy
2
Paul
Timothy
Faithful
Men
Others
Also
Paul
Writes
In
Romans
Chapter
10
Verse
14
And
15
How
Then
Will
I
Call
On
Him
In
Whom
They
Have
Not
Believed
And
How
Are
They
To
Believe
In
Whom
They
Have
Never
Heard
And
How
Are
They
To
Hear
Without
Someone
Preaching
And
How
Are
They
To
Preach
Unless
They
Are
Sent
As
It
Is
Written
How
Beautiful
Are
The
Feat
Of
Those
Who
Preach
The
Good
News
Most
Typically
!
Paul
in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Jesus is going to build his church.
He's declared this.
He's going to build his church.
The gates of hell will not prevail against it.
He has all authority in heaven and on earth.
That means right now,
seated at the right hand of the Father,
Jesus has all authority to accomplish
everything that he was set to accomplish.
And then he says,
go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Just do Christ.
And then he says,
just in case we miss that he has all the authority
in heaven and on earth,
and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
Jesus calls people to himself to believe
and then to walk in his ways
by calling other people to follow him.
John gives us this pattern in this text
as we see these first five disciples of Jesus
begin that journey.
And I hope we'll continue to see that grow and develop
across our study of this book.
Let's pray together.