Hope for All
John 1:34-51
What do you want said at your funeral.
One person said they would like to hear, “Look, he’s moving.”
Usually this passage is taught about those who bring others to Christ.
Jesus offers hope to.....
I. Those who cannot find satisfaction…(35-39)
There are two disciples with John.
There is Andrew. The other is unnamed. The unnamed disciple in the scriptures is usually John the Apostle.
They came not only to hear his words and receive the baptism of repentance.
They wanted to hear everything John the Baptist had to say.
These were hungry for more. Jesus spoke to the spiritually hungry.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
John 6:35 - And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
These men represent those who have a hunger for God.
What do you want? What are you hungry for? What is your need?
“Just to be close with you, Lord.”
These men asked Jesus, "Where do you live?"
Jesus told these men, basically, come home with me and stay a while.
It was the 10th hour and they stayed all.
If using Roman time, 10 AM. If Hebrew time, 4 PM. Regardless, they stayed a long time, a minimum 4 hours.
Mathematician Paschall once said, “Inside every man is a God shaped void”. We know that can only be filled with Jesus Christ.
If you hunger after righteousness, long for more, know there is more to life that what you are experiencing now.
Jesus is there to offer you satisfaction.
Jesus offers hope to...
II. Those who want significance. (40-42).
An interesting note here. Hebrew name Andrew “manly”.
What a man he was. You always see him bringing people to Jesus.
Andrew had a brother, Simon.
Simon means “reputation”
When Jesus met Simon, he knew his character and personality.
Simon, based upon the evidence we have of his life, wanted to be somebody.
He had a brother named “Manly”, what pressure that may have put on him.
Based on his push for notoriety, Simon wanted to be known as a rock, dependable, one you could rely on.
Matthew 16:21-23 - From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
Matthew 26:33 - Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”
Peter had this desire to be someone, make a difference, and his mistakes in life were misguided attempts to fulfill that.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus said, “You are Cephas”? The Greek name for Cephas is Peter, a rock.
Jesus was telling Peter that, in Christ Jesus, he could become all he desired to be.
He could live out his destiny. In Christ Jesus, we have significance.
Outside Jesus Christ, our lives are in vain.
Compare these scriptures:
After Peter said he would never stumble, never be offended, Jesus said to him in Matthew 16:26 - “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Jesus raised the question. After your life is over, what was it worth if you lose your own soul? Nothing.
Legacy fails, reputations fade, even statues and memorials become less important in years to come.
Now this: John 10:10 - I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus promises that true life, true significance, comes in a relationship that is found only through Jesus Christ.
Jesus told Simon, “I know your hearts desire. I gave it to you. It’s part of your purpose. It is also only found in me. Follow me."
Jesus is telling you the same thing. He knows your heart. He knows your desire. He knows your gifts and strengths. He has made the puzzle and has shaped your piece to fit into it.
Jesus gives hope to...
III. Those who are saddened. (43-51)
The next story is complicated, but follow me.
On a simple reading, the story seems simple. But a simple story would not make sense.
Nathaniel had been with John and had heard the message.
On his way away from John, he sat down under a fig tree.
What Jesus said to him presents a picture as to what was bothering Nathaniel.
When Nathaniel sat down under the fig tree, it was near the site know as the place where Jacob saw the stairway to heaven, and the angels descending and ascending.
Something had discouraged Nathaniel. He was obviously in a sour mood.
It is reasonable to understand what it might have been.
Jacob was a scoundrel, a deceiver. His name means deceiver or guile.
This scoundrel saw a scene from heaven. God changed his name from Guile to Israel.
Nathan must have thought, “That has never happened to me. I try to live right. I try to be righteous. Why does nothing like this happen to me, today? I need to see God work. I need to see He is still interested.”
"But it will never happen today. Never happen to me. There is no hope for me or this world."
And then along came Philip.
“We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Just Come and see.”
When Jesus saw Nathan, he literally said, “Here comes an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob.” (guile)
Using both names, old and new, of Jacob.
He revealed to Nathaniel he knew his heart. He understood his discouragement. He was the answer.
“How did you know that?”
“I saw you when you were troubled under the fig tree.”
That convinced Nathan. “You are the Son of God.” No one could have known his thoughts but God.
To further prove himself, Jesus referred to Jacob’s ladder, with a revision. It will happen again. It will happen to you. You will see angels ascending and descending upon the Messiah.”
What a change in emotions this must have caused the discouraged seeker. From despair to joy.
Jesus tells the sad, “Do not let your heart be saddened. You believe in God, believe in me.”
He is our hope, our joy, our fulfillment.
Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.
There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had ran it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband. Gary Thomas, Christian Times, October 3, 1994, p. 26.
What is going to be said at your funeral? Will it give hope?
