Ill:
• The body of missionary and explorer David Livingstone;
• Was buried in Westminster Abbey England in 1874.
• But one part of him was missing!
• His heart was buried in the Africa he loved.
• It was buried at the foot of a tall mpundu tree in a small African village.
• The natives dug a hole & placed in it the heart of this man who they loved & respected.
• They then his embalmed body in a cylinder of bark;
• Which was wrapped in sailcloth and carried their shoulders a thousand miles to the coast;
• It was a nine month march, before it was then sent home to England
• During his life he received a letter form a missions committee;
• They wrote to him saying,
• "Some people would like to join you. What’s the easiest road to get where you are?"
• He replied:
• "If they’re looking for the easiest road, tell them to stay in England.
• I want people who will come, even if there’s no road at all!"
• TRANSITION:
• These men we read about in John chapter 1;
• Are about to discover that following Jesus will not be easy.
• They are about to embark on a journey that would not only change their lives;
• But would also change the world.
This evening we are looking at five men who followed Jesus:
• Five men who became his disciples;
• The term "disciples" occurs 269 times in the New Testament,
• While the term "Christian" only occurs three times.
• We are told that in the Bible book called Acts (chapter 11 verse 26):
• That "The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch”,
• The word “Christian” means “one in whom Christ dwells.”
• Here believers stopped calling themselves “Jews,” “Greeks” and “Gentiles.”
• They took the name of Christ.
• They were Christ-indwelt ones.
• Today in the UK;
• We have kind of made these terms ‘Christian’ & ‘Disciple’ interchangeable.
• We forget or deliberately miss out or skip over the fact;
• That the word disciple demands so much from the person who owns it!
• Note: every disciple is a Christian, but not every Christian is necessarily a disciple!
• A disciple is someone who is committed to,
• And who tries to follow, put into practice the teachings and lifestyle of their master.
Quote: Jonathan Dodson:
“A disciple is rational (learner), relational (family), and missional (missionary)”
Quote: Alan Redpath the late great British evangelist, pastor and author.
"The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment,
but the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime."
• Becoming a Christian, a follower of Jesus may start suddenly;
• Can happen this evening, if you are willing to take a step of faith;
• And invite the living Christ to be your saviour & Lord!
• But the learning process never ends this side of eternity!
• Our passage this morning is a reminder that discipleship is a process!
Ill:
• Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff said:
• When he first came to the United States from Russia;
• He wasn’t prepared for the incredible variety of instant products;
• That he found available in American grocery stores.
• He says, "On my first shopping trip,
• I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk.
• Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice.
• And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, what a country!"
• TRANSION: There are no instant disciples:
• Becoming a Christian may happen the instant you believe & repent;
• But becoming a disciple takes a lifetime!
• It is a learning process that never ends this side of eternity!
• Our passage this study is a reminder that discipleship is a process!
Note:
• We read of five people in these verses;
• Only four of them are named; Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael.
• Most scholars believe the anonymous one is John.
(1). Andrew and John.
“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus”.
• The first men to follow Jesus were Andrew and John.
• Although before they followed Jesus we are told;
• They were followers of John the baptiser.
Note:
• John the baptiser was the forerunner of Jesus,
• The one who came to preparing the way for someone greater.
• John the baptiser was a preacher who did not mind losing his congregation;
• John the baptiser came to prepare the way,
• To clear the way and then to get out of the way!
John the baptiser short ministry was the whole purpose of his life:
• He missed out on what most people call the important stuff!
• He missed out on most of Jesus' teachings & miracles.
• He missed out on the crucifixion & the resurrection.
• He missed out on the great commission & the Ascension.
• But John didn't mind because he was under orders;
• And he faithfully fulfilled those orders.
• His mission was simply to point other people to Jesus;
• This he achieved!
• Two of the people John the baptiser led towards Jesus were Andrew & John.
• They heard John the baptiser describe Jesus in Old Testament terms.
• Verses 26-27:
“When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look (stare, gaze, behold) the Lamb of God!’
(in other words do not miss him because there will not be another!)
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.”
• In these verses for John the baptiser it was a job well done!
• He had helped two more people discover Jesus.
• In these verses a transference of allegiance takes place;
• John the baptiser was the preacher who did not mind losing his congregation;
• From John the Baptist to Jesus!
• Which fulfilled the Baptist's mission of pointing to the One;
• Whose ministry would supersede his own (vs 23-28).
Pause for a moment:
• Twice in this chapter John the baptiser described Jesus as the Lamb of God.
• Verses 29 & 36.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
“When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’”
• The thing I want to point out is this;
• Before we are ready to follow Jesus (vs 36);
• We must first discover him as the saviour! (vs 29)
• i.e. Otherwise it is like wearing an army uniform but never enlisting;
• i.e. It is like wearing a wedding ring but never having had a wedding ceremony!
• TRANSITION: Do not get the cart before the horse;
• We are not ready to follow Jesus until first we discover him as saviour!
ANDREW & JOHN (VS 38-39):
“Turning round, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’
They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’
39 ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.”
Ill:
• The Greek philosopher Socrates was said to be wise,
• Not because he knew all the answers,
• But because he knew how to ask the right questions.
• TRANSITION: Jesus knew how to ask the right questions.
• As you read through the gospel accounts again and again;
• Jesus asked insightful, perceptive, discerning questions.
• These questions caused his listeners to focus on the important issues of life.
This question of Jesus is so simple and yet so penetrating:
• "What do you want?"
• With this question Jesus challenges them regarding their motives,
• It is a probing question that forces them to reflect on their motives;
• He is asking them are they following him out of idle curiosity;
• Or do they have a real desire to know him.
• They reply to Jesus: ‘Rabbi’ (which means ‘Teacher’), ‘where are you staying?’
• Because it is not an easy question to answer;
• Andrew and John request a little bit of time to figure out how they would answer.
• So Jesus graciously invited them to more intimate surroundings,
• Where they could talk and get to know Him.
Note:
• Having spent the day with Jesus Andrew leaves convinced that He is the Messiah:
• Notice the response of Andrew in verse 41,
• He goes straight away to tell his brother and bring him to Jesus.
• It is an interesting feature of Andrew's character;
• That each time we meet Andrew in John’s gospel,
• He is bringing someone to Jesus:
• i.e. He brings the boy with 2 fish & 5 loaves of bread to Jesus (chapter 6 verse 8)
• i.e. He brings some Greek enquirers to Jesus (chapter 12 verse 22)
ill:
• Some years ago, when many American missionaries were allowed to serve in China,
• A blind Chinese man was taken to a mission hospital.
• The missionary doctor performed an operation;
• And removed cataracts from the man's eyes.
• Soon, the man was able to return to his home,
• He left the mission hospital rejoicing in his restored eyesight.
• A few weeks later the missionaries at the hospital;
• Saw the man coming back down the road toward them.
• But this time he was holding a rope to which forty other blind people were clinging.
• He was bringing them to the place where his sight had been restored.
• TRASITION: Let’s learn to emulate Andrew;
• And bring people to Jesus!
• Andrew He may have lived in his big brother's shadow;
• Note the way John describes him in chapter 1 verse 40,
• “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,”
• But Andrew became and remained a faithful,
• Valuable follower of Christ's in his own right.
(2). Simon Peter.
“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).”
Question: What word comes to mind when you think of Simon Peter?
Answer:
• Impulsive? Vocal? Rash? Perhaps all of these.
• Yet when Jesus met Simon,
• The word that came to his mind signified an image that was both solid and stable;
• He called him the "rock."
• Jesus not only saw the man Peter was, he also saw what he could become;
• But also knew that he would make him what he called him to be.
Quote: Alexander Whyte:
• “After the name of our Lord Himself,
• No name comes up so often in the Four Gospels as Peter's name.
• No disciple speaks so often and so much as Peter.
• Our Lord speaks oftener to Peter than to any other of His disciples;
• Sometimes in blame and sometimes in praise.
• No disciple is so pointedly reproved by our Lord as Peter,
• And no disciple ever ventures to reprove his Master but Peter.
• No other disciple ever so boldly confessed and outspokenly acknowledged
• And encouraged our Lord as Peter repeatedly did;
• And no one ever intruded, and interfered, and tempted Him as Peter repeatedly did also.
• His Master spoke words of approval, and praise,
• And even blessing to Peter the like of which He never spoke to any other man.
• And at the same time, and almost in the same breath,
• He said harder things to Peter than He ever said to any other of His twelve disciples,
• Unless it was to Judas.”
Notice:
• Peter’s introduction to Jesus;
• Starts as a result of what we might call ‘one-to-one’ evangelism.
Ill:
• Preaching an evangelistic sermon is a bit like firing a shotgun;
• When a shot gun is fired the pellets spread when they leave the barrel,
• It can be a very effective weapon but it is not always accurate.
• ‘One-to-one’ evangelism is more like firing s snipers-riffle;
• You are able to focus and accurately pick off your subject!
Question: When did you last do some ‘One-to-one’ evangelism?
Answer: If it has been a while, then that’s you challenge this week!
• Notice the content under discussion:
• The message Peter heard from Andrew was;
• "We have found the Messiah"? (vs 41b).
Ill:
• A father of a small boy was on active service in Afghanistan.
• He had been away from home for almost a year.
• Back home in the UK;
• The small boy looked frequently at a picture of his daddy on the table.
• After several months the boy had started to forget him as a person;
• But he would often look at the picture and say,
• "If only my father could step out of that picture and be real...."
• TRANSITION:
• For Peter the Messiah had stepped out of the pages of his Old Testament scriptures;
• And he walked into his world!
• This would be the greatest event of his life and he could not miss it!
The message Peter heard from Andrew was;
• "We have found the Messiah"? (vs 41b).
• We are not told all of their conversation but in the time they had together;
• But Andrew’s testimony persuaded Peter that Jesus was the Messiah.
• The word Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek);
• Means ‘anointed one’.
• The one chosen, marked out for a specific task.
• That task John the baptiser told us about in verse 29:
• He would be the saviour of the world!
Note:
Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).”
• I love those five little words in this verse;
• “You are…you will be…”
• Jesus knew all about Simon, son of John.
• And in giving him a new name,
• He also lets Peter know that he sees in him great potential!
• Jesus has and always sees beyond the rough edges of people.
• Jesus had a jeweller's eye for spotting a diamond in the rough.
(3). Philip (vs 43-44)
“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida”.
• Note: Without John's record,
• Philip would have slipped between the cracks of biblical history,
• And his name would have been lost forever.
Ill:
• After about a year we have just had a Bible verse put on the front wall at DRC;
• The verse is John chapter 14 verse 6a: “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, the life’”.
• If it wasn’t for Philip and a question he asked Jesus;
• We might never have gotten that great reply of Jesus!
Everything we know about Philip we find in John’s gospel.
• The character sketch of Philip is brief, yet revealing,
• We see him as logical, somewhat pessimistic person.
• The various situations we see him in reveal a man who has difficulty stepping out in faith
• (see 6:1-7; 12:20-22; 14:7-9).
Note: Verse 43:
“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”
• Don’t miss those words; “Finding Philip”.
• It sounds as though Jesus was specifically searching for Philip,
• It is as though Jesus specifically wanted Philip to be one of his disciples.
• Now, I may be reading more into this than is actually there,
• But still, it seems to me that Philip just might be pretty special, himself.
We know from the list of names in the gospels and early on in the book of Acts;
• That Philip was one of the 12 apostles, and that he was active in the early church.
• Bible scholars are divided about 50-50;
• On whether Philip the apostle was the same person as Philip the Evangelist,
• Who is seen in the middle chapters of Acts taking the gospel message into Samaria,
• And who is probably best known for his conversion and baptism of an Ethiopian official.
• If you want to know for sure than speak to (insert name) afterwards!
• Only Joking!
What we do know is:
• While Philip wasn’t as outspoken as Peter,
• He is not mentioned as often as Andrew, James, or John,
• Philip nonetheless seems to have been a leader among the 12 disciples.
• e.g.
• For example, when Jesus decided to feed the 5,000 (John chapter 6),
• It was Philip whom Jesus turned to.
• As a test, Jesus asked Philip where they could buy enough food to feed all those people.
• e.g.
• And another time (John chapter 12),
• When some Greeks who were visiting Jerusalem and wanted to meet Jesus,
• They sought out Philip and asked for his help.
• Philip, it seems to me, was one of those people who just gets the job done!
• Every church has them people who just get the job done:
• In fact, no church can live without them.
Ill:
• Sadly too many Churches have the opposite reaction.
• A monologue - The Passing of ‘Someone Else’ (Author unknown).
• The church was bowed in grief this week to learn that one of our most valuable members, Someone Else, passed away.
• This death creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.
• Someone Else has been with us for many years.
• During all these years, he did far more than a normal persons share of the work.
• Whenever leadership was mentioned,
• This wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results.
• Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend;
• One name was on everyone’s list: “Let Someone Else do it”.
• Someone Else was also among the largest givers of the church.
• there was a financial need,
• Everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make up the difference.
• This beloved church member was a wonderful person,
• Sometimes appearing super-human; but a person can only do so much.
• Everybody expected too much of Someone Else.
• Now Someone Else is gone.
• Who will pitch in to do the things that Someone Else has done?
• If you are asked to take a job in church,
• We hope you won’t reply, “Let Someone else do it”.
• Now we need you to pick up where Someone Else left off.
• TRANSITION:
• Philip, it seems to me, was one of those people who just gets the job done!
• Every church has them people who just get the job done:
• In fact, no church can live without them.
• They don’t stand up and make speeches.
• They don’t sing solos.
• But if there’s something in the church that needs doing,
• You just know that you can count on them to roll up their sleeves and get it done.
Note:
• Although Philip was ‘doer’ in the Church;
• That did not excuse him from evangelism!
• So Jesus found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
• Then Philip as part of “following” Jesus,
• Philip spread the word about Jesus (verse 46).
“Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’”
• Philip went to his friend, Nathanael,
• And told Nathanael about the gospel, the good news, about Jesus!
• And that takes us nicely on to our last character.
(4). Nathaniel (vs 45-51).
“Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
46 ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.”
I guess we could say that Nathanael was not too impressed with what he heard:
• Nathaniel’s response is stunning: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
• This seems a rude statement of prejudice,
• Probably because Nazareth was a rather small and insignificant town in Galilee
• Nathaniel came from Cana a nearby village (John chapter 21 verse 2)
• i.e. Bit like someone from Portsmouth talking about someone from Southampton.
• i.e. Or a Southerner talking about a northerner.
Nathaniel can’t believe that anything good would come out of the rival village, Nazareth:
• And yet a cryptic word from Jesus,
• And suddenly Nathaniel not only believes it’s possible,
• But he gives Jesus the exalted title of Son of God!
• I love the fact that Jesus seems as surprised – and amused – as we are in reading it.
Note:
• What I admire about Philip, and the lesson we can all learn from Philip,
• Is how Philip handled Nathanael’s skepticism.
• Philip said to Nathanael, “Come and see.”
• That’s all. Just “Come and see.”
• Philip didn’t get mad at Nathanael.
• Philip didn’t get frustrated because Nathanael didn’t respond in the same way that Philip himself had responded.
• Philip didn’t try to argue with Nathanael.
• Philip didn’t pull out his list of scripture references;
• And try to convince Nathanael that he, Philip, was right while Nathanael was wrong.
• Philip didn’t beat Nathanael over the head with his Old Testament scrolls.
• No. Philip was wise!
• Philip knew that it’s next to impossible to argue someone into discipleship.
• So Philip just said, “Come and see.”
• And there was something about Philip, something in his manner,
• Something in the tone of his voice;
• Or maybe just the fact that Nathanael had known Philip long enough;
• But there was something that caused Nathanael to go with Philip.
• Despite his natural skepticism,
• Nathanael went with Philip, to see for himself what Philip was talking about.
• TRANSITION:
• Everyone one here tonight can try the Philip approach to evangelism!
• Everyone here as the capability to say to someone else; “Come and see!”
Note:
• Nathanael is not mentioned at all in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
• Nor is he listed as one of the 12 disciples in the book of Acts.
• Yet, Nathanael clearly is, however, considered one of the 12 in John.
• Many scholars believe that Nathanael and Bartholomew are the same person,
• Partly because Bartholomew is listed in all of the other lists,
• But is never mentioned in John’s gospel.
• Also, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts,
• Bartholomew is listed just after Philip in the lists of the 12 disciples,
• And Nathanael is obviously closely tied to Philip.
• Also, Bartholomew was not an actual name at that place and time;
• It means “son of Talmai” or “son of Ptolemy,”
• Depending on whether you’re speaking Hebrew of Greek.
• Usually this type of patronymic name is more of a middle or last name:
• i.e. Simon bar Jonah, for example.
• So it stands to reason that Bartholomew’s actual name;
• May have been something like ‘Nathanael Bartholomew’ — ‘Nathanael, son of Talmai’.
• Tradition (not the Bible) believes he became a missionary to India,
• And was eventually flayed and crucified for his faith in Jesus!
Sermon Audio:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=JHfvOC1zbudFUki5nTEr3qEWJxjTsrsW&forceSave=Five_Men_Who_Followed_Jesus_-_John_chapter_1_verses_35-51_-_sermon_by_Gordon_Curley.mp3
