Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
September 18, 2022
INTRO (SLIDE 1)
60 years ago, Dr. Robert Coleman wrote a classic book called The Master Plan of Evangelism. In this book, he did something bold and daring: He ignored trendy contemporary techniques for how to make disciples and he simply returned to the Bible to ask this question, “What was the discipleship strategy of Jesus?”
(SLIDE 2) Robert Coleman went on to direct the School of World Mission and Evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and also led the Institute of Evangelicalism at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He knew all the latest fads and trendy outreach strategies.
But by simply looking at what Jesus did when he called his first disciples, Coleman recovered the basics of discipleship that actually changes lives.
This is what he discovered:
Jesus was not out to impress a crowd, but to usher in a kingdom.
With absolute divine power at his disposal, he chose to bring about his purposes through the slow and sometimes up and down transformation of the lives of a few individuals who simply said “yes” when Jesus said, “Follow me.”
Jesus’ strategy for ushering in the Kingdom began by choosing some average fishermen who were willing to confess their need.
He invited them to simply be with him, giving them the most important gift: himself.
He challenged them to obey, to have integrity, and to take a leap of faith.
He made them understand that what matters most is the condition of your heart.
He never asked them to do something he wouldn’t do, always demonstrating what real love for God and love for neighbor looks like.
And he delegated his authority to them as ambassadors, sending them out two-by-two to spread the good news.
You see, what Dr. Coleman found is this (quote from his book): “Individuals cannot transform the world except as individuals in the world are transformed, and individuals cannot be changed except as they are molded in the hands of the Master.”
This morning we are going to look at the first words and actions of Jesus in his ministry, (SLIDE 3a) we are going to see that the gospel is an invitation to a new life in a new people through Jesus Christ. It is an invitation to be known and transformed by the Master.
We are studying the Gospel of John, and we are now moving into the first days of Jesus’ ministry when he gathers his first disciples. We’re going to see what happens when Jesus gives in invitation to a few men on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. They think they found him, but instead it becomes clear that they have been found by Jesus.
Open with me to John 1:35-51. (SLIDE 3b) Our passage this morning walks us through the calling of the first 5 disciples over the course of two days. Let’s read this account: READ John 1:35-51.
ORG SENT — There are two events here that parallel each other. They have the same pattern:
(SLIDE 4)
Jesus invites the disciples to follow him — Invitation by Jesus
The disciples share the news with others — Sharing of Jesus
There is an encounter with Jesus that reveals something important — Encounter with Jesus
Let’s look at this pattern in the first story of Andrew and Simon, then we will look at the same pattern in the second story of Philip and Nathanael.
MAIN 1 — Andrew and Simon (vv. 35-42). (SLIDE 5a)
Let me walk you through what is happening here. I want you to imagine the scene: John the Baptist has been preaching and baptizing people in the Jordan River, there is a crowd of people gathered around, and there are a handful of disciples of John who are helping him.
The day before, John saw Jesus and declared that he was the Lamb of God, God’s Chosen One. And now, the very next day, he says that same thing when he sees Jesus!
The text says that two disciples of John immediately decided to follow Jesus. But it wasn’t exactly a spur of the moment decision. They had heard John say the same words the day before, and they had been listening to John preach about the coming of the Messiah for many weeks or months.
The conversation here is fascinating. You can imagine the awkwardness:
The disciples catch up with Jesus on the road as he is passing by. They kind of sheepishly avoid eye contact, trying to get his attention, but not trying to seem too excited.
Jesus’ first words in the entire gospel of John are: “What do you want?”
Friends, these words are more than just a practical question. I don’t think the Apostle John would tell us the details of this conversation if the details didn’t matter.
You see, it is likely that the Apostle John was one of these two disciples. We know the other one is Andrew, but the unnamed disciple is a bit of a mystery. The Apostle John doesn’t like to name himself in any of the accounts in this book. Yet, we see so many of the intimate details of the conversation and the time of day and the people involved in this story, that it is very likely that the writer of this Gospel is the other disciple here who meets Jesus on the road.
KEY: I think the Apostle John sensed something deeper in Jesus’ question, and he wants us to grapple with the same challenge. Jesus isn’t just asking practically what they want. This sentence here is probably better translated, (SLIDE 5b) “What are you seeking?” and even, “Who are you seeking?”
Jesus is asking them, “What do you really want in life?” “What are your intentions?” “What is it what you are seeking when you examine your heart?”
Now, their answer seems strange (“where are you staying”), but this answer is just as insightful as the question, because these disciples don’t really know what they want, except to spend time in the presence of the Messiah. They haven’t thought things through yet, they just know they need to be with Jesus.
And so, here’s the first invitation: (SLIDE 5c) “Come and you will see.”
The text says: “So they went” and spent the rest of the day with Jesus.
IMPORTANT — This is a profound moment. In the ancient middle eastern world, just as it is today, hospitality was one of the highest cultural values.
ILLUST — I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Jordan and to Israel, and I’ll never forget walking into a shop in Jerusalem and the shopkeeper stopped everything he was doing and made me and my friend tea and sat down to talk with us about our trip and our families and our studies. It was like I was his new best friend!
You see, John doesn’t want us to overlook the profound fact that the first thing that God himself, the Word made flesh, did was invite two fishermen into his home to treat them to some good old fashioned middle-eastern hospitality.
KEY — Don’t miss this friends: (SLIDE 5d) Jesus begins with an invitation to relationship. He is inviting them to communion with him. He acts out of generosity, graciousness, welcome, and compassion. This is what he offers to each of us…the warmth and welcome of giving himself to you.
Now, what happens next? The disciples share Jesus with others.
In verse 40, the text says that the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon.
And he says, (SLIDE 5e) “We have found the Messiah!” And then he brings Simon to Jesus.
APPLY — Andrew’s child-like excitement reveals the very heart of what it feels like to be compelled to tell others about Jesus. He couldn’t help himself, he had to find his dear brother and tell him the good news!
We need to focus on one word here in Andrew’s witness to his brother: “found”
In order to find something, you need to be looking. Andrew was looking for the Messiah.
APPLY — Let’s pause here for a moment, because the assumption here is that people are searching for the Savior. But in our world today, that’s not always the case.
We live in a time of malaise, distraction, indifference, and busyness. One of the hallmark features of affluent western culture is the lack of desire or lack of perceived need for a Savior. Being comfortable and indifferent is one of Satan’s most deceiving tactics in our modern world.
ILLUST — I read a book recently by two college campus ministers named Don Everts and Doug Schaupp called I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus. In this book, they observed five shifts that generally happen in a post-modern person:
They learn to trust a Christian.
They move from complacent to curious, usually sparked by a crisis or disillusionment with the modern world.
They become open to change, realizing that they can’t keep doing the same thing. Everts and Schaupp say that the willingness to change is the hardest shift to make.
Then they move from meandering to seeking Jesus specifically.
And last, they move from the kingdom of self to the Kingdom of God by surrendering their life to the Lord.
These shifts are all evidence of a movement of the Spirit of God within a person. And our role in this is to do what Andrew did in our passage: To invite someone to meet Jesus.
You see, what happens next turns everything upside down. When Andrew brings his brother Simon to encounter Jesus, something unusual happens.
Before introductions are made, Jesus looks straight at Simon and basically says, “I know you already…you are Simon. But I’m going to give you a new name. I’m going to make you into a new person.” (SLIDE 5f)
ILLUST — Think about this for a minute. Who has the authority to name someone? For us, that is the role of a parent. The one who brings you into this world has the authority to name you.
Here is Jesus, the Creator of everything, God himself. By giving Simon a new name, he is saying, “I am the One who made you. And I am the one who will remake you into the man that I desire.”
KEY: Encountering Jesus results in transformation. You will never be the same. He will form and shape you into the man or woman that he designed you to be, for his glory. His invitation is to a new life.
This is why Simon is given the name Peter, which means “rock”. As we move through the gospel of John, we’re going to see this rash and impulsive young man slowly transform into the solid and wise leader of the early church.
Here’s what we need to understand: Andrew thinks he has found the Messiah, which is true! That is what Jesus is. But in this interaction with Simon, we see that Jesus actually found them. It is Andrew and Simon who were lost, dead in sin, needing a Savior. It is Jesus is knows them, who created them, and who is choosing them.
MAIN 2 — Philip and Nathanael (vv. 43-51). (SLIDE 6a)
A very similar event happens again the next day.
Jesus begins with an invitation to Philip: “Follow me.” (SLIDE 6b)
And Philip does the same thing as Andrew, he goes to share the good news with someone he cares about: his friend Nathanael.
Nathanael is probably the Apostle Bartholomew from the list of disciples in the other gospels. “Bartholomew” is not a personal name, it is a family name that literally means “son of Theolomeaus”. So Nathanael is likely the common personal name of Bartholomew. Nathanael is what his friends called him!
Now, the conversation between Philip and Nathanael reveals something important for how we can talk with skeptics about Jesus. Just look at how this conversation goes:
Philip says, (SLIDE 6c) “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.” He is giving the textual evidence that Jesus fulfills the promises of the Old Testament.
But Nathanael’s response dismisses the evidence: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
Nathanael was from Cana, which is another town in Galilee. There was a rivalry between these towns. ILLUST — It would be like Nathanael was saying, “How can anything good come from a Packer fan?”
It is likely that the people in Cana didn’t think much of Nazareth. They considered Nazareth to be a town full of backward country bumpkins. How could the Messiah, the King of Israel, come from such a place?
Philip’s response is perfect: “Come and see”
It’s no accident that he uses the same words that Jesus said to Andrew and John.
APPLY — Often the best strategy for a skeptic is to invite them to encounter Jesus for themself. Sometimes we need to simply say to people, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
When Nathanael encounters Jesus, we see the same pattern again: Nathanael and Philip think they are the ones doing the finding, but in fact they have been found.
You see, Jesus’ words to Nathanael reveal something important: (SLIDE 6d) READ v. 48. Jesus is truly God — he sees and knows all.
Jesus saw Nathanael while he was sitting under the fig tree, likely earlier that day.
ILLUST — In the Jewish world, fig trees were often associated with meditation on the scriptures. Evidently, Nathanael was a student of the scriptures.
This is why Philip tries to convince him by saying that he has found the one whom Moses and the prophets wrote about.
KEY: Jesus reveals to Nathanael that Philip’s claim really is true, because who could see him studying the scriptures in search of the Messiah but the Messiah himself!
Nathanael was wrong about Jesus, and now he makes the most clear declaration of who Jesus is in this whole account: “You are the Son of God, the King of Israel.”
There has been a heightening or a crescendo here:
Andrew calls Jesus “the Messiah”
Philip calls him “the one Moses and the prophets wrote about”
Nathanael calls him “the Son of God, the King of Israel”
You see, Jesus is inaugurating a whole new reality here; he is forming a new people.
Verses 50-51 display the deeper thing that is happening here. READ vv. 50-51.
(SLIDE 6e) This is a quote of Genesis 28 when God speaks to Jacob in a dream. This is what the text says in Genesis 28:12-14, “He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Friends, shortly after this God renamed Jacob, giving him the name Israel. And he has 12 sons who become the 12 tribes of Israel.
Do you see the connection here? Jesus is saying to Nathanael, a man who studied the scriptures and knew Genesis 28, that I am the new Jacob, the new Israel, and I am forming my 12 disciples by which a new people of God will be formed.
The “greater thing” is the formation of the new people of God under the Lordship of Christ! It is the launch a new kingdom, an everlasting kingdom, in which people from every nation, tribe, people, and language come together under the banner of the Son of Man…the one whom Daniel prophesied in Daniel 7 would be given authority by the Ancient of Days to bring redemption and justice and peace to the earth! WOW!
Friends, this simple story of Jesus calling the first few disciples is actually packed with meaning. It is the humble beginning of the coming of salvation through Jesus as he simply extends this invitation: “follow me.” (SLIDE 7a)
John is telling us in these conversations along the shores of the Sea of Galilee that (SLIDE 7b) the gospel is an invitation to a new life in a new people through Jesus Christ. It is bigger than you can possibly imagine.
APPLY
Friends, we need to hear the simple words of Philip, “Come and see.” At the end of the day, Jesus’ invitation is to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
ILLUST — Pastor and author Jared Wilson, who writes a lot about what it means to be a gospel-driven church, said this: “What’s great about the Christian faith isn’t just that it’s right, but that it’s powerful…The gospel will dismantle objections while captivating hearts.”
That’s what Jesus is inviting us to…to have your heart captivated by his love and grace, captivated by his compassion, captivated by his justice, and captivated by his truth, and ultimately captivated by HIM, Jesus Christ himself.
That’s the invitation…to simply say “yes” when he says “follow me.”