Those Who Followed

Take your Bible for the last time and turn to John chapter 1. It's our last sermon in John chapter 1. And I was talking to the church on Wednesday night and after 27 weeks in John chapter 1, you would think that there would be a great celebration on behalf of the church that finally we are through the first chapter of John's gospel. And I said to them, instead of a celebration, I think there should be an examination. How do we examine our lives in light of what we have heard and what have you learned about the Lord in John chapter 1? But I decided against the celebration and the examination and tried to look at the application of John chapter 1. In other words, how have you come to know the Lord through John chapter 1? The question would be, how have you beheld the Lord in John chapter 1?

John wants you to behold your God. Have you seen him for who he is? I trust that you have. Because if you behold him properly, then you will behave or believe in him biblically. You'll understand who he is.

And you want to follow him. And that's the purpose of John's writing, John 20:30 and 31. It's all about believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

And if you believe in him, then you'll behave accordingly. You'll live in light of who he is. And that's the application of John chapter 1. If you believe in him because you have beheld him, then you will behave accordingly.

And then you will blossom incredibly. Your life will begin to blossom because you're a follower of Christ. And in the concluding verses of John chapter 1, it's all about those who followed the Christ.

Most would not, but there are a few who did. So let me read with you John chapter 1, verses 43 to the end. It says, the next day he purposed to go into Galilee.

And he found Philip, and Jesus said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida of 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 any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to 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 and said to 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 and said to him, because I said to you that 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 the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man,

Those who follow Jesus, from the divine point of view, we understand why they followed, because all that the father gives me will come to me, Jesus said in John chapter 6. But humanly speaking, what is it about the days that took place that caused these men to follow Jesus?

Well, number one was the proclamation of John the Baptist. John was proclaiming the kingdom. He was preaching a baptism of repentance. He was proclaiming that you need to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so as he was preaching and baptizing people in the Jordan, there were Andrew and John we saw last week who were disciples of John the Baptist.

And John the Baptist was that last Old Testament prophet and first New Testament preacher. And he was the one that was pointing to the Messiah. After all, he was the greatest man ever born of a woman.

And so we spent time examining this man and almost fell over there, examining this man and all that took place in his life and how God used him mightily. And so the proclamation of John would cause people like Andrew and people like John to follow Christ, because on this day he would point to them and say, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And so in pointing to that Lamb, Andrew and John would follow.

And of course, the question would come from Jesus. We saw this last week. What do you seek? What do you want? Why are you here? Well, where are you staying? He says, come and see.

Not just see the place where I'm staying, but come and see because what I'm going to show you is all you need to know about me. And he did. So much so that Andrew would find Simon, his brother, and tell him, we have found the Messiah.

Yeah. How did Andrew know that? Because he was convinced, absolutely convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. So you had the proclamation of John the Baptist, and then you had the conviction of Andrew, absolutely convicted that who they were with, this Lamb of God is truly the Messiah of Israel.

And of course, Jesus sees Peter and tells him, you'll no longer be called Simon, but you will be called Peter, Petros, a little stone in my hand. I'm going to throw you here and throw you there and use you in a mighty way, mighty ways you can't even begin to imagine, Peter, but I'm going to use you. So these men followed because of the proclamation of John the Baptist.

The Bible says over in the book of Romans, these words, very familiar to us, Romans 10 verse number 14, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things. However, they did not all heed the good news, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report? So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.

And so John the Baptist was a preacher. How would they call on him whom they had not heard? And who's going to preach? No, John the Baptist preached. And Andrew and John, who were disciples of his, began to follow the Lamb. And then Andrew was so convicted, so convinced that Jesus was Messiah, he went to his brother and said, we have found the Messiah.

The third reason they followed is because of the injunction of the Messiah. That's our text for today, verse number 43.

The next day, he purposed to go into Galilee. This would be day four. If you're following through John chapter one, on day one, there was a delegation from Jerusalem who came down to ask John some questions.

Day two, John would point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Day three, he would again point to the Lamb of God, and Andrew and John would follow Jesus the Messiah. Now you have day four, day four. So the next day, he purposed to go into Galilee.

He's got a 70-mile journey from the Judean wilderness there by the Jordan, where John was baptizing, where he met Andrew and John and Simon. He's on his way to Galilee. Three days journey by foot.

That's why it says in John chapter 2, verse number 1, on the third day. The third day after the fourth day. Why? Because it would take them three days journey to get from where they were to Cana in Galilee, because that's where the wedding is.

And so you have this scenario, and you have this day in which they were going to journey to Galilee, and he found Philip. Philip. And as he finds Philip, there is no doubt that there is this conversation between Andrew and John and Jesus and Philip, because Philip is going to go to Nathanael, because it's the confirmation of Philip that would bring Nathanael to understand the Messiah.

So you have the proclamation of John the Baptist. You have the conviction of Andrew. You have the injunction of the Messiah, and then you have the confirmation of Philip that would cause these men to follow the Lord.

But notice that on their way to Galilee, they find Philip. And God is going to use Philip in unique and special ways. In John chapter 6, he's going to test Philip, because those who follow him are always tested by him.

And you know the story of John 6, because there it's the feeding of 5,000, which is 5,000 men, not counting the women and the children. So you're of upwards of 20,000 people. And it says in John chapter 6, these words, John chapter 6 in verse number 5, the Lord says these words, it says, therefore Jesus lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him.

Now, how large was the crowd? Well, we know it's 5,000 men. Now you count their wives and their children. It's around 20,000 people.

That would be a large crowd in anybody's book. Right? So Jesus sees them coming to him. He says to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these may eat? Why would he ask Philip that question? Because Philip is from Bethsaida, and the feeding of the 5,000 takes place on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, next to Bethsaida.

But it says, these words, this he was saying to test him. He wanted to test Philip to see how his faith had blossomed, how his faith had grown over the time that he was with the Lord. He wanted to know if Philip really trusted him or not.

Because the next phrase is this, for he himself knew what he was intending to do. That phrase right there is just so important because whenever God tests you, he knows exactly what he's intending to do. You might not think he does, but he has a plan.

He's got a purpose. And in that test, he has got something in mind that he wants to happen in your life. And so the next time we see Philip, we realize that he's going to test him because they have made their way to Galilee, and Bethsaida is there, and Philip is from Bethsaida, and he wants to test his faith.

Next time you see him is in John 12. In John 12, some Greeks come to him, and he leads them to Andrew because he knows that Andrew will take them to the Messiah because that's what Andrew always does. He leads people to the Messiah because he's a man, and that's what his name means, manly.

Andrew's name means manly, and men are always leading people to Jesus. That's what defines a man. Not his job, not his income, not his athletic prowess.

It's whether or not he can lead people to Jesus or not. That's what manhood is all about, and Andrew is that man who would lead people to Jesus.

Next time you see Philip, he's in John chapter 14. On the eve of the crucifixion, Christ is talking about going to see the Father, and he's going to prepare a mansion for them in glory, and of course, Philip says to him, Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough, and Christ would respond by saying, Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. You haven't got that yet? You should know that, Philip.

Again, trying to help Philip understand the implications of following Christ and understanding all that he is, but this is Philip, and the Lord has a purpose behind calling those He does, so he gives this injunction, follow me.

Follow me. It's a command. It's not a suggestion. Hey, if you've got nothing else better to do, follow me. No, follow me, Philip, and Philip does, and somehow in the course of following Jesus and conversing with Jesus and listening to Andrew and John, he wants to confirm the fact that this is the Messiah, and so he goes to Nathanael, and so look what the Bible says.

It says, now Philip was from Bethsaida, of 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. So evidently Philip is hearing the conversation, engaged in the conversation, has come to see what the Old Testament says about the Messiah, so he comes to Nathanael and tells him, listen, we found the Messiah, the one that Moses spoke of, the one that the prophets spoke of.

And you will note that when the New Testament preachers preached, they would preach the Old Testament. They would preach Moses, the law, the prophets. Why? Because in the Old Testament, it's everything you need to know about the Messiah.

Jesus is in the Old Testament. I love what is said in Acts chapter 10, when Peter is speaking to Cornelius. Cornelius becomes the first Gentile convert, and Peter is preaching to him and says these words in verse 42 of Acts chapter 10, he ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Of him, all the prophets bear witness that through his name, everyone who believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins.

In other words, that the prophets spoke of the one who would allow you to understand the forgiveness of sins. And so here is Peter preaching to a Gentile to help him understand that the Old Testament scriptures spoke of this one who would come, this Messiah who would forgive the sins of the people.

When you come to Acts chapter 18, you have a man by the name of Apollos. The Bible says that he is mighty in the scriptures. He's an eloquent man. He is fervent in spirit. But the text also says that he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John.

So here is Apollos understanding about Jesus because of John's preaching, John the Apostle, I'm assuming John the Baptist. And so that's what he knows. So Aquila and Priscilla, they hear him speak, but they want to help him understand more about the Old Testament and the fulfillment of all that took place through Jesus who came.

And it says when they spoke to him, it says that he left and he went to the synagogues and began to preach. He says, he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. He powerfully refuted the Jews with just the Old Testament, proving to them that Jesus is in the Old Testament because Jesus is the Messiah. And so he could prove to the Jewish nation that the Messiah had come because of the Old Testament and all that had been prophesied.

Then you have the Apostle Paul in Acts 26, verse 22, before Agrippa saying, so having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both the small and great, stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place, that the Christ, the Messiah was to suffer. And that by reason of his resurrection from the dead, he would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. In other words, the death, burial, resurrection, suffering of the Messiah is all in the Old Testament.

And Paul would preach the Old Testament. So he would say in 1 Corinthians 15, these words, verse number 1, now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preach to you unless you believe in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

What Scriptures? It's not the New Testament. It's not written yet. The Old Testament.

And that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. In other words, all this is in the Old Testament. So I proclaim to you the gospel, helping you understand that everything that took place with Jesus the Messiah was all prophesied.

Could you imagine being with Jesus and he connecting all the dots for you in the Old Testament? Could you imagine being with Jesus and listening to him teach and proving the fact that he is the Messiah and showing you the fulfillment of prophecy that all took place in his life and that they were actually beholding the one for whom the prophets told? So Philip hearing all that goes to Nathanael. Nathanael, by the way, is from Cana of Galilee. They're on the way to Galilee.

They're going to be in Cana. And that's where Nathanael is from. John 21, verse number 2 tells us that Nathanael is from Cana of Galilee.

He tells them that we have found the one that the prophets spoke of. And believe it or not, you're not going to believe this Nathanael, it's Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Now you would say, well, wait a minute.

Why would he call him the son of Joseph? Why not the son of God? Because everybody in those days was associated with the village they came from and their father. And he was a son of Joseph. He was a son of Joseph legally, but he wasn't the son of Joseph biologically.

And so he is called the son of Joseph because he is actually legally the son of Joseph. And Joseph, of course, is in the Messianic line. Of course, so was his mother Mary.

She too was in the Messianic line. But he was adopted by Joseph and legally he was a son of Joseph and he was from Nazareth. And so Nathanael responds and says these words.

Nathanael said to him, verse 46, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nazareth was a despicable place. But Nazareth also was 10 miles from Cana. If you've been to Israel with me in our journeys, Nazareth and Cana are not that far apart.

And maybe there was a rivalry between Cana and Nazareth. But to think that the Messiah would come from a lowly village like Nazareth and be the son of a carpenter would go way beyond their comprehension of the Messiah. And so he would say, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, what? Come.

Come and see. Same thing Jesus said to Andrew and John. Come.

Come and see. Why? Because I want to show you something. I want to show you what the Bible says.

I want to show you what the Old Testament says. I want you to see the Messiah in the Old Testament. I want you to behold the beauty and glory of the Lord in the Old Testament.

Come and see. Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and said to him, behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.

No deceit. Nathanael says, how do you know me? How can you know that? Now a man with no deceit would be a man of integrity. Nathanael was a man of integrity.

He was probably, listen carefully, of the 12 the most religious, of the 12 the most devout. Nathanael of the name Bartholomew, he was probably the most devout. I'm going to show you that in a moment.

And yet he was a man with no deceit. He was a man with no hypocrisy. He was a man of supreme integrity, honesty, genuineness, transparency.

He was a man of God. But if you've never met him, how would you know that? You wouldn't. If you didn't grow up with him in Cana, how would you know that? You wouldn't.

So how does Jesus know? Because Jesus is omniscient. He knows everything. This is a genuine Israelite, okay? And Paul would tell us that a true Jew is not a Jew outwardly, but a Jew inwardly.

In other words, there's something about man's heart that's committed to the Christ, that's committed to the Lord. And a true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly, not externally, not the things that you do through your customs and your traditions and your ceremonies. That doesn't make you a true Jew.

It makes you Jewish, but not a true Jew. A true Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly. And so Christ says to him these words, you are an Israelite.

You are a true Jew. Indeed, in whom there is no hypocrisy. There's no deceit.

You are a man of integrity. Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Before Philip even called you, I saw you. And you were under the fig tree.

Now, you would think, and rightly so, that because Jesus sees everything, he can see, even though he's far away, who's where. And that would be true.

But that's not the point of the statement. The point of the statement is the significance of the fig tree. Why are fig trees significant? They would grow big. They would provide shade. And so he was sitting in the shade. But why was he sitting under a fig tree in the shade? That's a good question.

I'm glad you're asking that question this morning. Because, according to Zechariah chapter 3, Micah chapter 4, that in the messianic age, every devout Jew will sit under a fig tree, meditating and learning about the Messiah. That's why.

Now you understand the significance of the fig tree. He's living in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah. He is a devout Jew.

He's a true Jew. He's committed to the coming of the Messiah. He believes in the arrival of the Messiah.

And so Jesus says to him, Philip, before I called you, I saw what you were doing. I saw you as a devout Jew. I saw you as a man of supreme integrity, a man of supreme honesty.

I saw you as a true Israelite, because you were studying the Old Testament like every devout Jew would by sitting under a fig tree in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. And now the Messiah is here. So look what Nathanael says.

Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. This is such a great statement.

You are the Son of the of the living God. You are the King of Israel. He knows Zechariah 9:9, that the Messiah will come into Jerusalem on the backside of a donkey as the King of Israel.

Later, three years down the road, they will hail him as the King of Israel at the triumphal entry in John's gospel. But he recognizes that he is the King of Israel. But the story gets even better. It gets even more magnificent.

John's whole purpose in writing is that you come to this confession that Jesus is the Son of God. From the proclamation of John the Baptist to the conviction of Andrew to the injunction of the Messiah to the confirmation of Philip comes the confession of Nathanael.

That's the whole purpose in John writing his gospel, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And Nathanael says, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.

Now it gets really, really good. Okay. So it looks at what it says.

Jesus answered and said to him, because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? First time the word believe is used in John's gospel. Associated with Nathanael. It's used 92 times in the gospel.

But the first time it's used is that of Nathanael. That's why his confession is so important. That's why John writes that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Nathanael believes that Jesus is the Son of God. He makes a great confession. And Jesus says, you believe because I saw you under the fig tree? Is that why you believe? You will see greater things than these.

In the three days, the first miracle will take place. The first of a myriad of miracles that the Messiah performs. But the first one's at a wedding in Cana, Galilee, the hometown of Nathanael.

You're going to see greater things than this, what I said to you today. But it gets even better. For he says this, truly, truly I say to you, you will see the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

Son of Man used 13 times in John's gospel, 80 times in the gospels combined. The title that Christ took for himself to prove he was the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13 and 14. When Daniel had a vision of one like a Son of Man coming in the clouds with great glory.

And Christ says, you will see the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Now, why does Jesus use that? Why that illustration? Why that portion of Scripture? Why would Jesus do that? And I firmly believe that that's because that is what Nathanael was studying under the fig tree when the Messiah called him. Now, do I have any proof of that biblically? No.

But why else would Jesus use that illustration? You say, what illustration? Turn back with me in your Bible to the book of Genesis, the 28th chapter, because this is the illustration that Jesus uses. And if Nathanael is under the fig tree and Nathanael is studying Genesis chapter 28, if he's meditating upon Genesis 28, Christ is going to use this illustration to say, you know what? You haven't seen anything yet. Because what you're about to see is greater than anything you have seen up to this point.

So in Genesis 28, you have Jacob on his way to find a wife. And as he's going to find a wife, he sleeps and has a dream. The Bible says in Genesis 28, verse number 12, he had a dream.

And behold, you'll notice that there are four beholds in the text. Behold a ladder. It's not really a ladder.

It's a staircase. Okay. And so it's not really like a ladder with rungs. It's more like a staircase. Behold, a staircase was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven. Very important because the Hebrew syntax means that it's coming down out of heaven to earth, not from earth to heaven. That's very important to understand this.

Behold, second behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Same phrase that Jesus used in John chapter 1. That the angels of God will be ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

Jacob has a dream. In that dream, there is a stairway that comes down out of heaven to the earth. And on that stairway are angels ascending and descending.

And behold, this is a third behold. The Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie. I will give it to you and to your descendants.

Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Behold, this is the fourth behold. I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place. And I did not know it. He was afraid and said, how awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God and this staircase is the gate to heaven. This staircase is the way to heaven.

Jesus would say that I am the gate. We call it I am the door translation. I am the gate.

In other words, the angels of God would be descending and ascending on the Son of Man. And is it not true that the angel Gabriel announced to Mary or to Elizabeth and to Mary the coming of the Messiah? Did not angels shine the glory of the Lord all around and the angel would say to the shepherds? Were not the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man after the temptation in the wilderness?

Were there not the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man during His temptation in Gethsemane? Absolutely. Were there not two angels on the tomb after the resurrection? Were there not two angels at the ascension of the Lord in Acts chapter 1, when he said, why stand ye gazing up in heaven? Why? Because the angels of God were all around the Messiah, protecting, watching over, because as Hebrews 1 says, they are ministering spirits. They would always minister to the Son of Man.

Use that title, not Son of God, but Son of Man. Because in His humanity, the angels of God would ascend and descend on Him. And thus, they would be there available to minister to Him in unique and special ways. He says, you haven't seen anything yet, Nathaniel.

Just wait and see. Because Jacob says, I now know the way to heaven. I now know the gateway to heaven.

Every rabbi will tell you in the interpretation of Genesis 28 that the staircase is the way to heaven. They just can't define for you who the staircase is.

But there's only one way to heaven. It's through Jesus Christ who says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The one who says, I am the gate, is the one who says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Here were the men who followed Jesus.

And it ends with this great confession of Nathaniel. And note, they would follow Him. Would they follow Him perfectly? Not necessarily.

In fact, the Bible says in Mark's gospel, they all forsook Him and fled. But they were all used by God in great and mighty ways. So much so that John the Baptist would be beheaded, the one who proclaimed and pointed to the Lamb of God. He would lose his head.

Historians tell us that Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross. And as he hung there for two days, he hung proclaiming the gospel message. Because as a man of God, he would always be leading people to the Messiah, even till his death.

And then, of course, you have Peter. Peter, according to church tradition, tells us that he was hung on a cross upside down, because he didn't believe that he was worthy enough to be crucified right side up like his master.

And then, of course, you have John. John was exiled to the island of Patmos.

And you have Philip. Philip was stripped naked, hung upside down, according to church tradition, pierced through his ankles and his thighs, left to bleed to death.

Then you have Nathaniel, the man who made the confession, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. He was skinned alive and then beheaded.

These are the followers of Jesus. These are the men who blossomed in their walk with God.

These are the ones who understood, if any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. And they did. They followed him.

Why? Simply because they would behold their God. They saw him for who he really was. Having beheld him, they believed in him.

Having believed in him, they would behave according to all that he said. Their lives would blossom to such a point, they would lead others to come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. These are the ones who followed Jesus.

The question comes, are you a follower of Jesus? Let's pray together. Lord God, we thank you for today. We are truly grateful for men like John the Baptist, men like Andrew and John, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel, men who portrayed the Christ, men who followed you.

Our prayer is that we would be followers of Christ, true believers in the Lord Jesus, ones who really want to take up a cross daily and follow you. Having denied ourselves, recognizing that all of our aspirations and ambitions are for naught. What really matters is the Christ.

These men truly believed and as Peter would say, he who believes in him will never be disappointed. What a statement. Our prayer, Father, is that we who are here today, all of us would believe in who you are and thus go through life never experiencing any disappointment because you are the sufficient God of the universe who supplies all of our needs in unique and special ways, especially the forgiveness of sins.

So until you come again, may we be found faithful in our service to the Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.