Jesus Still Seeks Followers
January 30, 2022
What keeps you from following Jesus? What keeps you from trusting Jesus with all your life and surrendering to Him? What keeps you from aligning yourself to Jesus’s life to learn how to live and love from Him? What keeps you from following Jesus? There are a lot of reasons people give for NOT following Jesus today. And when I was a young man, I had my reasons. For one, I thought Jesus followers were out of touch with reality; two, I didn’t know anyone who was following Jesus; and three, I just didn’t know who Jesus was.
But since trusting in Jesus to lead me in all of life, I’ve discovered that there all sorts of barriers that keep people from following Jesus. When I was living in Canada, I lot of people I met were so caught up with living out their carefully crafted lives that they had no place for Jesus in their life. Others said they didn’t believe the Bible held any relevance today, so they couldn’t be bothered with following Jesus. And some said the Bible was just a bunch of made-up stories used to control our lives. So, they didn’t want to trust in Jesus because they had a negative view of the Bible and Christianity.
But one of the main barriers I’ve continually encountered over the years focuses on people’s doubts or intellectual questions. And as I’ve had opportunity to speak with people like this, most use their skepticism as a convenient excuse for not believing. For when I asked, “If I could answer all your intellectual questions, would you then consider following Jesus?” almost all of them said, “No.” And the reason they said, “No” was because they wanted to live their life apart from God. In essence, they loved their sin more than Jesus.
So, this morning, I want to ask this question again: What keeps you from following Jesus? What keeps you from trusting Jesus enough to go all in? What are the barriers that keep you from following Jesus? Are your barriers like the ones I mentioned earlier? Do you struggle with giving up control? Are you reluctant to go all in because you don’t feel worthy? Do you have doubts or questions that keep you from going all in? What’s keeping you from surrendering your life to Jesus? Well, if you’re holding onto something that’s keeping you from following Jesus, you’re not alone. For today, we’re going to look at two ways Jesus breaks barriers to belief. So, if you brought you Bible with you this morning, let me encourage you to find John 1:43-51, where we will see how Jesus can remove the barriers that keep us from following Him.
And the first way Jesus does this is recorded for us in verses 43-44, where we see that 1. Jesus includes the reluctant: Look now at the text with me: The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. John 1:43-44 The first thing I want us to see is that Jesus went looking for Philip and when he found him, He commands him follow. How did this come about? Why did Jesus go looking for Philip? Well, from the context, we see that Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. So, after getting to know Andrew and Peter, Jesus must have learned from them about Philip. They must have told Jesus that Philip had the same hope as they did.
Now, we are not told a whole lot about Philip in the New Testament. He is one of the less prominent disciples. In fact, whenever we do see him, he usually appears with Andrew, and commonly in situations where he is somewhat out of his depth. And this may explain why Jesus took the initiative to call him. Perhaps he was like a lot of people today. He was just going along through life. But he was reluctant or even fearful to step out and follow Jesus like his friends Andrew and Peter. So, he needed some encouragement to become a disciple.
And that’s what we see here. Jesus takes it upon himself to pursue Philip. Jesus goes looking for Philip and when He finds him, he says, “Follow me.” And so Philip does.
Now we don’t know exactly why Philip was reluctant to follow Jesus: He may have lacked confidence. He may have been insecure. He may have had a troubled past. But what we do know is that Jesus wanted Philip to be one of His disciples. So here’s the point: Jesus wants to include everyone. Jesus often seeks the least likely to follow Him. He looks for people on the margins. He looks for people others overlook. He looks for those who are weak and even despised. As the Apostle Paul so beautifully puts it in his letter to the Corinthians: Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
And Jesus chose Philip to follow Him. So, let me ask you: Are you like Philip? Do you feel like you don’t have much to offer? Do you battle with insecurity, your lack of confidence, a weakness, or feelings of unworthiness? You might just be the kind of person Jesus is looking for to follow Him today. Don’t let your personal barriers keep you from following Jesus. Because just as Jesus sought Philip, Jesus still seeks followers today.
So, what happened after Jesus calls Philip to follow? Well, now that Jesus has included Philip as one of His disciples, something happens in Philip. Now that he’s met the Messiah, he’s filled with a new-found sense of confidence and immediately takes off to find his friend to tell him about Jesus. Look at vs 45, 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.” John 1:45
But as we’re about to see, Nathanael is not easily convinced by Philip’s revelation. In fact, Nathanael’s first response to hearing about the Messiah from Philip is anything but positive. He doesn’t bite, but instantly reveals his skepticism. Listen to Nathanael’s response to Philip’s message of good news: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
And Nathanael has a point. Nowhere in the Old Testament is it ever recorded that the Messiah comes from Nazareth. In fact, Nazareth is never mentioned in the OT. And besides that, Nazareth has a terrible reputation. Nazareth was held in contempt by the Jews because there was something unclean about the place. First, because of their loose morals and lax religion. But also because of their association with Rome. This is what was going on in Nazareth at the time: Whenever the Roman rulers of this region needed workmen, they drew from the laborers of Nazareth. And many of the citizens of Nazareth exploited this opportunity for personal gain. So, the Nazarenes were despised by the Jews and for good reason, by Nathanael. No suitable religious leader could possibly come from Nazareth – and the Messiah. Forget it. You can almost see Nathanael rolling his eyes. “He’s from there? Really! You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Perhaps you know someone like this: someone who LOVES to roll their eyes at the idea of Christianity – who sees Christianity as an archaic and outdated religion – someone who doesn’t think Jesus is knowable or even relevant… You know the type: the person who is quick to say, “Christianity – I’ve tried that. I grew up with it. That’s not for me. It’s for people who are less intelligent, less educated, people who need a crutch to rely on. Seriously, you don’t buy into that Jesus thing do you?” Well, here’s the thing Nazareth still exists in the minds of skeptics today: It’s the mindset that easily dismisses Jesus as irrelevant to your life.
Now, perhaps this describes you. Maybe someone brought you here today, but you’ve already rolled your eyes at Jesus. You’ve already dismissed Him. If this is you, can I ask something of you today? Don’t be like Nathanael, at least not at this point. Don’t dismiss Jesus out of hand. Don’t let your intellectual pride keep you from discovering something about Jesus you weren’t aware of. Don’t let your past experiences with Christianity derail you. Don’t let your doubts close your mind to Jesus. Instead, be open to see Jesus with new eyes.
And that’s precisely how Philip handled Nathanael. In the face of Nathanael’s prejudices, Philip simply invited him to come see Jesus for himself: “Come and see,” said Philip. And so, Nathanael goes. Even though he said nothing good could come from Nazareth, he keeps an open mind and goes to see just who this Jesus was.
We need to take note here of what Philip did. Philip didn’t argue with Nathanael. He simply invites Nathanael to check Jesus out for himself. “Come and see for yourself.” All of us can do this. This is what I do when someone is quick to dismisses Jesus. I ask them, “Have you ever read the Gospels? They tell us all about Jesus.” 9 times out of ten, the person tells me, they have not. They’ve just created a view of Jesus from what they’ve picked up in the media, or heard second hand from friends or family members who’ve already dismissed Jesus. But they’ve never really looked at Jesus for themselves. So, then I ask: “Do you consider yourself to be opened minded? And every time they say, “Yes.” So, then I say, then “Come and see for yourself.” Read what God’s Word says about Jesus then decide for yourself who He is. Don’t take someone else’s word on Jesus. You owe it to yourself. “Come and see for yourself.” Philip had a great strategy that worked then, and it still works today.
So Nathanael went with Philip to see Jesus. And what happened next? Well, here’s where we see how Jesus awakens the skeptical. Look at verse 47, When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” When Jesus saw Nathanael, he saw a man pure in heart. He identified him as a man without guile. Jesus saw him as A MAN OF TRUTH. A man who had no deceit or falsehood. Nathanael was one of those people who calls them as he sees them. He’s honest to the core. He’s honest to a fault. You always know where he’s coming from. This is not always the most redeeming quality. But this was how Nathanael was wired.
So, when Nathanael hears Jesus’ words his mind quickly races: How could Jesus know me? How could he know my true nature? And he recognizes: “Jesus not only knows me – he gets me! Jesus understands who I am.” This throws him off his game and so he asks: “How do you know me?” And Jesus answers, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Now we don’t know exactly what Jesus saw, but this knowledge combined with Jesus’ understanding of who he was – instantly transforms this dismissive skeptic into an all-in believer.
For now, Nathanael calls Jesus as he sees Him: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” John 1:47-49 Nathanael WAS a man of truth. He knew what the Messiah would like: He knew He would be a descendent of Abraham, a prophet like Moses. He knew He would be a rescuer and redeemer. He knew that when He came He would set things right. And he knew that the Messiah would be the Son of God. For only the Son of God could see him and known him.
For that’s what Psalm 139 teaches us. It teaches us that God knows each of us intimately. He knows when we sleep and when we rise. He knows our words before we speak them. He knows our past. He knows our struggles. He knows our deepest desires, our darkest secrets, our damning sins and dumbest acts. He knows everything about us, but still wants to be near us. And that’s why Nathanael calls Jesus as he sees him: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus awakens the skeptical with truth. That’s how Jesus overcomes the barrier of unbelief. Jesus awakens the skeptic, the doubter, and the cynic with truth.
It’s the truth of God’s Word that removes the barriers to belief. Many people are ignorant of who Jesus is today. That’s why they so easily dismiss him. That’s why they have doubts about him. And that’s why one of Satan’s greatest schemes is to keep people from opening God’s Word. For when you do open this book, when you do come and see who Jesus is, Jesus will break your barrier to belief. That’s what God’s Word says:Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17
So then, there’s nothing wrong with having doubts about Jesus. And it’s ok to have questions about Jesus. But it’s a poor excuse to be ignorant of who Jesus is…
So if you have doubts, if you’re skeptical about Jesus’ claims, about his life, or his miracles or even his identity as the Son of God, then don’t you owe it to yourself to come and see for yourself what the Bible teaches about Jesus? For this same Jesus who saw Nathanael under the tree, sees you today. He sees your heart. He sees your longings. He sees your hopes. He sees your sin and brokenness, but He loves you just the same. So come and see Jesus for yourself… and when you do, you will see what Jesus promises Nathanael right here in this passage. And what is that?
You will see that 3. Jesus opens the way to heaven: Listen now to the promise Jesus gives to Nathanael and to us: Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”
He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:50-51
What’s Jesus describing here? He’s describing the stairway to heaven. In Genesis 28, when Jacob is in route from Beersheba to Haran, he stops for the night in Bethel to sleep. During the night “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,” The dream is so overpowering that Jacob is awed. So the Bible tells us that, When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, this is the gate of heaven.” He called the place Bethel.
Now what’s so interesting is that the Hebrew word Bethel means “house of God.” So what Jesus is telling Nathanael and telling us is this: Jesus is the ultimate Bethel. Jesus is the place where we can meet with God.
This is a telling image! I love how Timothy Keller describes it. He says: “Angels are a sign of the royal presence of God. Because people have turned from God and have destroyed one another, there’s a barrier, as it were between Heaven and Earth. A wall between the ideal and the real. But Jacob has this vision, this dream that somehow, someday there will be a connection between Heaven and Earth, and there will be some way to get into the very presence of God. And now here in speaking to Nathanael Jesus makes the incredible claim that HE IS THAT WAY. He is the Logos of the universe, the bridge between heaven and earth.”
Jesus is the barrier breaker. Jesus is the way maker. Jesus is the way for you and I or anyone else to experience the very presence of God. Jesus is the way for you to know God’s love, to experience God’s mercy, to find God’s peace in His loving presence, fully forgiven, fully accepted and fully reconciled to Him!
That’s the good news Jesus gives Nathanael, and the good news he announces to us today: The way to heaven is now open to anyone who believes in Jesus. The way to the heaven is now open to the skeptic and to the sinner. For Jesus breaks the barriers that keep you from the presence of God. And that is why Jesus still seeks followers.
So, let me ask you again: What keeps you from following Jesus? What barrier do you need Jesus to break in your life today?
Is it your fear of the unknown?
Is it the shame from your past or the unworthiness of your sin?
Is it your doubts or intellectual pride?
Is it the uncertainties that come with giving up control?
Whatever barrier you’re holding onto today, let me encourage you: When Jesus came to be One of us, the Son of God broke the barrier that separates you from a life with God. Jesus broke the barrier of sin when He laid down His life for you on the cross. And Jesus broke the barrier of death when He rose from the grave. And broke those barriers to open the way home to God.
So, let me ask you: Do you want to follow this Jesus? Do you want to come home? For it is this Jesus who still seeks followers today.
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