D.L.

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “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. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
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 ). 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. 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.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”
(John 1,35-50 NIV11-GKE)

During my Sabbatical last year, I heard Jesus asking me: Why do you follow me? I was sitting on a bench in Central Park when I heard his voice.
I know my way around New York, as I lived in New Jersey, Weehawken and Boulevard East when I was a teenager. You can see Manhattan and the Hudson River from that side of New Jersey. What a sight!

So, I took the bus to Port Authority, and instead of taking the subway, I decided to walk to Central Park. Then, as I walked, I thought that after visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I would look for John Lennon, according to my calculations, who was almost on the opposite side of the Part. That day became to me my quest for “Looking for John Lennon”. But I got lost in Central Park.

Why do you follow me?

What a question!

So far in First Ballynahinch Presbyterian Church Sunday morning, we have looked at John the Baptist. His purpose, his mission, and why he followed Jesus.

He has become an example of deep humility and servitude. He always pointed to Jesus and he felt unworthy to remove Jesus’ sandals.

Last week, we saw an important reason why we follow Jesus.
Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Baptiser of the Holy Spirit, and He is the Chosen One.

Therefore, to give an honest answer to the question, “Why do you follow me?” I believe that it is important to ask:

What Kind of Follower am I?
What kind of Follower are we?

If Jesus is standing here, as I believe he is, and he is asking you this very question, what would you say to that? What would be your answer?

This last section of Chapter One of John is all about “Follow me.”

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” (John 1,35-37 NIV11-GKE)

“The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
(John 1,43 NIV11-GKE)

He said to Andrew: “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” (John 1,39 NIV11-GKE) – This is another way to say, “Follow me.”

So, there is one answer that we can give Jesus to the question, “Why do you follow me? Jesus, you called me, and that is what I said to him that day in Central Park. I know that answer was biblically sound as John 15 these words: “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15,16 NIV11)

However, deep in my heart, I knew that my answer was more like an excuse, a very good religious one. Because deep in my hear I was saying angrily: You call me, it is your problem!

It is also significant tome that all this happened in two days.

“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” (John 1,35-38 NIV11-GKE)

This is the day after John the Baptist saw the Spirit descending on Jesus. He is with two of his disciples. We know that one of them is Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. John says, pointing to Jesus, as Jesus walked and said: “Look, the Lamb of God”. That was all it took for the two disciples of John to leave him and follow Jesus. John shows us how gracious he is. He is always pointing to Jesus.

Then the following day, we read: “The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” (John 1,43 NIV11-GKE)

Jesus, on his way to Galilee, finds Philip and calls him, “Follow me”.

There is movement and transitions. Jesus is on a mission and is now getting a core group. As we will find out, this group will become his followers and disciples.

Here, we are introduced to the first four Disciples:
Andrew – Peter – Philip and Nathanael.

Four different people with different backgrounds, characters and personalities.

Now, with this in mind, there are at least three things that we need to grasp when we are trying to give an answer to the Question: Why do you follow me?

So, let me look briefly at:

MORE QUESTIONS

In my walk with the Lord Jesus, I have discovered that he has a voice. Just like the Father and the Holy Spirit have a voice.
They speak, and if the Spirit of the Living Jesus lives in you, you will know what He says. He uses His Word and the Witness of the Holy Spirit to talk to us.

Some of us have developed an ear to hear and distinguish the voice of Jesus. We also need to realise that other voices are also speaking to us.

It is the forging of a deeper relationship with the Lord you begin to distinguish his voice. Just as your loved ones can distinguish your voice.

Why is this so important? It is because it is called communication, a two-way system with the Lord. He speaks, we listen, we say, and he listens.

Please don’t be surprised if he asks you questions in this interaction. He does that.

These verses are full of them:

“When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” (John 1,37-38 NIV11-GKE)

Jesus becomes aware that two of John’s disciples are following, and he turns around to face them and asks: What do you want?

Living in this culture, I know we need to be careful how we say this! It all depends on how you say it.

If you know someone well, you can ask, “What do you want?” and it doesn’t appear to be offensive.

Jesus asks the disciples What do you want? Their answer is different from what I would have said. They answered back with another question.

“They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” (John 1,38-39 NIV11-GKE)

Jesus’s reply is short, and not many details are given by Jesus, only “Come, and you will see”.

The other two questions happen on the next day.

Philips finds Nathanael and tells him that they have found the Messiah – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

Nathanael asks: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”” (John 1,46 NIV11-GKE)

We will look at this question in our last point.

When Jesus finally meets Nathanael, it is Nathanael who asks Jesus:

How do you know me?

Jesus will come and ask you questions, and you can do the same.

So, what does this mean?

FOLLOWING

It means that all the questions that are asked, either by Jesus or from one disciple to another, are answered.

The outcome is the same for Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael.

They all follow Jesus.

Andrew and the other disciples of John, as soon as they saw Jesus walking and when they heard John the Baptist saying, “Look the Lamb of God”, they left John and followed Jesus.

Jesus saw them coming and asked what do you want? They asked where are you staying? Jesus said, come and you will see, and they do just that.

They followed Jesus on the testimony of John the Baptist.

The same is true with Andrew: “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 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 ).” (John 1,40-42 NIV11-GKE)

On the back of John the Baptist testimony, Andrew has become convinced that Jesus is the Christ; he goes and finds his brother Simon and tells him, “We have found the Messiah”. This is life-changing for any Jew, especially for Andrew and Peter.

Andrew brings Simon to Jesus, and Jesus meets him and calls him Simon, son of John, and you will be called Cephas, which is Peter. Both brothers now followed Jesus.
Jesus received a revelation from the Holy Spirit and renamed Simon to Peter, which will become significant in the lives of Peter.

Then, Philip does the same with Nathanael. But Nathanael needs more information. “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 NIV11-GKE)

“We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law”.
“About the one, the prophets also wrote”.
Jesus of Nazareth.

I want you to see that the Gospel of John has already shared this information. Jesus is the prophet that was to come! Nathanael is a devoted Jew; He knows the Scriptures. Philip testifies about Jesus on the evidence of what he saw and heard from John the Baptist and from the evidence of the Scriptures. The Scriptures testify about the Christ.
They all followed Jesus.

WHAT KIND OF FOLLOWERS ARE WE?

Andrew and Philip saw, heard and believed.

Peter was introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew, and he also believed.

Philip found Nathanael, and both followed Jesus.

What type of followers are they? This is an good but unfair question, as we are only introduced to them.

Their characters will develop as the story of the Gospel is revealed. They are going to be entirely transformed by Jesus. Even though they failed him, we will see them as committed followers of Jesus. Peter failed him, and Philip still needed to figure out who Jesus was, as we see in John 14.

But we know enough to know what kind of Follower Nathanael has become.

“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 NIV11-GKE)

The Nathanael that Jesus encountered was a man who felt superior; he was almost racist, and I will say sectarian. A man who looked down on others. Yet he understood the Scriptures, and he was a true Israelite. In his book Encounters with Jesus, Tim Keller says that Nathanael’s problem is that he is an intellectual snob, maybe even a bigot.

“When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.””
(John 1,47-48 NIV11-GKE)

There are three things that Jesus does here:

1. Jesus saw Nathanael.
2. Jesus revealed the identity of Nathanael, who he was as a person, a man in whom there is no deceit. This means that he is transparent. This is another revelation from the Holy Spirit.
3. Jesus calls him.

Let me now apply this:

When Jesus calls you to follow him, do you follow?
On what basis do you follow?
There is in all of us a Nathanael desperately wanting to be known by Jesus.
Let me ask: When Jesus sees you, what does he see?

Are you an Andrew, a Philip, a Peter, or a Nathanael? They all were convinced and believed that Jesus was the Christ, and they left everything to follow the Messiah!

To follow Jesus is costly. Are we prepared to pay the price of following him?
What kind of Follower are you?
If you think you are only interested in him intellectually, then you have yet to see the point of Jesus. If you think you follow him because it is proper and right to come to Church, then you have missed the point of Jesus.
Suppose you follow him because you heard the testimony of the Scriptures, and by a revelation and conviction of the Holy Spirit, you said like Nathanael, “My Lord, My God”. In that case, you have encountered the Lamb of God, the Baptiser of the Spirit and the Chosen One.