Knowing Jesus, Being Known by Jesus

January 18, 2009
Second Sunday after the Epiphany

GOSPEL LESSON: John 1:43–51
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip 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.” 46Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, "Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Philip was called by Jesus. Jesus said, "Follow me,” and Philip immediately became his disciple. Then Philip found his friend Nathanael and invited him to become a disciple also. When Nathanael heard that Jesus was from Nazareth, he said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" This might have been some sort of hometown rivalry. Or maybe Nazareth was just a country town of no importance. Or it might have been a very sharp theological observation. The Pharisees later will deny Jesus because he was from a town in Galilee rather than Judea….or so they thought, they did not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But anyway, Nathanael was quick to judge Jesus even before getting to know him. By judging Jesus he was shutting out Jesus, refusing to believe in him. He was judging Jesus on the basis of where his hometown was. It was based on ignorance.

This is the way a lot of people judge Jesus. Oh, he came from that little county of Israel that is always fighting with its neighbors. He doesn’t know anything about me or my situation. He cannot be interested in me, so I am not interested in him, either. And of course such a decision will keep us away from our Savior. It will keep us away from salvation.

That is how this world of sin is. The world does not know it creator. The First Chapter of St. John says it this way: Jesus "became flesh and dwelt among us” (14). "The world came into being” through Jesus and "yet the world did not know him” (10). He was born in Israel, "He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him" (1:11). So, I guess we cannot blame Nathanael. In this sinful condition, neither Nathanael nor we can really know who Jesus is and so believe in him.

But fortunately, Philip was a good friend who urged Nathanael to come and see Jesus. Nathanael did not know Jesus, but Jesus knew Nathanael. "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" (1:46). Jesus could accept Nathanael because he knew him. Jesus said, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." This is more than Jesus knowing just his physical location. Jesus must have known what Nathanael was doing under the tree. And it must have been something that showed that he was an honest person without deceit. Perhaps it was his open words about Jesus. He was honest about his doubts. He was a man who would not be easily fooled. But when he knew that Jesus knew him, then he knew who Jesus was! He said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” He knew for sure that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior. But Jesus told him that he would have the greatest proof of all. "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of

God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." The first glory that Nathanael and Philip will see is the glory of Jesus who will rise from the grave on the third day. That is when they will know for sure who Jesus is and where he comes from. They will know and confess that he is truly "the Son of God! ….the King of Israel!"

Today we hear this Gospel lesson and are encouraged to do two things. First, like Philip, we are encouraged to invite others to come and see Jesus. Our friends might be skeptics. They may judge and reject Jesus without knowing anything about Jesus. So we need to say with Philip, "Come and see.” And we need to be like Nathanael. We are not deceitful, and we are not deceived. We do not have to settle for anything less than the real thing. We do not have to settle for some hick from the country. But we need to recognize that Jesus knows who we are. Jesus knows that we are sinners. We are weak. We are stubborn. And we have to recognize that Jesus accepts us in love. We have to see that Jesus died to forgive our sin and rose to give us eternal life. In Jesus there is no deceit. In Jesus there is nothing false. He is the Truth. And then we declare our faith, as in the words of Nathanael. "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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