Tag: Jesus Christ

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Nathanael and the Bridge Between Heaven and Earth (John 1:51)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(51) And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.  (John 1:51)

Explain

Do you remember Jesus’ greeting of Nathanael in verse 47?

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47 )

As we said earlier this week, there is a connection between what Jesus says in the greeting, and the person of Jacob.  The name Jacob means supplanter or deceiver.  Jacob’s name was changed to Israel.  So when Jesus says that Nathanael is an Israelite in whom is no guile, it may indicate that he is like Jacob without the deceit. 

In Genesis 28, Jacob had a dream.  Let’s read about it.

12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I amthe LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 

This was a repitition of the Abrahamic Covenant that was given to Jacob.  It included the promise of a land, a nation, and blessing.  Notice the last part of the promise.  “And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

What is in addition to the Abrahamic Covenant repeated and promised to the deceiver Jacob in this dream is that there is a ladder that bridges heaven and earth.  There are angels ascending and descending on this ladder.

So when he is greeted, Nathanael is likened to Jacob, yet without guile.  In the middle part of the interaction, Jesus refers to something that Nathanael experienced “under the fig tree”, which has at least reference to the Messianic promises in the Old Testament.  Now at the end Jesus refers to himself as “the Son of Man”, a messianic title, that is himself the ladder which bridges heaven and earth.  

(51) And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.  (John 1:51)

This ladder is referenced in regard to the Abrahamic covenant that says that all the families of the earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Jesus tells Nathanael that the greater work he would see is the Son of Man bridging heaven and earth.  

When did that happen?  It happened through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the ladder which bridges heaven and earth.  Jesus is the seed of Abraham that blesses all of the families of the earth.  Jesus is the one who will ultimately give this nation and this people the fulfillment of all of these promises.

Apply

Here we learn three critical truths.

  1. Jesus is the Messiah.
  2. Jesus is a friend of sinners.
  3. Jesus bridges heaven and earth, and blesses the nations.

Response

  1. Are you pointing to Jesus as Messiah?
  2. Is there a sin that you need to confess? Jesus is a friend of sinners, and close to the brokenhearted!
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The Role of Relationships in Disciple-Making (John 1:44-46)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(44) Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. (45) Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (46) And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (John 1:44-46)

Explain

v.44 – Geography and relationships

Jesus had already impacted Andrew and Peter. Now he was calling Philip as a disciple. This new way of getting disciples was interesting to Philip. The Messiah had arrived and he was doing things differently. No doubt Philip knew Andrew and Peter which explains the next verse.

v.45 – Sharing their discovery

Philip is already imitating Jesus in that he “findeth Nathanael”. Notice the pronoun “we”: “We have found him”. Who? The messiah was written of in the books of Moses and the prophets. This would have been an expression of all of the scriptures then written. Moses wrote the first five books, and the prophets wrote the rest.

Where did Moses write about the Messiah? Insert Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Where did the prophets write about the Messiah? Psalm 22. Isaiah 53. Many more places speak of this Messiah who would come.

v.46 – A cynical response

Nathanael’s response reveals his doubt that anything of this worldwide, historic, prophetic importance could come from Nazareth. Instead of arguing, Philip simply replies, “Come and see.”

Apply

Relationships are key in evangelism and discipleship. All of these people – John the Baptist, Andrew, Peter, John, Philip, Nathanael, and even Jesus himself are interacting not only on the basis of the person of Christ, but on the relationships they had with each other.

Jesus Christ sells himself. What do I mean? Yes we proclaim Christ, and of course we “prepare to give an answer to every man that asketh…”. Yes we want to grow in our boldness and our ability to articulate. But in the sum of it all, Jesus Christ Himself can be experienced through the power of the Word of God, and through the convicting, regenerating, sealing, indwelling, and illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. Philip’s answer to Nathanael before he had much training at all was enough. “Come and see.” Jesus did the rest.

Respond

  1. What relationships do you have in your life that are ripe for evangelism and “discipleship”?
  2. How are you experiencing Christ daily?
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Andrew’s Evangelism (John 1:40-41)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

(40) One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. (41) He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. (John 1:40-41)

Explanation

Here we are given the name of one of those two disciples, Andrew. He was one of the 12. He is known in the scripture for bringing people to Jesus. We see that he does that here.

He experiences Jesus, and is convinced of his position as Messiah. He then goes and finds someone he loves, in this case Simon, and declares the good news to him. 

We see faith exhibited here. Andrew believes that Jesus is the Christ strongly enough to take that position with Simon.

We see the idea of going here as well. He didn’t stay silent with that good news. He went and told someone that He loved about it.

Application

Let’s not complicate our spiritual lives and our spiritual responsibilities. We who believe that Jesus is the Christ, once we have experienced Him, should share this good news of who He is with others. A good starting place may well be with our family who we have influence with and whom we love. 

Response

  1. How is your faith?
  2. When was your last trip to “go tell” someone about Jesus?
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Sending Disciples. (John 1:35-37)

On By Ben JenningsIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; (36) And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (37) And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (John 1:35-37)

Explanation

In verse 35 and 36 you get a setting.  The when and the who are in view here.  John the Baptist, two of his disciples, and Jesus.  You also see John saying the same message again.  What is John’s message? “Behold the Lamb of God”.  

Here you see the disciples of become the disciples of Jesus. How?  

The testimony of John is a part of it. “Behold”….Look at… There he is… See… Come and see…

This is the “lamb of God”.  

It was the message of John’s life.  “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.”

You see We learned that at the Passover, God gave instruction through Moses about the sacrificing of a lamb.

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:” (Exodus 12:5)

In Leviticus we learned about the day of atonement, and how the priest would take two goats.  One would be slain as a sacrifice to God.  The other one would have the priest symbolically place the sins of the people on it, and then would be driven into the wilderness.

When John said about Jesus that he was the lamb of God, the two disciples understood the symbolism at some level.  They understood him to be the Messiah.  They understood that he was going to deal with sin.

John’s message was “Behold”. See. Look! He experienced- Come and See. He influenced- Go and tell.

It’s interesting that John has made the effort to receive and make disciples. He had no doubt invested in these guys. 

Yet what it means to be a forerunner of the Messiah is that you understand that you are the lesser and he is the greater. That means that when John pointed his disciples to Jesus He could view their following of him as losing disciples, or as sending them.

The point of John’s life is to make much of the Messiah. This impacted his actions here.

Application:

If we are doing Christ’s mission, we are making disciples of him and not of ourselves. It’s not about making followers of us. It is about making followers of Him.

Response:

  1. What is your personal commitment to making and sending disciples of Jesus?
  2. Who can you point to Jesus today.