"Anything Good?" A sermon on John 1:43-51 by Timothy Wengert
In the name of Jesus.
Amen
He found Philip! Philip did not go searching for Jesus; Jesus searched for him. He found Philip, and that made all of the difference. When it comes to faith, we so often want to cheat God’s grace, smuggle in our own work on the side, so that we remain in control of the whole operation. But here in John, where a person is born not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of a man but of God, Jesus pronounces judgment and mercy in a single breath: “He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’” Then the jig was up, and Philip had no choice but to follow him. His former life had passed away; new life in Christ was born.
In our liturgy, just before we read the gospel, we often sing a line from chapter 6 in John’s gospel. Faced with followers abandoning him, Jesus asks: “You, my disciples, will you also leave?” And Peter responds for them and for all believers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It was the same with Philip. He had no choice but to follow Jesus. Once he was found, there was nowhere else go.
It’s rather like asking me if I had any choice about falling in love with my wife, Ingrid. By the second kiss, I was all in. And had she asked me, “Will you leave?” I’d have said, “To whom shall I go? You’re my one and only.” And had she said, “Follow me.” Well, this would have not been a command demanding a decision but an invitation from a lover to her beloved. The same thing here. “Follow me!”
Except, of course, Philip seems to disobey Jesus and instead runs to tell Nathanael, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Now, of course, we could speculate at this point that before Philip went to find Nathanael, he had two years of catechism and was quizzed by Jesus in lieu of the pastor. But better, instead of dreaming about what the text should have said, we should just let John’s gospel have its way with us. Jesus is so in charge here that a single pronouncement, “Follow me!” and it’s all over for Philip. He knows that here is the fulfillment of every verse in the Bible from Genesis to Malachi, from creation through the Exodus to the return from captivity.
Philip’s words give us a great picture of what true evangelism looks like. Some Christians today think it is all about getting another notch on their belt, and so they try all forms of manipulation to rope folks in. Others, you’ve probably seen the roadside signs, make it all about God’s judgment: “Trust Jesus or else!” Yikes! That sure is scary—as if we could frighten people into God’s kingdom! Still others leave it all up to us, as if we have the power and stamina to decide, when in fact we are weak and inconsistent—sinners from the top of heads to the soles of our feet. But Philip’s response to Jesus’ invitation reminds me of my sister in 1967. She had just gotten engaged and developed a very strange disease: her left shoulder locked up, and her elbow, but her wrist was completely limp—every time she entered a room, much to the chagrin of her little brother. You see? She just had to show everyone the ring and tell everyone about the best news in her life: she was engaged! And now they’re married for 47 years. Haven’t you met engaged couples who only want to talk about their engagement? Just so, Philip couldn’t wait to tell Nathanael. “Come and see!” Look at my engagement ring.
So, this story is about the gracious, only begotten son of God, Jesus, the Word made flesh, whose searching word creates new birth in our lives and makes us burst in love. But it is also about another thing. This story is about skeptics. Thank God! Because then it is about me not just when I have a strong faith, but also when I have doubts! That is another mark of John’s gospel, that it is full of the wrong kind of people: Nicodemus who comes to him at night; the hard-to-convince Samaritan woman in chapter four; and, in chapter five, a man who gets healed and promptly tries to turn Jesus in for breaking the Sabbath! But this skepticism—and that’s really what it is—begins here with Nathanael. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” The other gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, are so embarrassed by this question—how can Jesus OF NAZARETH be the son of David, the Bethlehemite?—that they add stories about Jesus’ infancy to get him to Bethlehem from Nazareth and from Bethlehem to Nazareth. But John’s Nathanael just barges ahead and tells the awful truth of the matter: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”—let alone the Messiah! He may have been born in Bethlehem, but he grew up in Galilee, in Nazareth, for crying out loud.
But this gracious, sovereign Word made flesh breaks even the skeptical heart toward his merciful will. He tells the truth about Nathanael and all true skeptics—they are not unbelievers, they are truth tellers, “Israelites in whom there is no deceit.” And, just as later with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus is way ahead of every skeptic—ahead of us—seeing us in our righteous solitude, sitting, each one, under his or her own fig tree. And then, again, the tables are turned (“I saw you there; I know what you’re up to”) and the skeptic gasps, “You are Son of God; King of Israel.” You’re the man, Jesus. You know it all; you’re in control. I cannot convince a skeptic let alone conquer my own doubts. Only Jesus can!
But then we learn one last thing from this story, that Jesus, not Nathanael, is Jacob, whom God later nicknamed Israel, because the angels have all come to ascend and descend upon him. Remember the story about Jacob in Bethel, where he falls asleep and has a vision of angels ascending and descending to the throne of God. Notice that we do not climb this ladder—as if we could crawl our way into heaven! No! Angels go up and down upon the Son of Man, Son of God, the Word made flesh. And we can only marvel.
And what more can I say to this? As you sit here lost or skeptical? I can only point you to your baptism and remind you that there the heavens were torn open for you. I can only invite you to this the altar and say, with Philip, “Come and see!” Every time we eat this meal, in this bread and wine, the King of Israel comes. No wonder we sing the angels’ heavenly song: “Glory to God; peace on earth” and “Blessing, honor, glory and might” and “Holy, holy holy, Lord, God of hosts.” Come and see—not only at the font or the altar but in our life together as Christians, as Church! When Jacob awoke from his dream he exclaimed: “God is in this place, and I did not know it! How awesome is this place! This is the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” And we, too, can speak encouragement to each other, and invitation to our neighbors and even a whisper to ourselves: “Here the angels ascend and descend. Here is peace for the brokenhearted. Here is faith for the skeptic. Here is the Son of God and the King of Israel!” Whether you have come today filled with Philip’s love for Jesus or Nathanael’s skepticism, the good news is always the same: “Here, Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Son and our Lord, crucified and risen, is speaking to you and searching for you.” Amen. And may the peace of God….
He found Philip! Philip did not go searching for Jesus; Jesus searched for him. He found Philip, and that made all of the difference. When it comes to faith, we so often want to cheat God’s grace, smuggle in our own work on the side, so that we remain in control of the whole operation. But here in John, where a person is born not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of a man but of God, Jesus pronounces judgment and mercy in a single breath: “He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’” Then the jig was up, and Philip had no choice but to follow him. His former life had passed away; new life in Christ was born.
In our liturgy, just before we read the gospel, we often sing a line from chapter 6 in John’s gospel. Faced with followers abandoning him, Jesus asks: “You, my disciples, will you also leave?” And Peter responds for them and for all believers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It was the same with Philip. He had no choice but to follow Jesus. Once he was found, there was nowhere else go.
It’s rather like asking me if I had any choice about falling in love with my wife, Ingrid. By the second kiss, I was all in. And had she asked me, “Will you leave?” I’d have said, “To whom shall I go? You’re my one and only.” And had she said, “Follow me.” Well, this would have not been a command demanding a decision but an invitation from a lover to her beloved. The same thing here. “Follow me!”
Except, of course, Philip seems to disobey Jesus and instead runs to tell Nathanael, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” Now, of course, we could speculate at this point that before Philip went to find Nathanael, he had two years of catechism and was quizzed by Jesus in lieu of the pastor. But better, instead of dreaming about what the text should have said, we should just let John’s gospel have its way with us. Jesus is so in charge here that a single pronouncement, “Follow me!” and it’s all over for Philip. He knows that here is the fulfillment of every verse in the Bible from Genesis to Malachi, from creation through the Exodus to the return from captivity.
Philip’s words give us a great picture of what true evangelism looks like. Some Christians today think it is all about getting another notch on their belt, and so they try all forms of manipulation to rope folks in. Others, you’ve probably seen the roadside signs, make it all about God’s judgment: “Trust Jesus or else!” Yikes! That sure is scary—as if we could frighten people into God’s kingdom! Still others leave it all up to us, as if we have the power and stamina to decide, when in fact we are weak and inconsistent—sinners from the top of heads to the soles of our feet. But Philip’s response to Jesus’ invitation reminds me of my sister in 1967. She had just gotten engaged and developed a very strange disease: her left shoulder locked up, and her elbow, but her wrist was completely limp—every time she entered a room, much to the chagrin of her little brother. You see? She just had to show everyone the ring and tell everyone about the best news in her life: she was engaged! And now they’re married for 47 years. Haven’t you met engaged couples who only want to talk about their engagement? Just so, Philip couldn’t wait to tell Nathanael. “Come and see!” Look at my engagement ring.
So, this story is about the gracious, only begotten son of God, Jesus, the Word made flesh, whose searching word creates new birth in our lives and makes us burst in love. But it is also about another thing. This story is about skeptics. Thank God! Because then it is about me not just when I have a strong faith, but also when I have doubts! That is another mark of John’s gospel, that it is full of the wrong kind of people: Nicodemus who comes to him at night; the hard-to-convince Samaritan woman in chapter four; and, in chapter five, a man who gets healed and promptly tries to turn Jesus in for breaking the Sabbath! But this skepticism—and that’s really what it is—begins here with Nathanael. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” The other gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, are so embarrassed by this question—how can Jesus OF NAZARETH be the son of David, the Bethlehemite?—that they add stories about Jesus’ infancy to get him to Bethlehem from Nazareth and from Bethlehem to Nazareth. But John’s Nathanael just barges ahead and tells the awful truth of the matter: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”—let alone the Messiah! He may have been born in Bethlehem, but he grew up in Galilee, in Nazareth, for crying out loud.
But this gracious, sovereign Word made flesh breaks even the skeptical heart toward his merciful will. He tells the truth about Nathanael and all true skeptics—they are not unbelievers, they are truth tellers, “Israelites in whom there is no deceit.” And, just as later with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus is way ahead of every skeptic—ahead of us—seeing us in our righteous solitude, sitting, each one, under his or her own fig tree. And then, again, the tables are turned (“I saw you there; I know what you’re up to”) and the skeptic gasps, “You are Son of God; King of Israel.” You’re the man, Jesus. You know it all; you’re in control. I cannot convince a skeptic let alone conquer my own doubts. Only Jesus can!
But then we learn one last thing from this story, that Jesus, not Nathanael, is Jacob, whom God later nicknamed Israel, because the angels have all come to ascend and descend upon him. Remember the story about Jacob in Bethel, where he falls asleep and has a vision of angels ascending and descending to the throne of God. Notice that we do not climb this ladder—as if we could crawl our way into heaven! No! Angels go up and down upon the Son of Man, Son of God, the Word made flesh. And we can only marvel.
And what more can I say to this? As you sit here lost or skeptical? I can only point you to your baptism and remind you that there the heavens were torn open for you. I can only invite you to this the altar and say, with Philip, “Come and see!” Every time we eat this meal, in this bread and wine, the King of Israel comes. No wonder we sing the angels’ heavenly song: “Glory to God; peace on earth” and “Blessing, honor, glory and might” and “Holy, holy holy, Lord, God of hosts.” Come and see—not only at the font or the altar but in our life together as Christians, as Church! When Jacob awoke from his dream he exclaimed: “God is in this place, and I did not know it! How awesome is this place! This is the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” And we, too, can speak encouragement to each other, and invitation to our neighbors and even a whisper to ourselves: “Here the angels ascend and descend. Here is peace for the brokenhearted. Here is faith for the skeptic. Here is the Son of God and the King of Israel!” Whether you have come today filled with Philip’s love for Jesus or Nathanael’s skepticism, the good news is always the same: “Here, Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Son and our Lord, crucified and risen, is speaking to you and searching for you.” Amen. And may the peace of God….
