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by Sandy Shaw
In John Chapter 1 and at verse 35, we read of two men searching for Jesus Christ and they find Him. They go looking for Jesus Christ. Had they heard the Pharisees ‘praying’ and debating and they knew that that was not real. They wanted reality! Want what is real and if you are a preacher or Bible Class leader or Sunday School teacher give your people what is real.
One of these two men is Andrew, having found the Christ, he immediately goes to find for Christ.
He goes to his brother Simon Peter. “We have found the Messiah, the Christ.”
How long does it take you to become a missionary? Just an hour or two! And, you don’t need to know all the answers. If you are asked a hard question just say, “I’ll go and find out”.
Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus. The greatest service one man can render another is to bring that person to Jesus Christ and introduce him to Jesus Christ. This can last for ever. No other service you render another will last for ever.
Jesus looked Peter over. Oh, be prepared to have Jesus look you over, remembering that He always wants to improve the material that is presented to Him.
You are Simon – which means a reed – unreliable – easily blown around – full problems – limited in so many ways – tempestuous and temperamental. You shall be called Cephas – a stone or a rock. Jesus Christ is going to transform a reed of a man into a rock. This man, Simon Peter, once he is converted and born again – once he is baptised in the Holy Spirit – once he has served his three year apprenticeship following Jesus Christ – once he has fragile unreliable temperament dealt with by Jesus – he becomes the dynamic leader of that early church. He becomes a preacher and teacher, and very much a pastor as he goes around ministering to all the wounded ones who had to flee from Jerusalem. What a transformation, once he has Jesus deal with him in all kinds of ways.
The scene now shifts from the Jordan to Galilee, where there, Jesus calls Philip. “Follow me”. And Philip, having just begun to follow Jesus goes looking for someone else. He finds Nathanael and says, “We have found him of whom Moses wrote – of whom the prophets spoke – Jesus of Nazareth.”
They have been waiting for a thousand years for this day.
Nathanael was a thinker. He thought about God. He meditated upon God’s Word.
To begin with all he could say was, “Can anything good come from there? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Philip said, “Come and see for yourself. Come with us.” It is good to encourage people to come and see Jesus and meet Jesus for themselves. It is as if Philip has one hand with Jesus and one hand bringing someone else along. Nathanael went with Philip and Jesus saw Nathanael coming, and Jesus not only saw Nathanael but saw right into him and into his heart, and said, “You area true Israelite – a true Jew – a man of integrity – a man with an open honest heart.”
That is the picture of a true Jew. We have been given such a twisted distorted picture of Jews – like Shakespeare’s Shylock in the Merchant of Venice, and, most people believe that twisted interpretation rather the truth of Jesus Christ.
In Nathanael there were no deceit – no guile – no cunning. He came from Cana and his name means, ‘gift from God’.
Nathanael accepted the compliment. What you say is true, but how did you know all about me? I was watching you under the fig tree. I have been keeping my eye on you even before Philip called you to come.
Teacher, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.
Come and you will see even greater things that those of which you been meditating. His favourite Old Testament passage was going to come true in Jesus. You will see heaven open and you will see angels ascending and descending, and I am the ladder.
Yes, there are many ways to Jesus, but only way to God the Father, and that is through Jesus.
Come and follow and find – come and see and believe – is the theme of these verses.
He sees you. He sees what you are thinking. He knows what is in your heart and mind. He is aware of your need, and He is sensitive to those issues that concern you or bother you or trouble you.
The Door to Heaven is open, and the ladder is Jesus Christ.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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