Sun., Oct. 24 Bible Class Notes — John 1:43-51

These notes are provided by Aaron Howard, who taught the class in my absence. Thank you, Aaron, for standing in for me.

John 1:43-51

(43)  The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.  (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.  (47)  Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!  (48)  Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.  (49)  Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.  (50)  Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.  (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.

The Seeking Savior

    Verse 43 - The next day He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip.  And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”

    Christ knew exactly why He needed to go to Galilee, to find Philip.  He wasn’t on some random romp through the country side looking for people to ask to follow Him, He was on a specific task to locate His disciples and to tell them to follow Him.

    This is a theme that runs from the old testament into the new.

    Isaiah 65:1 - I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;  I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.  I said ’ Here I am, here I am’ to a nation which did not call on My name.

    In this verse we see that God is not only allowing us to find Him, He is seeking us in the first place.  He is calling out “ Here I am, here I am “.  But we also see that He is being very selective as to the group He is showing Himself to, Israel, and then later when Christ was revealed to both the Jew and the Greek. God seeks after those that He wishes and no one seeks after God (Romans 3:11).  For us to seek after God we have to know He is, and once He has called to us “ Here I am, here I am” then we are able to seek after Him and His ways.

Confessing Christ

    Verse 45 - Philip 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.

    Philip was quick to realize who had called Him and went out to find Nathanael to inform Him of this.  He doesn’t appear to hesitate or wait to see if this is really the Christ but goes straight out and tells others.  He confesses Him with his mouth, this point is paramount. 

    Romans 10:9 - and if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him form the dead, you shall be saved.

    Matthew 10:32 - “ Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess Him before My Father who is in heaven.”

    We too must confess that Jesus is Lord with our mouths, not just our actions.  Our actions are meaningless if no one knows who it is that we are acting on behalf of. 
Show me works without confession and I’ll show you works that are meaningless.
    So if we are not confessing Christ with our mouths we are guilty of denying Him.

    Matthew 10:33 - “But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Saints Known

    Verses 47 and 48 - Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”  Nathanael said to Him,  “How do you know me?”  Jesus answered and said to him,  “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

    God knows who the saints are, He knew them before the foundation of the Earth.

    Ephesians 1:3,4 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love.

    He knows the saints by name.

    John 10:3 - “ To Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.”

    God knows all, every little detail of every little day.  Here He is telling Nathanael that He saw him under a tree.  Now if that isn’t a sure sign that God see’s all, and cares to see all, then I don’t know what is.

Divinity Acknowledged

    Verse 49 - Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

    Nathanael was declaring Christ’s divinity.  He had never before seen Him and had only just heard of Him before he met Jesus.  He had to have experienced something incredible at that very moment, a special revelation from God as to who Jesus really was.

    John 1:10 - He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

    2 Corinthians 4:6 - For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of the darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
    Ephesians 1:9 - He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intentions which He purposed in Him.

    Without God revealing to Nathanael who Jesus was he would have never understood that he was looking and talking with the Son of God.  It is God who reveals Himself to man, not man seeing God for who He is.

Christ affirms His divinity

    Verses 50 and 51 we see Christ affirm the revelation that Nathanael had received.  He doesn’t just affirm it He expounds upon it, almost like saying, “You think that’s good, just wait and see what’s coming next”.  Once Christ is revealed to us we are able then to see the things of God, His hand in our lives, and the lives of others.

Sun., Oct. 17 Bible Class Notes — John 1:35-42

John 1:35-42

     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. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 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. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

v. 35  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!

       The author once again mentions the day, a peculiarity of his.

       John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples, one of whom was Andrew (v. 40), when Jesus arrived. As Jesus approached, John proclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  (The significance of this statement was discussed last week).

Note the message: "Behold the Lamb of God!" The preceding day no mention is made of anyone having been affected by it. Today, two converts are joined to Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.  (15)  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:  (16)  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?  (17)  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

1. We must always preach Christ.

2. We must always point men to Christ

     - not to a church
     - not to a denomination
     - not to a man
     - not to a religion (a system of belief)
     - not to a rite

3.  We must preach Christ honestly (2Cor. 2:17)

4.  We must preach with integrity, leaving the results to God.    (2Cor. 2:15-16)

v. 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

      - John spoke
      - the disciples heard
      - the disciples followed Jesus

this is what happens in true conversion

       - preaching is the ordained means of reaching the lost (1Cor. 1:17-18; 1Cor. 1:21)
        not by our silent witness
        not by musical productions
        not with puppets and clowns

       - hearing is required; faith is founded on fact

       - following is a natural step and the initial step in discipleship.

v. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

"What seek ye?"

Matt. 11:7-9

There is no tone of displeasure or reproach

His question should generate:

      - self-examination: what are your motives for following me?

      - focus: what is it that you really want from me?

      - authenticity: what do you hope to gain by me?

(which is to say, being interpreted) = shows this Gospel was written with  the Gentiles in view, the expression being unnecessary for Jews.

Rabbi = teacher

"where dwellest thou?" — they were not so much curious as to where his residence was but wanted to discourse more with the One whom their former teacher had just proclaimed to be the Lamb of God, the long-expected Messiah.

v. 39 He saith unto them, Come and [you shall] see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

Jesus immediately invites them to his abode, wherever that was. He may have been residing with someone or perhaps he was living in a cave or under a lean-to. At any rate, his new disciples would have no illusions of grandeur regarding their new master and his designs for Israel.

Tenth hour — about 4 P.M.

v. 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. 42a And he brought him to Jesus.

Andrew was one of the two disciples; who the other was we are not told. Most theologians believe it was John. 

The first instance of personal evangelism recorded in the New Testament.

He first findeth his own brother Simon

Should not our own families lay heavily on our hearts?

New converts should be quickly, but wisely, introduced to personal evangelism. This can and should be done with family members, for charity begins at home.

"We have found [Eureka] the Messiah." — Andrew, though poor and uneducated, was familiar with the tenets of the Jewish religion.

His exclamation is one of joy — Eureka!

Messiah (Heb) or Christ (Gr) = Anointed One.

v.42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

And he brought him to Jesus.

Barnes:     “Cephas - This is a Syriac word, meaning the same as the Greek word Peter, a stone. The stone, or rock, is a symbol of firmness and steadiness of character - a trait in Peter’s character after the ascension of Jesus that was very remarkable. before the death of Jesus he was rash, headlong, variable; and it is one proof of the omniscience of Jesus that he saw that Peter ‘would’ possess a character that would be expressed appropriately by the word ‘stone’ or ‘rock.’

Sun., Oct. 10 Bible Class Notes — John 1:29-34

There are no notes for last week, Oct. 3, 2010, because we used our time together to discuss the feminization of the Church.

John 1:29-34  The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  (30)  This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (31)  And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.  (32)  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.  (33)  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.  (34)  And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

v.29 This is "The next day."

The previous day John had spoken of one coming. Today he points out who that One is.

"Behold the Lamb of God"  

Isaiah 53:7  cf. Acts 8:32 (Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch)

Passover: Exodus 12:3-5

Morning and Evening sacrifice: Exodus 29:38-39

Sin offering: Leviticus 4:32-35 (see also v. 29)

"which taketh away the sin of the world."

take away

Jesus came to carry away the sin [singular] of the world;

JFB: The singular number being used to mark the collective burden and all-embracing efficacy.

Jesus removes the bone of contention between God and man.

Salvation is not about going to heaven; it is about having our sins forgiven and our being reconciled to God in Christ Jesus.

To what does world refer?

It does not of necessity refer to every individual that ever lived or shall live.

     At the least it refers to Gentiles in addition to Jews. It corrects the Jewish mindset that not only was salvation of the Jews but that it was restricted to them.

     The Jews used the term “world” in the same way we do. There’s the  Church and there’s the world.

vv. 30- cometh a man (Jesus is truly human in every respect of the word. Jesus was — and is — a man. He is the paradigm of manhood.

v. 31   refers to Jesus’ baptism about six weeks or so previous. John the Baptist did not know Jesus until God revealed him at his baptism

v. 32  “like” a dove, not a dove.

v. 34 Son of God — of the same substance/essence as the Father.  The Son of God means he was Divine; so the Jews understood it.