Sunday's Message - Behind Nathanael and the Tree

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church, Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, January 17, 2020.

John 1:43-51 [Contemporary English Version (CEV)]

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”

Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.” 

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.” 

Behind Nathanael and the Tree

I really like a good story. And you know, so does my daughter. As a matter of fact, since she’s been away at college, we sort of recommend to one another television shows that we really enjoy. And I think it’s worked out pretty well. I mean, I’ve started watching The Queen’s Gambit and The Handmaid’s Tale and she’s binged on Fargo and What We Do in the Shadows. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m really excited about this semester. You see, she’s taking a class called “Women in Cinema,” and I’m hoping she recommends some really good movies, because there are few things I enjoy more than a book or a film or a play that just grabs my attention.

And of course, that’s probably one of the reasons I enjoy reading the Bible so much. I mean, throw a dart at Genesis, and I bet you’ll hit a good story. And in the gospels, with all the parables and the little accounts about Jesus, well, in my opinion, they’re really hard to beat. 

But you know, whether you’re talking about a television series or a brief narrative from the life of Jesus, I think we can make a pretty important mistake as we get involved in the story itself. You see, I believe we can become so engaged by the characters and the plot that we sort of forget about the deeper meaning, you know, what lies behind the story itself. For example, take the story we just read from the Gospel of John, you know, the one about Nathanael and the tree. Now I don’t know about y’all, but I find what happens here pretty interesting: how Philip came to his friend Nathanael and told him about this guy he’d run across and how Nathanael kind of disses him because everyone knows that nothing good can come from Galilee and then how Nathanael’s entire opinion changed when Jesus, the guy from Galilee, said that he saw Nathanael under a tree. That’s the story in a nutshell: simple, straightforward and engaging, right? But you know, if that’s all we see and just turn the page and go onto the Wedding in Cana, I think we’re going to miss a couple of things that are really important. 

And because I think this is something really easy, even tempting to do, we’re going pause right here and spend a little time thinking about what’s going on behind Nathanael and the tree. In other words, we’re going to talk bout what this story might be saying and why it might be important for us to listen. And I’ll tell you, when we do, I think we’re going to learn a lot about who Jesus was and who we are as his disciples.

For example, first, when we look behind the story, I believe we get a better understanding of Jesus, you know, who he was but maybe even more important than that, what he did. I mean, just think about all the titles used for Jesus in these verses. Man, if that doesn’t point to who Jesus was, I don’t know what will. My gosh, not only did Philip tell us that Jesus was the son of Joseph from the Galilean city of Nazareth, Nathanael showered him will three really important titles, at least they were for a Jew living in the first century. Again, just listen to what the Evangelist John wrote:

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.” 

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!” [John 1:47-49, CEV]

Now that’s what Natanael said. He called Jesus “rabbi”/teacher, “the Son of God” and “the King of Israel.” And you know, when you combine this with some of the other titles that have already been used to describe Jesus, you know, like “the Word” and “the Light” and of course “the Lamb of God,” by the time we get to the end of his first chapter, the Evangelist John has told us an awful lot about who Jesus was, and all these ideas he’ll develop throughout the rest of his gospel. 

But I’ll tell you, as important as that is, right here in the story we read, we also get a pretty good idea about what Jesus did and continues to do for us. I mean, do you remember what Jesus said after Nathanael let loose with his three titles? According to the Evangelist John, “Jesus answered, ‘Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.’” [John 1:50-51, CEV] Now although that may just sound kind of cool and clever on the surface, it becomes a whole lot more significant, when we hold it next to another story, this one from Genesis. Listen: 

Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.

The Lord was standing beside the ladder and said:

I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. [Genesis 28:10-13, CEV]

You see, what Jesus described to Nathanael was Jacob’s ladder. And just like Jacob saw and heard the Lord, the same thing will happen to Nathanael and to us when we look and listen to Jesus Christ. In other words, he is now the ladder, the point where heaven and earth touch, the spot where humanity and divinity connects, the place where we can see and hear God. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard this, not in the Gospel of John. Remember all those titles I mentioned before, you know, the word and the light and the lamb of God? The Evangelist wrote that “the Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.” [John 1:14, CEV] And he said, “The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the world.” [John 1:9, CEV] And John the Baptist, you know, the one sent by God “...who came to tell about the light and to lead all people to have faith” [John 1:7, CEV], when he saw Jesus coming toward him, said, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29b, CEV] Simply put, Jesus came as the definitive revelation of God, because he was God. That’s what he came to do. And if we believe it, three things can happen. One, we can feel peace and hope in his presence. And two, we can learn from the example he left. And three, we can follow the words he offered, especially when he said, “My children, I will be with you for a little while longer. Then you will look for me, but you won’t find me. I tell you just as I told the people, ‘You cannot go where I am going. But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.’” [John 13:33-35, CEV] You see, that’s who Jesus was and what he came to do, to bring the presence of God into our world in a way that we can understand and follow and obey. And that’s the first thing we can learn when decide to look behind this story of Nathanael and the tree. But that’s not all.

You see, second, when we dig a little deeper into this encounter between Jesus and Nathanael, we can also get a better understanding discipleship. I mean, if we look at what happened here and some of the other call stories in the first chapter of John, I’ll tell you, I believe we can learn a lot about who disciples are. And let’s face it, they’re pretty much a mixed bag, not unlike the folks we see every day. And you know, while the other gospels dealt with their backgrounds and professions, the Evangelist John focused on the different motivations and assumptions found in the group. For example, John the Baptist was moved to discipleship by a special revelation from God. He said, “I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. Before this I didn’t know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, ‘You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.” [John 1:32-34, CEV] And since Andrew was a follower of the Baptist, I think it’s safe to say he wanted to find the Christ. That was his motivation, and that’s why he said to his brother Peter, “‘We have found the Messiah!’ The Hebrew word ‘Messiah’ means the same as the Greek word ‘Christ.’” [John 1:41b, CEV] And in story we read a little while ago, the motivation was different again, because Philip seemed really concerned with finding the one who would fulfill scripture, and that’s why he said this to Nathanael:

Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” [John 1:45, CEV]

You see, their motivations were different. And I’ll tell you, I think it’s pretty clear that their assumptions, even prejudices were also different. I mean, even though the fact that Jesus was a Galilean didn’t seem to bother Philip, Nathanael reacted to that news by saying, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” [John 1:46b, CEV] And so, I believe it’s pretty clear that, as it relates to their motivations and assumptions, these first disciples weren’t on the exact same page.

But you know, even though they may not have agreed on what they were looking for, their response was the exact same. In other words, all these disciples did the same thing after their encounter with Jesus. They all shared what they found. For example, just think about John the Baptist. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I told you about when I said, ‘Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.’” [John 1:29-30, CEV] And after Andrew had talked with Jesus, the Evangelist wrote, “One of the two men who had heard John and had gone with Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah!’” [John 1:40-41, CEV] And finally, in our story, do you remember what Philip did? “Philip then found Nathanael and said, ‘We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.’” [John 1:45, CEV] And even after Nathanael sort of dissed him, Philip still said, “Come and see.” Now that’s what all three of them did. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s really important, because even though those men were different, as newly minted disciples, they all did the same thing. They all invited others to share in what they experienced. They all shared the good news about Jesus. You see, that what disciples do. 

And as men and women who’ve also encountered that same Jesus Christ, that’s what we’re called to do as well. You see, regardless of our motivation and despite our assumptions, as disciples, we’re called to bear witness to the “word that became a human being” and to the “true light that shines on everybody” and to “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” And as disciples, we’re called to help people understand that Jesus is both “the Son of God and the King of Israel!” You see, whether it’s through the words we use or the lives we live, as disciples, we’re called to invite people into the very presence of God by inviting them to Jesus Christ. You see, since that’s what disciples do, it’s our calling too. And that’s the second thing we can learn when decide to look behind this story of Nathanael and the tree. 

Now like I said a little while ago, I love a good story. And I certainly hope that Maggie and I continue to share shows that we enjoy and that, after her class, she plugs me into some really good movies made by women. But I also recognize that, even though we might enjoy the characters and the plot, most of the stuff we’ll read and watch and even recommend just might not have a deeper meaning. At least, that’s what I assume. But I’ll tell you, let’s not carry that assumption into our reading of the biblical stories like the one we looked at this morning. For example, when we dig into what happened in these verses, I believe we can get a better understanding of both Jesus, who he was and what he did, and discipleship, who disciples are and what we’re called to do. You see, I think that’s more than possible. But I’ll tell you, we’ll only come to that understanding after we make the intentional decision to look behind Nathanael and the tree.