Epiphany Under the Fig Tree
Second Sunday of Epiphany
Light of Christ Anglican Church
Rev. Bart Morrison, January 14, 2024
SCRIPTURE John 1:43–51
Let’s pray as we come to God’s Word.
As we open Your Word, we pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened so that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
One of the best things you may remember as a child is the day in school when you got to do “show and tell.” This past year I took over the 2nd and 3rd grade class from Leslye. I was quickly informed that Wednesdays are about “show and tell.”
I was reading online this week some of the crazy things that kids have brought into the classroom, and teachers sharing stories. A child brought in a hand grenade (bad idea), a bag full of broken glass, a dead pygmy rattler, and the dried end of their baby brother’s umbilical cord. So, I think I can speak for all your teachers, find something else.
And I bet as adults we’d still enjoy some show and tell. Who doesn’t like to bring in something and say, “Look at this cool thing I have.” I have recently taken up metal detecting. I occasionally find interesting artifacts. You have similar things. We love show and tell.
Our passage this morning gives us a remarkable scene of something even far more important to show and to tell. In John chapter 20, verse 31, John tells us his inspired purpose for writing this book:
These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
So at least part of the purpose was evangelistic, or to shore up these new believers, or perhaps give them courage to then pass this message on to others. This book is to show us about Jesus so that we might then tell others what we have seen. Show and tell. And we see that, in particular, in this story at the conclusion of chapter 1, God wants us to see more about Jesus, and share more about Jesus.
Before we tackle our passage for this morning, we need to go back a few verses.
There are a lot of parallels between verses 35-42 and verses 43-51.
The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?”And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus11 was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called "Cephas” (which means Peter).
Andrew and Peter were encouraged to follow Jesus by John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s encouragement led Andrew and Peter to eventually ask Jesus where he was staying, to which he said, “Come and you will see.” I’ve always found that to be a curious interaction. Jesus asks them, “what are you seeking” and they respond with, IB They respond to Jesus’s question with a question.
They may have wanted to speak privately with Jesus or perhaps they didn’t know what they were seeking. There was something magnetic about Jesus. They were being drawn to him by the Holy Spirit.
But when Jesus said to them, “come and you will see,” he responded to their question. It wasn’t necessarily a didactic, explicit call to follow him.
And that’s where these two passages differ.
Jesus’s call to Philip and Nathanael is more explicit. He directly tells Philip to “follow me” and Nathanael follows him as a result of their interaction. They both drop everything in order to follow Jesus. That’s the sense we get from the text. Interestingly, Jesus tells Philip to “follow me” and that’s exactly what he does. He follows him. Nathanael is really the same way. When Philip speaks about Jesus, Nathanael expresses a level of doubt that seems to go away once he meets Jesus for himself.
Thesis: A true follower of Christ is prepared to give everything up to Christ, prepared to confess Christ because they see the sufficiency of Christ.
You’re prepared to Give Everything Up to Christ (vv. 43-45)
But what’s amazing about the passage is that Philip drops everything to follow Jesus. All Jesus says is “follow me.” Jesus gives him no background, or explanation about what he plans to do. And Jesus certainly doesn’t twist Philip’s arm. Philip doesn’t write a pros and cons list. He didn’t force Jesus to sell him on the benefits of following him and Jesus offers no persuasive arguments.
Nevertheless, the text suggests that there was an immediate effect. Philip drops everything only to run and tell Nathanael that they found the Messiah.
Obviously the Holy Spirit was already at work in the heart of Philip. That’s the only explanation that makes any sense. Why else would Philip just drop everything if the Lord wasn’t stirring his heart?
It’s such a dramatic event. He drops everything for Jesus Christ. I think a very natural question that arises from verses like this one is: does God expect this from me? Do I need to drop everything, sell all my possessions, and be a missionary in India?
A number of years ago, David Platt wrote a very popular book titled Radical which essentially encouraged just that. His argument was that American Christianity was too comfortable and we need to be taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Christians should live radically.
It’s one thing for an individual to feel called to missions, it’s another thing to force that calling on everyone. It’s not something that you can universalize.
But a verse like this would appear to support that. Look at Philip, he dropped everything to follow Jesus.
But I don’t think that should be what we get out of this verse and others like it. There’s a big difference between prescriptive and descriptive passages. There are passages of Scripture that tell you and me how to honor God and so on (those are prescriptive because they tell you how to live), but descriptive passages are those that simply record events. That describes a story or situation.
This passage is obviously descriptive. We’re learning about Philip’s reaction to Jesus, but nevertheless, this is God’s Word and there is something that we should all learn here.
These verses don’t tell you to give everything away for Christ, rather, it asks you, are you prepared to give everything away for Christ?
No doubt we’re all blessed. I forget all the statistics, but if you drive a car you’re in the top 1% of the world.
I don’t think it’s far-fetched for any of us to imagine a situation where your faith in Christ conflicts with your career. It’s already happened. People have lost careers for not baking cakes and saying prayers on fields.
Our Christian brothers and sisters around the world face this scenario now.
I pray that none of us are faced with these decisions, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. Are you willing to lose everything for Christ? To drop everything for the Lord?
Everything we have is a gift from above therefore we hold on to it loosely.
The treasures of our Lord are far greater than the treasures of this world - that’s why he’s worth following.
You’re prepared to Confess Christ (vv. 46-49)
In a similar way, if you’re prepared to lose everything, you need to also be prepared to confess Christ. You need to be prepared to publicly say, “I trust in Christ for the salvation of my eternal soul.”
And that’s exactly what Nathanael does. He moves from skepticism to bold confession in the presence of others in a very short period of time. Verses 46-49 are full. There’s a lot going on here.
And just for the record, Nathanael is Bartholomew. It’s likely that Bartholomew’s first name was Nathanael. So, when the other gospel writers speak of Bartholomew, that’s who we’re talking about here.
Nathanael gives this amazing confession in verse 49, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” But the events leading up to his confession are really curious.
Initially, Philp tells Nathanael in verse 45, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
But Nathanael expresses skepticism when he asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Likely, he understood that the Messiah was supposed to be from Bethlehem. But not only that Nazareth was and continues to be nothing. Nobody cared about Nazareth then and we don’t know hardly anything about Nazareth now. And that’s probably why Nathanael asks: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Obviously, he thought little of Nazareth. They didn’t even have a Wal-Mart or Starbucks.
We make judgments and have stereotypes.
If someone were to tell us that they have found the Messiah and he is from Reedville we would be apt to be skeptical.
But don’t lose sight of my point! We all have unfair expectations and preconceived notions that we put on people simply based on where they’re from. Needless to say, Nathanael revealed his prejudice against Nazareth. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
But Philip’s response to Nathanael in verse 46 is gold. “Come and see.” It’s a simple invitation and a wonderful template for engaging someone about Christ or sharing the gospel. We’re just arranging a meeting. We’re just bearing witness. We’re just telling the truth.
And the Scriptures are the best evangelistic tool at our disposal. Sometimes we just need to be willing to encourage someone to “come and see.” We just need to be willing to arrange the meeting.
Because at the end of the day, Jesus’s words about himself are the most powerful. Those are the most life-changing. Telling someone about Jesus is great, and we should do it. But wouldn’t it be even better to get someone to read the gospel of Mark with you? That’s why we should encourage people to explore the riches of the Scriptures. After all, the Bible is the Word of God, isn’t it?
Nevertheless, Nathanael goes from skepticism to confessing Christ as the Son of God… because of a fig tree? It’s a fascinating exchange.
Because Jesus begins his interaction with Nathanael by saying, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
It seems like an odd statement, doesn’t it? Jesus had the Old Testament patriarch Jacob in mind. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and the whole nation of Israel came from the twelve sons of Israel.
But there’s one character trait that really sticks out whenever you read about Jacob: he was a liar. Famously, he steals the birthright from Esau through lies and deception.
So, Jesus makes this statement about the integrity of Nathanael, because it appeared to be in short supply. There weren’t very many men in Israel who weren’t deceitful or duplicitous.
Not a whole lot has changed, has it? It seems that honesty, integrity, and a genuine love for the truth remain in short supply. We live in a narrative age where the means always justify the ends. You have permission to do or say whatever it takes so long as it supports the narrative we want to tell. Everything is constantly being spun in order to obfuscate, deny, or cover the truth.
Fundamentally, narrative control is a denial of objective truth. If there is no objective truth then means always justify the ends. This way of thinking has crept into the life of the church as well.
We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. In a moment of weakness we’re all liable to sin. But why does it feel like Christian holiness and integrity are no longer desirable virtues?
Just because you struggle with something doesn’t give you permission to indulge your sinful desires. Knowledge of sin isn’t a permission to sin.
This is what Paul refers to when he says, “may we sin so that grace may abound, by no means!”
Nathanael was a man of integrity and Jesus knew it. “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asks the next natural question: how do you know me?
And Jesus tells him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” And it’s after this statement, Nathanael confesses Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel. All because Jesus said he said he saw him under the fig tree.
Jesus is clearly revealing some degree of supernatural knowledge. The divinity of Jesus peaks through in a small way, because Nathanael was alone.
What was he doing under the fig tree? We don’t know.
It’s really all speculation. The Bible commentator Matthew Henry suggests that perhaps Nathanael was in contemplative prayer. So Jesus is essentially saying to Nathanael, you called upon the name of the Lord and here I am.
It’s like Nathanael was seeking the Lord and here he is—literally. Because if you seek the Lord, you will find him. If you search the Scriptures for Jesus Christ, you’ll find Him.
But one of the more interesting aspects of Nathanael’s confession is that he did it in front of many people. When Jesus says ‘you’ in verse 51 it’s actually plural. He’s saying “you all” or “y’all.”
But indication is that many people are around. It’s not just Jesus, Philip and Nathanael. There are several or a lot of people around them.
Which means Nathanael made a public profession of faith. Public professions happen in church all the time, but what about outside of church? It’s much harder.
I don’t necessarily think it’s appropriate to work your Christianity into every conversation. But I think we should all be prepared to do it. We should all be willing to discuss our faith publicly and openly.
And if push comes to shove, you’re willing to announce to the world that you trust in Christ.
Because you see the sufficiency of Christ (vv. 50-51)
But you and I should be willing to give up everything and confess Christ because we understand the sufficiency of Christ. We understand that being in communion and fellowship with our Lord is more than enough.
Jesus explains to Nathanael and those around him why he’s enough and why he’s worthy of our worship.
Nathanael was blown away simply by the fact that Jesus revealed a tiny glimpse of his divinity when he said he saw him under the fig tree.
But rather than discouraging Nathanael by saying, “that was nothing! You’re pathetic if you think that was something special.” He encourages him.
“You will see greater things than these.” His words are an incredible statement of fact. You will… It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but rather, ‘when.’
But he tells Nathanael what to look out for in verse 51.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
He’s bringing up the Old Testament patriarch Jacob again. He’s making reference to Jacob’s ladder.
But Jesus was referring to Genesis 28, where the patriarch Jacob had a dream where he saw a ladder that descended from heaven to earth. And on the ladder, angels were ascending and descending upon it.
And the clear indication from his dream is that God would bridge the gap between heaven and earth.
Jesus is telling Nathanael, that the gap between heaven and earth has been bridged by him. He’s the ladder. You and I ascend to God through Jesus Christ. He is how people on earth have access to heaven.
Notice too that Jesus is referred to as both the Son of God and the Son of Man. Heaven and earth colliding in the person of Jesus Christ.
He’s expanding upon his statement, “You will see greater things than these.”
This is the greatest thing. Man’s salvation to God’s glory. It’s the ultimate miracle and the easiest one to overlook.
The fact that you’re a Christian is a miracle. The fact that I’m a Christian is a miracle. Whether you heard the gospel because God gave you godly parents who consistently took you to church or you got saved because someone shared the gospel, whatever the case may be, your salvation is a miracle. Every true follower of Jesus Christ is a miracle.
It’s clearly the evidence of God’s grace. Christ’s hand is reaching out to pull you and me to heaven. That’s why you’re here. Plain and simple.
So let me leave you with two questions. What have you seen? Whom will you tell?
What have you seen? What have you seen? Some of us have seen a lot. You’ve been in 10,000 sermons. We’ve seen a lot about Jesus, praise the Lord. So who are you going to tell? Who are you going to tell? One person this week. Is there one person? Might you pray, “Lord, give me one person this week that I can just point to Jesus, I can just say ‘come and see, come and see.'”
What have you been shown? Now what are we going to tell?
Let’s pray.
Our Father in heaven, we give thanks for all you have shown us, all we know. Make us bold, make us humble, make us hopeful, that the Jesus we know, the Jesus we love, the Jesus who saved us, would be the Jesus we share. Make us like Andrew and Phillip, always bringing people to Jesus. We pray in His name. Amen.
