The call out of skepticism
John 1:43-51 The next day, Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” “Come and see!” Philip told him. 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus replied, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” 51Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
You are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and faith in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Amen.
Philip ran through town looking for his friend. It was after work, and he knew that Nathanael liked to sit by himself under a fig tree to pray and meditate on the Scriptures he knew so well.
Philip skidded to a stop when he finally found Nathanael. After he caught his breath, he blurted, “He’s here! The Messiah is here! We found the one Moses and the Prophets wrote about. The Messiah is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth” (John 1:45)!
Nathanael is excited! … And also skeptical. Like every Jewish person, he has been waiting expectantly for the long-promised Messiah to arrive. Nathanael knows very well what the Old Testament Scriptures say about the Messiah. He knows that Moses and the Prophets don’t mention Nazareth. Nazareth is just a little town in the backwater area of Galilee. The Messiah is supposed to be great and glorious. He is great David’s greater Son. All nations will bow before him. He’s supposed to be born in David’s hometown of Bethlehem and then reign on David’s throne eternally in Jerusalem. … But nothing about Nazareth.
So, Nathanael asks, “Can anything good come from Nazareth” (John 1:46)?
Philip doesn’t coerce. He doesn’t debate. He simply and wisely invites, “Come and see” (John 1:46).
Nathanael accepts Philip’s invitation and goes to see Jesus of Nazareth.
As they are approaching, Jesus demonstrates his divinity by announcing what’s located in Nathanael’s heart and his previous location. “Truly, here is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. … Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:47-48).
Nathanael’s skepticism is gone. He believes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. He declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).
Yes, Jesus performed a miracle, but Jesus assures Nathanael he will see greater miracles than that. He declares, “You believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that!” Then he added, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:50-51).
Jesus is recalling the time in the Old Testament when Jacob deceived his elderly blind father and stole his younger brother Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27). Jacob fled from Esau’s murderous threats with nothing but that blessing.
Jacob slept that first night in the wilderness. He must have been exhausted because he used a rock for a pillow. God gave him a dream of a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it (Genesis 28:12).
Jesus is claiming he is that stairway to heaven.
Nathanael had been skeptical. Jesus called him out of that skepticism. He called him to faith in the Messiah who was standing in front of him and then called Nathanael to follow him.
We can also be skeptical about Jesus. Our Messiah calls us out of our skepticism to faith and following him.
The young parents are worried as they sit in Children’s Hospital with their sick child.
The married couple has gone to bed again with their backs to each other because of another argument.
The teenage daughter is in her room frustrated that her parents don’t understand her. The parents are in the living room frustrated that their daughter doesn’t understand them.
The father of four is concerned about the economy.
The mother of one is scared she’ll never have more children but only miscarriages.
The single man feels defeated by his addiction.
The single lady feels nervous she’ll never find the right man.
The older couple are tired of taking care of their elderly parents.
The aged saint is wondering when she’ll die.
All these people are skeptical. By God’s grace, all of them have saving faith in Christ. But each of them also has doubts, concerns, worries, frustrations, and emotions that weigh heavily upon their faith.
They are skeptical. They are skeptical of where Jesus is. Skeptical of when God will step in. Skeptical of why God is letting all this happen. Skeptical of how any of this can be for their good.
Perhaps you find yourself sitting with them and with Nathanael under the fig tree. You are all skeptical together.
The devil is waging war on you. He wants you to give up. The world is tempting you. It wants you to give in. Your sinful nature is weak. It wants you to give out.
Pray for the Lord to send you someone like Philip to remind you, “The Messiah is here! Come and see him!” The Lord is here and you can see him in his house of worship.
Pray for the Lord to whisper in your ear like he did with young Samuel, waking you out of your spiritual slumber, calling you by name, inviting you to come to him (1 Samuel 3:10). He has important things to tell you in his Word.
Pray for Jesus to reveal himself to you like he did to Philip and Nathanael.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus did many things to remove skepticism. He proved over and over again that he really is the Son of God. We might think that Jesus has to prove himself to us by keeping us healthy, making our business successful, and providing peace in our family. But those
are things we want. They are earthly desires. Jesus displays his divine glory not in providing physical blessings, but in providing spiritual blessings.
Jesus proved he was the Messiah as he fulfilled the promises made to the patriarchs, the sacrifices under the Law of Moses, and the prophecies made through Israel’s prophets.
Nathanael was impressed that Jesus could read his heart and tell him he had been sitting under the fig tree. Jesus assured Nathanael he would see greater things than that.
As a disciple of Jesus, Nathanael definitely witnessed greater things than that over the next three years. He saw Jesus feed thousands, walk on water, calm the storm, heal the sick, make the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the leprous cleansed, the demons dispossessed, and even the dead undead.
Nathanael was with the other disciples when they saw the crucified but now very much alive Messiah standing in the locked room on Easter evening. Forty days later they saw Jesus ascend from the mountain into heaven.
With the eyes of faith, the Holy Spirit has allowed us to see those great things, too.
We are also blessed to see greater things as Jesus works through his humble Means of Grace of Word and Sacraments. The Holy Spirit whispers his Word into our ears to convict our stubborn heads of sin and comfort our guilty hearts with forgiveness. God the Father blesses the water poured over Bryan and Jackie today at the font to wash their sins away and mark them as his redeemed children. Jesus comes in the bread and wine that carries his body and blood so we can taste his forgiveness and see that he is good.
The Lord of the Church is also visibly blessing us with great things in what he is accomplishing in this corner of his Kingdom we call Water of Life. By his grace and to his glory, this past year we have confirmed 8 youth, confirmed 8 adults, baptized 9 children, and baptized 2 adults. We have also grown with 15 other adults and teens joining our congregation.
These are the kinds of numbers that happen in brand-new mission churches, not a church with a combined history of over 140 years. But maybe our newly merged church is more like a mission church. Lord willing, we’ll see even greater things than this next year.
With each of these newly baptized and confirmed members, Jesus comes to them and calls them individually. Just like he does with you. He calls you out of your skepticism.
He calls to the parents with the sick young child or the adults with their aging sick parents and assures them, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29).
He calls to the married couple who fight out of pride and says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).
He calls to the teenager and her parents, “My plans are not your plans, and your ways are not my ways, but I’ll help you see each other’s plans and understand each other’s ways” (Isaiah 55:8).
He calls to the addicted soul, reminding him to say to the devil, “Get behind me, Satan! I am baptized into Christ!”
He calls to those worried about finances or love life or miscarriages, “I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
He calls to the aged saint in hospice care, “Someday soon, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
Because of the strength of the devil, the persistence of the world, and the weakness of our sinful nature, we will continually find ourselves under Nathanael’s fig tree feeling skeptical again and again.
Then the Holy Spirit whispers in our ears to remind us that Jesus is the stairway to heaven. He perfects our imperfect prayers before they reach the ears of the Father on his throne. He purifies our tainted works so our Father approves of them and hangs them on his heavenly refrigerator like works of art. The Messiah comes down to us in the Means of Grace of Word and Sacraments. It is through these Means that the Holy Spirit called you to faith. It’s through these Means Jesus calls you to put that faith into action by following him. By the greater things of his perfect life, redemptive death, and glorious resurrection, Jesus has opened heaven to us. We walk up the stairway to heaven on the Last Day.
Jesus finds us whenever we are sitting under the fig tree. He calls us out of our skepticism. He calls us to see greater things than we’ve already seen. Amen.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word (2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17). Amen.