Just Come And See, Part 2 (Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign #15)

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.
----Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon
series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with
unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the
main thing the main thing -- and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America
is not only disobedient presidents and politicians but disobedient pastors,
preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey Gods Great Commission

and who have refused to obey Gods repeated commands to pray without
ceasing for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. This campaign is
inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, "For I
determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified." Acts 5:42 which says, "And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." And 2 Timothy 2:4 which
says, No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he
may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. This series is not for
Christians primarily. I hope you are one of those who love to hear the old, old
story told again and again. As the hymn says, I love to tell the story, for those
who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest. But, this
series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel
and be saved.This is message number 15.
F.B. Meyer said, "Have you known Christ as the Word? He is more; both Spirit and
Life. Has He become flesh? You shall behold Him glorified with the glory He had
before the worlds. Have you known Him as Alpha, before all? He is also Omega.
Have you met John? You shall meet One so much greater. Do you know the
baptism by water? You shall be baptized by fire. Have you beheld the Lamb on the
Cross? You shall behold Him in the midst of the throne."
We have already seen Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, and an unnamed man (who is
likely John, the author of this Gospel) make the decision to become disciples of
Jesus Christ. The fifth disciple, whose decision we will look at today, is Nathaniel.
He is generally thought to be the same as the man named Bartholomew in other
listings of Jesus' disciples. As you recall, Nathaniel expressed some doubt about
Jesus being the Messiah because He came from the poor town of Nazareth.
However, in our passage today, we see that Nathaniel did as Philip asked him to
do -- he decided to "come and see."
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, He declared, "Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathaniel is stunned to find out that Jesus already
knows about him, and he asks, "Whence knowest thou me?" Of course, Jesus,
being God, is omniscient, therefore He possesses all knowledge. But Nathanael
does not know that yet. Nathaniel likely begins to think that Philip told Jesus
about him. But Jesus quickly dispels that notion when he says, "Before that
Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." In first century
Israel, Rabbis often studied under fig trees with their students. Devout Jews
would also sit under fig trees to meditate on God's word. Perhaps this is what
Nathaniel was doing.

In just two sentences, Jesus demonstrates supernatural knowledge of Nathaniel's

life. Not only does he know who Nathaniel is, but what he was doing before Philip
called him, as well as what kind of character he has. This is why we ought not to
come to Jesus full of hypocrisy and pretense. He already knows who we are deep
down.
Nathaniel is so amazed by Jesus that he realizes that what Philip had been telling
him must be true. He confesses, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the
King of Israel." This does not indicate that Nathaniel had a full understanding of
Jesus' true nature or the nature of the Trinity. But, it does show that he came to a
level of acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah and the Savior of the Jewish people.
Jesus answers him in a tone that is almost incredulous: "Because I said unto
thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou?" It is as if He is saying, "Is that
why you believe?" And then he adds, "Thou shalt see greater things than these."
Basically, Jesus tells Nathanael, "You ain't seen nothing yet." Then He continues,
"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."
Some commentators believe that this last statement is a reference to Jacob's
ladder which he dreamed about at Bethel. In his dream, Jacob saw a ladder
stretched between earth and heaven, and angels going up and down the ladder.
Dr. John Walvoord and Dr. Roy Zuck state, "Just as Jacob saw angels from
heaven communicating with earth, so Nathanael (and the others) would see Jesus
as the divine Communication from heaven to earth. The Son of Man, replacing the
ladder, is God's link with earth."
If Nathaniel had not followed Philip's request for him to "come and see," he would
have missed out on his opportunity to be introduced to Jesus. He would have not
found out for himself who Jesus really was. He would have missed out on being a
part of the greatest series of events in history. And, he would have missed out on
all the blessings and benefits of being a child of God, a member of Jesus' family.
Again, I invite you today to come and see. God has wonderful things in store
for you as well. But you will never find out what those things are if you don't take
a step of faith and come to Jesus as your Savior.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, John 3:16 states, "For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: "That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.... For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved."
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and
rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please
pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and
that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and I want to
turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now
believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose
again. I trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord from this day forward.
Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life
today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and
meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you
are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the
family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life
and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information
to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com
and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in
John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall
go in and out, and find pasture."
Until next time, May the Lord Bless You!