John 1:35-51 (Sermon Outline)
Sermon Outline
John 1:35-51
I. Opening Illustration:
a. Good morning everyone. It’s so good to be back from Germany. As you can see I brought some of my baggage with me today. The reason I brought my baggage is because I thought this visual would help me explain what a difficult Journey it made this Germany trip become for me. As you can see I brought way too much luggage with me and this luggage literally weighed me down enormously. And at times it robbed me of my joy. This backpack had tons of camera equipment in it and my laptop my flat screen TV and many other things. The reason I share this with you is because today we are going to be looking at when Jesus first called His disciples, and how they had to be willing to let go of their baggage.
II. Introduction:
a. This morning as we continue our journey in the Gospel of John, we are going to see that John will shift the attentions away from John the Baptist, and put it upon the earthly ministry of Jesus. In this opening chapter John has been explaining to us who Jesus is and why He came, and now he will have Jesus step out into the streets of humanity and walk among us.
b. This opening chapter describes the first week of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and how He begins calling His disciples to “come and follow Him.” Not only will be look at how Jesus engaged these future world changers, but we will also see how these men responded to Jesus call to follow Him. According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was “about 30 years old” at this time.
c. The Big Idea of this chapter, and really the entire gospel is to seek to understand what it means to follow Jesus, and why following Jesus is so important for us. And so today we will continue with that theme in order to help us better understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
III. Message: And so if you would please stand in honor of reading God’s Word, we are going to be in John 1.
a. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus means we must first get SAVED (1:35-36)
i. READ: John 1:35-36
ii. So the first thing I want to point out here, is that (v.35) begins by saying it is the “next day”. You see, in (v.19) we read that some religious leaders from Jerusalem came out to examine John the Baptist to find out who he is. Then in (v.29) we read “the next day” after John’s examination, Jesus came, causing John to proclaim, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John concludes his testimony of Jesus on day 2 in (v.34) by saying, “This is the Son of God”. And now, here we are in (v.35), and we read the “next day” again (day 3) in this encounter, and really the first day in Jesus’ earthly ministry. And right away, John wants to make it clear who Jesus is and why Jesus came.
iii. John proclaims for the second time in as many days that Jesus is the Lamb of God. The concept of a sacrificial Lamb was a familiar one to the Jewish people, and there is no doubt that John addressing Jesus in this manner so that everyone would clearly understand why Jesus had come. You see, all through Israel’s history God had revealed clearly that sin and separation from Him could be removed only by blood sacrifices (cf. Lev. 17:11). There could be no forgiveness of sin unless there was a death.
iv. In fact, LOOKING ON THE NEXT SLIDE we see this truth all throughout the OT:
1. Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 22:7-8). Israel was well aware of Abraham’s confidence in God and how He would provide a lamb to offer in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:7-8).
2. Passover (Ex. 12:1-36). A lamb was sacrificed at Passover
3. Daily Sacrifices in the Temple (Ex. 29:38-42). There were also the daily sacrifices in the tabernacle and later in the temple.
4. God also made it clear that none of those sacrifices were sufficient to take away sin (cf. Isa. 1:11).
5. They were also aware that Isaiah’s prophecy likened Messiah to “a lamb that is led to slaughter” (Isa. 53:7).
v. Though Israel sought a Messiah who would be a prophet, king, and conqueror, God had to send them a Lamb, and He did. The title Lamb of God foreshadows Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the sin of the world. I share all of this with you to make it clear that in this brief statement, John the Baptist has made it very clear that Jesus had come to deal with sin.
vi. In simple terms, God sent Jesus to deal with our sin. And in order for you or for me to have a relationship with Jesus, and begin following Jesus we have to first get saved. That is why Jesus came, to save us. He came to die on the cross as the Lamb of God so that our sins could be forgiven.
vii. It is this idea that has inspired this mornings first answer to our fill-ins. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus means we must first get SAVED (1:35-36)
viii. If you don’t first and foremost understand that Jesus came to rescue you from your sins, and that you need a Savior, there is no way that you can follow Jesus. You don’t get saved on the journey, you get saved before the journey ever begins. Until you put your faith in Jesus, you are walking on the broad road that leads to destruction. And so, the very first things we see that takes place the moment Jesus begins walking among us, is that God came to deal with our sin by sending His Son to be heaven’s sacrificial lamb to save humanity.
ix. As we move onto our next passage, we are going to be introduced to the first two individuals Jesus speaks with as He begins gathering His disciples.
x. READ: John 1:37-40
b. What does it mean to follow Jesus? We must follow Jesus with the right MOTIVES (1:37-39)
i. In this passage of Scripture we read that as Jesus approached, John the Baptist has already declared again that Jesus is the Lamb of God (for the 2nd straight day), and as he proclaims this, two of his disciples begin following Jesus.
ii. (v.40) tells us that one of the disciples is Andrew, the apostle Peter’s brother, and the other disciple who is unnamed is the author of this gospel, the apostle John. I have mentioned before John never names himself in this gospel, but there is no doubt that is who is with Andrew. In fact it is only because John has eye-witness account to what we are reading right now that we have this story. None of the other disciples even knew about Jesus yet. And without this insight from John, we would have never know that it was actually Andrew who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus (1:41). In addition to this, John’s gospel is the only one that records this early ministry appearance of Jesus, and His calling of Andrew (Peter’s brother), as well as Philip and Nathaniel. What an honor it must have been for these two individuals (Andrew and John) to be the very first two followers of Jesus.
iii. As Andrew and John begin following Jesus, (v.38) records Jesus’ first spoken words in the Gospel of John, and they are very profound.
iv. READ: John 1:38
v. This verse confronts us with one of the most important questions we will ever have to answer before God, and that is “what is it that you are seeking from Jesus?” It is interesting that the very first recorded words of Jesus that the Gospel of John reveals to us, is Jesus saying, “What do you seek?” Jesus wasn’t asking this question for His own benefit, since He is omnipotent; He already knew what they wanted. But Jesus asks this question to challenge them to consider their motives: He did not ask them whom they were seeking, but what they were seeking. It’s as if right from the start before these two seriously begin following Jesus, He confronts them with this question in order for them to check their motives.
vi. And it’s this idea that has inspired our 2nd answer to this mornings Big Question. What does it mean to follow Jesus? We must follow Jesus with the right MOTIVES (1:37-39)
vii. When we follow Jesus we must follow Him with the right motives. If we follow Jesus for our own purposes, in essence we are not following Jesus at all, but instead we are asking Jesus to follow us. We are asking Jesus to align His will with our will in order to accomplish what we want in life. And so in the end it is Jesus that we are trying to get to follow us, when we come to Him with the wrong motives.
viii. One of the things that I want to point out here is that even though Jesus asks this question of these two men, He does press them for an immediate answer. He simply throws it out there and gives them the opportunity to digest it for awhile. And this is a good reminder for us that we can’t rush people into God’s kingdom, we can only share with them about Jesus, and then allow Jesus to do the work in their heart.
ix. But none the less, this is a good reminder for us when we discuss what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We have to follow Jesus with the right motives.
x. Jesus would teach His disciples in Matthew Gospel, what the right motives for following Him were.
xi. READ: Matthew 6:33
xii. So we see that the way we are to follow Jesus is by putting Him first in our life above all things. That is the only “RIGHT MOTIVE” that God is concerned about. If we could just do that, put God first in our life all other things would be added.
xiii. And so we see that in order to follow Jesus, we must first get saved, and we must check our motives as to why we want to follow Jesus.
xiv. As we move onto our next passage, we are going to be introduced to three more individuals whom Jesus gives an invitation to follow Him to.
xv. READ: John 1:40-46
c. What does it mean to follow Jesus? We must TELL others about Jesus (1:40-46)
i. Here we read that Andrew is the very first follower of Jesus who is identified by name. Andrew’s reaction to finding Jesus has been a classic model for Christian witness throughout the history of the church. Andrew began with his immediate family by going home and sharing Jesus with Peter. Talk about a significant moment in history? Andrew sharing the good news with Peter, the man whom Jesus would use lead 3,000 people to salvation on the Day of Pentecost, and one of the pillars of the Christian church, who has inspired and encouraged billions of men and women throughout the history of the church. Andrew is a powerful reminder to us that you do not have to be a charismatic, outgoing, upfront, overconfident individual to be powerfully used by God. Scripture seems to inform us that he was polar opposite than his brother Peter. Andrew was a behind the scenes type of person, who quietly brought people to Jesus. You see, whenever we read about Andrew in the Gospel of John, he is bringing somebody to Jesus; his brother Peter (1:41), the young boy with the bread and fish (John 6:8), and the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus (John 12:20-21). No sermons from Andrew are recorded, and yet his life was a living testimony, a message for all to see, and he used that to bring others to Jesus.
ii. In (v.41) when Andrew proclaims to his brother, “we have found the Messiah!” The word translated “found” implies someone was diligently searching for something and then joyously discovers it. This same word is used in Jesus’ parable about the treasure that was found in the field (Mt. 13:44). In another parable we’re told of a man who has a hundred sheep, but one is missing. So he leaves the ninety-nine and searches diligently for the one to find it (Matt 18:13). With the intensity of a shepherd looking for his lost sheep and the joy of a man who discovered a great treasure, Andrew shares Jesus with his brother Peter, saying, “We found him!” Andrew wanted others to know about Jesus.
iii. It is this idea that has inspired our 3rd answer to this mornings Big Question. What does it mean to follow Jesus? We must TELL others about Jesus (1:40-46)
iv. Andrew isn’t the only evangelist in this passage of course. John wrote this gospel so that we would believe in Jesus and be saved. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost and 3,000 people were saved. Philip not only went and shared with Nathanael, but he was also known as the evangelist in Acts 21:8. He is the one who first brought Jesus to the Samaritans, and then to the Ethiopian eunuch. There’s most certainly an underlying theme in the gospel of John, that when a person comes to faith in Jesus, they begin sharing their faith with others. Whether it is like Philip the Evangelist, or like Andrew, the one who simply invites people to come and meet Jesus, and allows Jesus to open their hearts, we are called to share our faith with others by telling them about Jesus.
v. These men are excited to share Jesus… to them it is good news! This is how it should be for all of us. We should be so excited and devoted to sharing our faith.
vi. On our trip to Germany, we were with Safi and Dawn and a Muslim Background Believer Bible Study, and you should have seen how passionate these men were for God’s Word. They couldn’t get enough of Jesus, and they wanted to share all that He was doing in their heart and lives.
vii. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus, we have to be willing to tell others about Jesus to give them the opportunity to choose to follow Him also.
viii. As we move onto our final passage, we are going to see that following Jesus also means encountering Jesus is powerful ways.
ix. READ: John 1:45-51
d. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus means you are going to ENCOUNTERJesus (1:47-51)
i. Here we read that once Jesus calls Philip to follow Him (v.43), that Philip in turns goes and finds his friend Nathanael. And Nathanael’s first response to hearing about Jesus is not positive (v.46). He says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” In response to his doubt, Philip brings him to Jesus. When Nathanael meets Jesus, his heart is instantly exposed. Jesus looks at him and says, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is not deceit.” Jesus was right, but Nathanael, still not ready to believe, challenges him: “How do you know me?” “When you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus responds. Jesus’ omniscience strikes Nathanael powerfully. When Jesus revealed something to Nathanael there was no way he could have known – about Nathanael under the fig tree – then Nathanael knew Jesus could see into his soul. Jesus saw both the outside and the inside of Nathanael. Even when we’re not aware of it, Jesus sees us. Even when we don’t see God, he is there, fully aware of all that’s happening. He knows not only what’s happening on the outside, but he also sees your heart.
ii. And its this idea that has inspired the final answer for this mornings big question. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Following Jesus means you are going to ENCOUNTER Jesus (1:47-51)
iii. And in this final section we see that Nathanael has a powerful encounter with Jesus because Jesus speaks to his heart in a way that Nathanael knows that only God could have known that. Most of us in here have had that experience, haven’t we? I remember when I first got saved, I was walking with the Lord reading my bible every day and even sharing my faith with others in my first month of being a Christian, but because I was unchurched growing up, I was scared to death to step foot into a church. And then finally, someone invited me to Horizon Christian Fellowship, and I remember Pastor Mike MacIntosh speaking, and it was as if every word he spoke was touching my heart in a profound way, and I thought how in the world can this be happening? How can he know everything I am going through and everything I needed to hear. Does this man have a tape recorder in my house? Is he a special agent for the CIA? Of course not! He was being used by God to speak powerfully into my heart, the things that only God Himself could know.
iv. Life Application:
1. God wants to speak to you like that
2. But He wants you to know, if you by faith follow Him, trust and obey Him you will see and experience much greater things
3. For those of us that have been walking with the Lord now for several years, do we still come with a heart like Nathanael, where there is no guile in our hearts, and where we are open to hearing from God and recognizing His voice and allowing His Word to penetrate our hearts?
