Following John 1:43-51
(video) This is us camping – my kids follow my every move, even in the morning they all join me in differing attempts of my morning exercises and it got me wondering – who do I follow?
Who do you follow?
Think about it for a moment.
Turn to the person next to you and tell them one person you think you follow– could be on social media, could be a trainer at the gym, could be a neighbour, could be the Timaru courier.
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So who do we follow?
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Who we follow shapes how we see the world.
Local or international, who we follow influences how we live with others.
Look at the United States at the moment.
By following political figures, demonstrators are being motivated to put themselves and others in harm’s way.
Who we follow matters.
As we explore this morning’s reading we will see how who we follow; firstly –influences how we live and secondly how we live with others.
John chapter one tells the account of Jesus’ first week of Ministry.
Day 1 - John the Baptist’s witness concerning Jesus using the words of Isaiah – “I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the LORD.”
Day two recounts Jesus’ encounter with john the Baptist “I have seen and born witness that this is the Son of God.”
Day three – Two of John the Baptists Disciples become Jesus’ Disciples – Andrew and possibly John (though the second is not named).
Day four Andrew tells his brother Simon “we have found the Messiah” and Jesus looks at him and renames him Peter.
verse 43 - “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee” – day 5 of his first week of ministry.
And day 5 is the day our reading places us in.
But before we look any further let’s just pause for a moment and unpack the first 4 days.
Priests and Levites are sent to ask John the Baptist who he is. He admits he is not the Christ – he is the one sent to point to the LORD. He believes Jesus to be the Christ – the messiah – the promised one. John the Baptist declares that Jesus is the Son of God – as a result two of his own Disciples depart from following him and follow Jesus. They begin by asking where he is staying and are invited to “come and you will see.”
Interestingly when Andrew begins to follow Jesus “he first found his own brother Simon and said to him ‘we have found the Messiah’”. His following is not singular. Having begun to follow Jesus he firstly goes to share the good news with his brother who comes to follow Jesus as well.
Enter Day 5 we hear that Jesus finds Philip and tells him “follow me”.
Philip’s response is immediate.
He believes.
He follows Jesus.
Like Andrew, he wastes no time to share this with another.
verse 45 “Philip found Nathaneal and said to him we have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote.” The Messiah.
Then rather than leave poor Nathanel wondering who it is Philip says “Jesus – of Nazareth – the son of Joseph.”
Nathanel – immediately sceptical asks “can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip using the words of Jesus from day three responds “come and see”.
We too are invited to come and see.
Verse 47 “Jesus saw Nathaneal coming toward him and said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!.”
Nathaneal continuing with his Scepticism responds “ How do you know me?”
Jesus responds “Before Philip called you, I saw you, under the fig tree.”
That is Jesus saw him praying – probably under a fig tree as was the custom of the day.
Nathaneal is blown away by Jesus’ supernatural power – as we all would be if someone were able to point to a significant prayer moment in our day – without being there.
Nathaneal declares that Jesus must truly be the Son of God! For who else could have such knowledge!
Jesus blows his mind further by alluding to his ability to access God as greater than their ancestor Jacob and the stairway to Heaven.
So, who is following who here?
And how does who they follow influence the way they live with others?
It is impossible to ignore the similarities between Jesus’ call to Andrew and Philip.
He finds them both and tells them to Follow me.
Likewise, Andrew and Philip call Peter and Nathanel to “come and see”.
When they follow Jesus, they call others to follow him too.
Like sharing the a good piece of news it does not remain stagnant but moves outward until everyone knows.
We too are called by Jesus to follow.
We are called to come and see.
To spend time with him and to experience his presence with us.
And then to go out and draw others into that experience as well.
So who do WE follow? And how does this impact the way we live?
I follow a few shows on Netflix and what I often find is that my brain begins to think about them during the day - mid task. Like a good book I will find myself asking – I wonder what will happen to character so and so….
And I begin to look ahead to the moment when I will find out.
I begin to yearn for enough time and space to discover.
As a result I begin following that person.
I begin to become introspective and think about myself rather than engaging with those people around me.
I become me focused and I forget to include others.
The Bible calls this meditation.
I meditate on the show – on the characters.
And I slowly but surely begin to disconnect from God and from my community.
Now there’s nothing wrong with Netflix, or a good Novel, or wondering what will happen to a Character – but it does become wrong when it becomes my focus – the thing I follow.
Nathaneal, Philip, Andrew, Peter and the other – were able to follow Jesus because they were intentional. It did not happen bv accident, or coincidence.
Likewise we can’t hope to follow Jesus by doing nothing about it – we are called to be intentional. To fill our minds and hearts with scripture, to mediate on his words so God becomes and is the one we intentionally follow.
Often when I’ve witnessed someone come to faith it’s amazing how they suddenly see it was by no mere accident! God is intentional about calling us to follow and we are called to be intentional in our following.
Let us look at Nathanel’s example.
Nathaneal was under the fig tree – a place of prayer and study – he was clearly searching.
And as a result was ready to hear what Philip told him “we have found the messiah.”
How often do we tell people we have found the Messiah?
It seems a strange question to ask – but at it’s core is our belief that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. The one who has come to fulfil the law the one who brings freedom.
It is the good news we’ve been waiting for – the good news everyone is waiting for.
So, how does following Jesus impact our relationship with others?
Are we willing to stand up and invite them?
Are we willing to be bold and to name our faith – to really share the hope we have?
Are we willing to share our lives with others?
This reading gives us a clear guide to follow. We are made followers of Jesus to make followers of Jesus.
Faith is not for us alone.
Do you remember the video I showed you at the start?
I did one thing and my children followed suit.
we all take on the characteristics of those we follow.
So when we invite others to join us in following Jesus is makes sense to gather them into what we are already doing.
Morning prayer, Discipleship groups, running, dinner, the dishes – you name it – you can invite them.
So who do we follow?
And who will we invite to follow with us?