“Meeting the Messiah”
John 1:35-51
Sermon Series: “Getting Acquainted With Jesus”
Introduction: As we continue through the first chapter of John’s Gospel, we see a series of people bearing witness to Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah who had now come on the scene. The first day depicts John bearing witness to Jesus. Then, he is with two of his disciples the next day and again bears witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Those disciples go spend time with Jesus, and one of them, Andrew, goes and finds his brother, Peter, who also comes and meets Jesus. The next Jesus invited Philip to follow Him, and then Philip went and found Nathanael and introduced him to Jesus. Nathanael also trusted Christ. Obviously, one of the main themes of this passage of Scripture is that we are to point other people to Jesus. Are we excited enough about knowing Jesus that we want others to know Him as well?
However, that is not the aspect of this passage that I want to focus on this weekend. We looked at that theme in the “Operation Andrew” message earlier this year. We are going to focus on the idea of “Meeting the Messiah.” Specifically, I want us to see and act on the invitations that are given here. These invitations are for us as well. The Lord does want us to just read about some people who met the Messiah, but He wants each one of us to meet Him personally as well. Don’t turn down His invitation!
1. Invitation #1-Be forgiven of all our sins through Jesus
Verse 36 records John the Baptist as saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” God is speaking through John and inviting these men to look to Jesus in faith and be forgiven of their sins because the Lamb of God is the God-Man who died as the personal, substitutionary, atoning sacrifice for everyone’s sins. Isaiah 45:22 says, “Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth.” We all need to trust Christ because we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
2. Invitation #2-Have a personal relationship with Jesus
Jesus did not come to make us religious, but He came so that we can know Him personally. Think about it. We are invited to have a personal relationship with Almighty God! Jesus invited John’s disciples to “come and see,” and then they spent the rest of the day with Him. God wants to have that kind of personal relationship and communion with us (see Revelation 3:20). The conversation between Philip and Nathanael is rooted in the Old Testament story of Jacob. It speaks to the fact that Christ is the revelation of God, it speaks of angels (Hebrews 1:14), and it speaks to a personal meeting with God because God revealed Himself personally to Jacob and Bethel means “House of God.”
3. Invitation #3-Be transformed by Jesus
When Peter met Jesus, the Lord basically prophesied the work of transformation He was going to do in Him to make Him into a stone. He basically said that He was going to transform and use Peter. Here are some truths to remember about transformation:
-God knows what we can become.
-God instantly transforms us into His child, but it is a lifelong process as far as Him transforming us into the person He wants us to become.
-God is patient and continually works with us through this process.
-Philippians 1:6 is true.
-This is the proper mindset to have when ministering to people.
4. Invitation #4-Experience real life by following Jesus
Jesus invited Philip to follow Him. This is a very common invitation given by Jesus in the New Testament. It is really as much a command as an invitation. However, following Jesus, which means dying to ourselves and submitting to His Lordship, is the way to really experience life (see Luke 9:18-26).
Conclusion: The Bible has many invitations, including a final one that says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely.” Don’t turn down His invitation!
