Book Of John Series 2-Testimony of John the Baptist and disciples Andrew, Philip, and Nathaniel

Luke 1:15 “…he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.” Matthew 11:11 “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist;..” (Purpose of John)

John 1:19-28  Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.” ²⁴ Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Priests and Levites question John the Baptist: Are you Elijah? Are you the Prophet? Who are you? These questions may seem random, but there not.

Are you Elijah? Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”     (Empty Cup and Chair)

The Angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah: Luke 1:16-17 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The Transfiguration: Face-Sun, Clothes- White Light. GOD SPEAKS Matthew 17:10-13 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

 Are you the Prophet? Deuteronomy 18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.   (1500 years)

People looked for this Prophet in Jesus’ day. Jesus feeds the 5000: John 6:14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Jesus speaks at the Festival of Tabernacles: John 7:37-38 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

John 7:40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

Peter heals lame beggar: Acts 3:17-22 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. ¹⁸ But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. ¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ²⁰ and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. ²¹ Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. ²² For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. ²³ Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’   Jesus was that Prophet

Who are you? Vs23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.”

Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.   (600 Years)

THEY HAD THE TRUTH

John 1:29-34 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John says 2 times I did not know him. He did not know Him as the Christ until He saw the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

Now, imagine if you were given the opportunity to introduce the great being of all time. One who will be celebrated for all of eternity. How would you go about it? What would you highlight first? John, the Baptist had this very assignment.

Vs29 “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

 John 1:35-51 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want (seek)?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. ⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of Jonah. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). ⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip 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.” ⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. ⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” ⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” ⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” ⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

This section of John shows four ways of coming to Jesus: ANDREW PETER PHILLIP NATHANIEL

• Andrew came to Jesus because of the preaching of John.
• Peter came to Jesus because of the witness of his brother.
• Phillip came to Jesus as a result of the direct call of Jesus.
• Nathaniel came to Jesus as he overcame personal prejudices by a personal encounter with Jesus.

This section also shows us four different witnesses testifying to the identity of Jesus. JOHN THE BAPTIST, ANDREW, PHILLIP, and NATHANIEL

• John the Baptist testified, that Jesus was the one whom the Spirit descended who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. That Jesus is the Chosen One, that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
• Andrew testified that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.
• Phillip testified that Jesus is the One prophesied in the Old Testament.
• Nathaniel testified that Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel.

Vs50-51 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.” Where do we find that in scripture? The heaven opened and the angels ascending and descending. (Genesis 28)

When Jacob was running from his brother Esau and he came to Bethel and he was tired and he was scared and he got a rock for a pillow, and he went to sleep and dreamed. In his dream he saw the Lord of heaven standing at the top of a stairway (ladder NKJV), and the angels of God were ascending and descending.

Genesis 28:12-13 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.

Here, Jesus, in essence, is saying, “I am the stairway (ladder). I am the access by which man can come to God. I’m the One who ties heaven and earth together.           “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me.”

So, Jesus the Son of man, God the Son is the (stairway) ladder by which heaven is joined to earth.

This seems like a rather obscure reference, but it was extremely meaningful to Nathanael. Possibly it was the very portion of Scripture Nathaniel meditated on under the fig tree.