Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to the book of John. John in chapter 1. This morning we'll be looking at verses 43 through the end of the chapter, verse 51. This continues the thought or Jesus to himself disciples. Last time we had seen that John had, the Baptist had pointed out to two of his disciples. Andrew and John, the Christ, Jesus. And they began to follow Him and were desirous to learn more of Him, to go to His abode and to fellowship with Him the rest of the day. Andrew was so excited, having learned more about Jesus, that he went and got Peter, who was called Simon at the time, and brought him to Christ, to follow Christ, Christ told him that his name was Simon, but he would be called Peter from thence on, signifying that he was little and insignificant and he was rash and hasty, but he's going to become a little rock. He's going to become like a rock, steadfast. But that was in the course of time, the course of spending three and a half years with the Lord and learning of Him. And He had many things to learn, as did the other disciples, the other apostles. They had many things to learn of the Lord. And the Lord taught them. All the apostles became steadfast and unmovable. Ended up giving their lives for the cause of the Gospel and for the Lord Jesus Christ, the One whom they loved and cherished. Verse, brings us to verse 43 now. where we read, "...the day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me." The day following. The day following was the next day, the next day after his meeting with Peter and enlisting him to be his disciple, to no longer be the disciple of John the Baptist. You see, Christ must increase, Jesus must increase, but John must decrease. We remind you that being disciples of John These men were already saved men. They were disciples of John. They had become disciples of John because they had heard the word which he preached, and they repented of their sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. The one that John was preaching of, and John told them, that Christ must increase, but he must decrease. John told them that he was just the forerunner, that he was just the one preparing the materials for the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text, this verse tells us that Jesus would go forth into Galilee Remember, he had gone from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized of John in the River Jordan. And after being baptized by John in the River Jordan, he went away into the wilderness and there was tempted by Satan. Forty days. and returning back to the Jordan where John was, and then returning to Galilee. He's on his way back to Galilee, probably maybe has even arrived. This region, Galilee, was his base of operations, if you please. Nazareth was in Galilee. Capernaum was in Galilee. And Capernaum is where he set up his base of operations. And in this region of Galilee, along the Sea of Galilee, was where he was to gather some of his disciples. where he would find them and call them to follow him. And so he findeth Pete Philip. While he was on his way into Galilee or along the Sea of Galilee, probably already there, he finds Philip. Now, We find something like it's been lost. Like we'd never seen it before or it's been lost, you know. Christ knew where Philip was. And he went to where Philip was. He must be at that place at that time because Philip was gonna be there. Just as he tells us in the book of John in the fourth chapter, that he must needs go through Samaria. Why would he need to go through Samaria? Because there was a woman going to be there. There was a woman that was coming to the well that he perched himself on and rested. And that one woman, he must need to go and bring life. to her, but not just to her, to many of her city came to meet Jesus Christ through that experience. And so Christ must go to Galilee. He must be at the Sea of Galilee at that time, the same time that He was to find Philip there. And he said to Philip, follow me. You leave off following John the Baptist and follow me. I am Jesus. I am the Christ. I'm the one whom John has preached to you. I'm the one that you repented of your sins and trusted in. when John was preaching about me. By the way, John was preaching from the Old Testament. John was preaching from the law and the prophets. That comes in to play later on. Jesus said, I am he. I am the one. So, Philip immediately begins to follow Jesus. Philip believed. He believed that he was the Messiah. Now verse 44, we read these words, Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, That's a town in Galilee, a city in Galilee, on the sea of Galilee. It was a fishing port, a fishing town. Probably most of those that lived there, we've seen fishing towns. I mean, the large number of people there, their whole livelihood is wrapped up in fishing. There was a fishing town. There was a place that Jesus went to often, Bethsaida. A place that he went to very often. But did you notice the last phrase there? The city of Andrew and Peter. Why do you suppose that the Holy Spirit led John to record this for us? I mean, oh, by the way, this city that Philip was from, that's the same city that Andrew and Peter were from. Remember Andrew and Philip? John and James were before. Philip. We're called to follow Christ before that Philip was. You see, this being told us, we can see what is going on here. We can see what has happened. In all likelihood, Andrew and Peter knew Philip, and Philip knew Andrew and Peter. For one, they were from the same town, a fishing town. For number two, they were disciples of John. By the way, how do we know that they're disciples of John? Well, because they're later to be apostles. What was the requirement for apostles in the book of Acts in chapter one? That they must have begun with the baptism of John. And then, been with the Lord Jesus for the three and a half years, saw his resurrection, and saw him ascend up into heaven in the clouds. So, in all likelihood, since they knew each other, Philip had already heard that Christ was there, that Jesus was there. The one whom John had told them about, he has come. Who did he hear from? Andrew and Peter. Andrew was excited. He was so excited. He had spent time with the Lord. He learned more about the Lord. What a great time of fellowship with the Lord he had. He ran out, and he got his brother Peter, and he didn't stop there. He continued to tell other disciples of John, I suppose. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you want them to come and learn more of Christ? Isn't that the whole crux, the whole thrust that is behind this? That we ought to be desirous to be spending time with the Lord. Right here we have the Lord revealed to us. We learn, we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3, 18. What do you do when you grow? What do you do when you get a little bit of truth that you had never seen before? Don't you get excited about it? Don't you tell others about it so that they will get excited, so that they will come and they will look and that they will learn of Christ? That they will grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? Verse 45. Find us Nathanael. Philip has started following the Lord as the Lord commanded him to. And Philip is just like Andrew. He's so excited. He goes out and he finds Nathanael. And saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, James of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Andrew is excited. He tells Peter, he tells Philip. Philip begins to follow. He goes and finds his friend. They weren't brothers, but they were friends. He goes and finds Nathaniel and tells him. Now, Nathanael is also known as Bartholomew. I believe the other three Gospels, all of them, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all refer to him as Bartholomew. And the fact that they were called friends is distinguished by wherever Philip and Nathaniel, Philip and Bartholomew. I mean, they're always listed together, just like brothers are listed together. Philip and Nathaniel, who weren't brothers, but they were close friends, are listed together. Nathaniel, Bartholomew, whichever you want to call him, he also was one of One chosen, not only to be the disciple of Jesus, but to be the apostle of Jesus. And Philip says to Nathanael, he says these words, he says, We have found Him of whom Moses in the law And the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Now, isn't that different than what John the Baptist said? Remember on the first day that Jesus comes back from the wilderness and comes to where John is at? John the Baptist to his disciples and the multitude looking on. Behold the Lamb of God was taken away the sin of the world. The next day he's standing there with two of his disciples and he says, behold the Lamb of God. Now wouldn't you think that maybe this would have been terminology that Philip would have used? No. He says, of whom Moses in the law and the prophet did write. And he's Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. On our Nathanael immediately knew whom he was talking about. We're talking about Israelites here. They were Israelites, and they were well-versed in the Old Testament scriptures, and the law, and the prophets. They knew that Moses had written of the great prophet like unto himself. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 18, in verse 15, The Lord, thy God, will raise up unto thee a prophet in the midst of thee, O thy brethren, like unto me. Unto him ye shall hearken. And just as we've been studying in Sunday school, the prophets wrote concerning Christ, concerning his birth, concerning the place thereof and the manner thereof that he was born of a virgin, even what his name would be called. So they were Israelites. And as we see, Nathanael was a special Israelite. He was different than many Israelites at that time, we're gonna see. And being that, He was well-versed in the law and the prophets. But not only that, as we mentioned, the law and the prophets would have been what John the Baptist was preaching from, what John the Baptist was telling all those multitudes that came to him to hear him preach when he was preaching repentance and faith. He was preaching concerning the Christ, the one that was to come, the One that was to come and to eventually to baptize in the Holy Ghost. Now, He is Jesus. His name meaning, and the Old Testament doesn't mention His name Jesus. But it's sure, sure the threat is there. Because the name Jesus means Jehovah is salvation. Jehovah is salvation, a savior. And yes, that thought is in the Old Testament. That he was going to be saved. It was in the Old Testament law. It was in the sacrifices which they offered day by day and year by year. continually thereunto. And so his name is Jesus, he tells Nathanael, his name is Jesus, and he's from Nazareth, and is the son of Joseph of Nazareth. Yes, I know. His birthplace was Bethlehem. That's my hand. But his parents were from Nazareth. And he, Jesus, has spent most of his life, until 30 years of age, growing up in Nazareth. So he was Jesus of Nazareth. Now verse 46. Verse 46, And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Now it seems as though here, as though Nathaniel's gotten just a little bit skeptical. Wouldn't it seem? A little bit skeptical. You say his name's Jesus, okay, but from Nazareth? Really? From Nazareth? Can any good thing come from Nazareth? Well, first, to understand this question that Nathaniel put forth, we need to realize that the Jews had contempt for the whole region of Galilee. But Nazareth was such an obscure place, little in number. I've seen an estimated maybe about 200 people in this little town of Nazareth. So it was a Shall we say a remote and obscure place? And it seems as though it was a place that was held in contempt, even by their neighbors. Fellow Galileans had contempt for Nazareth. Oh, and Nathanael is from Galilee. Nathanael is from Cana of Galilee. And so he says, can any good thing come from Galilee? He just could not believe that a good person like the Messiah would be coming from Nazareth, much less alone have gone in. I love, I love Phillip's response. Come and see. Come and see. Who else said those words? Was not that the words of Jesus Christ to Andrew and John? Lord, where's your abode? Is there someplace else that we can get off of these streets and we can go and spend time alone with you and learn of you? What did the Lord say? He said, come and see. Come and see, come and learn. Come and learn. So Philip says likewise to Daniel, come and see. Maybe when Andrew and John were relaying this to Philip, how they had met the Lord, they had been following the Lord, and they had spent time with the Lord, and the Lord had said, come and see, come and learn. And Philip remembers that, and he says to Nathaniel, come and learn. Learn of Him. Learn more of the One that has been preached to us about. Learn more of Jesus Christ. We have a song we sing, More About Jesus. What do I know? More of His grace. to others show. And we already referenced 2 Peter 3 and verse 18, that we might grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're to ever be learning of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says to Nathanael, come and see. Verse 47, Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Nathanael is coming. He's coming to Jesus. He's coming to learn. There was no delay in his coming. Philip told him of it, and yes, it seems as though he may have been skeptical, but he had to go see. This is the Lord. I want to learn more. I want to know more of Him. So there was no delay in waiting to learn more. What are we waiting on? To learn more. Do we ever say, well, I should sit down and open the Word? and learn, study, think on these things, but I don't have time right now. I gotta be busy about this. Do we find that Andrew and John replied to John the Baptist that? No, we find them going following Jesus and wanting to go to his abode. They wanted to learn more. of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when they learned more, they were so excited, they went out and told Peter, and told Philip, and who knows how many others. Probably even Nathanael. But Philip comes to Nathanael, his friend, tells him, the Christ is here. Let's go. Come and see. Learn and feel it. And Nathaniel goes. He goes immediately. To him, he wants to learn more about the Savior. He doesn't want to miss an opportunity. When someone comes and tells you about a great, great truth that they have just learned from the Word of God, you're trying to eye them with a skeptical eye? But you go to look at it, and then you begin to dig, and you begin to look, and you begin to research, and you begin to learn more. That's what we have presented here with us with Nathanael. Now look, he comes there, and upon arriving to Jesus, notice Jesus' testimony concerning Nathanael. An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. An Israelite truly. He is truly an Israelite. By the way, there's no guile in him. There's no deception in him. He was an Israelite at heart, inwardly, Not one after the flesh only But after the spirit look with me at the book of Romans The book of Romans in Chapter 2 we're told the Israel I truly is After 2 verse 28 For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly of the flesh, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose price is as not of men, but of God. That's what Jesus testified concerning Nathanael. In whom there is no guile, he said. He was not perfect. He was not without sin. But a life was not a life of deceit and trickery either. Deceit was not his way of life. His speech was with integrity and uprightness. And he was not as the scribes and Pharisees. He was not full of hypocrisy. Let's move on to verse 48. Let me get back. Verse 48, Nathanael said unto him, so we have Jesus seeing Nathanael come to Him, and He says, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no And now Nathanael says, Nathanael said 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. Whence knowest thou me? You just said, call me by name? You just call me an Israelite? and who has no deceit." How did you know these things about me? How do you know where I come from? And who I am? Well, he's about to learn. He's about to learn more about Jesus. He's more to learn about the Savior. He is omniscient and omnipresent. The Lord said before that Philip called thee. When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. He knew that Philip had called him. He knew that Philip had talked to him. And he says, before that, I knew you. But he knew that Philip had talked to him. He knew that Philip had called him. He knew that he knew the account that Philip gave of him. He knew all that Philip had said to him. And not only did he know all that Philip had said to him, he knew Nathaniel's response to Philip in Rome. They said, they saw him under the fig tree. Before that, he said, before that Philip called him, I saw you when you're sat under the fig tree. Before Philip ever came and told you. I saw you. Oh. Now Philip or Nathaniel possibly being not possibly being a devout. Israelite. But being one indeed and whom was no God. Maybe when he was sitting under this fig tree, he was reading the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and thinking upon those things, spending time, meditating, those things that John the Baptist had preached from those very passages, telling them of the Lord Jesus Christ. But turn with me to the Book of Psalms, And this is what Nathanael come to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ that he didn't know beforehand. Psalms 139. Look with me. Begin reading with verse 1. This is a Psalm of David. Oh Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. See, Nathanael come to know that. The Lord knew him. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thoughts afar. All this did Nathanael now understand the Lord knew about him beforehand. Thou compassed my path in my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset, or Thou hast compassed me about, behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain to it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy presence? Don't you think Nathanael understood that now? There's nowhere that I can go and get away from the Christ, the Messiah. He knows all, everywhere. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I may bed in hell, or Sheol, the grave, the land of the dead, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the outermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand surely hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. I can't hide from Him in the dark. For He sees. For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. In other words, you were there with me in my mother's womb. There's no place. that I can go to get away from you. So Nathanael learns great truth concerning Jesus Christ. Let's go back and look at verse 49 now. Verse 49 of our text. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King of Israel. Master, thou art the Son of God. Your nature is the essence of God, and you possess the same perfections as God. You're the one that John preached of when I trusted You for salvation. You're the same one that he preached of from the law and the prophets. The one, the law and the prophets, which we know well, but didn't fully understand until John was preaching. We repented of our sins and trusted him. You're omniscient. You're everywhere. You know all. And this declares you to be Him, to be the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. You are the one all of Israel has been looking for, the Messiah. The one told of in the book of Psalms in chapter 2 and in verses 6 and 7. Yet have I set my King upon the holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the Lord has set unto me. Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee. So, Nathanael has come to increase in knowledge and understanding, wisdom, of whom the Lord is. But notice in verse 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. Have you experienced greater things than these since the day you were saved? Have you experienced the growth and grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and come to a better understanding of who He is. He said, Thou shalt see greater things than these. You have learned of My omniscience. You have learned of My omnipresence. But you shall learn more. You shall learn more concerning Me. You shall learn greater things concerning me. You shall learn more of my person, more of my nature, more of my perfections. You're going to witness, you're going to witness much more. You're going to learn more about Jesus. Verse 51, Jesus said, He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. This, of course, is talking about Him being the mediator. He's going to learn. that He is the Mediator. The Mediator between God and man. Jesus said not only to Nathanael, but He said it to those that were following Him, those that were looking on, those that were listening on to His discourse with Nathanael. To all that were present. You are going to witness that I am mediator between God and man. As Jacob's ladder signified the mediator between God and man, so what Jesus speaks here is speaking of his being mediator between God and man. Him being the ladder between heaven and earth, between God and man. Jesus himself said in the book of John, chapter 14, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. He said, I am the ladder, I am the way, into heaven, into the presence of God. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men. The man. Christ Jesus. Only one. Only one mediator. The Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to the book of 1 John. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 14. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. You see, John here is now saying, we have seen it! We have witnessed it, and we are testifying that Jesus, the Christ, is the mediator between God and man. He is the one that the Father sent to be the Savior of the world. Christ, in his person, was God-man. who as God was in heaven, while he was man, was on earth, and in his office as mediator between God and man, reconciling man unto God, making peace for them, making peace between God man 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 19 says to wit that God was in Christ Reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their passes unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation, Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, in verse 15, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain both, Jew and Gentile, one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both, Jew and Gentile, unto God, in one body, by the cross, having seen the enmity. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 15 tells us Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. All who are here without Christ today, you need to come to Jesus Christ. You need to come to Him in repentance and faith and experience. the blessedness of that unspeakable gift. To you that are here today, are you learning more about Christ? That which you learn, are you sharing with other brothers and sisters? That their excitement might be piqued? That it might cause them to go to the Word? Seeking to learn more. of Jesus Christ. Do you get excited when you learn more from the Word of God? Shall we stand together as we have a song