Despite Nathanael’s pedigree, he still needed to have Jesus revealed to him. Apart from the Spirit’s work in creating faith, Nathanael would have been lost.
I serve in a congregation near Seattle, Washington. It is not a region known for theologically conservative Christianity. Philip’s words to Nathanael struck me and confronted me with a specific inconsistency in what I believe theologically and how I function practically. It may be that you or your parishioners would benefit from exploring the gap I felt between what I believe and how I typically think and behave.
Philip says, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote.” My first thought was, “Wouldn’t that be nice! Nathanael was reading his Bible. Nathanael was looking for the Messiah. Nathanael shared the same beliefs and values and basic theological understanding as Philip. Of course, he came to faith. He had the correct, prior knowledge. It is like he was basically primed and predisposed to believe in Jesus... unlike the people around me.”
And that is when it struck me. One theme of the season of Epiphany and of this text is the fact that Jesus always has to be revealed. We are all born spiritually dead and ignorant, but God creates faith, out of nothing (but not apart from means), in all who believe. Having saving faith in Jesus is always the result of God’s salvific revelation.
With that in mind, I am proposing a sermon which has three sections or rhetorical units. Your hearers will experience the Law in the section, “Near & Far.” They will experience the Gospel and learn about the gift of faith in the section, “Called.” Finally, they will be equipped to see the present-day work of God as He continues to call to faith through real people in the section, “What It Can Look Like.”
Near & Far
The theological teaching here is that we are all dead in sin, rather than the “mostly dead” the “The Princess Bride” gives us. The Law here might show our personal need for a savior, or it might convict us of a prejudiced approach to the people God has placed around us.
Here are a few statements which could serve as a main idea to be developed.
- “Some contexts seem more difficult for mission.”
- “Certain people or groups of people can feel farther from the Kingdom than others.”
- “It is tempting to think some people are further from (or closer to) faith than others.”
- “We might wish our witness was happening under different circumstances.”
- “We have a lot of assumptions about who is near to or far from God.”
You could develop the main idea with a “serial depiction” that laments some of the challenges we feel with our context: Decreased Biblical literacy, moral relativism, loss of Judeo-Christian values, and the like.
The Law here might show our personal need for a savior, or it might convict us of a prejudiced approach to the people God has placed around us.
You could develop it with a “narrative.” Describe two people from two different backgrounds. One person looks like you, is from your neighborhood, maybe they even went to Vacation Bible School with you as a kid, and they are going through a challenging time. The other person grew up in a different country with a different religion, and their life is going pretty well. Which one feels further from Jesus? Which one would be easier for God to save?
You could develop it with the image of someone creating a character/avatar in a video game. First, build your ideal recipient of the Gospel. What qualities and traits do you build in? Next, build the “worst case scenario” kind of character. What is their background, personality, and temperament? Notice how easy it is to create a picture of who is more savable and who feels like more a lost cause.
Called
This section of the sermon focuses on “textual exposition” and “theological confession.” In the text, we see Jesus call Philip, and in turn, Philip calls Nathanael. Despite Nathanael’s pedigree, he still needed to have Jesus revealed to him. Apart from the Spirit’s work in creating faith, Nathanael would have been lost.
This section also unpacks the “theological confession,” the teaching of Scripture, about how God’s Spirit works through means to create faith. You might work with verses from the Gospel of John about the Spirit’s work. You could quote and unpack Luther’s explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed. You can look at the Apostle Paul’s use of “called” to help create a theological understanding of how God calls people to faith in Jesus through His Word, which He has placed in the hearts and minds of other people.
This is where the Gospel is proclaimed. Each of us, left to ourselves, is just as far from God as anyone else. But God loves us. God loves you! God has graciously chosen to send his Son to save you. God has graciously chosen to send His Spirit to create saving faith in your heart. And God has graciously chosen to send His people, like He did with Philip, to bring the Word to you, through which the Spirit is at work, through Whom we are joined to Jesus, and through Whom we are reconciled to the Father and come to know who we truly are.
What It Can Look Like
Here you get to tell a story. Tell your story. It is not about you; it is about God faithfully working through His people to bring Jesus even to someone like you. This is an opportunity to model genuine humility. It is not necessarily the case that you were a more egregious sinner than anyone else. But apart from the saints of God through whom the salvific revelation of Jesus came to you, you would perish eternally.
But apart from the saints of God through whom the salvific revelation of Jesus came to you, you would perish eternally.
Likely, God worked through many people to bring you the Gospel. I would encourage you to narrow your focus here. Acknowledge that this one episode is part of the larger narrative of how God works in many and various ways. But the point here is even in this one small and seemingly insignificant moment, God was at work.
If possible, do not tell a story about your pastor. I encourage you to try and utilize a lay person through whom God worked. One goal of this narrative is to give people a picture of how they themselves are part of God’s work to reveal Jesus. Help them see that the Spirit works through them, even when they do not have all the answers or the training or the expertise.
Maybe the story is not about you at all. Call up an Elder or a new member or a child or a saint in the final season of her life and ask about their story. Get their permission and tell the Church how God worked through His Church for that saint.
Help your people see what it actually looks like and give them the perspective and confidence to see how God continues to save as the Spirit works through ordinary saints in ordinary settings to save people both near and far.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out our 1517’s resources on John 1:43-51.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 1:43-51.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 1:43-51.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
